The Bread of Life in John 6

Introduction

 Bread is one of the great symbols of the Passover season, and it is connected with the spring festival in various ways. First, of course, there is the unleavened bread that is eaten during this time. Second, there is an old tradition that Abraham's three special visitors (Gen. 18) arrived just before the time of Passover, and that Abraham's hospitality to them set a pattern later followed by God in His gracious dealings with Israel in the wilderness [2, pp. 16, 19]. As Abraham had water brought for the guests (Gen. 18:4), God gave the Israelites water from a rock; as Abraham served bread to them (verse 6), God fed Israel with manna; and as Abraham escorted the visitors toward Sodom (verse 16), God accompanied His people in the pillar of a cloud and pillar of fire.

Discussion and Analysis

Jesus spent all day every day in ministry to others. When He came out to breakfast after prayer, He would begin to serve others. If He was not healing people and casting out demons, He was teaching them a new way of life. When He was finished speaking, the people flooded Him with questions and He gave a few more hours to answer them. Jesus was always giving, always serving, always making Himself available to all people to meet their spiritual and physical needs. So too, the bread of life can be properly accessed in a life of service and giving.

Many people live in this life with no real direction and purpose. Few Christians really know the purpose of why they are on earth. Most people are simply living and wandering around aimlessly. It is vital to discover not only God's general will but also His personal will for you in His kingdom plan. Only in living in your purpose can you really be fully satisfied. Only by walking in the will of God each day can we really cease to be hungry.

The Bread of Life: John 6:25-51

What does it mean to say that Jesus is the Bread of Life?

After the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand (Jn. 6:1-21), many of the people who had received the bread followed Jesus to Capernaum (6:24). There, in the town's synagogue (6:59), Jesus encountered the people, some of whom had wanted to make Jesus king on the previous day (6:15).

Overall, the discussion in the Capernaum synagogue did not go well: "after this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him" (6:66). What caused this quick transformation from wanting to acclaim Jesus king to rejecting him entirely? In essence, this was a problem of unfulfilled expectations: because of Jesus' failure to fulfill their expectations, they rejected that which Jesus offered, which paradoxically was actually far better than what they had originally wanted. Jesus said to them; "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

If Jesus was born of earthly parents ...