John 6:1-15: True Bread from Heaven

John 6:53-58 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. Whoever feeds on 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. Whoever feeds on 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 whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.

Intro

The feeding of the five thousand is one of the most famous stories in the Bible.

Jesus has spent all day teaching 5,000 men, not to mention women and children, and come dinner time, everyone’s hungry.

But…there’s no food.

So Jesus takes five barley loaves and two fish and works one of the largest and most public miracles of his entire ministry.

With one boy’s small lunch, He feeds a multitude.

It was a great miracle.

In fact, it is the only miracle outside of the resurrection that is mentioned in all four gospels.

That’s kind of amazing.

Out of all the miracles Jesus did, this is the one that all four gospel writers chose to highlight.

The question is why?

What makes this miracle so important?

Is this miracle just about Christ’s amazing power to make an amazing feast out of some fishes and loaves, or is it something more?

The answer to that question is in what this miracle tells us about Christ?

Who He is and what He came to do to save us from our sins.

As is his custom John the Apostle gives us the theological and Christological significance behind this miracle so that in seeing the glory of Christ in the fishes and the loaves we might believe and by believing have life in His name (John 20:31).

So to get there we are going to work through the miracle itself.

Just what happened and we will highlight some interesting points along the way...

And then we are going to come back and look at what this sign theologically tells us about Christ.

So lets start with John 6 verse 1...

Miracle

John 6:1-2 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

Now after this is either 6 months to a year after the events of chapter 5 where Jesus had healed the invalid who had been lame for 38 years, and gave the Divinity Sermon clearly and explicitly claiming to be the Son of God.

And now by this point, Jesus is back in Galilee doing ministry and the other gospels fill us in on what has gone on just before Jesus does this miracle.

He had sent out the twelve on a preaching mission to spread the gospel throughout all the towns and villages (Mark 6:7-13, 30) while Jesus Himself went from town to town as well (Matthew 11:1).

Afterwards, the disciples had come back and were telling Jesus all the amazing things that that God had done.

And so to give them some much needed rest, debrief their missionary journeys, and to further their growth and discipleship Jesus and his disciples went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:31-32).

But they were not alone for long.

A large crowd was following them coming from all the surrounding towns and villages (Matthew 14:13).

And John tells us why...

Because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.

These were not faithful disciples.

In fact, by the end of this chapter all but the 12 will walk away from Jesus (John 6:66-68).

These are hangers on.

People who loved the miraculous...loved all the signs, and wonders, and blessings Jesus did, but they did not love the Savior.

They did not follow Christ out of faith, repentance, or love for Him…they followed Him because of the signs.

They were attracted to Jesus, curious about Jesus, happy to follow Jesus, but they had not entrusted themselves wholeheartedly to Him.

They did not believe in Him. Trust in Him. Hope in Him. Find all of their life in Him.

They loved Jesus’ works but they did not love Him or submit to His words.

Superficial vs. Saving Faith.

This is the difference between superficial and saving faith.

And it is important that we as Christians know this difference because a superficial faith does not save.

In the parable of the soils, Jesus tells us four different responses to the gospel.

Two are cut and dry.

Path

Some seed falls along the path. Hard, packed down dirt.

This is the heart totally unresponsive to the gospel and does not believe.

Good

Then you have the good soil.

The seed falls here, takes root and bears fruit some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred fold.

But there are two other types of soil that Jesus says look like faith but actually aren’t.

Rocky

You have the rocky soil.

There the seed takes root, and springs up.

But as soon as the scorching heat of the sun starts bearing down, which Jesus compares to persecutions and hardships in life the seed withers and immediately falls away.

These are people who never counted the cost.

They hear the gospel, immediately receive it with joy, they start going to church and even looking like a Christian, but underneath, their heart is still hard as bedrock.

They are unconverted.

They have not repented and trusted in Christ with all of their life.

As soon as things get hard they give up and stop following Jesus.

They thought they Christian life was one of puppy dogs and rainbows and not taking up your cross and following Him.

Thorny

They you have the thorny soil.

The gospel takes root, springs up, but its not very long until that faith is chocked out by thorns which Jesus calls the cares and riches of this world.

These are people who say they follow Christ, but only live for themselves.

They don’t really love Jesus, they love their sin and the things of this world.

They might follow Christ, or at least give the appearance of following Christ, but when push comes to shove...

When the gospel calls them to give up their life and follow Christ they either give up entirely or just keep going through the motions living in their sin.

The rocky and thorny soil are both examples of superficial faith.

A faith that is no greater than an inch deep.

