Bread of life

Bread of Life is a title Jesus Christ used to describe himself in John 6:35: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (NLT). The phrase, "I am the bread of life," is one of several "I Am" statements that Jesus spoke in the book of Gospel of John

• Throughout the Bible, bread is a symbolic representation of God's life-sustaining provision.
• When Jesus told the hungry crowds that he was the Bread of Life, he was teaching his followers that He alone was their true source of spiritual life, both in this present world and in the everlasting life to come.
• The Bread of Life that Jesus represents never perishes, spoils, or runs out.
• In John 6, Jesus fed a large crowd-far more than 5,000 people-with just five loaves of barley bread and two fish (John 6:1-15). This miracle astounded the people who declared that Jesus was a great prophet-the one they had been expecting. But when Jesus saw that the people wanted to force him to be their king, he quietly slipped away to be alone in the hills.
• The next day the crowds went in search of Jesus, not because they had understood his miracle, but because he had filled their appetites. The people were caught up in the day to day treadmill of getting their needs met and providing food for their hungry bellies. But Jesus was concerned with saving their souls. He told them, "Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you" (John 6:27, NLT).
• Believing in Jesus Christ as the source of our spiritual existence is how we gain eternal life (John 3:16). When we put our faith in him, he gives us spiritual bread that will not spoil and abundant life that will never end.
• Jesus wanted the people to comprehend who he was: "The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33; NLT). Again, the crowd asked for a miraculous sign, like when Moses gave the people manna to eat in the wilderness.
• The crowds still saw Jesus merely as someone who could meet their physical needs. So, Jesus responded with this powerful and profound truth: "I am the bread of life that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). Christ explained that anyone who came to him in saving faith would never be hungry or thirsty again. God would not reject them, for it was his will that all should come to faith in him (verses 37-40).
• The listeners knew that Jesus, by claiming to come from heaven, was declaring that he was God. He was the real Bread of Heaven-the ever-present daily Manna-the lifegiving, eternal source of provision for today, tomorrow, and all eternity.
• The people wanted this bread, but when Jesus explained that he himself was the Bread, they became more and more offended. Their offense turned to revulsion when Jesus explained that he had come to give his flesh and blood-to sacrifice His life-so that the world could have eternal life (John 6:51).
• He declared, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you" (John 6:53, NLT). The teaching was so difficult to understand that many of his disciples deserted him.
• Only those whose spiritual hearts had been opened could comprehend that to eat Christ's flesh and drink his blood meant to grasp by faith the significance of Jesus' death on the cross.
• Lesson: It is the death of Jesus Christ that takes away the curse of sin and rescues those who receive his forgiveness from spiritual death. Christ's sacrifice on the cross enables us to receive eternal life. To all who believe in him and accept him as Savior, He is the Bread of Life.