Who Is Jesus? The 7 I Am Statements of ChristSample

THE BREAD OF LIFE

“I am the bread of life”. This is the first of Jesus’ “I am” statements and occurs a day after feeding the five thousand in John’s Gospel. After He fed the five thousand, the Jews proclaimed Jesus a prophet and tried to establish Him as their king (John 6:14-15). They believed the coming Messiah would be a prophet like Moses who fed the Israelites manna in the wilderness, so this had to be Him. But Jesus knew their hearts; they weren't interested in the gospel message but in seeing signs and wonders and having bread to eat. In response, Jesus urges the people to look beyond filling their bellies and to pursue spiritual food that lasts for eternity. By declaring that He is the bread of life, Jesus is saying that He alone can completely satisfy their souls and quench the spiritual hunger that exists within every human being. This is no ordinary statement - it invites mankind to believe and trust in Jesus as the source of eternal life.

Food sustains our physical bodies, gives us energy, and helps us grow. But it can only quench our hunger for a while, then we get hungry again. Similarly, our spiritual hunger caused by the problem of sin has left us desperately hungry. We tend to run to material things; wealth, fame, influence, and even people in an attempt to satisfy that hunger, but one thing and one thing alone can fill us completely; Jesus. He is the true life-sustaining power, and things like money, wealth, and family - even things that have religious significance - are all inadequate substitutes.

As Christians, this statement is a reminder to put our faith in Jesus, to have complete trust and confidence in Him, and to seek Him above all things (Matthew 6:33). Just as we are dependent on food to survive physically, we are dependent on Jesus to grow and thrive spiritually. Jesus is not just a person who fixes our problems and provides for our needs; we must feed on his word and seek His will and purpose for our lives. Anything short of this will never be enough. If we want to be truly satisfied, the love of God should be our main desire - not one of the many desires we chase after, or something we pursue when it is convenient for us.

In John 6:53-58, Jesus says “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I shall raise him up on the last day”. This is not a literal invitation to eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus but rather a call to believers to identify with His suffering, His death and His promises. One example of how we do this is through Communion. When we partake in Communion, we not only remember the suffering and death of Jesus but we also receive strength for our souls, healing for our bodies, and strengthening of our faith.

Interestingly, many disciples walked away from Jesus after this encounter because it was hard for them to accept what He was saying (John 6:60). Can you live a life of total dependence on Jesus? As hard as it may sound, we should not be content with partial dependence on Jesus and must always strive for full and total dependence on Him.