Please explain Jesus as the bread of life.
I would encourage you to read John chapter 6. In verse 34 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” As we break down this chapter, we will see WHY Jesus referred to Himself as the “bread of life.”
Verses 1-14 – In this passage we have the account of “Jesus feeding the multitudes with five loaves of BREAD and two small FISH.” Verse 10 informs us that “the MEN sat down, in number about five thousand.” The word “men” here refers to “MALE persons” and in Matthew 14:21 we read, “Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, BESIDES women and children.” Perhaps there were more than 10,000 people and yet Jesus performed a miracle by “multiplying the 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish.” This huge crowd of people had been following Jesus and they needed food to keep them alive, so Jesus met their need by feeding them. As we shall see, the miracle of feeding them “physical bread” was then used by Jesus to illustrate that He is the One who can give sinners ETERNAL LIFE if they will, by faith, “feed on Him” as the “spiritual bread of life.”
Verses 22-27 – On the following day we see the multitude of people continuing to seek Jesus and they found Him in Capernaum (verses 22-4). Now let us read verses 25-27, “And when they found Him…they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. DO NOT LABOR FOR THE FOOD WHICH PERISHES, BUT FOR THE FOOD WHICH ENDURES TO EVERLASTING LIFE, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.’” Jesus had met their “physical need for food” the day before, but now He introduces their greatest need; the need for ETERNAL LIFE, and He tells them plainly that He is the one who can give them eternal life.
Verses 28-33 – The people don’t realize that just as Jesus had given them “physical bread” free of charge; He would now give them the “spiritual bread” absolutely free. So, they ask Him “What shall we do, that WE MAY WORK the works of God” (verse 28)? This, dear friend, is man’s natural reaction. Man believes he can “earn eternal life” by his works. Jesus responds instantly to this by saying, “This is the work of God, that you BELIEVE IN HIM WHOM HE SENT” (29). He is telling them in no uncertain terms that they can receive eternal life BY FAITH IN HIM and NOT BY WORKS. They then make a reference to Moses giving their father “bread from heaven to eat” and Jesus then tells them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the TRUE BREAD FROM HEAVEN. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (verses 32-33). Again, Jesus is pointing them to Himself as the “bread of life” who the Father had sent to earth to “give life (eternal life) to the world.”
Verses 34-40…They respond quickly by saying, “Lord, give us this bread always” which teaches us they still don’t see their need of “spiritual life” and that Jesus is offering them “spiritual bread.” Jesus then makes it crystal-clear that they MUST believe in Him as the one who the Father sent to do His will (to give His life on the cross for the life of the world). “I am the BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I say to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up the last day” (verses 34-40). The multitudes had come to Him for “physical bread” believing He was a miracle-worker who could provide for their “physical life”; now they needed to come to Him for “spiritual bread” believing He was the Son of God who was sent by God the Father to provide them with “eternal life.”
Verses 41-54 – They continued in disbelief by saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’” (verse 42)? Jesus then said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who BELIEVES IN ME HAS EVERLASTING LIFE. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE…I am the LIVING BREAD which came down from heaven. If anyone EATS OF THIS BREAD, he will live forever; and THE BREAD that I shall give IS MY FLESH, which I shall give for the life of the world…Whoever EATS MY FLESH and DRINKS MY BLOOD has eternal life…For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink.” There are two vital truths here: 1) Jesus was about to “give His flesh” (this refers to laying His body down in death on the cross and shedding His blood); and 2) Men would need to “eat of this bread” by believing He died for them. Just as men eat physical bread to live; sinners need to appropriate Christ’s death for them by faith. By believing in Him as the Son of God who became a Man to die for them, they would be “receiving Him by faith and gaining eternal life” (John 1:12). This is NOT referring to the Lord’s Supper (where the bread and wine are but symbols of his BODY and His BLOOD). It refers to a definite moment in time where you believe He died for you and His blood was shed for you so you could be forgiven, redeemed and have eternal life (Acts 13:38-39; 1st Peter 1;18-19 and John 3:14-16). By doing so, you have taken Him into your life (just as you take literal bread into your body) as your Savior, the “bread of life.” Has my reader eaten the bread of life? (DO) (575.1)