forgive the injuries which others do to us; but the sins we commit against God can surely only be forgiven by God himself. Christ’s second indirect claim is to give life. He described himself as ‘the bread of life’, ‘the life’ and ‘the resurrection and the life’. He likened his followers’ dependence on him to the sustenance derived from the vine by its branches. He offered a woman from Samaria ‘living water’ and promised eternal life to a rich young man if he will come and follow him. He called himself