75. BREAD THAT CAN'T SPOILNormal bread gives us physical life. But what kind of bread can give us eternal life?
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What are the essentials of life? That is, what things do we need to live? Although people might order these differently, the basics are food, water, and air. From a survival standpoint, we would need to add re and shelter to the list. Sociologists would claim that community and a sense of importance are also key ingredients to a healthy, happy life. If you took a close look at your own life, what could you not live without?
Of course, you might think about electricity, computers, cell phones, washing machines, and cars. But these things are comforts of life, not necessities. If we think even more basic, speci cally in regards to the rst thing we listed above, we might be surprised at what we nd. The first clue is that it is a food. The second clue is that we eat it everyday. Do you give up? The answer is bread.
“Bread? That is ridiculous!” Some may claim.
But did you know that Turks consume more bread than any other country in the world? According to research, the per capita average for bread consumption is 146 kilos a year. Most of us eat two times our body weight in bread each year! If we break it down, the daily average for bread consumption is just under one half kilo. If we compare that to other foods, we learn that 45% of our calories and 47% of our protein comes completely from bread. If we removed bread from our diets, it would be the equivalent of losing half our
food! Yes, bread is more important than we think.
Have you ever thought about how we use bread in our idioms? When someone tries to take our job, we say:
“He is playing with my bread.”
When someone gets his first job or a new one, we say:
“He is grown up now, he is taking the bread to his hand.”
We all know someone who seems to succeed at everything. Just like King Midas of the Phrygians, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. We marvel at his abilities and success by saying:
“He can pull bread from rocks.”
Bread is like money. You can’t live without it! Of course, we could try to live without bread if we had to. But can you imagine eating breakfast without bread? What would you eat with your soup? It is quite possible that your stomach would only be half as empty as life itself. Yes, bread is a necessity. Some might even go so far as to say that bread is life!
Almost two thousand years ago, a man said that very thing. But the bread he was talking about was not the ordinary bread we eat at every meal. He was talking about something even greater, himself. Perhaps you are wondering,
“But why would someone call himself bread?” Let’s find out by reading John chapter 6 verses 1-3:
1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
As we have seen in previous lessons, Jesus was always moving from place to place, teaching, and healing the sick. Instead of staying in
one place and having the people come to him, he went to the people.
In Jesus’ daily life, we see a perfect example of God’s attempt and desire to reach out to all humanity. When Jesus spoke, peoples’ hearts were opened and their fears went away. It was an experience that many people wanted everyday.
On this particular occasion, a large crowd had followed him from the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As the news spread of his previous miracles, the crowd began to grow into the thousands. When Jesus and his disciples found a nice place to rest, and from which he could speak to the crowd, they stopped and sat down. Let’s see what happened next in John chapter 6 verses 4-10:
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 There is a boy here who has ve barley loaves and two sh, but what are they for so many? 10 Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about ve thousand in number.
Jesus was always aware of his surroundings. He knew that a lot of these people had travelled all morning to hear him speak. He also knew that many of them were poor and had very little food. How could he send them home with empty stomachs? But then again how could he feed them? Just as Phillip pointed out, they didn’t have enough money to buy bread. Moreover, what was Andrew thinking? How could two fish and ve loaves of bread feed over 5000 men and their families? Fortunately for the disciples, Jesus was no ordinary man.
He had already cast out demons, calmed a storm, and raised a girl from the dead. He had power over evil spirits, nature, sickness, and death. Their problem wasn’t a lack of food. It was their lack of faith! Let’s continue with verses 11-14:
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the sh, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. 13 So they gathered them up and lled twelve baskets with fragments from the ve barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!
Let's pause for a moment and imagine the scene. The people's stomachs are growling, they have no food, and then all of a sudden there are baskets full of bread and fish. They rush forward and reach into the baskets. Hand after hand takes a loaf and a fish, but the baskets never become empty. The people knew it was a miracle. They had never seen anything like it since their ancestors left Egypt. There were shouts of excitement while the children ran to and fro with filled bellies. The parents were praising God while the disciples just stood there in wonder. It isn't hard to imagine that Jesus just stood back and watched with a smile on his face.
