The audience of Jesus develops a hostile attitude towards Him. John calls this audience “Jews”. This passage of the Gospel written in the gentile context gives us a glimpse of then prevailing conflicts among the early gentile Christian communities with the Christians hailing from the Jewish regions concerning rituals and faith.

The hostile crowds called “Jews” indeed affirm the humanity of Christ. They claimed to know the parentage of Jesus. They knew His siblings. They knew His profession and His personal history. It is unnatural for humans to accept one of their own as a supernatural person. Jews rejected His claim to have come from heaven. The humanity of Jesus is thus a hindrance to their faith. Is Jesus, the man, an appealing option for you? His humanity is indeed a stumbling block to many of our fellow Christians.

When Jesus reveals that He is the “bread of life”, “they began to complain” (Jn.6:41). They refuse to accept Him as the bread that has come down from heaven.

The Gospels asserts that Jesus belongs to history. As John insists “The word became flesh” (Jn.1:14). Jesus, the One sent by God, was a man who had parents, brothers and sisters. He lived among us and talked in the streets of Palestine. It is difficult for us to accept as the Son of God the one who kissed the dust of the earth. Caught up in the web of supernatural concepts and mythological thinking man has lost his existential linkage with reality and concreteness. To believe in Jesus in the human reality is a grace of God. The inspiration to accept Him comes from the Father and the result is eternal life, the resurrection.