It might look like faith on the outside, but the inside still has a dead, stony heart.

That’s the kind of faith these people had.

They were excited about Jesus! Curious about Jesus! Even Hopeful about Jesus!

But they never had true discipleship.

They loved Christ for all His blessings, but they did not love Christ for Christ.

They might have followed Him, but they did not trust in Him wholeheartedly with all their life.

And that is a faith that can never save.

Summary

Now why do I say all that?

Because we are in the Bible Belt, and that is the kind of faith that is rampant in our day.

How many people profess to know Christ, but have no fruit of actually following Him.

And that’s not just “out there.”

It can be in our own church. It can be in any church no matter how faithful to the gospel that church might be.

And I, as a Pastor, don’t want you to be deceived about your salvation.

I want you to know so that if you are deceived you could repent, and if you are a Christian that you can grow in your faith and discipleship knowing what true, saving faith actually looks like.

And even some of you kids who are growing up in our church here, I don’t want you to be deceived about your salvation.

Your parents being Christian and coming to this church doesn’t mean you’re saved.

Only a personal faith and trust in Christ will do that.

So for all of us, passages like this are a good opportunity to apply 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Not in a way that worries about our security in Christ or constantly second guessing whether or not we are really saved.

One of the blessings of saving faith is the assurance of salvation.

But examining ourselves to see if we past the test.

So how can you know if you have saving faith?

Gospel

Well for one: Do you believe in the Gospel?

That Jesus died in our place for our sins and rose again three days later.

And not just that Jesus died for our sins, but that Jesus died for your sins.

Its a personal faith, personal trust.

One that says I am a sinner condemned in my sin, and Christ is my only hope.

Love Christ

Two: Do you love Christ?

Is He your Lord and Savior?

The greatest joy and treasure of your life?

Is it your hearts earnest desire to live all of your life for Him?

Hate Sin

Do you hate sin?

Does your sin grieve you? Break you?

Do you long for the day your sin will be put to death?

Good Fruit

Number 4: Good fruit.

Is your life marked by a growing obedience to Christ and love for others.

I’m not saying perfection, and I’m not saying you’re the greatest Christian that has ever lived.

Jesus Himself even said some bear fruit a hundred fold, thirty fold, and sixty fold.

What I’m saying is: Is your life one of a steady progress and growth in godliness.

A Tree is known by its fruit and true faith will always produce and grow in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Those are all the marks of true saving faith.

Faith in the gospel.

Love For Christ.

Hatred of Sin.

And Good fruit: a steady growth in godliness.

And finally: Perseverance.

Trusting in Christ and following Christ all the way to the end.

Do you pass the test?

If not, trust in Christ. Believe in Him. Rest on Him. Follow Him with all your life and for the first time, know the power of the gospel personally that can wash you clean and save you from all your sin.

And for all those in Christ:

Take joy in the assurance of your salvation.

And strive to see these evidences of faith more and more in every area of your life.

Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness.

Offer your life as a living sacrifice and slave to Jesus Christ.

Take up your cross and follow Him loving Him above all else.

That’s discipleship and what it means to grow in Christ.

Going back to the story verse 3...

John 6:3-7 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.

The other gospels tell us Jesus had spent the day healing their sick and teaching them about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 14:14, Luke 9:11).

Even knowing their superficial faith, Jesus was still gracious to them and kind to them.

Mark even tells us He had compassion he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34).

What a wonderful picture of the kindness and grace and mercy of our Lord.

And as it got late in the day the people were hungry but there was nowhere to eat.

The other gospels make a point to say this was a desolate place.

The middle of no where with nothing around for miles (Matthew 14:15).

And so Jesus, knowing what He would do asked Philip, one of the disciples, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”

And Philipp’s response…Verse 7...

Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Two hundred denarii is the equivalent of 8 months wages.

And Philip says even 8 months wages would not be enough money to pay for everyone to even have one bite.

This is where we see the lack of faith in Jesus’ disciples.

Philip was one of Jesus’ first disciples all the way back in John chapter 1.

He had seen Jesus turn the water into wine.

The healing of the nobleman’s son.

The healing of the man who had been an invalid for 38 years.

Not to mention all the other signs and wonders Jesus did that John doesn’t mention.

And yet…Philip still doesn’t see it.

All he saw was an impossible situation.

How would they ever feed that many people without any food.

This is why John says that Jesus said this to test him.

Jesus was inviting Philip and all the other disciples into greater faith.

They should have seen this and said, “Nothing is impossible for the Lord.”

Tests

And sometimes God still does that with us.