Isn’t it interesting that before Jesus distributed the food he gave thanks to God? No matter how little we have it is always more than nothing! We too should remember to give thanks.
It is also interesting that Jesus didn’t allow any of the food to be wasted. When the people were full, he immediately had the disciples collect the leftovers. But did you notice that they only mentioned the bread? There is no mention of the fish. In Jesus’ day, bread was just as important as it is today and Jesus didn’t want any of it to go to waste. In all likelihood, bread was probably even more important than it is today because it was so much harder to produce back then. So he had the disciples collect and redistribute it to the poor. But that wasn’t the only thing he used that bread for. He also used it to make a greater point.
The next day, Jesus and his disciples arrived in a town called Capernaum. It was actually a small shing village on the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee and the hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Perhaps Jesus was tired and wanted to rest. Maybe Peter and Andrew wanted to visit their families for a few days. We don’t know. However we do know that a group of people who ate the fish and bread followed Jesus to Capernaum. Let’s pick up the story in John chapter 6 verses 25-27:
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? 26 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
Ouch! Did you sense the tone of Jesus’ voice? To say that he rebuked them is an understatement. He spoke directly to the small crowd and basically said,
“You aren’t interested in me. You just want your stomachs to be filled.”
In other words,
“The bread is more important to you than the person who gave it to you.”
Jesus knew that many people were following him for worldly gain. For many, the spiritual lessons they were receiving were just a side note. They wanted that which would make their lives easier, more comfortable, and secure. They wanted to be around Jesus if he were to use his powers to destroy the Romans, become the King of Israel, or just simply feed them a good meal. The problem was that these things were all temporary; they wouldn’t last forever. Jesus said they were focusing on the wrong thing. They needed to spend their time working for eternal rewards, not temporal. Let’s read verses 28 and 29:
28 Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? 29 Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.
Jesus gave perhaps the simplest answer to one of the most complex questions. It is quite natural to think we need to do a lot to appease God. And yet, Jesus says that all we need to do is believe in “the one that God has sent”. Of course, in the context of this event Jesus is talking about himself. As we saw in a previous lesson, he is the one who was sent from heaven.
As if Jesus hadn’t already done enough to prove who he was, the people wanted Jesus to perform another miracle. Their request was no better than Satan’s when he tempted Jesus to turn stones into food. Let’s read about it in John chapter 6 verses 30-33:
30 So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 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. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Does the group’s question seem a bit strange to you? The people were asking for a miracle like the one Moses performed in the desert. They wanted Jesus to give them bread from heaven. Did they already forget that Jesus had fed thousands the day before with two fish and five loaves of bread?
Jesus wasted no time in setting these people straight. It was God, not Moses, who provided the manna in the desert. Moses was just a
tool in the hand of God. Furthermore, the manna was just a symbol, or foreshadow or type of something greater. Jesus called it “the true bread” that “comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”.
In a previous lesson, we learned that Jesus as “God’s Word” came down from heaven and has the power to give life. We also witnessed that power when he brought the dead girl back to life. Jesus could compare himself to bread because he had the power to give life.
Jesus wasn't shy about his identity or authority. In fact, he was saying
"I am as essential as bread."
If the people had any doubts as to who or what the “true bread” was Jesus’ next statement eliminated them.
After hearing of the “true bread” the people begged Jesus to give it to them. We can read his reply in John chapter 6 verses 35-40:
35 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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
For some of us, Jesus’ words are shocking and they should be! Jesus is clearly identifying himself as God’s gift to humans for the nourishment and replenishing of the soul. Normal bread gives us physical life. But Jesus gives us eternal life!
Jesus is the bread of life! Let’s contemplate that for a minute. It is almost too profound to understand and very easy to reject. What should we do with this kind of statement? In the crowd's own words,
“What must we do?”
