Jesus is using a normal and common earthly element like bread to teach a powerful spiritual truth. A SS teacher asked her students to define or describe a parable. One little boy raised his hand and answered, “A parable is a heavenly story that has no earthly meaning”. He had the words put together incorrectly of course. It is an earthly story that has spiritual and heavenly meaning. In this case, Jesus is using bread, a common object in our world to teach a profound truth about Himself.
There’s probably nothing that smells better in the air of the kitchen than freshly baked bread. The fragrance can fill a house, creating an appetite. And even as I say that we eat bread almost every day as a daily food staple. We enjoy it for breakfast. Maybe you had toast or bagels, or a Danish or waffles, perhaps this morning. Or on another occasion seeing a doughnut freshly made at Krispy Kreme. We enjoy bread with sandwiches at lunch, rolls at dinner. My grandmother made cornbread almost every day and she lived to be 94. Bread is an important part of our lives. And it has been throughout history. We equate bread to being rich or without bread as being poor. It’s a central symbol of food even as we use the phrase, “let’s break some bread together”. And America is often called the “breadbasket of the world”.
Here, Jesus is boldly using the words, stating I AM the Bread of Life. The Person of Jesus is much on display in John’s gospel which is called by many, “the gospel of belief”. Right in the middle of this passage John is teaching that the work that God requires is simply to believe in the one who God has sent. And Who is the One who God has sent? Jesus is now clearly placing himself in the same category of God saying, “I AM the Bread of Life”.
There is so much in the passage to reflect over and find application in our lives. But the greatest part is to identify Jesus as God’s provision for the world and to simply believe on Jesus as the only One who can save us and sustain our lives and bring about ETERNAL life, beyond the passing elements of this world. By calling Himself the Bread of Life, Jesus is pointing to an even greater reality, that might not be seen by the physical eye but is no less real and has profound heavenly meaning.
The immediate context of this scripture is Jesus feeding the 5000. Again, this was a sign or miracle that John is using to help us believe that Jesus is who is He says He is. Those 5000 people were in a place of need… they were hungry, some of them probably in great distress over not having enough food. Many of the people in the crowd might eat one meal a day, so they were in a place of great need. But Jesus saw their need, even as He sees our needs today.
It is hard to imagine, being in a community of prosperity, with a restaurant on nearly every block, that hunger is a reality for some. I looked up some statistics on this regarding hunger in the US. I used this before almost a year ago, but it is worth repeating.
Overall: One in 8 households (12.8 percent) experienced food insecurity, or lack of access to an affordable, nutritious diet. This is in the US.
The Ten States Facing the Most Hunger
Mississippi, 15.3%
Louisiana, 15.2%
South Carolina, 14.5%
Oklahoma, 14.3%
West Virginia, 14.2%
Kentucky, 13.1%
Alabama, 12.4%
Missouri, 12.2%
But I doubt any person here today has been in a situation where you were hungry or needing food to survive. It is interesting that we are here in a food pantry to provide for people in need. Further, many of us financially support or physically assist the Kidz Eatz program which provides food for children who are in need. And they had their fundraiser yesterday. While we may not be able to see it in our little bubble…we know those who struggle with hunger are often “hidden in plain sight”. But the situation in this scripture is quite different because it was a very visible need in a large crowd!
A multitude of people were following Jesus and let’s just say there were not enough resources to fill the need, especially to feed 5,000 people. So, you had a difficult problem. Too many people and not enough resources to feed them. I want you to note something of particular importance. Jesus saw the need and He was not going to send them away hungry. But Jesus looked at the disciples and then to the multitude and told the disciples to get them some food. The disciples had to be thinking… even as Phillip spoke out saying, it would take a years’ worth of wages to purchase food for this many people! Jesus, you can’t be serious. How in the world can we do this? How do you think we can feed all these people? The scriptures indicate that Jesus did this to test them because he already knew what He was going to do. Remember He is the Bread of life!
Of course, we know they found a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. They sat down to eat, and everyone was filled. They had 12 baskets leftover. So, there was not only enough, but there was also more than enough…an overflow of food. Maybe that was to reinforce the point to the 12 Disciples! We really don’t know. The scene of the need for food reminds us of another epic event in the OT… It is referenced in verse 31.
Verse 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
There are many parallels to this story of the feeding of 5,000 and the event of God providing manna to the Israelites in the OT. Recall with me this event in Exodus.
The Israelites were in the wilderness…a place where there is a scarcity of resources for food and water. You may remember that the people were very angry and murmuring to Moses. We sometimes use the expression when we are hungry, and we do not get food that we get a little “hangry”. These people were beyond hangry. They were thinking there was no way they could make it. They were questioning how there was going to be enough food for all the people. It was an impossible situation. Of course, we know what happened. God rained down manna from heaven. Literal bread from heaven. What an amazing supply to provide for the people. Then when they got tired of eating manna, they asked for meat…And God brought quail in their camp. Again, in the impossible situation, God provides for His people.
