Jesus, the bread of life

John 6:22-40

Key verse 6:35

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”

In the first part of chapter 6, Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Jesus had compassion on suffering people. Jesus wanted his disciples to share his heart and participate in his work, bringing what they could by faith. In today’s passage the crowd that enjoyed Jesus’ gracious provision sought him for more bread when they were hungry again. But Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life.” Jesus wanted them to realize what the true bread is and to have eternal life in his name. May God help us to feed on the bread of life, Jesus through this study.

First, “Do not work for food that spoils” (22-27).

After Jesus fed the five thousand, the crowd were looking for him next day. They were poor and hungry. They saw that Jesus provided them abundant loaves and fish. When their stomachs began to growl again after one day of sleeping, they thought of bread made by Jesus. So they tried to find where he was. Assuming that Jesus had gone to Capernaum, they went across the lake of Galilee in search of him. They were desperate to get the food from Jesus. Then they found him on the other side of the lake and asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” But Jesus was not pleased when they came to him in their motive.

Look at verse 26. “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.’” Jesus keenly perceived their motive in looking for him. They wanted another meal. They had degenerated from seeking a miraculous sign to seeking a happy meal. They were like little children who run to greet their daddy, not because they are glad to see him, but because they expect some candy. Jesus was very sorry that though they stood in front of the Son of God, in their hearts they were panting for a piece of bread. Jesus wanted them to realize that their inner motive had degenerated.

Jesus went on to say in verse 27, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” It points us to know the purpose of work correctly. When Jesus said, “Do not work for food that spoils,” he meant that they should not spend all their effort and desire just to earn bread. It is a foolish exchange for a man to give his whole life for bread. We remember Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. In a very short time, he regretted it with bitter tears. To me, toasted bread with peanut butter and honey in the morning tastes very good. But if breads remain over expired date, it spoils soon and becomes moldy. Although we had delicious breakfast, we felt hungry again around lunch time. Likewise not only bread, but also all the things of the world perish, spoil and fade away gradually. So living for only bread or money is out of man’s life purpose.

We need bread. We must pay our bill on time. Many work hard to have better life believing that material abundance will make them happy.  Students study hard with the single desire to get a good job and make a lot of money. If anything interferes with their plan to make money, they become very nervous, even hostile. But Jesus warns us against the tragic mistake of earning money as life goal. The purpose of work is not at all for getting food. Food is necessary to sustain our body. Everyone from a newborn baby to a senior citizen needs food. Everyone needs money for basic life maintenances. So, people pursue good quality food, good career and high education, by working hard daily. But there is always a fundamental question lingering in our heart.

What is the purpose of work? Why do I study hard? Dr. Albert Schweitzer understood the purpose of work. After accepting Christ at a young age, he made a decision to study hard for the glory of God. He studied medicine, theology, history, music, and various sciences. Then he went to Africa and used his knowledge to serve the people there. He lived for God’s mission and worked hard to serve Africans. It is God’s truth that God made man to work for him. We are in need of money and bread, but we are not created for making money and bread only. We are created for food that endures to eternal life. We are to work for God’s purpose, direction and mission upon our life. Students should study hard to master their study and be a useful steward of God’s world in his time. Jesus came to liberate mankind from the curse and to restore the blessed life of mission once again. We should examine ourselves: “Am I working for bread or for God’s holy mission?”

Look at verse 27a again. “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” There is another kind of food mentioned by Jesus. Jesus says, “work for food that endures to eternal life”. New King James Version 1 Peter 1:25 says, “But the word of the Lord endures forever”. So we learn that another food is the word of God. The word of God is the spiritual food. People are suffering due to their sin without the word of God. However the word of God gives a new life to our souls in Christ. The word of God nurtures our inner person to grow in the image of God. The word of God enlightens us to do the work of God and participate in the divine nature. When we obey the word of God, it lasts forever in our life.

For example, Peter was once a smelly fisherman. One day, as he was cleaning his nets, Jesus got into his boat and asked him to put out a little from shore so he could preach to the crowd that had gathered. When Jesus finished and he said to him, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch”(Lk5:4). At that time Peter was empty in his fishing work for whole night. He had good reasons not to do so. But he overcame himself and obeyed Jesus’ words simply. Then he caught such a great number of fish that his nets began to break. This event opened Peter’s eyes to see God in Jesus. Obedience to God’s word changes his life to experience eternal life in Jesus. We learned two events in John’s gospel. One is the servants’ obedience at the wedding that when they obeyed Jesus’ word, water changed into wine(Jn2:9). The other is a royal official’s obedience that when he took Jesus’ word, his son got well and alive(Jn4:50). Obviously when we obey Jesus, he gives us the words of life. He strongly encourages us to make a greater effort to obey the word of God than to obtain a piece of bread. We must examine our attitude toward the word of God. It is so easy for us to be engrossed in the struggle to survive. But Jesus urges us to make a greater effort to obey the word of God. Jesus said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”

Second, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (28-40).

After listening to Jesus’ teaching, the crowd felt that they should do some kind of work suddenly. They were willing to work. So they asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (29). Jesus was simply trying to help the crowd with the truth of God. They had a fixed idea that they must work for bread. This idea is ingrained in human beings. Many work so hard for bread that they sacrifice it for their family, not to mention their faith in God to others. But Jesus really wanted to restore this mentality from the origin of work which God ordained. What God wants from us first and foremost is not some kind of work, but to believe in Jesus Christ and to have the life of God in our souls. Before meeting Jesus personally, our works are acts of self-righteousness that smell like rotten garbage to God. Or they are desperate acts of survival in a dog-eat-dog society.

