world, saying, I am the bread of life, and whoso cometh to me, that is to say, whoso is grafted and joined to me by faith, shall never hunger, that is, whoso believeth in me is satisfied. It is faith, therefore, that stauncheth this hunger and thirst of the soul. Faith it is, therefore, in Christ that filleth our hungry hearts, so that we can desire none other, if we once eat and drink him by faith, that is to say, if we believe his flesh and body to have been broken and his blood shed for our sins. For then are our souls satisfied and we be justified. Faith only apprehendeth Christ and all his benefits. Christ reincredulity and lack of Jews. buketh the faith in the Over this, it followeth But I have told you this, because ye look upon me, and believe me not, that is, ye be offended that I said, he that cometh to me shall neither hunger nor thirst, seeing that yourselves being present, be yet both hungry and thirsty. But this have seen me with your bodily eyes, cometh because ye and yet see me and believe not in me: but I speak not of such sight nor coming, but of the sight of faith, which whoso hath, he shall have none other desire; he shall not seek by night to love another before whom he would lay his grief. He shall not run wandering here and there to seek dead stocks and stones; for he is certified by his faith to whom he shall cleave; he is coupled by faith unto me his very spouse and lively food, the only treasure of his soul, never more to thirst for any other. This light of faith ye have not, for ye believe not nor trust in me wherefore ye understand not how I am the very bread and meat of your souls, that is to say, your faith and hope. And the cause of this your blindness is, (I will not say over hardly to you,) that the father hath not drawn you into the knowledge of me, or else ye had received me. For all that the father Christ. giveth me, must come unto me. And as for me, I cast out no man that cometh to me; for I am not come down from heaven to do my will, which ye attribute unto me, as unto each any other man, for I am verily a very man; and according to that nature, I have a special All that the father draw come unto Christ heaven into earth to fulfil the father. proper will; but much more obedient to my father, came from therefore come down to do his will that hath sent me. He that believeth Christ's death to be for the re mission of his sins, the same flesh and drinketh The cause of the Jews' mur. muring, Christ reproveth the murmur ing of the Jews. Here it appeared to the carnal Jews, that Christ had taken too much upon himself to say, I am the bread of life, which am come down from heaven to give life to the world; wherefore the flesh, that is to say the Jews, now murmured and not marvelled, (as M. More showeth his own dream to another text following, which I shall touch anon,) they murmured at this saying of Christ, I am the bread which am come from heaven, saying, Is not this Joseph's son whose father and mother we know well enough? How then saith he, I am come from heaven? Jesus answered, saying, Murmur not among yourselves heard ye not what I told you even now? All that my father giveth me come to me: your unbelief (whereof followeth this false understanding of my words spiritually spoken,) compelleth me to tell you one thing Jer. xxxi. more than once or twice. This therefore it is: No man may come to me, the only earnest-penny and pledge of your salvation, unless my father that sent me draw him; and whom he draweth unto me, that is joineth unto me by faith, him shall I stir up in the last day. I wonder that ye take my words so strangely, believing them to be some hard riddles, or dark parables, when I say nothing else, than that is written in your own prophets, both in Isaiah and Jeremiah, saying, that all Isaiah liv. shall be taught of the Lord. Since even your prophets testify this knowledge to be given you of my father, what can be spoken more plainly than to say, what my father giveth me, that cometh to me: or this, no man may come to me, except my father draw him. And yet have it more manifestly: Whoso hath heard my John vi. father, and is learned of him, he cometh to me as unto the very only anchor of his salvation. Not that any man hath seen the father, lest peradventure ye mistake these words to hear and to learn, as though they pertained to the outward senses, and not rather to the mind and inward illumining of the soul. For no man ever saw the father, although he work secretly upon his heart, so that whatsoever he willeth, we must hear and learn. No man (I say) seeth him, but he that is sent of God, as I said before of myself, he it is that seeth the father. Now therefore say I unto you, Verily, verily, as plainly, that whoso believeth and trusteth in me, he hath life everlasting. Now have ye the sum of this my doctrine, even my very gospel, the whole tale of all my legacy lasting life. and message wherefore I