I Am the Bread of Life
I am the bread of life. (John 6:48)
“Give us this day our daily bread,” Christ prayed, teaching His disciples to trust that God would provide for their daily needs. The idea of “bread” has come to be used as a metaphor to mean simply, food.
In John 6:41-51, Jesus teaches that God is not only the provider of physical bread, He is also the provider of heavenly bread. Jesus is “the bread which comes down out of heaven” (John 6:50-51). This speaks to His pre-existence and divinity. Jesus Christ is God incarnate.
Very few people forget to eat from day to day; and few deliberately deprive themselves of the nourishment and sustenance needed to physically survive. But physical food only sustains us for a time before we must eat again. No matter how healthfully we eat, we still will all one day die. Even the Israelites who dined on manna in the wilderness eventually died (John 6:49).
Yet those who eat the living bread will not die, says Jesus.
…if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever… (John 6:51, cf. v. 50)
This is a testimony to the means of salvation. Just as physical food sustains our physical life, the living bread found in Christ is the only means by which we may obtain eternal life.
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:54)
Jesus spoke difficult truths with these words as He taught the means by which He purchased salvation for His people. It was by His precious, unblemished blood that He ransomed His own at the cross.
Not only must we believe in Him as the living bread and as the One sent from God, we must also believe in His sacrificial death. The Living Bread nourishes; His spotless blood cleanses us from sin and saves us from the wrath of God.
Jesus Christ alone satisfies and saves our souls.
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