Our work, as stated earlier by Jesus, is to believe that God sent Jesus to this earth and the words that he spoke. It is that simple! When we believe, what happens? We will never hunger or thirst and we will have eternal life. He will not cast us out or turn us away. He wants our thirst to be quenched. If you are reading or listening to this lesson you are spiritually hungry and thirsty. You are searching for something that you haven’t been able to nd in other places. Jesus is saying,
“Stop being thirsty! Come, eat, and be filled! My words are more nourishing than any water or bread this world can offer!”
Right here, we find the answer to one of our original questions. No matter how miserable or hopeless your life may seem, Jesus can change your fate!
But many in the crowd weren’t happy with what Jesus said. His claims were too extreme. At best, they thought he could only be a prophet. Some of them had even known him their whole lives. We can read their thoughts in verses 41 and 42:
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. 42 They said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven?
Jesus expected this type of reaction, so he immediately answered their questions. His words are recorded in John chapter 6 verses 43-51:
43 Jesus answered them, Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47 Truly, truly, say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
Jesus is the bread of life! According to Jesus, the only ones who can accept this are those who are listening to God. If you are truly listening to God you will be led to Jesus. He is the only one who has seen God because he was with Him in heaven. He is the “living bread” because he has the power to give life; moreover, eternal life!
But Jesus didn’t stop there; he continued to speak until he came to his central point. Just as God gave the Israelites manna so they would live, Jesus will give his body.
You are probably wondering where Jesus is going with this. Don’t worry, it is a natural reaction. The Jews were also astonished and shocked. They wouldn’t eat unclean animals or meat with blood in it, much less a human body. If they hadn’t already walked away in disgust, many of them were about to. Was Jesus promoting cannibalism? The answer is obviously no! So let’s look for the spiritual meaning behind what he said. We can continue reading in John chapter 6 verses 52-58:
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
If you are still struggling with Jesus’ words, you aren’t alone. The disciples who lived with Jesus everyday were also confused. But Jesus didn’t want them to be confused, so he explained himself further in John chapter 6 verses 60-63:
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the esh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Jesus reassured his disciples that he was speaking figuratively. He didn’t expect them to really eat his body. But he did expect them to understand the deeper meaning behind what he was saying. Unfortunately, some of them couldn’t.
This was actually a very critical moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. As Jesus said, many people were following him in the hopes that they would get something material. When they heard him talking about eating flesh, drinking blood, and dying, they naturally became disillusioned with his teachings. They didn’t understand his words because they were more focused on the world than God.
They wanted the bread and the fish, not the “living bread that came down from heaven”. Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us that some of them left. Let’s finish our lesson by reading verses 66-69:
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well? 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
A woman and her little son were walking along the shores of the Bosphorus Sea on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. They bought some birdseed, threw it to the gulls and pigeons, and watched as the birds competed for the precious morsels. They sat on the rocks and ate a sweet wafer. Later while sitting in the grass, they watched the colorful kites dancing across the sky in a strong wind. They listened to the shouts of children and breathed in the fresh, salty air that had carried a thousand ships to their ports.
After a few hours, they decided to take the ferry to the other side of the sea. As they were walking to the port, the mom looked down and stopped. The boy watched as she knelt and picked up a piece of bread. She touched it to her forehead, mumbled something, walked to the seashore, and then threw it into the sea. The boy had never seen this done before. He looked up and asked,
“Mom why did you pick up that piece of bread and throw it into the sea?”
“Son, when I was a little girl my mother told me that bread should never be left on the ground to be stepped on. So I picked it up and gave it to the fish for food.”
“But why can’t it be on the ground?”
“Because bread is a blessing from God.”
Bread is a blessing from God! In this lesson, we learned that Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. He is a blessing from God for each one of us. The question now is what do we do with that blessing? There are only two options. We can believe what he says or we can walk away in disgust like some of his disciples. The choice is yours!
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever thought about how important bread is in your daily life?