I will never forget the testimony of Paul Cho, founder of the largest church in the world in S Korea. It started in a tent with a few people and has grown to an incredible number. Yoido Full Gospel Church based in Seoul, South Korea has over 830,000 members, the Yoido Full Gospel Church, was the world’s largest congregation recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
But Rev. Cho asked an incredible question: How many quail do you think the children of Israel would have gotten if they had gone quail hunting? The answer of course, is a big “0”. He attributed the growth of the church to people praying. The answer is the same for the manna… it was a total provision from God, not something they could have provided. Back to this story in John…
In the context of the disciples trying to provide food for those 5,000 people…what could they have done to provide for them? Nothing! But amid that need Jesus identified himself as God…by stating I AM The Bread of Life! Jesus alone is the Manna from Heaven. Jesus alone is the only One who can save us. He is the Savior and Sustainer and of our world! John is telling us that Jesus is Who He Says He IS! The Bread of Life.
Another important point in this story is Jesus bringing a fuller awareness of the motive for people following Him. He was very candid in his statement to the crowd in verses 26-27
“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
The crowd’s motivation for following was to get physical food. They had their bellies filled and were looking for another meal. Everybody is looking for a free meal, right? I mean wouldn’t you get in line if food was scarce, and you knew where to find some food? Hey, even if I am not hungry, I would stand in line to get some free food!! But this is such a profound teaching that has tremendous application. If I were to ask you today and I am…
Why are you following Jesus? I hope it is not just because of what He gives you in terms of the physical stuff of life. I do not like a lot of prosperity theology today because it does proffer motivation in following Jesus because of the blessings that Jesus brings to us and wants to give us. But that is not what Jesus says here. Listen carefully and do not miss this:
V27 Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life.
Let’s repeat that together: Do not work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life. Jesus is essentially saying, “you are hungry for the wrong bread. You are filling your lives with things that will not last.”
In another event in Jesus’ life involving food and drink… Jesus spoke to the woman at the well and afterward his disciples were imploring Him to eat something. Jesus simply said:
My meat and drink is to do the will of My Father ( John 4). He placed priority on the real manna from heaven. He was placing priority on eternal things versus temporal things.
Let’s recall another story in Jesus’ life involving food/bread. After he had fasted for 40 days the devil came with the temptation to turn the stone to bread…again he had not eaten in 40 days, so he had to be hungry! This was a severe temptation. Jesus words were simple, Man does not live by bread alone. But every word that comes from God (Matthew 4:4) Jesus was essentially telling the devil, “The manna/bread from God is my priority”. The food for the multitude came from God. The food that we have comes God from. But…We are focusing on God’s will and Person more than seeking His provision or any other provision. John is emphasizing that we seek the Person and Believe in the Person of Jesus, more than the provision he can bring us. Seek the Person of Jesus and you will receive His Provision. Be careful not to reverse the order. Let me close by one more reference related to this.
In the beatitudes Jesus said…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew 5:6). This is speaking about spiritual hunger and thirst, not just physical hunger…right?
Our greater struggle is that we are not hungry spiritually. And why are we not hungry? Because we are full already. But again, we are full of the wrong bread. We have become full of the junk food of the world that we have no room left for the best food… We so often had to coax our children and now our grandchildren…eat the best food before you take away your appetite by eating junk food. We sometimes call them “cheap fillers” which taste really good but have not real nutritional value.
I want you to notice the deep contrast Jesus is making here about making sure we are making the right priorities and why we are seeking Him. Later in this chapter Jesus teaches about this with the people who ate manna in the wilderness. Note carefully what he says, 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that anyone may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.”
Similarly, the woman at the well, Jesus told her If she drank the water, He would give her…she would never thirst again.
I find that if we are not careful, we will find ourselves giving our time and resources, working for food that spoils or things that will not last. We will become like the woman at the well in the lines of the great chorus… “I was thirsting for the things in life that could not satisfy”. Then end result is that people are full but they are still empty. They have plenty of bread/food but they are not satisfied because they are missing the true Bread of Heaven
A relative in our family had everything you could want in life. He had 2 homes. A nice boat. An RV. He could travel anywhere you could imagine or desire. But he was perhaps the most miserable man I have known. The relationships in his life were in shambles. And although he had a nominal faith…it was like the people searching for Jesus to get their bellies filled. He never fully embraced Jesus…he only knew about Jesus. Never hungered after righteousness but spent his life on more frivolous things. And he was quite miserable.
Nicky Gumble, founder of the Alpha Series…noted these points in his session on WHO IS JESUS? He relayed the story of Prince Charles of England who once spoke of his belief that, for all the advances of science, “There remains deep in the soul if I dare use that word, a persistent and unconscious anxiety that something is missing, some ingredient that makes life worth living.” (Prince Charles)
Bernard Levin, perhaps the most significant English columnist of this generation, once wrote about the void in his life, he said:
“Countries like ours are full of people who have all the material comforts they desire, together with such non-material blessings as a happy family, and yet lead lives of quiet, and at times noisy, desperation, understanding nothing but the fact that there is a hole inside them and that however much food and drink they pour into it, however many motor cars and television sets they stuff it with, however many well-balanced children and loyal friends they parade around the edges of it…it aches.” (B Levin)
ST Augustine said it so well… We are restless, forever restless and we will not rest, til we rest in God. There is only One Person who can fill the longing or the emptiness. Jesus stated it very clearly in verse 35
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Friends, as the restaurant advertisement goes…Are you read for some REAL food?
Friends as we come today to receive Holy Communion…I hope you will remember that you are receiving the REAL MANNA FROM HEAVEN. Come hungry and thirsty to receive from the ONLY ONE who is the BREAD OF LIFE. The only One who gives life meaning and added to that the ONLY ONE who gives eternal life as we anticipate eating this bread and drink in heaven. Let’s pause to prepare our hearts for Communion.