In His Words: Letting Jesus Speak for Himself

I Am the Bread of Life

Big Idea: In Jesus’ own words we find that He is the only true source of nourishment and life.

Imagine a broken world, people walking by the doors of the church on Sunday morning, evening Wednesday nights hearing the gospel preached.

As everyone scurries about their business outside the congregants and preachers inside hail for them to stop and listen to the greatest story ever told.

This hurting and broken world, these hurting and needy people, hungry for something that is more than the world can give, and we preach to them about the “Great I Was”.

How cool it would have been to know him when HE WAS, and when HE WAS he could have healed them, when HE WAS he could have provided for them, when HE WAS he could have made them whole.

The world is not going to be saved by a great I was, but what they need is the Great I AM.

When we consider the political climate, social challenges, moral dilemmas, and frustrations that seem insurmountable on a daily basis we need to hear from Jesus.

We do not need to wonder what Jesus would say about politics. We do not need to wonder how He would address broken relationships. There is no reason to ponder what He might say about social media. The list can go on and on that we often ask, I wonder what Jesus would say?

Thankfully we do not need to ask any of those questions though, the Bible is relevant to all questions, all people, at all times, as the one an only infallible source of the Truth.

Within that wonderful source of Truth we have Jesus’ own words immortalized for our lives today. It is in His words that we can find comfort, guidance, and strength for any situation that we may encounter.

I remarked to a learner a few weeks ago in Pathway that they were rushing their work in writing a reflection on a unit about Jesus’ life. My statement something to the effect of: if you could sit with Jesus and ask any question or questions and there was no time limit, would you hurry through it? The Word is exactly that, it is the second best way we have to spend time with our Savior in a personal way (the first of course being prayer).

With that in mind I am starting a four week series titled In His Own Words looking at four specific I AM statements of Jesus where He reveals Himself and in that His true nature to us.

As we understand who Jesus’ is more and more we can then begin to understand how He is working in our world today.

As I speak of our world I am reminded always that it is a world filled with unsatisfied and hungry people. Each person in it longing for connection, understanding, love, compassion, and so much more.

C.S. Lewis so eloquently said it this way

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” C.S. Lewis

PRAY IN THE WORD

So what would Jesus say to people who are both spiritually and physically hungry? I am pretty sure it would sound like this “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

Let us open our hearts and minds to the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit guide us as we navigate through the illusions and distractions as we find our true sustenance in Christ, the Bread of Life.

The Bread of Life

John 6:35 NIV

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Bread is a powerful metaphor that Jesus uses to describe Himself and HIs role in our spiritual sustenance. There are so many facets of bread when you think about it really. While bread seems plain and ordinary, boring to some people and a necessity to others like my wife, who believes carbs go with every meal, it is something that brings us physical sustenance. As physical bread (loaf of bread on table) gives us our physical sustenance so Jesus as the Bread of Life gives us our spiritual sustenance.

The metaphor here is not about the physical but the deeper spiritual hunger and thirst that exists in every human being.

In the ancient world though bread was a staple food, it was really a basic necessity for survival. It was the primary source of nourishment and many times we see it was used as a symbol of life itself. So when Jesus declares, I am the Bread of Life, He is saying that He is essential to our spiritual lives. Without Him, our souls would starve and whither, just as our physical bodies would without food.

Now, we all know the physical satisfaction we feel when we eat a good meal. Most all of us also know the feeling of hunger, sometimes in a way that is even painful as we deal with it. That satisfaction for a really good meal, thanksgiving dinner for instance, is temporary.

I know there is nothing more satisfying to me than cooking a big Thanksgiving meal, turkey, potatoes, vegetables, stuffing for the wife, big pot of gravy, rolls (bread of course) and of course pies for dessert. This is a great debate in my house, how many pies and what types are necessary for Thanksgiving dinners. When it is all cooked, and served up I love sitting down and eating, well truthfully my favorite part of Thanksgiving is giving the Thanksgiving blessing and thanking God for the many things He has provided and blessed us.

You know, what is funny though is that after all that work, all that preparation, I will typically throw some turkey, corn, a roll, and potato and the plate with gravy and that is about all I eat. It is not a lot of food but boy do I feel satisfied for a couple hours anyway.

C’mon, how many of you have second dinner on Thanksgiving because a couple hours after everyone is gone you are kind of hungry again. That first run through was just temporary in its ability to satisfy you. Truthfully, second supper is also temporary but you enjoy it in the moment.

Jesus is not talking about temporary satisfaction though, He is speaking to a deep, lasting satisfaction that only He can provide us. When we come to Him, when we believe fully in Him, we will never hunger or thirst again. This is an absolute promise of spiritual fulfillment that nothing in this world can offer. It is a promise of the ultimate fulfillment.

The world tries, it offers many things and many false promises to satisfy our hunger and thirst. Wealth, success, power, and pleasure—These are the things that the world tells us will make us happy. Many of you hear know though, that these things often leave us feeling unsatisfied. They are like junk food, candy, or other little treats that taste good for a moment but leave us hungry again soon after we eat them.

Jesus offers us Himself, the Bread of Life. This physical bread gives us energy and strength to live, so Jesus gives the spiritual nourishment we need to live in faith.

He feeds our soul with His word, His love, His grace, and His presence. He gives us strength in our weakness, He comforts us in our suffering, and He gives us guidance in our confusion. He is the source of our spiritual life, the one who sustains us in our journey of faith.

When Jesus says that He is “The Bread of Life” we must know that this is not a metaphor, but a reality we get to experience daily in our lives if we have relationship with Him as a born again believer.