2. What affected you the most about Jesus feeding the 5000 men and their families?
3. What does the title “bread of life” imply about Jesus?
4. Why was it so hard for the Jews to accept what Jesus was saying?
5. Thus far, what do you understand about fate?
Of course, you might think about electricity, computers, cell phones, washing machines, and cars. But these things are comforts of life, not necessities. If we think even more basic, speci cally in regards to the rst thing we listed above, we might be surprised at what we nd. The first clue is that it is a food. The second clue is that we eat it everyday. Do you give up? The answer is bread.
“Bread? That is ridiculous!” Some may claim.
But did you know that Turks consume more bread than any other country in the world? According to research, the per capita average for bread consumption is 146 kilos a year. Most of us eat two times our body weight in bread each year! If we break it down, the daily average for bread consumption is just under one half kilo. If we compare that to other foods, we learn that 45% of our calories and 47% of our protein comes completely from bread. If we removed bread from our diets, it would be the equivalent of losing half our
food! Yes, bread is more important than we think.
Have you ever thought about how we use bread in our idioms? When someone tries to take our job, we say:
“He is playing with my bread.”
When someone gets his first job or a new one, we say:
“He is grown up now, he is taking the bread to his hand.”
We all know someone who seems to succeed at everything. Just like King Midas of the Phrygians, everything he touches seems to turn to gold. We marvel at his abilities and success by saying:
“He can pull bread from rocks.”
Bread is like money. You can’t live without it! Of course, we could try to live without bread if we had to. But can you imagine eating breakfast without bread? What would you eat with your soup? It is quite possible that your stomach would only be half as empty as life itself. Yes, bread is a necessity. Some might even go so far as to say that bread is life!
Almost two thousand years ago, a man said that very thing. But the bread he was talking about was not the ordinary bread we eat at every meal. He was talking about something even greater, himself. Perhaps you are wondering,
“But why would someone call himself bread?” Let’s find out by reading John chapter 6 verses 1-3:
1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples.
As we have seen in previous lessons, Jesus was always moving from place to place, teaching, and healing the sick. Instead of staying in
one place and having the people come to him, he went to the people.
In Jesus’ daily life, we see a perfect example of God’s attempt and desire to reach out to all humanity. When Jesus spoke, peoples’ hearts were opened and their fears went away. It was an experience that many people wanted everyday.
On this particular occasion, a large crowd had followed him from the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As the news spread of his previous miracles, the crowd began to grow into the thousands. When Jesus and his disciples found a nice place to rest, and from which he could speak to the crowd, they stopped and sat down. Let’s see what happened next in John chapter 6 verses 4-10:
4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat? 6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 9 There is a boy here who has ve barley loaves and two sh, but what are they for so many? 10 Jesus said, Have the people sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about ve thousand in number.
Jesus was always aware of his surroundings. He knew that a lot of these people had travelled all morning to hear him speak. He also knew that many of them were poor and had very little food. How could he send them home with empty stomachs? But then again how could he feed them? Just as Phillip pointed out, they didn’t have enough money to buy bread. Moreover, what was Andrew thinking? How could two fish and ve loaves of bread feed over 5000 men and their families? Fortunately for the disciples, Jesus was no ordinary man.
He had already cast out demons, calmed a storm, and raised a girl from the dead. He had power over evil spirits, nature, sickness, and death. Their problem wasn’t a lack of food. It was their lack of faith! Let’s continue with verses 11-14:
11 Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the sh, as much as they wanted. 12 And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost. 13 So they gathered them up and lled twelve baskets with fragments from the ve barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. 14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!
Let's pause for a moment and imagine the scene. The people's stomachs are growling, they have no food, and then all of a sudden there are baskets full of bread and fish. They rush forward and reach into the baskets. Hand after hand takes a loaf and a fish, but the baskets never become empty. The people knew it was a miracle. They had never seen anything like it since their ancestors left Egypt. There were shouts of excitement while the children ran to and fro with filled bellies. The parents were praising God while the disciples just stood there in wonder. It isn't hard to imagine that Jesus just stood back and watched with a smile on his face.
