Jesus said, "I am the bread of
life...." in John 6:35.
What
does that mean? Well, John 6:27, Matthew 4:4 and John 6:63
help to understand. In John 6:27 Jesus told the multitude of
thousands whom he'd miraculously fed with two fish and five small
loaves of bread, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that
endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
That verse is mindful of Jesus' words in Matthew 4:4, "It is written;
Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the
mouth of God." In the verses following Jesus' instruction in
John 6:27 to work for the food that endures to eternal life, Jesus
refers to Himself as "the true bread from heaven," "the bread of God,"
"the bread of life," and "the living bread." John 6:63 says,
"The Spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have
spoken to you are spirit and they are life." This "bread" is
a spiritual food. It is the word of God -- all of the
thoughts of God spoken and then recorded in the words of the Bible.
More importantly, the bread of life is the Word of God with a capital
"W." The first chapter of John shows that "The Word of God"
is one of Jesus' names. At the Passover meal the night before
His crucifixion Jesus replaced the lamb as the Passover sacrifice and
gave us the emblems of bread and wine to represent Him and remind us
that He would, once and for all -- as the fulfillment of the Passover
lamb -- sacrifice Himself for our sins. What did he say about
the bread? "Take and eat; this is my body." And
with the cup of wine in his hand He said, "Drink from it, all of
you. This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins." "For whenever you
eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
he comes."
Jesus' death wasn't meaningless. The resurrection 3 days
later proved that
death to be the greatest victory in the history of man! It
was the one and only triumph over sin! It is the way back to
a personal relationship with God that mankind lost at the sin of Adam
and Eve. God now calls us friends!
As the Bread of Life, Jesus is anxious to give us His joy, His love,
His eternal life. We need to eat of this Bread, Jesus, so His
mind and heart infuse our minds and hearts with Him -- with His
presence. He is the way to eternal life! |