Without God, life is the survival of the fittest. Life under the curse seems exactly like that, but when we believe in Jesus we cross over from death to life. We no longer live a cursed life in a cursed world. Instead, we come under the protection and providence of God and into his world of blessing. In God’s blessing, work is a privilege and an opportunity to glorify God (Eph 2:10). It is not burdensome, but meaningful and joyful. Thus, the word “work” has a different meaning after knowing Christ. A person under the curse simply cannot understand the blessedness of working for God. Jesus simply told them that they needed to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

What Jesus said was very simple enough. The crowd needed to accept Jesus as the Messiah sent by God. That was all. When they saw the feeding of the five thousand, they realized that Jesus was the Messiah. But now they were asking for another sign. Because they didn’t believe in Jesus, rather they sought only material blessing. This shows us that people on the material level intentionally misunderstand miraculous signs. Because they lose the spiritual meaning beyond visible events, seeing only material benefit. They fail to see what God is doing in history.

When the crowd wanted Jesus to give them a miraculous sign, they had a specific miracle in mind. They wanted Jesus to provide bread from heaven like Moses did. To strengthen their demand, they quoted from Exodus 16:4. But they only mentioned a key phrase, “bread from heaven.” The entire verse says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.’” In the context of God’s purpose for Israel, God was using the bread problem to train his people. But the crowd was twisting Scripture according to their own desire. They imagined that God gave bread from heaven while the Israelites enjoyed a comfortable life. This was not true. Because their wilderness training was difficult. God used their bread problem to train them in faith and humanity. God still uses the bread problem today to train his people as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Jesus reminded them that it was not Moses, but God who gave them bread from heaven. Bible study must be God-centered. When they let their own desire color their understanding of God’s word, they missed the point. Jesus also taught them what the true bread from heaven is. They thought of manna. But Jesus said in verse 33, “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” The bread of God is not material. It is a person. Jesus came down from heaven to give life to men. Jesus humbled himself from his heavenly throne to be a man, God in the flesh. Jesus finished his work on the cross through his death and he rose again from the dead so that we might have life through Christ. The crowd didn’t understand who Jesus was. They just wanted physical bread. They said, “Sir, from now on give us this bread.”

Look at verse 35. “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’” Jesus was not going to give them physical bread. He wanted to give them spiritual bread. Jesus is the bread of life. He gives life to our souls. Jesus can do this because he is God. He has the power to give spiritual life. Jesus promises that those who come to him will never go hungry. “Hungry” refers to the spiritual hunger in our souls. It is a hunger for eternal life, God’s love and righteousness. Jesus fully satisfies our spiritual hunger for life, love and holiness. Jesus gives us eternal satisfaction.

Jesus says that to have the bread of life we must come to him and believe in him. It means that we should surrender to him as Lord and we should listen to his word, and accept him always. In other words, it is to trust in Jesus fully by faith. There are many people who hang around Jesus without coming to him. They know about Jesus to make a decision of faith, but they are unwilling to surrender to Jesus because of unbelief. Some worry about peer pressure. Some worry about losing sinful pleasures. Some worry about sacrificing too much. They calculate and hesitate to come to Jesus with faith. That’s why their foundation of faith is very weak like a foolish man who built his house on sand(Mt7:26). The crowd was like this. They had seen Jesus but they were not willing to trust him. The real problem is that without accepting Jesus they would be continually hungry and thirsty inwardly. Most of all they would not have eternal life. We must come to Jesus and accept him into our hearts. Jesus will fill our hearts and give us eternal life.

In the past I sought success, money and girl through an excellent school study. My life purpose was to get good marks on each exams. I didn’t want to make friends with those who were not good in their study. But I longed for true satisfaction and eternal life because I suffered due to my sin. Although I was ignorant of God he sent his one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross in my place for my sin. When I was still weak in faith, the word of God touched my heart deeply through John 19:30. It says “It is finished” I personally heard of Jesus’ word on the cross. I repented of my sin and accepted Jesus as my Savior and my Lord. Then he gave me true peace and joy from heaven and saved me from the power of sin. I experienced the forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Christ. After this I set a clear direction to learn of Jesus throughout my 6 years of campus life and 3 years of military service. I joined one to one ministry and participated in the work of God. Since 2007 I have been learning of world mission work in Canada. My purpose of work here in Christ is to reveal the glory of God in my life. My life has true purpose and meaning when I work for God. Now I am challenging to serve one Canadian student with the word of God. I am also praying for entering school to participate in campus mission. Personally I want to obey Mk9:23, “everything is possible for him who believes” in order to work for God in my daily struggling. May I not only feed on Jesus, the bread of life but also feed campus students with Jesus, the bread of life through one to one bible study.

In today’s passage we learn that Jesus does not want us to waste our precious lives in the pursuit of bread or money. Money cannot satisfy our souls. We must work for God’s purpose and mission.  Jesus is the bread of life. Jesus wants us to come to him and believe in him who gives all of his disciples eternal life. Let’s work for spiritual food which gives us true satisfaction.