Isn’t it interesting that before Jesus distributed the food he gave thanks to God? No matter how little we have it is always more than nothing! We too should remember to give thanks.
It is also interesting that Jesus didn’t allow any of the food to be wasted. When the people were full, he immediately had the disciples collect the leftovers. But did you notice that they only mentioned the bread? There is no mention of the fish. In Jesus’ day, bread was just as important as it is today and Jesus didn’t want any of it to go to waste. In all likelihood, bread was probably even more important than it is today because it was so much harder to produce back then. So he had the disciples collect and redistribute it to the poor. But that wasn’t the only thing he used that bread for. He also used it to make a greater point.
The next day, Jesus and his disciples arrived in a town called Capernaum. It was actually a small shing village on the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee and the hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Perhaps Jesus was tired and wanted to rest. Maybe Peter and Andrew wanted to visit their families for a few days. We don’t know. However we do know that a group of people who ate the fish and bread followed Jesus to Capernaum. Let’s pick up the story in John chapter 6 verses 25-27:
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? 26 Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
Ouch! Did you sense the tone of Jesus’ voice? To say that he rebuked them is an understatement. He spoke directly to the small crowd and basically said,
“You aren’t interested in me. You just want your stomachs to be filled.”
In other words,
“The bread is more important to you than the person who gave it to you.”
Jesus knew that many people were following him for worldly gain. For many, the spiritual lessons they were receiving were just a side note. They wanted that which would make their lives easier, more comfortable, and secure. They wanted to be around Jesus if he were to use his powers to destroy the Romans, become the King of Israel, or just simply feed them a good meal. The problem was that these things were all temporary; they wouldn’t last forever. Jesus said they were focusing on the wrong thing. They needed to spend their time working for eternal rewards, not temporal. Let’s read verses 28 and 29:
28 Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? 29 Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.
Jesus gave perhaps the simplest answer to one of the most complex questions. It is quite natural to think we need to do a lot to appease God. And yet, Jesus says that all we need to do is believe in “the one that God has sent”. Of course, in the context of this event Jesus is talking about himself. As we saw in a previous lesson, he is the one who was sent from heaven.
As if Jesus hadn’t already done enough to prove who he was, the people wanted Jesus to perform another miracle. Their request was no better than Satan’s when he tempted Jesus to turn stones into food. Let’s read about it in John chapter 6 verses 30-33:
30 So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 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. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Does the group’s question seem a bit strange to you? The people were asking for a miracle like the one Moses performed in the desert. They wanted Jesus to give them bread from heaven. Did they already forget that Jesus had fed thousands the day before with two fish and five loaves of bread?
Jesus wasted no time in setting these people straight. It was God, not Moses, who provided the manna in the desert. Moses was just a
tool in the hand of God. Furthermore, the manna was just a symbol, or foreshadow or type of something greater. Jesus called it “the true bread” that “comes down from heaven and gives life to the world”.
In a previous lesson, we learned that Jesus as “God’s Word” came down from heaven and has the power to give life. We also witnessed that power when he brought the dead girl back to life. Jesus could compare himself to bread because he had the power to give life.
Jesus wasn't shy about his identity or authority. In fact, he was saying
"I am as essential as bread."
If the people had any doubts as to who or what the “true bread” was Jesus’ next statement eliminated them.
After hearing of the “true bread” the people begged Jesus to give it to them. We can read his reply in John chapter 6 verses 35-40:
35 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. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
For some of us, Jesus’ words are shocking and they should be! Jesus is clearly identifying himself as God’s gift to humans for the nourishment and replenishing of the soul. Normal bread gives us physical life. But Jesus gives us eternal life!
Jesus is the bread of life! Let’s contemplate that for a minute. It is almost too profound to understand and very easy to reject. What should we do with this kind of statement? In the crowd's own words,
“What must we do?”
