CCF: So That You May Know the Bread of Life
By Bro. Fred Magbanua
During the biblical times, bread is considered a staple food and an essential part of their meal. Not just an appetiser or side dish but something that satisfies people and make them full. This is the context when Jesus said “I am the Bread of Life.”
In the book of John chapter 6, after Jesus feed the five thousand multitude with five small barley loaves and two fish, great crowd of people followed Him. But Jesus convict them that people are seeking Him because they look up to Him as someone who can provide for them and deliver them from the Romans. Jesus recognised that men needs bread to live but emphasised that men should not live on bread alone. He encouraged them not to work on the food that perishes but focus on the food that has eternal life.
Where do you focus most of your time and activities? Does it have lasting value? Like working hard on your career, spending time in leisure and sports, or feeding your mind with all kinds of learning. There is nothing wrong investing our time on these things BUT if it takes away the time for things that are important to God like family and ministry, then we might need to revisit our priorities.
As the people ask Jesus what must they do to do the works of God, He respond to them that it’s not about working but about believing in the One sent by the Father. As Jesus declares “I AM the Bread of Life” the first of the seven monumental I AM statement of Jesus. He is clearly claiming His deity.
Jesus said to them, “I AM the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. —John 6:35(NASB)
While Jesus assures that whoever comes to Him, He will not turn away, there must be a will from the person to come. The word “come” in Greek does not necessarily mean leaving or moving in a direction but also about arriving to the destination. It is not just about seeking Jesus but also entails arriving to Jesus.
As Jesus claims to be the bread that came down from heaven, there are people who grumbled and did not believe Him because they thought they knew Him and His family background but miss out the truth about the virgin birth. But Jesus rebuke their disbelieve:
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. —John 6:47-48(NASB)
To simply this statement in an equation we can say:
Whoever believes in Jesus = Has eternal life
If anyone eats this bread from heaven = He will live forever
Whoever believes in Jesus = Anyone who eats this bread from heaven
In spite of His promises, not everyone believed Him, in these scripture we could see three reactions to the teachings of Jesus:
1. Fall away - Some people had a grumbling heart, they took offense as their disbelief hardened and turned back from Jesus;
2. Betray - More than not believing or just being passive, others made actions to put down Jesus and the credibility of His words;
3. Commit and obey - Other recognise that Jesus is the Holy One who gives eternal life
So you may know the Bread of Life:
Jesus is the Bread of Life, the true bread from heaven
We need the spiritual bread to have spiritual life. We eat this bread by believing Jesus, walking with Jesus, the Son of Man, God Himself.
People could fall away or betray; we must decide Jesus is the only way and let Him keep moulding us everyday!
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