I am the Bread of Life

John 6:35

Like the other three gospels, the gospel of John gives us a record of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. We have four gospels, which together give us a great deal of information about the Lord, about what he did and why he did it.

But you are not long reading the gospel of John when you realise that John is different; he is very selective in what he writes. There are some things that the other three gospels tell us which John does not tell us; you will have noticed I'm sure that there are no parables in the gospel of John, that there are no exorcisms, no stories of demons being cast out.

John is also very different in his style and manner of writing. There are little things that are distinctive about John. For example, John always uses the word 'sign' when he is talking about the miracles. He tells us about the first miracle Jesus performed, turning water into wine in Cana of Galilee, and he says that it was the first 'sign' (2:11). It is the same in 6:2, where John says that a large crowd was following Jesus 'because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick'.

How do you 'do' a 'sign'? John is telling us that the works of Jesus, and particularly the miracles he performed, were actually 'signs', pointers towards, and authenticators of his Messiahship. So in 6:26 he relates these signs to faith, as he accuses the people of following him only for earthly food, and not because of the heavenly signs.

John also has a very interesting double 'Amen' when he writes. In the AV it was translated as 'verily, verily'; in the ESV it is rendered 'truly, truly'. In this chapter it appears in 6:26.

One of the distinctives of John's Gospel is that he records seven sayings of Jesus that are not to be found in the other three gospels, the 'I am' sayings of Jesus, where Jesus uses a phrase translated 'I am', followed by a description of himself.

The 'I am' phrase is interesting. John could have expressed this with one Greek word, but he in fact uses two. The first is the very emphatic personal pronoun, 'I', and then the verb 'I am'. Literally it is 'I, I am'. John picks up on this little phrase. It is very distinctive in chapter 8, where Jesus is speaking to the Jewish leaders who claimed that they were the descendants of Abraham. Jesus accuses them of being totally unlike the father they professed to have. If they were the children of Abraham, they would believe on him. Jesus makes the remarkable statement in 8:58, 'Before Abraham was, I am'.

It catches us. It seems to fly against grammatical and historical sense. Before Abraham existed, Jesus claims to have existed. He is claiming a pre-existence for himself. He is saying that he existed before he existed in the world. None of us can say that, but Jesus can. He existed before Abraham existed in the world. He is actually saying that he existed before the world itself existed, which is the point at which John begins his gospel: 'in the beginning was the Word' (1:1).

This is where John begins: with an affirmation of the eternalness of Jesus, in words reminiscent of the Psalmist: 'before you brought forth the mountains or the hills, you are from everlasting to everlasting God' (Psalm 90:2). By describing himself as the pre-existent 'I am', Jesus is identifying himself with the revelation of God in the Old Testament. When Moses was confronted with the burning bush in the wilderness and the voice of God spoke to him, commissioning him to confront Pharaoh with the demand to let his people go, Moses asked 'What is your name?'

God, in that grand moment of self-disclosure and self-revelation declares: 'I am that I am' (Exodus 3:14). God continues: 'Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you'. Here is the God of the Bible: he is the eternal, unchangeable, glorious God whose name is I AM. And now Jesus applies that designation to himself.

So in the context of the grand Christ of John's gospel, John picks up these seven distinct sayings of Jesus, all of which expand on the name of Jehovah, the name I AM, the name that belongs to Jesus because he is the God of the Old Testament. The descriptions are linked to the designation 'I am', and the designation belongs properly to Jehovah.

The seven sayings, then, are rooted and grounded in this revelation, and then employ a metaphor, or figurative language, to answer our question, 'Who are you, Jesus?'. He is the great I AM who exists from eternity to eternity, and yet comes into our world, and says 'I am the bread of life, the light of the world, the true vine', and so on. These seven sayings are full and deep and rich with meaning and significance.

The first of them in John's Gospel is 'I am the bread of life'. It occurs several times in this sixth chapter. In v41 Jesus says 'I am the bread which came down from Heaven.' In v48 he says 'I am the bread of life'. In v51, 'I am the living bread which came down from Heaven.' Then in a different form in verse 58 he says 'this is the bread which came down from Heaven.' Jesus is before us as the BREAD OF LIFE.

In this immediate context, of course, Jesus had fed five thousand people with some loaves and some fish. He had won a crowd. There was a large group following him; even when he withdrew himself, the crowd wanted to know where he was, and they came to him. The following day the crowd that remained wanted Jesus, and when they saw he was not there they got into their boats, crossed the lake, and went looking for him. Jesus has won himself a crowd.

Jesus is going to teach that crowd. He is going to explain to them what he is doing in the world, and what his mission is. He has come; now he is going to teach the crowd the purpose for his coming, and the nature of it.

