I Am The Bread of Life (2)

John 6:35 NIV

35 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.

Then…

Then, Jesus declared… When? Let’s look at the text in context.

Post Miracle

Jesus spoke these words about being the Bread of Life the day after performing a miracle of EPIC proportions—He had just fed 5000 men and an untold number of women and children with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Afterwards, Jesus left this well fed crowd for quieter pastures.

The very next morning that crowd once again went looking for Jesus. Why? Because they were hungry again!! They wanted Jesus to feed them again! After all, they reasoned, Their ancestors were miraculously provided with manna every day for 40 years. Surely if Jesus were the Messiah or at least some kind of prophet, why wouldn’t He continue to feed them?! Before we are too hard on that crowd, back at that time getting enough food each day was a lot more complicated than it is today…especially for a crowd on the move. You see, these folks were making their way to Jerusalem for the Passover, and they were still about 100 miles off. They found Jesus in His hometown of Capernaum.

Capernaum

John 6:25–27 NLT

25 They found him on the other side of the lake and asked, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”

Jesus knew that they were not seeking Him because of who He was but because of what He could do for them. And His message to them was that He could do so much more than just fill their bellies. That’s the same message He wants us to understand today.

That underneath our physical hunger is a much bigger spiritual longing.

And, the problem in our persistent hunger is that we seek satisfaction in the wrong things and seek to achieve it by the wrong means. Temporary provisions are not enough. We need spiritual nourishment that lasts.

So, Jesus tells the crowd—and us! That HE is the Bread of Life. He is the one that will satisfy that spiritual longing. Jesus was adept at using physical things to teach spiritual truths. Unlike today where we may have a roll with our meal in the ancient world of Jesus time bread was often a full meal. So, when He says that He is the Bread of Life He is saying that He is everything that we need to find satisfaction.

We’ve been invited to this amazing feast, but it’s up to us to accept the invitation. Jesus will offer Himself to you, but you’ve got to come to the table. He won’t force you to eat this Bread of Life. Like physical food, we should be filling ourselves with Jesus every day.

When we nourish our relationship with Jesus He will satisfy the deepest hunger of our hearts. When we fill our longing with Him, we will never be hungry again because He is going to satisfy our souls.

John 6:35 NIV

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. When we fill ourselves with Jesus, it is not something temporary—Jesus has power over sin and death and having this relationship with leads to eternal life. This Bread of Life is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan for us.

Elements

So, as we eat the bread this morning, we recall how Jesus sacrificed His physical body for us and we pray that we have the determination to seek Christ as our true bread that sustains our souls.

And as we take the cup and recall the blood that Jesus shed to save us, let us pray for the type of faith that forever quenches our thirst.