“I am the bread of life"

John 6:22-42 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

²² The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. ²³ There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. ²⁵ When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”

Words to the People

²⁶ Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. ²⁷ Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” ²⁸ Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” ³⁰ So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so 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 out of heaven to eat.’” ³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” ³⁴ Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will 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 the one who comes to Me I will certainly not 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 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. ⁴⁰ For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

To put today's text in context, yesterday we read about the feeding of the 5000. Included at the end of yesterday's text was John's account of Jesus walking on water.

Jesus Walks on the Water

¹⁵ So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.

¹⁶ Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸ The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹ Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” ²¹ So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

John's version of this account differs from the other gospel writers. Again we remember that John's intention in writing his gospel message is to focus on the deity of Christ. This account  speaks of Jesus walking on the water through the storm, confirming that Jesus as unaffected by and in authority over the natural elements. Also John says that when Jesus got into the boat immediately they arrived at their destination. So Jesus also was not and is not subject to the normal laws governing time and space.    Being fully man and fully God, Jesus was and is both infinite and eternal.

In returning to today's text we see the people, the ones who had participated in Jesus miracle of the fish and loaves, seeking Him. Jesus addresses their hearts saying:     “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 

The wrong motive of the hearts of these people is really not so different than the hearts and motives of many people today. Many people come to Jesus and seek Him for what He will provide for them. They seek the blessings of the abundant life that Jesus promises. The fault in this does not lie entirely with people. There are many doctrines promoted in the church today that encourage people to come to Christ to make their lives better, to fix all their problems and enjoy the blessings of God, including material gain. That is not the true gospel that Jesus taught. He does say that He came to give us abundant life, but Jesus wants us to be rich in spiritual things.

He says:     seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.(Matthew 6:33)   In Luke 14:27-33 Jesus gives us an illustration concerning the cost of coming to Him.       Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. ³³ So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. 

It is only to the extent that we prioritize the things of the kingdom that God will bless us with more material wealth. As we lay it down for Him, He returns it to us with more than we previously had.  It is not that He wants us to live in poverty, God wants us to seek first His kingdom. Focusing on and prioritizing worldly riches is a stumbling block to truly knowing Christ and His greatest provision for us, salvation through the finished work of the cross. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?(Mark 8:36) 

The people attempt to justify their desire to be filled with physical food saying:       “What then do You do for a sign, so 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 out of heaven to eat.’”  

Jesus responds by saying:  “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.  

The manna that God provided for the nation of Israel in the wilderness was a prophetic foreshadow of Christ, the true bread of life. This is what we are told about the manna the Israelites were given: Exodus 16

 and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴ When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷ The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. ¹⁸ When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “Let no man leave any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. ²¹ They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. 

The manna that God provided lasted only for that day. God supplied fresh manna each day. He did this because the Israelites had been in captivity for so long that they had become accustomed to relying on the Egyptians for their provision. God wanted them to learn to trust Him, to  seek Him and His provision for them each day. We need to learn the lesson of the daily provision of manna. We too need to seek God's fresh manna for us each day. Jesus says He is the bread of life. It is Him we need to seek each day, a new and fresh revelation of Jesus is available to us each day. We need to seek Him, to eat of the nutritious, life sustaining word of God each day. The revelation of Christ that we received yesterday was for yesterday's needs. Today God wants to give us all that we need for today.

Hebrews 4:12 says:     For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.    It is because the word of God is living and active that we need it each day. We can read a portion of scripture that we have read many times and the living active word of God will give us a fresh revelation of Christ, our daily bread, provision for the needs and trials of the day.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, the true Bread of Life, and precious Holy Spirit, grant this day that as I do seek first the kingdom of God and Your righteousness, that You will give me fresh manna today. Give me each day as I seek You, a fresh revelation of Christ, the provision I need for the trials and the work of that day. ....'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 'Give us this day our daily bread.   Amen