That’s why James says James 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Sometimes, God puts us in what seems to be an impossible situation...not to crush us, but to test us and invite us to grow in our faith.

Our trials and our sufferings are one of greatest tools God uses to grow us and our faith Christ.

They humble us…Show us our weakness…and they increase our dependence on Him.

It is those times that we are weakest, that we feel like we are in over our heads and don’t know how much longer that we can keep going and keep treading water that we need Him most.

If I could tell you one thing it would be: Don’t waste your suffering.

I’m not saying its not hard…I’m saying don’t let it only be hard.

When you are suffering or going through some difficult trial or hardship, don’t waste your time asking questions like Why is God doing this to me?

Understand that that trial is a test of faith sovereignly ordained by your good and loving Father who works all things for good and instead ask: How is God using this to grow my faith?

To grow me in Christ? To cut out sin or grow my love and dependence on Him?

That’s what all the impossible situations God puts us in are for.

To remind us we are not sufficient in ourselves, but all of our sufficiency is from God.

Those impossible situations are where God’s grace is nearer than anywhere else because it is in our trials and hardships, when we depend on the Lord in faith, that we know, not just theologically but experientially, God’s grace is sufficient for you, and His power is made perfect in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)

So don’t waste your suffering.

God tests our faith.

Not to crush us, but to mature us. Grow us. And show us more and more of His glory.

Because when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and God eventually brings you through to the other side...

You would never choose to go through that valley again, but there are things that God shows you and teaches you that you wouldn’t trade for the world.

Because in that valley, God was near.

He kept you…He sustained you…He showed you His goodness and kindness...

And when you thought you were about to be crushed facing the impossible, He answered all His promises.

As bitter and painful as it was or maybe even is, He works all things for good.

Tests of faith are given by God to grow your faith, not crush it.

God uses them to humble you. Strengthen you. Make you depend on Him, trust in Him, and draw you near to Him.

So don’t waste your suffering.

Don’t come to an impossible situation and only look at your earthly resources…Two hundred denarii would not be enough to give everyone but a little.

Look to Christ.

And face life’s hardships and impossible situations with faith that God’s got this.

I might not see it. I might not understand it.

But God is good, He is in control, and He is our Heavenly Father who loves us.

And the Heavenly Father who gave His own Son for me knows how to follow through on all of His promises and carry me home.

But Jesus’ disciples did not see the sufficiency of Christ to see them through, and so Andrew comes and says verse 9...

[John 6:8-10] “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”

Jesus we went through the crowd and all have one small boy’s small lunch. But I don’t see how this is able to feed all these people.

Again, an impossible situation and a lack of faith.

And then verse 10...

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number.”

Now Matthew tells us that this 5,000, was 5,000 men besides women and children (Matthew 14:14).

So if you just took an estimate that every man in the crowd had just 1 wife and 1 child, which would be conservative and makes room for a few singles, you’re talking automatically at least 15,000 people.

So the feeding of the 5,000 is really the feeding of the 10 to 20 plus thousand.

This miracle just got way bigger.

And what you have is 10 to 20 thousand people, maybe more, all hungry after a long day, and five small loaves of barely bread and two fish probably about the size of sardines.

The disciples are looking at each other saying what are we going to do and Jesus has everybody sit down in groups.

Verse 11...

John 6:11-13 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

So Jesus took one small boys small lunch and fed everybody in the crowd by miraculously multiplying the fishes and the loaves until everyone had as much as they wanted.

John even tells us until they had eaten their fill.

This was not a small snack for 20,000 people this was a full dinner.

And that’s not all, there were even leftovers.

12 whole basket fulls.

They had more after feeding this multitude of people than what they had when they first started.

This was miraculous. Impossible. An incredible display of Christ’s almighty power.

And that’s why verse 14...

John 6:14-15 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

The Prophet is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 where Moses prophesied that God would raise up another prophet like him for Israel.

There were different expectations for who this Prophet would be but the common denominator was that He would be a Greater Moses.

A Greater Deliverer and Redeemer of God’s people who would mediate a New Covenant between God and His people like Moses did the Old.

And so the people got a wild idea: This is the One who is going to deliver us from the Romans.

Let’s make Him king!

This is where the people show their lack of saving faith.

They wanted a political and worldly Messiah.

One who could kick out the Romans, heal all their diseases, and supply food for all the people without breaking a sweat.

They had a worldly, all about me, my wants, my desires kind of faith.

They did not see that what they needed was a spiritual Messiah.

