Bread Of Life - Who is Jesus?

ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς

“Jesus replied, ‘I am the bread of life.’” (John 6:35, NLT)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.’” (Exodus 16:4, NLT)

“Give us today the food we need.” (Matthew 6:11, NLT)

In the United States, bread is so abundant that some grocery stores will discard nearly 30 percent of their loaves before they’re sold. Bread is so common that much of the world doesn’t give it a second thought. But for those suffering food scarcity or shortages, bread, a basic staple, can’t be taken for granted.

The classic book Les Misérables powerfully illustrates the anxiety that comes from food scarcity. The book’s main character, Jean Valjean, faced nearly two decades of imprisonment for his attempt to steal a loaf of bread to feed his family. Even in the days of Moses, when the people were hungry and desperate for food, God provided bread from heaven in the form of manna.

When Jesus referred to himself as the “bread of life,” he was not speaking of physical food. Instead, he offers the sustenance we need to meet our most basic spiritual needs. Toward the end of his earthly ministry, when Jesus again used bread as a teaching tool at the Last Supper, Jesus held it up as a prelude of his ultimate sacrifice. His death on the cross provides precisely what we need: the forgiveness of sin and the joy of everlasting life. The spiritual bread Jesus offers is more than sufficient for life itself.

By identifying himself as the bread we need for life, Jesus offers a practical reminder that we are to live in faithful dependence on him. In return, he promises to meet our needs and be our source of spiritual satisfaction. He will provide exactly what we need for each day.

What sort of life-giving bread has Jesus provided for you in the past? How can this memory encourage you to faithfully depend on Him in the future?

PRAYER

As food sustains my physical body, may you, Bread of Life, nourish me today. Give me this day my daily bread, to fill my physical needs as well as my deepest spiritual needs. Amen.