Why Did Jesus Say “I Am The Bread of Life?”
Jesus famously said “I am the Bread of Life.” Ray continues the I AM series by examining the meaning of the phrase, and what it might mean for us today.
Mantou
My wife and I spent a number of years in the province of Shandong, China. In the northern half of China people eat less rice than we had anticipated. Instead their staples are noodles and mantou – a type of steamed bread. Mantou is unlike western bread and is eaten differently. Usually you soak up the vegetables or meat portion of the dish with the bread. Often you simply wipe your bowl clean with it.
Despite being plain and ordinary, it is a staple food for millions in China. When Jesus stated “I am the bread of life,” He was using a staple food that people would understand worldwide and for millenia to come, to drive home a spiritual message.
I Am The Bread of Life in Context
In the “I am” series of statements that Jesus made, He used metaphors to explain deeper truths that He wanted His readers to understand. Prior to making this dramatic statement, Jesus had miraculously fed more than 5,000 people. Despite the miracle performed in their presence the crowds still didn’t understand who He was. Jesus then used the metaphor of bread to make a deeply significant statement about His identity.
Double Crossing
The background of the story begins in in John 6:1 where we read that Jesus had crossed from one side of the Sea of Galilee to the other. Here a great crowd of people gathered, hoping to witness any miracles He might perform. They were not to be disappointed.
In this remote area, there was little food available. However, the ever – resourceful disciple Andrew, produced a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. That was all Jesus required. He had the people sit down. After giving thanks, He began to distribute the food. To the astonishment of all present, when all had been fed, there was still enough food leftover to fill twelve baskets of food!
The crowd, not yet ready to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, nevertheless knew that something very significant had taken place saying:
“Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
In fact, they wanted to make Jesus their king, causing Him to withdraw from them. Jesus had no intention of being their political Messiah.
So when evening arrived, the disciples re-crossed the now stormy lake, with Jesus joining them by walking on the water. This miracle, which almost seems to be mentioned in passing by John, is more fully recorded in Matthew 14:22-33 and Mark 6:47-51.
The next morning, many from the crowd that Jesus had left behind on the eastern shore followed Him across the lake to Capernaum, where a discussion then took place about miracles and food.
Bread Is a Staple Food
Sensing that the crowd did not understand the significance of the feeding of the multitude, but were primarily focused on the miracle itself, Jesus stated,
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
His implication was that they should not be focused solely on physical needs but on their spiritual needs that He could supply. This caused them to ask what sign Jesus would perform to prove His identity, as if the feeding of the 5,000 was not sign enough. They remind Jesus that God had miraculously fed their forefathers with manna during their desert journeys. Their focus is still on physical sustenance.
Jesus then made a connection between the “bread from heaven” that the Israelites had eaten in the wilderness and Himself. He knew that the Jewish people would understand a reference to bread so He stated:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
With this declaration, Jesus equated Himself to God, the Father. Just as their heavenly Father had fed their ancestors, so He was capable of feeding those present in the crowd, if they would but believe it.
Jesus is Speaking Metaphorically
Of course, although Jesus was entirely capable of meeting their physical needs that was not His focus. Jesus was not speaking about providing His listeners with physical food and drink. He was talking on a spiritual level. Jesus frequently used figurative language like this to help drive home heavenly concepts.
As the conversation goes on, Jesus reiterates and expands on what He has said:
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40
and
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. ” John 6:50
The implication is clear. Jesus is more than manna. Millions, if not billions of people eat bread every day. It is a staple food, and as such, provides people with much needed physical nourishment.
In the same way that bread provides us with physical nourishment, Jesus provides us with spiritual nourishment. He is our spiritual sustainer. Without Him, we have no hope of eternal life.
Our bodies are renewed daily when our need for physical nourishment is met. However our need for spiritual renewal can only be met by believing in the sufficiency of the death and resurrection of Christ’s body.
Belief is the Key
Nevertheless, it seems that the crowd was more focused on the physical than the spiritual. They were looking for someone who would lift them out of the life of drudgery and poverty that they endured by providing them with daily sustenance.
We must not make the same mistake and think that our physical well being is more important than our spiritual well being. Jesus was clearly offering eternal life to His listeners, and the proof that He could provide it was to be found in the miraculous feeding of the multitude. This miracle proved that He was more than a prophet or a king. It proved that He was God, manifest in the flesh and capable of so much more than meeting physical needs.
Yet it seems that this teaching was too difficult for many of those who had been His disciples up to this point. We read that many of His disciples,
“turned back and no longer followed Him.”
Immediately before this Jesus had said,
“there are some of you who do not believe.”
It seems that He was right. Belief in Jesus as the Son of God, the sustainer of Life was too much for them to take when they were looking for a political Messiah to free them from their Roman oppressors.
Nevertheless, when Jesus questioned those who remained if they would still follow Him, Peter made a remarkable statement of belief.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69.
Belief is still at the heart of the question. Do you believe that Jesus is who He says He is, or are you looking for someone or something else?
What does it mean to you that Jesus is the Bread of Life? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Ray Marshall
Ray Marshall was born in Scotland but emigrated to Canada in 1977 where he met his wife Kelly. In the 1990’s, Ray and Kelly served as missionaries in both Ireland and Ecuador, and after returning to Canada, they served as church planters in Belleville.
Between 2009 and 2014, Ray and Kelly spent several years teaching ESL in China. Ray currently works primarily for the Navigators of Canada as a community mentor, reaching out to international students; visiting scholars and professors; and immigrants.
He has also been providing Digital Media support for FBHInternational, and HopeStreamRadio since 2011.
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Images courtesy of:
Bread – hadevora
Steamed Bread – juno1412
Outstretched Arms – ahkeemhopkins
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