One who could deliver them not from the tyranny of the Romans, but from the tyranny and slavery of their sin.

And so what did Jesus do?

He withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

This tells us that the only way to come to Christ is with saving faith.

You do not come to Christ on your own terms you come on His.

False disciples only come to Christ asking what He can do for me.

Thinking to themselves, I will follow Christ as long as He blesses me, and doesn’t ask to much of me.

That’s the superficial faith we saw earlier.

True faith comes to Christ saying look what Christ has done for me.

He died for me. Rose for me.

He lived a perfect and sinless life on my behalf.

He suffered the punishment my sin deserved.

My life is His and I owe all my obedience to Him.

That’s saving faith.

And when we come to Christ with that kind of faith He never withdraws, He never withholds himself and all His saving benefits, but instead says all who come to me I will never cast out (John 6:37, 40).

And that’s how the miracle ends.

No fanfare. No parade. But with Jesus with Jesus withdrawing by Himself with the people once again missing it.

Missing Christ and what the sign pointed to about Him.

Signs

So what does the miracle say about Christ?

Remember, in the gospel of John signs are more than just awesome displays of power.

They are theology in action.

Living breathing sermons.

We are supposed to look at the signs and see something about Jesus Christ that we might believe and by believing have life in His name (John 20:31).

And this particular sign, as I’ve said is mentioned, is in all four gospels so in this sign is something fundamental about Christ and His person and work.

Luckily John lays that out for us very clearly in the rest of chapter 6 with what is called the bread of life discourse.

The bread Jesus gives points to Him.

So we are going to look at this two ways, and these are going to be our two main points.

Theologically this sign shows us two things:

Number 1…Jesus is the True Son of God who is Mighty to Save when it was impossible for us to ever save our selves.

And Number 2…the main point of this passage…Jesus is the True Bread from Heaven who Gives Eternal Life to all who believe in Him.

So let’s go to point number 1...

I. Jesus is the True Son of God who is Mighty to Save

This seems to be the underlying emphasis in all four gospel accounts.

In Matthew and Mark, like John, the feeding of the 5000 is followed by Jesus walking on water which we will see next week is not just a display of Christ’s power over nature, but theologically a clear sign of His divinity.

Matthew even ends his account with And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God. (Matthew 14:33)

With Luke similarly ending his with Peter’s confession, You are the Christ of God (Luke 9:20).

So one of the things we are obviously meant to see in Christ feeding the multitudes is that He is the divine Son of God sent by the Father.

This is even easier to see in John.

John 5 ends with Jesus claiming to be the Son of God and even uses Jesus works as one of the faithful witnesses that prove He was the true Son of God sent by the Father.

And then when you look at the sign itself, through this theological lens, there are several things in the sign that show who Christ is and His power to save.

First, He is compassionate and near to the lowly.

These people did not follow Jesus out of saving faith, and yet, He still had compassion on them like sheep without a shepherd.

They were without food in a desolate place.

Is there a better way to describe who we are spiritually outside of Christ?

Hungry, destitute, with no help unless Christ, our compassionate shepherd…works a miracle.

There was nothing deserving in themselves and yet, Christ is so gentle and lowly that He longed to help them.

And that’s the second thing we see: Christ is ready and zealous to help us in our need.

Jesus had gone to this place to get some time away.

To take a much needed rest.

But instead what did He do?

He ministered to the crowds. Healed their sick. Taught them the kingdom of God.

He was tired and weary and still He sacrificed for others good.

He gave Himself for them in a lesser way than how He ultimately gave Himself for us.

He did not stand far off or aloof.

He served us, and loved us giving the greatest gift He could ever give…His life for our sins.

And finally we see His power to save.

This was an impossible miracle.

Five small loaves and two fish. And Jesus fed the multitude.

What an awesome display of His almighty power.

And there were twelve basketfuls left over.

He is able to supply and give above and beyond all of our needs, especially our sin.

His sacrifice His giving of Himself as the True Bread which Jesus says is His flesh for the world (John 6:51), is more than enough to satisfy all the wrath of God against every single one of our sins.

If Christ could take five loaves and two fish and make a meal for 20,000 people then surely He can take what was dead and make it alive.

And the twelve basketfuls is not insignificant.

Twelve is the number of the twelve tribes of Israel.

In other words, all the people of God who believe and trust in Jesus Christ.

If Christ is the Bread of Life, then there is enough bread for all who believe in Him.

Let me summarize all this for you like this.

One of the things you are supposed to see in this miracle is obviously this is an impossible work of God.

There is no other way to explain it.