am sent into this world. Had M. More understood this short sentence (whoso believ- M. More eth in me hath life everlasting,) and known what Paul had not the with the other Apostles preached, especially Paul, being standing of a year and a half among the Corinthians, determining not, the scripneither presuming to have known any other thing to be preached them (as himself saith,) than Jesus Christ, and that he was crucified; had M. More understood this point, All that believe and hope in Christ have ever under tures. Cor. ii. More is a mocker. of Christ is only to be lieve in Christ's death. he should never have thus blasphemed Christ and his sufficient scriptures, neither have so belied his Evangelists and holy Apostles, as to say, they wrote not all things necessary for our salvation, but left out things of necessity to be believed, making God's holy testament insufficient and imperfect. First revealed unto our fathers, written often since by Moses, and then by his Prophets, and at last written both by his holy Evangelists and Apostles too. But turn we to John again, and let More mock still, and lie too. I am the bread of life, saith Christ. And no man denieth that our fathers and elders did eat manna in the desert, and yet are they dead. But he that eateth of this bread, that is to say, believeth in me, he hath The eating life everlasting. For it is I that am this lively bread, of the bread which am come from heaven, of whom whoso eat by faith, shall never die. Here therefore it is to be noted diligently, that Christ meaneth, as every man may see, by the eating of this bread none other thing than the belief in himself offered up for our sins, which faith only justifieth us, which sentence to declare more plainly, and that he would have it noted more diligently, he repeateth it yet again, saying, It is I that am the lively bread which am come down from heaven; whoso eateth of this bread shall live everlastingly. And to put you clear out of doubt, I shall show you in few words what this matter is, and by what ways I must be the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, to give it this life so often rehearsed, and therefore now take good heed. This bread signi- bread which I speak of so much, and shall give it you; it is mine own flesh, which I must lay forth and pay for the life of the world. Here it is now manifest that he should suffer death in his own flesh for our redemption, to give us this life everlasting. Thus now may ye see how Christ's flesh, which he called bread, is the spiritual food and meat of our souls, when our souls by faith see God the Father not to have spared his only so dear How the fieth and showeth Christ's flesh. Christ's flesh is the spiritual food of our souls. beloved Son, but to have delivered him to suffer that ignominious and so painful death, to restore us to life; then have we eaten his flesh, and drank his blood, assured firmly of the favour of God, satisfied and certified of our salvation. nate and the Jews. of the Jews toward our Christ. After this communication that he said, The bread which I shall give you is my flesh, which I shall pay for the life of the world; yet were the carnal Jews never the wiser; for their belief and sturdy hatred would not suffer the The obstivery spiritual sense and mind of Christ's words to enter wilful into their hearts. They could not see that Christ's blindness of flesh broken and crucified, and not bodily eaten, should be our salvation, and this spiritual meat, as our souls to be fed and certified of the mercy of God, and forgiveness of our sins through his passion, and not for any eating of his flesh with our teeth. The more ignorant, The malice therefore, and fleshly they were, the more fierce were they full of indignation, striving one against another, Saviour saying, How may this fellow give us his flesh to eat it? They stuck fast yet in his flesh before their eyes, those fleshy Jews, wherefore no marvel though they abhorred the bodily eating thereof, although our fleshly Papists (being of the Jews' carnal opinion,) yet abhor it not, The carnal neither cease they daily to crucify and offer him Papists again, which was once for ever and all offered, as Paul testifieth. And even here, since Christ came to teach, to take away all doubt, and to break strife, he might (his words otherwise declared, than he hath and will hereafter expound them,) have solved their question, saying, if he had so meant (as More meaneth,) that he would have been conveyed and converted (as our jugglers slightly can convey him with a few words,) into a singing loaf, or else (as the Thomistical Papists say,) Thomists been invisible with all his dimensioned body under the be the form of bread transubstantiated into it. And after a tors. like Thomistical mystery, the wine transubstantiated too into his blood, so that they should eat his flesh and up cease not still to offer him. H. x. school doc |