17. John 6:22-59 Jesus, the Bread of Life (Exodus 16:4, 14-15)

 

SCRIPTURE READING: JOHN 6:22-59
SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHTS:
Vs 26-27 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.”
 
Vs 35-36 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.”
 
Vs 51 “And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
 
Vs 56 “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Jesus was being followed by the crowds who valued Jesus for how he could meet their material needs, not because they wanted to understand his identity and learn from him.
 
Jesus told them that the one thing (“work”) they must do to have eternal life is to believe in Him. They asked Jesus to show them a sign (miracle) and then they would believe in him. Their questionable motives are exposed by the fact that they had already observed Jesus perform many miracles. They asked for Jesus to perform a miracle similar to the one performed through Moses in Exodus when God rained bread (manna) down upon them from the sky.  Jesus tried to redirect their focus away from their physical appetites to their spiritual need; their need for the eternal life which came through Jesus. Jesus did this by describing himself metaphorically as “the bread of Life”.  Their failure to understand resulted in them misinterpreting Jesus’ words to mean that he was saying that eternal life would come through literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood.
 
Jesus words, “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (vs 56) should make it obvious to the attentive reader that Jesus used the metaphor of “eating his body” and “drinking his blood” to refer to forming a relational commitment to Him.  Jesus already communicated (vs 35-36) that “coming to him” and “believing in him” was what it meant to receive the satisfaction and sustenance that he provided as “the bread of life. Therefore, “eating and drinking” become metaphors for “coming to him and believing in him. The language Jesus uses reveals that the call to “believe in Jesus”, found here and throughout the NT, is not just a call to acknowledge the truth about Jesus but to trust in Jesus in a manner that creates an allegiance to Jesus and a commitment to follow Him.  “Coming to Jesus” and “believing in Jesus” signifies a knowing of him that results in following him.
 
One of the most important statements of Jesus in this passage is found in Vs 51
“And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Jesus was hinting at the fact that the reason trusting in him would lead to eternal life is because he was going to offer his life as the sacrifice that would make atonement for sins so we could experience a reconciled relationship with the triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
 
Eternal Life: This phrase refers not only to the longevity of the life Jesus provides but the quality of the life Jesus provides. Eternal life is full and forever life, abundant and everlasting life, now and in the future.

Dear Jesus, thank you first for coming for me. Your willingness to leave the glory you shared with the Father, taking on human flesh to become our righteous representative in order to defeat sin and death for us is an expression of incomprehensible love!! I want to experience the eternal life you came to provide for me so I will trust in you and follow you every day of my life. Please grant me the grace to do by the power of your Holy Spirit. Dear Jesus, thank you for showing me the importance of being thankful for what I do have while trusting you to provide for what I still need.  Fill me with your compassion for the needs of people around me. Help me to trust you and obey when you ask me to do something to meet the needs of others, especially when I don’ think I have the resources to meet those needs.

In Your name, Amen.