John 6:4-11,32-35
Jesus is the Bread of Life
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
John 6:4-7 (Holman) Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, "Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?" He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. Philip answered, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn't be enough for each of them to have a little."
Feeding the 5000 is one of Christ's most famous miracles. Other than the resurrection of Jesus, it is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.
Luke says Jesus fed the 5000 near Bethsaida, Philip's home. Since Philip knew the area well, it was natural for Jesus to direct His question toward him.
Philip had opportunity to express strong faith, but showed impatience with Jesus' apparently unreasonable question. Robert Schuller said never say no if the impossible is suggested; lay it before God. He'll let us know what to do or not do.
When confronted with something seemingly impossible in your own life, don't talk to yourself only about it. Talk also to the Father. This difference is the thin line that separates faith from worry.
John 6:8-9 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him,
"There's a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?"
Andrew responded better than Philip did. Avoiding utter despair, he brought to Jesus a boy with five loaves and two fish.
Andrew had no clue how important his deed was. He unwittingly provided material for a miracle. We never know what can happen to those we bring to Jesus.
John 6:10-11 Then Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated, so also with the fish, as much as they wanted.
Jesus made the difference. He took loaves and fish worth little, and upset all reasonable calculations. The Twelve needed to know there was no way they could ever do this on their own.
Before doing the miracle, Jesus had to humble the disciples. The question of verse five—"Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?"—was asked to highlight the impossibility of the task, and to show the disciples they had no way or hope of doing this.
Jesus begins to make our poor resources adequate by first driving home into our heart a consciousness of their insufficiency. We begin by seeing what we have is nothing compared to the immensity of the task Christ requires from us.
We must be emptied of self before we can be filled with God. The vacuum principle is valid in the spiritual as well as the physical realm. Our emptiness draws Christ's fullness.
When we know we have little, it can become much in Jesus' hands. The boy had, for all intents and purposes, almost nothing to give, but he gave what he did have to Jesus, who used it to feed the multitude. If we give Him our life, He will use it to bless many.
God requires from us not extraordinary ability, but willingness to yield all to Him. Now let's find the ultimate lesson in the miracle.
John 6:32a (Holman) Jesus said to them, "I assure you: Moses didn't give you the bread from heaven, . . ."
To this crowd, a highlight of God's dealings with His people was when Moses fed the nation with manna in the wilderness. Jesus, though, said manna was not a gift from Moses. He was only God's instrument. Jesus told them to look past Moses to God.
We often do not give God the honor He deserves. Never forget, "Every generous act and perfect gift is from above" (James 1:17). To God be the glory, every day, everywhere, in everything.
John 6:32b-34 ". . .but My father gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the One who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then they said, "Sir give us this bread always!"
Jesus knew the crowd needed to know manna was not the ultimate, best bread from heaven, but merely foreshadowed it. When Jesus mentioned bread that "gives life to the world," this crowd perked up. They did not fully understand Him, but recognized value in it. They knew they needed more than what they had.
We all at times sense this angst, feeling we have not found all we were intended to be. Earthly goals are not our highest element. We were meant for more, for God. Every moment of life was intended to be lived in joyful communion with Him.
The crowd's request was well worded, but in vain, for they did not see the Giver of life in the bread they ate, nor the Bread of life in the Giver who fed them.
John 6:35a "I am the bread of life," Jesus told them.
Jesus offered them Himself. The best gift God has ever given this old, tired world was standing in their presence. Jesus' miracles were wonderful, but He was even more wonderful.
We can enjoy nothing of God apart from Christ Himself. We can't separate what the Father gives from what Jesus is. He claimed to be the bread of life (6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the door (10:7,9), the good shepherd (10:11,14), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the vine (15:5), and the way and the truth (14:6).
Jesus used humble symbols to describe Himself. Thank God for the simple clarity of the Gospel. Our message is for everyone, not scholars only. Jesus' claims were so plain and understandable that if we misinterpret them, it is caused by our own refusal to believe. Unbelief can never be blamed on obscurity in His language.
It was condescending for Him to call Himself bread, the commonest article on a table, but this made the application obvious. "I am the bread of life" is not simply a beautiful phrase. Bread sustains life. Without bread, life cannot continue.
Jesus, the bread of life, initiates and sustains spiritual life. Apart from Jesus, people only exist, and have no connection with God.
People desperately need Jesus. He is a necessity, not a luxury. We may like to have money and stuff, but we must have bread.
We humans cannot get rid of Christ because we cannot get rid of our deepest desires. People long to know God; and Jesus is the only One who can ultimately satisfy this longing.
John 6:35b "No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again."
Jesus is the bread of life, but can help us only if He is appropriated. Bread uneaten cannot end our hunger. The bread of life satisfies only the one who "comes" and "believes." We must come to Jesus as spiritual beggars.
Since Jesus is the bread of Life, the implication is, whoever comes to Him leaves an old life of beggarly famines totally unable to satisfy. Nothing in the old life of famine can fulfill us spiritually, nor can we find anything in the old life we can bring to earn God's favor. We are saved without merit. We can only receive.
We do not deserve what He offers; we come empty handed. All we can bring is a gnawing hunger, which in this case is a sign of health. It means we have finally realized we need to seek help. Sinners do better when they begin to feel a distressing need for bread from heaven.
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