The Bread From Heaven

[Jesus said,] “I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

John 6:58

THERE’S A LOT to like about food. In a very real and practical way, food is deeply connected with life for all human beings. It nourishes us and enables us to grow and perform. It provides the energy we need to keep our hearts pumping, brains thinking, and muscles flexing.

Food is also fun. We enjoy the variety of flavors that can be encountered from different kinds of meals from different places prepared in different ways. There are few things we enjoy more than gathering together around a table to eat, drink, and be merry. Food is a catalyst for enjoyment.

But food is temporary. When we eat a meal, we enjoy ourselves and become nourished—for a time. But soon the nourishment fades and we become hungry. We must eat again. And again. That’s what Moses and the Israelites experienced when they ate manna day after day in the wilderness. They always needed more or they would die.

In John 6:58, Jesus used the concept of earthly food as a contrast to the spiritual nourishment we can find through him. Eating normal food is a temporary experience with superficial satisfaction, but when we encounter Jesus as the Bread of heaven—when he becomes a part of us and changes us from the inside out—something permanent happens. The promise of this verse is that when we partake of Jesus, we will be totally satisfied, live forever, and be spiritually nourished for all time.