Seeing Christ the Prophet in John 6Sample

Christ’s Identity Revealed in “I Am”

Throughout the Gospel of John, a succession of “I am” statements demonstrate Christ’s fulfillment of his prophetic office by revealing his identity and attributes. He is the bread of life, (John 6:35), the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5), the door of the sheep (John 10:7), the good shepherd (John 10:11,14), the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and the true vine (John 15:1), and each aspect serves to fill out his divine identity and his messianic purpose.

In John 6, Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life.” As the crowd followed Jesus, he said to them, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” (John 6:26). Jesus knows that this crowd now seeks him out because they want another meal, so he exhorts them not to “work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal of approval on him.” (John 6:27). In other words, by coming to Jesus looking simply to fill their stomachs, they look for the wrong kind of bread. They were satisfied all too easily. The crowds recognized Jesus’ prophetic fulfillment in feeding the five thousand, but they did not see that in this act, he also prefigured his infinitely greater work of atonement to come.

From the beginning of John’s Gospel, John has presented Jesus as a prophet like Moses but one with a greater and final fulfillment of the prophetic office. Moses brought forth God’s instruction, but Jesus incarnates and brings forth God’s grace and truth (John 1:17). Now, Jesus delivers God’s message of grace and truth that he, himself, is the bread of life. When Jesus says this, he makes a clear claim to deity reflective of a passage like Exodus 3:13-14. As the Father fed his people in the wilderness, he now gives his Son such that all who partake of this heavenly manna experience the new and greater exodus. All who share in the Son find eternal life, but they must listen to his prophetic word. They must come and believe his gospel message.