Ironically, Jesus loses the crowd. His teaching is offensive; for all its simplicity and naturalness, rooted as it is in earthly life, and filled with easy-to-understand illustrations and analogies, it is an offensive doctrine. Such simple language proves to be too much for sin-hardened hearts and minds. Many of those who follow Jesus at this point walked away and didn't want to walk with him any more.

Is it not remarkable that the greatest preacher the world ever heard, able to expound the message of God as no-one before or after him could, this great Messiah preacher had to say, 'Who has believed our report?'(Isaiah 53:1). Jesus is proclaiming the gospel, and draws an audience; then he loses it, not because he is a bad teacher, but precisely because he is not. He is a good teacher, who is faithful, and deep, who tells the truth as it is. And it is the truth that comes from God that turns the crowd away.

Jesus in this context teaches the crowd by reminding them of the way in which God had fed his people in the wilderness. Bread had literally come to them from Heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness. For forty years God provided manna for his people in the wilderness. Yet that generation perished. And although there is a similarity between the manna and Jesus, the point is a point of contrast: 'your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and Moses in his day spoke about that provision, and they had it, but there is something come now that is even more glorious and lasting: I, I am the bread of life'.

However glorious that provision in the Old Testament was, it is nothing in comparison to the provision that there is for us now in Jesus Christ. So what is this great statement on the lips of Jesus telling us about what God has provided for us in Christ?

The bread of life is necessary for us

Jesus says that he is the bread of life, and that eating this bread means that you don't go hungry; if you don't eat this bread you will go hungry. This is the bread that sinners need. Just as bread is the staple diet of our natural life, there is something here that is fundamentally important for our spiritual life, and for our life in the presence of God. Without it we perish and die of hunger, our souls starve and there is nothing to nourish and fill us. It does not matter what we fill our lives or our souls with: it is junk food compared with this food: this is the food that brings life and vitality and health.

It is very interesting to note John's use in the Gospel of the concept of eating. Jesus had a conversation in chapter 4 and someone said to him that no-one had given him anything to eat. Do you remember his response? 'I have food to eat that you do not know anything about: my food is to do the will of my Father in Heaven and to finish his work' (4:34).

It is because Jesus ate that food that John tells us that He is able to meet our needs. He ate the food of obedience to the Father's will, and that is what makes him such a glorious provision for our own souls. We can come to him, and we can eat, and we must eat this bread. We are not called to die on the cross as he was; he did all that was necessary for our salvation. It was through eating that we lost communion with God; it was by eating forbidden food that man fell from his first estate. And it is by eating this bread that life and vitality are restored to the soul of man. If we do not eat, we die in our sins.

Have we discovered that without Jesus we perish? In the Gospel life and death are set before us, blessing and cursing, heaven and hell: these are the issues with which the Gospel is concerned, and they affect every individual in the world, whatever their circumstances or age. The fundamental issues of which God speaks are these.

And he is the difference between Heaven and Hell, between living and dying, between being condemned in our sins and having life. He is absolutely necessary. The devil is quite happy if he can convince people that they don't need him, or that they don't need him yet, or that they need him sometime, after all else is dealt with. He is the one thing needful; whatever we have or do not have, unless this Jesus is in our soul, and unless his work is applied to us personally, we will die in our sins. The bread of heaven is necessary if I am to have life.

The bread of heaven is suitable for us

Whoever I may be, the bread of heaven is suitable for me. Jesus says, 'I am the bread of life, WHOEVER eats will live'. Whoever eats -- it is suitable for whoever. There are some things we like and dislike; we all have our tastes. But here is something suitable for us all -- for every boy and girl, every man and woman, every parent and child -- this bread is suitable and able to meet needs nothing else can meet. It can give strength where nothing else can give strength, and to sustain where nothing else can sustain . There is something here suitable for us all.

Only Jesus can offer himself in a way that meets every need. We are not required to know everything about him, or everything about what it means to follow him. We are not required to understand everything in the Bible. It is not necessary to know everything about everything in the Bibel: just to realise that you are a sinner, and he is a Saviour. All you need to know is that he, as a Saviour, is suited to you as a sinner.

Every need he can supply. Every blemish he can wipe away. Every sin he can forgive. The bread is his life, given for the world. That is why he is a suitable provision: because of his life given over at Calvary. All the sins we committed can be dealt with. Whether they are old or new, he remains suitable for sinners, beyond change, and able to say on the basis of Calvary's completed transaction that he is the bread of life.

The bread of life is available for us

This bread is there for the taking. It is within the reach of every one of us. We do not know what it is to lack for food. We go to our supermarkets, and the shelves are full; it is not like that in some countries of the world; there are places where food is not available, it is so scarce.

