Discover the Person of Jesus in the Gospel of JohnSample

Scripture

“Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. . . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. . . . 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.’” John 6:32–35, 51, 57

Today’s Thought

I live in a world that tells me carbs ascended from the depths of hades, and gluten is just flat evil. I love bread! Not this thin, with cardboard-ish stuff that you buy off the local supermarket shelf in America. Bread, real bread. When my wife, children and I began to work across Europe many years ago, we encountered bread as it should be—fresh-baked daily, full of different grains, seeds, and goodness— bread! To eat good bread is to enjoy life well. I’m writing these words to you from a new cafe and bakery in our city specializing in different delicious baked loaves of bread daily, and sitting beside me as I type is a lovely young lady with a basket of fresh-baked bread—a little bit of heaven! Bread was the staple, the foundation of sustenance and life in Israel in the days of Jesus, and was almost always prepared daily. It was that which filled the belly, often the center of worship, celebration, and sacrifice, and the basis of daily life. So Jesus’s first great “I am” statement, “I am the bread of life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven,” would have spoken volumes to those who heard Him.

In this first revelation, we meet Him through Him saying, “I am the only thing heaven has given that will: satisfy that craving deep within, provide sustenance in daily life, give energy and life for the journey, fill your inner man, quench your need for meaning, and hit the spot in that hunger of the soul.”

Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the food the Father has given us to feed upon in this thing He calls the Kingdom of God. He is the energy source, the soul satisfier, and the craving fulfiller. He alone will hit the spot, but let’s not miss the method of taking in bread—eating. As the bread of life, Jesus then said, “whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.” If Jesus is the bread of life, we must first and foremost learn to eat Him, feed upon Him, and take Him in daily as our satisfaction and life. This is the only possible response to His being the bread of life given to us by the Father. We MUST feed on Him! We must say a hearty, “You are my bread, my bread of life. I feed upon You as heaven’s food. Daily you come to me, and I feed. I believe You are my bread sent down from heaven.”

Think It Over

• What does it mean to you when Jesus said, “I am the bread of life”?
• What would it mean for you to feed on Him?

Let’s Pray

Lord Jesus, You are the bread sent down from heaven. You are God’s sustenance for my life. You are that which alone can and will satisfy all of these raging appetites within. I come to You as the bread sent down from heaven, and today, I believe in You. I believe that You alone are my source of life. You alone are my source of energy. You alone are my source of nutrition. You alone do my life’s tastebuds crave. I feed on You, and I take You in, by faith as all that bread would do in my natural life. I feed on You, and I now live because of You, in You, and You in me. Oh, how satisfying You are. I hunger for You and You alone!