God did the impossible by making this feast out of a small meal of loaves and fish.

And that’s the point.

We are dead in our trespasses and sins, separated from a holy and righteous God.

Hungry and starving in a desolate place with no way to save ourselves from our sins.

Matthew 19:25-26 [The disciples] were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Jesus is the True Son of God who is mighty to save.

And then when you consider that He gave enough bread to feed all these people without the sweat of His brow He truly is the perfect Adam who came to save us from our sin and reverse the curse.

Number 2...

II. Jesus is the True Bread from Heaven who Gives Eternal Life

This is really specific to John.

Throughout the Gospel of John, ties specific signs to theological discourses.

Basically Jesus will give a sign and somewhere near there He’ll give theological teaching that helps explains the sign.

And the theological teaching tied to this sign is the Bread of Life discourse in John 6:22 through the rest of the chapter where Jesus famously says I am the bread of life (John 6:35).

Now what’s bread?

Something that gives life, nourishment, and strength.

Something that satisfies our hunger.

And Jesus says that’s what He is to our souls.

Let’s look at one section...

John 6:47-51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever 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 that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Its interesting that Jesus compares Himself, as the Bread of Life, with the Manna God rained down from heaven to feed His people throughout their 40 year wandering in the wilderness.

You’ll remember the story.

You had the Exodus.

Israel was delivered from Egypt and while they were wandering in the wilderness God graciously provided for them bread from heaven day after day to carry them to the promise land.

And what Christ says is that the Manna, that bread from heaven, actually pointed to Him.

This is an amazing lesson in biblical theology and how the Old Testament points to Christ, because according to Jesus we should look at the story of the Manna in the wilderness and see Him.

And by moving from a theology of lesser to greater, of seeing how the Manna is just a shadow and Christ is the substance we can see the glory of Christ as the True Bread from Heaven and our only hope of eternal life.

First and most obviously, the Manna pointed forward to Christ’s incarnation.

Jesus said This is the bread that comes down from heaven (Exodus 16:4).

Not only that, but the Manna fed God’s people and gave them life throughout their wanderings in the wilderness.

It carried them all the way to the promised land (Exodus 16:35-36).

Jesus as the True Bread from Heaven gives us new spiritual life and delivers us from the wilderness of sin and death into His Eternal Promise Land of Eternal life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven [speaking of himself] so that one may eat of it and not die…if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.

The Manna gave them physical life but not true eternal life.

Eternal life only comes through Jesus Christ.

The people were the ones who saw a connection between the Manna in the wilderness and Christ feeding the multitude with the loaves and the fish.

In John 6:31 They are the ones who quote Psalm 78:24 saying “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

But they didn’t see that Jesus was the True Manna. The True Bread from Heaven who could satisfy their hungry souls and nourish them life forever.

Back in Exodus 16, God said to keep the Manna as a testimony throughout Israel’s generations so that they would see the bread God fed them in the wilderness when He brought them out of the Land of Egypt (Exodus 16:32-34).

And here Jesus is saying Here I am.

I’m the true bread from heaven who gives you eternal life and delivers you from the wilderness of sin and death.

And how? By giving His flesh.

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

In His death on the cross Christ became the Bread of eternal, everlasting, salvation life for everyone who feeds on Him.

Conclusion

And thats the Big Idea from this Passage.

The theology behind the miracle...

Jesus is the True Bread from Heaven who gives eternal life to everyone who feeds on Him.

He is the Son of God who is mighty to save and He gave his life to forgive us and redeem us from all our sin.

To lead a new exodus of God’s people into the promise Land of Eternal life.

And how do you feed on Him?

How to you partake in the bread that never perishes?

John 6:47 and 51: Truly Truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life…If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

Eating is believing.

A whole hearted trust and faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, the giving of His flesh as the only payment for all our sins.

To hunger for Christ and His glory more than our sin, the world, and ourself.

That is what the feeding of the 5,000 is meant to say.

That Christ is the Son of God who can do what was impossible for us and save us from our sin.

And He’s the true bread from heaven, the Word of God made flesh, so that whoever believes in Him, feeds on Him in faith, would not perish but have eternal life.

That’s why the feeding of the 5000 is in all four gospels.

It is a picture of the Messianic fulfillment of Isaiah 55:1-3:

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Jesus is the Bread without price.

The Bread that satisfies.

The rich food of salvation.

Its an important miracle because its a miracle that points to the free gift of eternal life and the full forgiveness of sins.

Come everyone who thirsts. Come buy and eat!

And here’s the promise for all who would come to Christ and believe:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).