But here is bread, and it is available. If you are saying that this is good, but it is for other people, Jesus says that it is within our reach. If we think that we are too ignorant, it is available for all.

There is a marvellous point of comparison with the manna here. The manna covered the wilderness floor and God said there was enough for all. Taken on God's terms there was enough for all. By gathering in each day, and by taking in two days' worth on the sixth day, in order to honour the Sabbath, the Israelites discovered there was enough there for all.

Everyone and anyone could have it. There is an unconditional and absolute offer here for sinners to come. How often does Jesus say here that this bread has come DOWN from Heaven. How can I know that I am going to Heaven? The gospel comes with the news of salvation that the bread of life has come down from Heaven to me.

That is the one point at which the Christian religion is distinct from all the religions of the world. You can go to the creeds of all the religions all over the world and they will give you as many steps to Heaven as you could possibly wish. If you follow these you will get to Heaven. But Jesus says, 'That is not good news'; that is not good news for people who break their promises and resolutions daily. It is not good news to be given a ladder to climb to Heaven.

Here is the good news: the bread my soul needs has come down. God does not say 'there you are, try to get yourself up to where I am'. No, he has come down. The bread is the one who has come down from Heaven (v41). It is within your reach to have your life transformed, your sins forgiven, peace with God, your conscience stilled, to know absolute and complete pardon and forgiveness and reconciliation with God. It is available.

There is no use, however, in bread being available unless it is actually eaten. The manna will not do any good on the wilderness floor: it needs to be gathered and taken in and consumed. It has to enter into the body. It is no use admiring it and observing it unless you eat it. It's not enough to be expert on bread-making -- that will not satisfy hunger. Nor is it enough to be expert on digestion -- that will not satisfy either. The bread must be taken and eaten.

Is this not what drove the prodigal son to his father's house? The realisation that the servants had enough bread and to spare, while he perished with hunger became the point of change for him. He could go back and goes to his father with the thought of that spare bread. What happens? Does the father meet him and put a robe and a ring on him and give him a loaf? No -- he kills the fatted calf. 'Give it all to him. Let him eat to his full because it is there for him.' Why should he perish?

Why should any of us be lost when Jesus is so near? Why should you not be a Christian when the word of God comes to you making the bread available. Should you let another opportunity go by? Have you never tasted that the Lord is gracious? He is available for us to take and to eat. Consume him like the bread that he is.

The bread of heaven is free for us

Isaiah expresses it magnificently in his gospel call:

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live; (Isaiah 55:2-3)

Labouring for the food that perishes -- how many people there are that are labouring for the food that perishes, labouring for things that will not satisfy, when Jesus is in the gospel saying 'Come to me, buy wine and milk without money and without price'.

He is there for the taking, having paid all that was necessary. He walked every path that needed to be walked so that he could be yours for the taking. Maybe we need an appetite for him. Maybe you need God to show you just how empty your life is without the Saviour so that you might come on the terms of his unconditional offer.

You pay nothing. You give nothing. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven's bread was obtained at a great price, but it is offered at no price at all.

The bread of heaven is satisfying for us

One taste of this bread and life will never be the same again. Taste and see that God is good (Psalm 34:8). To trust in him is to be blessed, and it is never to hunger. John picks up on this in the book of Revelation as he looks into Heaven and sees God's people around the throne. The lamb is feeding his people, and the voice from Heaven says 'they will never hunger'.

No, not now, not for all eternity. To eat this bread is to live forever, it is to be satisfied to the depth of your soul, it is to have your life filled with the best things. There are many things that Satan parades before us in this world, with which he tempts us. We dabble with them, we taste them, we try them out; they leave us so empty, so disappointed, so frustrated. But the tragedy is that we keep going back to them, even when we know the damage they cause and the emptiness they produce.

But this is something that gives real, lasting satisfaction. People come back to it because they know that it satisfied and fills and does something that no other spiritual food can do.

If you are a Christian and you have drifted away from the Lord, and other thigns have become more attractive, you know that you need to repent and get back to the table to eat the bread that will satisfy.

Maybe you are not a Christian, but you wish you too could feast on Christ. Well, there is nothing in Jesus keeping you away, nothing in God's people keeping you away, nothing in the Bible keeping you away. Jesus says to come and join the feast.

To taste Heaven's bread is to have something in the soul to whet the appetite for the marriage supper of the Lamb, when all of God's people will go into the Heaven from which this bread came down, and they will feast for all eternity around the lamb's table, and this living bread. What a glorious transformation there would be in our soul if we could feast on the living bread, on Christ in all his glorious fullness. He has the power to fill and satisfy still.

Who are you Jesus?

'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'