“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” —John 6:48–51
While satisfying the Israelites physical hunger, manna sent from heaven was not sufficient to truly satisfy forever. Jesus—the Word made flesh—was teaching the important truth that bread and water only sustain physical needs, yet man’s spiritual need is far greater:
“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” —Matthew 4:4
In our verses for today, Jesus reminds us the Israelites ate the God-given manna, yet died in the desert. I wonder how often that occurs in our day and age. We feast upon the temporal blessings sent from God, yet die apart from Christ in our own “deserts”—our own parched and weary lands of brokenness. Oh that we would be like King David when he cried out:
“I spread my hands out to you in prayer; my soul thirsts for you in a parched land.” —Psalm 143:6
The barren broken soul lays parched before its Maker. The great spiritual need that all mankind possesses is a hungry and thirsty heart. Jesus came to fill that need like water gushing forth in a dry desert. Jesus, the Bread of Life, comes down from heaven so that we may never die.
The true manna coming down from heaven was the all-sufficient One—Jesus himself. Jesus is the Bread of Life—He alone satisfies our soul’s hunger. A person may eat of this bread and never die; that is, he will never fall short of heaven, a world of no more tears and no more death. Here Jesus is telling His followers that they will live forever!
Just as bread must be given, broken, and taken in to sustain physical life, Jesus was given, broken, and taken up to sustain our spiritual life. His broken body heals our brokenness. His wounds make us whole. Our Savior offers us healing, reconciliation, and restoration through His broken body.
Jesus himself gives us the surety of blessing and filling as we hunger and thirst after righteousness with the diligence we use in seeking food for our physical bodies.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” —Matthew 5:6
Become More
“The gospel … should be seen as not only a message of good news for lost people to be saved from sin’s penalty, but also a message of good news for Christian people to be saved from sin’s domineering power. The goal of the gospel is not merely to forgive us, but to change us into true worshippers of God and authentic lovers of people.” —Dr. Steve Childers
Further Reflections
“He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.” —Isaiah 53:2–5