2. People Whom the Father in Heaven Drew to Jesus on the Cross

I would like to continue discussing the people who were standing by the cross of Jesus. Only John’s Gospel writes this scene (cf. John 19:25-26). They were those drawn by the Father in heaven as Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John 6:44) These words were addressed by Jesus to the crowd who came to Jesus looking for him the next day he had fed the five thousand with loaves.

The main theme of Jesus’ talk in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel is about having eternal life. Jesus tells he is the very bread of life during the dialogue with the crowd. The bread of life, which is Jesus himself, namely, the Eucharist, is indeed eternal life. In this scene Jesus tells the following words using a clear expression, “has eternal life,” and showing concrete conditions for it, which appear only in John’s Gospel among the four Gospels: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54)

We must become aware of the will of Jesus which John the Evangelist conveyed. The will of Jesus, who prepared everything so that people can have eternal life simply by eating and drinking the Eucharist, is identical with the will of God, who prepared the tree of life in the middle of the Garden of Eden. We should never be like the first man and woman, who did not eat from the tree of life even though God had not forbidden them to do so. The reason why God, in the beginning, forbade them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that He wanted them to eat from the tree of life first. If they had eaten the fruits of the tree of life first, they would not have found death in the corruption of their bodies formed of dust from the ground. The fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which they were to eat after the fruits of the tree of life, would have helped the free mind of the people in the Garden, which God had breathed into them, with the knowledge of good and evil and would have well worked for them to eat from the tree of life frequently and to maintain eternal life.

The Eucharist is the fruit of the tree of life composed of the Words. We need to know and receive the knowledge of the Eucharist and the gift of it. As Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24), those who accept the words of Jesus, who strives to persuade people to take the Eucharist, and believe the will of God, who intended to give the fruit of the tree of life first, will try to direct their life towards the Mass, where they receive the Word and the Eucharist. He, who lives his life towards the Mass, already begins to live the future of passing from death to life having eternal life without being judged.

Then Jesus states clearly, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-54) These words of Jesus aim at the scene of the institution of the Eucharist, which all three Synoptic Gospels wrote, beyond time. The eyes of John the Evangelist are on the words of Jesus, which are directed towards the Eucharist throughout all Gospels. God’s ultimate purpose of instituting the Eucharist is the fulfilment of His plan since Genesis. Human free mind, which was blown by God and belongs to God, obtains true freedom when it is connected to the knowledge of eternal life.

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” (Matthew 26:26-28)

In the crowd, who ate the loaves and were filled, there were disciples who had come to Jesus for themselves attracted by his supernatural power and his human personality. They openly show their disappointment when they saw Jesus sincerely striving to convey the will of the heavenly Father faithfully in front of the crowd, who think of nothing but the loaves. They say like Michal the daughter of Saul, who despised King David when he danced before the Lord with all his might with a linen ephod (cf. 2 Samuel 6:14-23), “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60) John writes that “many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him” (John 6:66) when Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (John 6:65) They did not know the fact that “to me” in his words meant “to the foot of the cross of Jesus.”

The Eucharist, the eternal life, is the fruit of Jesus’ crucifixion. Therefore, Jesus asks the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” (John 6:67) Peter, to whom Jesus, after his resurrection, showed by what death he was to glorify God (cf. John 21:18-19), answers: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69) The Apostles, whom Jesus had chosen, were with him on the way along which Jesus headed for the Cross.

People whom the Father in heaven drew to Jesus on the cross witnessed the death of Jesus. They must have received the blood and water that came out from his side. People whom we can identify the name or the relationship with Jesus in this scene are the four people, namely, the mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene and the disciple whom Jesus loved. Their future in which they were to receive the Eucharist was guaranteed because the heavenly Father had drawn them to Jesus on the cross. After Pentecost, their destiny joins the future of the Apostles, whom Jesus has chosen. The Acts of the Apostles reads:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:46-47)

To be continued

Aug. 2019 in Hiroshima

Maria K