“Here you are,” said the Pharisee in a tone of accusation. I asked myself, as if in answer to his accusation, where else would the teacher be?

Jesus replied in a loud voice meant for all of us to hear, “You have sought me. This is true but not because you witnessed a miracle. You seek me because you ate bread and were filled.”

The synagogue burst forth with murmuring. They had been there also. How so many could be filled with so little was nothing short of miraculous. It was the hand of God. The building rang with heated discussion. Much of it was against the Jews, who looked around at all of us gathered there and realized they were surrounded. The Lord raised his hand and there was silence. I held my breath listening. The Lord spoke again.

“You look for worldly bread which is here one moment and gone the next. It is better to seek the bread that endures and leads to life eternal. The Son of man will give you that bread. God the Father has sealed him alone.”

Jesus had complete mastery of the moment. He spoke with an authority men could not deny. The congregation voiced consent and it seemed to me that the Jews were humbled. They looked between the congregation and the Master. They shifted from one foot to the other. They had not seen the miracle of the multitude fed on a few fish and loaves, not truly. Neither were they aware that their humbling was of the same power but they feared the men around them. It was in a changed manner that they responded.

They asked, “What must we do to work the works of God?”

Jesus answered immediately, “Believe on him whom the Father has sent to you.”

Then, in typical fashion, the Jews swallowed the feet they stood on. They asked, “What sign will you show that we may see and believe what is the work you do?” When the congregation fell silent and Jesus turned away from them, they were emboldened to continue.

“Our fathers ate manna in the desert, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

They might have continued but Jesus turned to look at them and they fell silent. He said to them, “You think you speak truth but I will tell you the truth. Moses did not give you that bread from heaven but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is the man who came from heaven to give life to the world.”

The congregation erupted in noisy debate. The men of the synagogue turned to one another in alarmed opinion. The words of the Lord had surprised all of us. I stood silently and saw Jesus in a new light. That a man could come down from heaven! The women in the back chattered wildly. My chest was tight. I pushed forward for a place nearer my Lord. Jesus raised his hand and held it above his head. A moment later, there was complete silence. The Jews pressed into the void.

“Lord,” said the Jews, “give us that bread forever.”

Jesus looked about on the men who crowded around him. We awaited his words with painful anticipation. It was then that I realized all of us were standing; none of us sat. What would the Lord answer them? I remembered the miracle. Jesus had done that. I touched the lump on my head and recalled the hand that Peter reached out and took in the storm. Jesus had walked through the raging storm as one with authority over even the elements. What would Jesus say? I was not the only one who leaned forward expecting something miraculous. My soul strained to hear the truth of God.

Jesus spoke into utter silence. “I am the bread of life. He that comes to me will never hunger. He that believes in me will never thirst.”

The outburst of voices was unbelievably loud. Fearfully, the Jews turned about, looking from man to man as if the legions of Rome had descended on us. I, too, was fearful but for a different reason. Jesus spoke boldly and while I reached for his words, I wondered if other men were ready for the truth. There was some jostling of bodies. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked around with a start only to find my brother taking a protective stance. I turned and saw Jesus standing apart looking at the scrolls. I do not know what overtook me at the moment but I tore away from my brother's hand; I pushed through the surrounding men and stood in the small open area between the noisy crowd and my Lord.

I yelled at the top of my voice. “Quiet!”

There was quiet. All of them looked at me, confused. Jesus came to me and put his hand on my neck. To me, with a smile, he said, “Peace.” Then, he turned to the congregation.

“You have seen me but you do not believe.” Jesus crossed my shoulders with an arm and drew me close. He looked between me and the Jews, then continued. “All that the Father gives to me will come to me. He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.”

James came and stood by my side. Jesus continued. “These young men have opened their eyes to the truth.”

The Pharisee among the other Jews took a stand before the Lord. He looked my Lord in the eyes in a challenging way and asked, “Whose truth is that?"

Jesus removed his arm from my shoulders and took a step toward the Pharisee. They were face to face, eye to eye. My Lord said, “I have come to you from heaven but not to do my own will. I have come to do the will of my Father who sent me. This is my Father's will, that of all whom he has given me, I should lose none, but I should raise him up again on the last day. This also is the will of him who sent me, that every man who sees the Son and believes may have life everlasting. I will raise him up.”

Most of us remained quiet as we took in the words of the Lord. The Jews murmured and complained. The old Pharisee threw up his hands and turned to the congregation, rolling his eyes and covering his face. “There!” He called to the rest of us. “There you have it. You have heard the man with your own ears. We know this man. He is the son of Joseph. We know his mother. How, then, can a man claim to come from heaven?”

Before the noise could begin, Jesus stepped around the Pharisee and addressed the congregation with raised hands. “Murmur not among yourselves,” he said to them. “No man can come to me except the Father, who has sent me, draw him. I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Therefore, every man that has heard, and has learned from the Father, comes to me.”

The Pharisee threw up his hands. He paced before the congregation, staring at the men with wild contempt. He had their attention. He smote his chest. He turned on Jesus and smote his chest a second time. He took a step forward and yelled in the Lord's face.

“You are a man!” he shouted. “You are just a man.” He turned and yelled at the congregation in anger. “Men do not come down from heaven.” He spun again and faced the Lord, demanding, “Explain yourself. Tell us how a man comes from heaven. We wait.”