Our Security for Eternity - the Gospel of John Sample

Read: John 6:25–58

SOAP: John 6:35

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

After feeding the multitudes and walking on water in the middle of a storm, Jesus and His disciples landed in Capernaum, on the northern side of the lake. The crowds, after being fed by Jesus the day before, looked for Him. However, their motives were wrong and they lacked understanding.

They demanded a sign from Jesus, something that would prove He was worth believing; a sign similar to the way God provided manna to their ancestors. The people had seen Jesus perform a miraculous sign—providing bread from heaven—yet they still did not believe. Jesus explained who He is, how He is the way to eternal life, but the people did not believe.

Jesus had already given them a sign. Instead of giving them another sign, Jesus told them who He was. “I am the bread of life.” This is the first of seven claims Jesus made about Himself in the Gospel of John.

Jesus is the true bread from heaven, the true source of life. God provided manna to sustain the Israelites in the wilderness when they had nothing to eat. It was the bread that had come down from heaven; bread meant to sustain the people and allow them to live. Yet all those who ate the manna in the wilderness eventually died. Jesus is different. He is the true Bread from Heaven. He alone is life. When we believe in Jesus, we gain life. He is all we need. God provided Jesus as our way to life. When we believe in Him, we will never die.

This teaching was difficult for Jews to understand. They argued with Him because their understanding was limited. They assumed He meant literal eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood (a practice of nearby pagan nations). John leaves us with unanswered questions; we’re left hoping he will explain this difficult teaching. More of these questions will be answered during Jesus’ final teaching with His disciples, but this was all that was explained to the unbelieving crowd.

The four-part discourse on the Bread of Life is not over yet. We’ll see the conclusion in tomorrow’s reading as we watch the reaction of the crowd and the disciples. For now, we can rest in the truth that Jesus is our ultimate provision, our Bread of Life.