“I am the bread that came down from heaven.” John 6:41
We have looked at the 7 miracles that John recorded in his gospel. These were signs that pointed to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. No-one but God could have done what Jesus did. He also recorded the 7 “I am” statements that Jesus makes about Himself. The first statement is found in chapter 6. Four times Jesus says that He is the bread from heaven who gives life to all that will receive Him.
Bread was an essential food in Biblical times. But it was not readily available. It took a lot of work to grow the wheat, harvest it, store it and then on a daily basis grind it into flour to make bread. There were no ready sliced loaves waiting in the supermarket to pick up whenever you fancied a sandwich!
The people Jesus was talking to in this passage had seen Him the previous day multiply five small barley loaves into enough bread to feed between 5,000-10,000 people, with plenty of leftovers. Can you imagine their excitement at the thought that here was someone who could give them daily bread for free, without any effort or work on their part. The following day, when they found out where he was, they rushed to see him. They had been taught of God’s miraculous provision of bread for their forefathers when they had travelled through the wilderness for 40 years, and now they had a miracle worker among them, whom they hoped would give them this miraculous bread always (v34).
But they had missed the point of the miracle, and in doing so, failed to recognise who Jesus really was. Jesus explained that the bread their ancestors had eaten, although miraculously given, was still just natural food. They ate it for 40 years, but they died. It had no power to give them everlasting life. When He declared that he was the Bread of Life come down from heaven, He was saying that He alone could give them eternal life, because He was God (v47).
Eternal life is not obtained through natural means, it can only be given spiritually (v63). There is nothing we can do to earn it. Good works, generosity to the poor, being kind and helpful people are both applaudable and admirable, but they do not give you eternal life, or make you right with God. We are saved through faith in who Jesus said He was, and what He did for us when He took our sin upon Himself when He died on the cross.
If all we want from Jesus is provision for an easy, happy life, then we will turn away from Him, just like these people did. But if we are seeking Him as the saviour for our souls, then we will find Him and be with Him forever.