I Am: The Bread of Life

John 6:25–59 NASB 95

When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “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 yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

Introduction

“I Am” appears 57 times in John’s Gospel in relation to Christ’s words. Within these, Jesus offers 7 metaphors that teach us about him.

The introduction will be longer than the actual sermon today

After two incredible miracles—one more public than the other—folks were looking for Jesus.

The people were awaiting the Messiah whom Scripture had so much to say. When Jesus gave them bread, much like Moses had given their ancestors manna, the people saw Jesus as a new Moses. The Israelites were in captivity in Egypt, and they were now under Roman rule, so they saw Jesus as a potential political deliverer. They were ready to make him king. They had no idea.

The big dinner miracle was more than just Jesus feeding the folks. This was a setup, for it pointed to Christ

Jesus used the OT manna in a rather simple yet confounding metaphor to teach them that He is the one who gives eternal life

Remember the manna? The what is it bread.

He does this by comparing and contrasting himself to the OT manna the Israelites ate

Manna Jesus ( bread)

came from heaven came from heaven

God gave Christ gives

gives/maintains physical life gives/maintains spiritual life

perishes (shelf life) endures

hunger & thirst returns eternally quenches

partakers will die partakers have eternal life

Once this metaphor is understood, the meaning becomes clear

Jesus is the bread or “manna”

In much the same way God gave life/sustained Israel with manna in the desert, Jesus gives life and sustains spiritual/eternal life

They ate and lived; we eat and live

Partakers have eternal life

Some completely missed the metaphor, assuming that Jesus was advocating cannibalism.

We partake by believing in Christ:

John 6:29 (NASB 95)

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”

John 6:35 (NASB 95)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

John 6:40 (NASB 95)

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:47 (NASB 95)

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.