Our work, as stated earlier by Jesus, is to believe that God sent Jesus to this earth and the words that he spoke. It is that simple! When we believe, what happens? We will never hunger or thirst and we will have eternal life. He will not cast us out or turn us away. He wants our thirst to be quenched. If you are reading or listening to this lesson you are spiritually hungry and thirsty. You are searching for something that you haven’t been able to nd in other places. Jesus is saying,
“Stop being thirsty! Come, eat, and be filled! My words are more nourishing than any water or bread this world can offer!”
Right here, we find the answer to one of our original questions. No matter how miserable or hopeless your life may seem, Jesus can change your fate!
But many in the crowd weren’t happy with what Jesus said. His claims were too extreme. At best, they thought he could only be a prophet. Some of them had even known him their whole lives. We can read their thoughts in verses 41 and 42:
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. 42 They said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, I have come down from heaven?
Jesus expected this type of reaction, so he immediately answered their questions. His words are recorded in John chapter 6 verses 43-51:
43 Jesus answered them, Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.47 Truly, truly, say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
Jesus is the bread of life! According to Jesus, the only ones who can accept this are those who are listening to God. If you are truly listening to God you will be led to Jesus. He is the only one who has seen God because he was with Him in heaven. He is the “living bread” because he has the power to give life; moreover, eternal life!
But Jesus didn’t stop there; he continued to speak until he came to his central point. Just as God gave the Israelites manna so they would live, Jesus will give his body.
You are probably wondering where Jesus is going with this. Don’t worry, it is a natural reaction. The Jews were also astonished and shocked. They wouldn’t eat unclean animals or meat with blood in it, much less a human body. If they hadn’t already walked away in disgust, many of them were about to. Was Jesus promoting cannibalism? The answer is obviously no! So let’s look for the spiritual meaning behind what he said. We can continue reading in John chapter 6 verses 52-58:
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53 So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 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. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
If you are still struggling with Jesus’ words, you aren’t alone. The disciples who lived with Jesus everyday were also confused. But Jesus didn’t want them to be confused, so he explained himself further in John chapter 6 verses 60-63:
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the esh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Jesus reassured his disciples that he was speaking figuratively. He didn’t expect them to really eat his body. But he did expect them to understand the deeper meaning behind what he was saying. Unfortunately, some of them couldn’t.
This was actually a very critical moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. As Jesus said, many people were following him in the hopes that they would get something material. When they heard him talking about eating flesh, drinking blood, and dying, they naturally became disillusioned with his teachings. They didn’t understand his words because they were more focused on the world than God.
They wanted the bread and the fish, not the “living bread that came down from heaven”. Therefore it shouldn’t surprise us that some of them left. Let’s finish our lesson by reading verses 66-69:
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well? 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
A woman and her little son were walking along the shores of the Bosphorus Sea on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. They bought some birdseed, threw it to the gulls and pigeons, and watched as the birds competed for the precious morsels. They sat on the rocks and ate a sweet wafer. Later while sitting in the grass, they watched the colorful kites dancing across the sky in a strong wind. They listened to the shouts of children and breathed in the fresh, salty air that had carried a thousand ships to their ports.
After a few hours, they decided to take the ferry to the other side of the sea. As they were walking to the port, the mom looked down and stopped. The boy watched as she knelt and picked up a piece of bread. She touched it to her forehead, mumbled something, walked to the seashore, and then threw it into the sea. The boy had never seen this done before. He looked up and asked,
“Mom why did you pick up that piece of bread and throw it into the sea?”
“Son, when I was a little girl my mother told me that bread should never be left on the ground to be stepped on. So I picked it up and gave it to the fish for food.”
“But why can’t it be on the ground?”
“Because bread is a blessing from God.”
Bread is a blessing from God! In this lesson, we learned that Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven. He is a blessing from God for each one of us. The question now is what do we do with that blessing? There are only two options. We can believe what he says or we can walk away in disgust like some of his disciples. The choice is yours!
Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever thought about how important bread is in your daily life?
2. What affected you the most about Jesus feeding the 5000 men and their families?
3. What does the title “bread of life” imply about Jesus?
4. Why was it so hard for the Jews to accept what Jesus was saying?
5. Thus far, what do you understand about fate?