When we come to Jesus, when we believe in Him, we experience His life giving presence in our lives. We taste that He is indeed good and we find a deep satisfaction that the world cannot offer.

There is even a bigger deeper meaning here that I could preach another sermon series on but I just want to highlight this as it is so easily missed sometimes. Bread as it sits on this table is pretty useless to the rest of you in the pews. I mean here it sits, but how does this bread begin to be useful. Well think about this. First when bread has been referenced by Jesus in other parts of the New Testament the first thing that happens is the bread is blessed.

What happens next, it is broken. If the bread is never broken how can it be shared? Once it is broken it is given.

Jesus is the Bread of Life, He was blessed by His Father our Lord in Heaven, He was broken in the physical body, and He was given as our ultimate and final passover lamb.

Our lives too are like the bread. In the hands of Jesus your life becomes blessed.

In the hands of Jesus your life becomes broken, brokenness is the only thing we really bring to the table and sometimes it is the only thing that brings us to our knees in real submission to Christ.

Most importantly, in the hands of Jesus your life becomes given. You come to relationship with the Lord and realize that your life is not for you but for deeper personal meaning of service to the one who gave use the model of Blessed, Broken, and Given.

The World’s False Promises

Unlike Jesus, the things of this world come with a lot of promises that just do not come true. They are pervasive and alluring to our fleshly minds and the perverted definitions of the world. The world defines our success as wealth, power, fame, pleasure, and even the pursuit of knowledge.

My email signature line has a quote from William Cowper, it says “Knowledge is proud that it knows so much, while wisdom is humble that it knows so little.”

However, the world just keeps telling us that if we just had enough money, enough power, enough popularity, enough instachat followers or snapgram followers, or enough pleasure then we would be fully satisfied.

We falsely believe that if we have enough, we will be enough.

We know the truth though that these worldly pursuits will always leave us feeling empty and disappointed. We might feel good for a moment in time, but that is fleeting like the Thanksgiving meal.

Pursuit of wealth leads to greed and materialism.

Pursuit of power leads to tyranny and corruption.

Pursuit of fame leads to narcissism and vanity.

Pursuit of pleasure leads to hedonism and addiction.

Pursuit of knowledge can lead to arrogance and pride.

These worldly pursuits are transient and fleeting. Wealth can be lost, power can be overthrown, fame can fade, pleasure become dull, and knowledge can be surpassed.

1 John 2:17 NIV

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

False promises fade away

The promises of God never fade

I love how the Christian Theologian St. Augustine said it:

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” St. Augustine

For me that quote so succinctly captures the essence of the human condition. We were created by God and for God, our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. The worlds false promises cannot satisfy our hearts because they are not aligned with our ultimate purpose, which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

As we navigate through the false promises of the world keep these words of Jesus in your minds and hearts:

Matthew 6:33 NIV

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Let us always seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, let us find our true satisfaction, fulfillment, and happiness in Him alone.

The Satisfaction of Christ

The satisfaction of Christ is a profound and life changing truth that we find in the Gospel of John. When Jesus declares “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” He is offering a satisfaction the world is not capable of providing.

So, what’s the context of this statement and why did Jesus say it?

Jesus had just fed five thousand men (closer to 15K people) with five loaves and two fish, a miraculous sign of His divine power and provision. The people were amazed and followed Him, not because they understood who He was, but because they wanted more of the physical bread. What they did not get that He was the Mana from heaven that was prophesied about.

In response, Jesus pointed them to a greater reality - Himself, the Bread of Life.

The bread He offers is not physical but spiritual. It's not about satisfying our physical hunger or thirst, but about fulfilling our deepest spiritual needs. This is a profound shift from the worldly perspective, which often equates satisfaction with physical or material fulfillment.

The satisfaction that Jesus offers is rooted in a relationship with Him. It is about coming to Him, believing in Him, and finding our identity and purpose in Him.

This is a satisfaction that transcends our circumstances, our feelings, and even our understanding.

It is a satisfaction that is grounded in His unchanging character, His unfailing love, and His eternal promises.

When we come to Him, we will never go hungry or thirsty again. This does not mean we will not have physical needs or face challenges in this life.

It does means that in Christ, we have everything we need for life and godliness. We have the assurance of His presence, the comfort of His love, and the hope of eternal life.

We can experience true contentment.

We can rest in Christ.

In contrast to the fleeting and superficial satisfaction that the world offers, the satisfaction that Christ offers is deep, lasting, and fulfilling.

It is not dependent on our performance, our possessions, or the approval of others. It is based solely on His grace and His work on the cross, Blessed, Broken, and Given Bread.

It is not about us, it is all about Him.

He is Jesus, the Bread of Life.

CONCLUSION

Have you ever found yourself wondering if there was more to life?

Have you ever come to the end of your week and thought, “Wow, was that it?”

If so, you are in good company. We were not made for this world and its systems of progress, production, and efficiency.

To quote CS Lewis again, "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world."

This place leaves us wanting… This place leaves us unsatisfied and hungry.

If that sounds like you today… If you have been trying to fill your life with the empty promises of this world and its systems, then I have good news for you. Jesus is the bread of life.

Jesus is the sustenance and provision you have been seeking… And He says, “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

He is the answer, the only answer, to your parched and weary soul.

Let us join together in our pursuit and commitment to Jesus, His commandments, the Church, and the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us enter into His rest today, and forsake the shallow promises of this world and its systems.

Action Step: This week take extra time to look at your blessings, remember the brokenness you were saved from, and seek to be given to those in need of what you have, the Good News.