The Gospel of John | The Bread of Life – John 6:22-59
Jesus Christ is the bread of life who gives to those who come to Him from a never-ending supply.
After the great miracles and the signs, the people looked for Jesus, who had crossed over the sea to Capernaum, meeting the disciples in the boat. The people had seen Jesus miraculously bring bread from the scraps which they gave and everyone had their fill. Now they sought after Jesus more. Seeing that boats had been taken, they quickly determined where Jesus had likely gone and got in boats to follow Him. While they physically had begun to follow Jesus, their hearts did not submit to the Lordship to Kingship of Jesus Christ in the same manner.
Throughout the course of this chapter, Jesus’ brining bread from earth mirrors Moses calling down manna from heaven. Yet, for all the provision that God provided for His people, they missed the point of the blessing in the wilderness and, for most, the point is lost on those who receive the blessing in John 6. The temptation for everyone is to believe that we deserve the blessings that God gives or to crave the blessing more than the one providing the blessing. This is precisely why Jesus left in the first place. There was an expectation of earned blessing from God. Jesus though, gives the better blessing with His presence. He is the bread of life, the sustaining food for all believers.
Motive For Following
In Exodus 16, God has rescued His people from Egypt and began to lead them through the wilderness. Yet, the people of God grew hungry (having been there longer than originally expected or intended) and cried out to Moses that God would need to provide for them. God provided manna from heaven to meet every need of the people for food and sustenance. Yet, over time, the people grew that they felt entitled to the blessing of God and found new ways to grumble against Him. Then, when God did not provide exactly as they felt He should, the people attempted to force the blessing of God, dictating how the provision should work. Now, in John 6, we see a similar situation occurring. Miracles had just occurred and the witnesses now felt entitled to the blessing. As they sought after Jesus, it becomes evident that they sought after the provision of God but not necessarily the presence and direction of God Himself. The felt entitled that God should provide for them but no willingness fo submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Yet, one crucial distinction came in the blessing itself.
Jesus dragged the motives of the people into question as he sought their reason for following him. “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. Do not work 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.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:26-29, ESV) The people did not seek God as a means of provision for their life but for the temporary gain. Furthermore, the people demanding more additional miracles to prove the authenticity of the first ones. While we may scoff at this idea, we often, without realizing it, seek the same thing. We feel that God needs to operate on our timeline in ways we want to prove that God is worthy to bless us. In truth, the roles are backwards and misguided. The blessings that come from God are acts of grace to the believers, not obligations. Approaching God comes with the humility of understanding that God is far above anything we could conceived and He provides for His people how He sees fit. We must be willing to stand in humility before God desiring Him above whatever He may provide for us.
- When you go to God, do you often go with an understanding that He is King over all or do you go with expectations of how you think God should provide?
Jesus Christ, The Bread of Life
In Exodus 16, God has rescued His people from Egypt and began to lead them through the wilderness. Yet, the people of God grew hungry (having been there longer than originally expected or intended) and cried out to Moses that God would need to provide for them or they would perish. Truth be told, their assessment of the situation was largely correct. Roughly a million people needed daily provision during this time, a logistical feat that few could pull off. Without the manna from heaven the people of Israel would have undoubtedly died in the desert. Only God possessed the innate ability to rescue His people and they would need to fully depend on God to provide everything needed for life. No other source could satisfy for the needs of the people to survive. Yet, the manna needed to be collected daily. Their source ran out and every morning they would need to return to the presence of God in order to receive the manna. Faithfully though, God provided for them at every turn.
Yet, Jesus’ assertion that He is the bread of life surpass the gift of the manna in the desert. The people of Israel would have made the connection immediately to the references. The manna in the desert represented the gift from God while Jesus Christ’s incarnate present represented the gift of God. The presence of God became the gift and true blessing of the people of God rather than mere bread. The bread might fill the stomach bringing temporary pleasure, but the Bread of Life gives a constant presence of God for the believe for all time.
Furthermore Jesus notes that he is the supreme source of life. Jesus, asserting He is the bread of life, proclaims that no other source will provide the life that He does. There is no other option for life other than complete and total surrender to Jesus Christ. No other means will afford a person the salvation they seek. Thus, when the people sought after Jesus for bread, they missed the life that Jesus offered. Jesus presents an exclusive path to eternity that is available to all who would come after Him. There is no discrimination of type of person who can pursue God but only that they would bow before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Those who eat of the bread of life will find that they will no longer be hungry for anything else. When we taste the goodness of the Lord, everything will taste stale and bland compared to the richness of God’s glory. We will no longer be willing to trade temporary pleasure at the expense of eternal presence because we know that being with God is worth the hunger pangs of today.
- What does it mean that Jesus is the bread of life? What qualities does Jesus describe as being part of the bread of life?
Consuming The Bread of Life
Jesus makes it abundantly clear that the gift being offered goes beyond the temporary means of filling the stomach but provides the sustenances needed for eternal survival. The first bread, mirroring the manna from heaven, fills the stomach and was vital for the temporary survival of the Israelites as they wandered through the desert. This is not to make light of the blessing, without the provision of God, the people would have died and their survival can only be attributed to the God’s divine intervention. Now, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the people, the same provision is present. The people would have gone hungry without it. For both of their miraculous signs of God’s provision, Jesus declares there to be a greater bread than both of these with a larger scope. For as much as they need physical food, the need for Jesus goes much deeper. Jesus and Jesus alone is the bread that brings eternity and we should consume and feed on His person as we find nourishment in God’s provision.
Thus, to consume to Bread of Life is to fully bow before the Lordship and Kingship of Jesus Christ. We seek the source of the blessing and not the manifestation or result of it. A loaf of bread will one day run out but the gift of God is the never-ending wellspring of provision that saves people for all eternity. The question we must all be willing to ask is whether we feed on the presence of God. Not in a literal sense, of course, as some have purported throughout history, but in a sense that we find our enjoyment and nourishment from the Gospel that Jesus Christ would willingly go to the cross and bear the burden of our sin. The presence of God should be worth more to the one following God than anything God could produce. Furthermore, it should be worth more than our physical wants and desires. Following God with pure a heart and motive means being willing to put to death the fleshly desires in order to claim the greater reward; God Himself. The bread of life will always surpass the glory of the bread of the stomach which will never suffice for the eternal salvation. Following Jesus as the bread of life will put to death the hunger pangs of our flesh and awaken us to the glory of God’s eternal presence.
Discussion Questions
- Why do we often times tend to come to God with expectations of what God should do? What does this reveal about our understanding and devotion to Jesus Christ?
- What assurances does Jesus provide for those who follow Him?
- How does Jesus serve as the Bread of Life? What does it mean that those who partake of the bread of life will never go hungry again?
- Where do you see your motives in approaching God as needing to change? How does growing closer to God encourage our devotion to Him?
- Consuming the bread of life means that we become more like Jesus through submitting to His will. What are some areas of your life that you need to pursue the will of God?
