The late afternoon dims—subdued by opaque particles of white drifting through the air. Like the snow, my mind wanders. Winter’s austere beauty leaves its impression, yet I long for spring. For awakening. For the appearance of buds peeking shyly from the ground; bursting in joyous array on branches now shivering in the cold. My heart, I realize, yearns for Life. For the one who called Himself the Bread of Life.

 

Jesus Identifies Himself as the Bread of Life

Barricaded by the invisible walls of a desert existence, God’s chosen traveled the wasteland between Egypt and the Promised Land. Despite the miraculous events that released them from the cruel hand of slavery, words of complaint ascended to heaven.

The desire for food tempted Israel to forget their misery and meditate on lack. “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full…” (Exodus 16:3)

But in His mercy, God showered manna upon the barren desert floor—filling the hungry bodies of His people with bread from heaven.

Hundreds of years later, the Godhead responded to the lament of those desperate for relief from another type of enslavement—bondage to sin.

The Word, who reigned with the Father in heavenly places before time began, moved from beyond eternity’s beginning to rescue the hungry and hurting. To save the spiritually famished and fallen. And through His birth to a virgin, Jesus emitted His first cry in a town called Bethlehem—the “House of Bread”.

As an adult “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35 NASB) The one born in the “House of Bread” expressed sameness with that which nourished Israel as they traversed the wild lands.

The one born in the “House of Bread” expressed sameness with that which nourished Israel as they traversed the wild lands. #breadoflife #livingmanna Click To Tweet

Why Did the Bread of Life Declaration Upend the Religious?

The first of seven I Am declarations; Christ’s statement upended the Jewish community.

Why?

When we break down John 6:35, two truths become apparent.

• Jesus proclaimed he is God. The first two words of Jesus’ statement rattled most of the religious crowd. I am.

 

I is translated from the emphatic word egó, and am comes from eimi which means self-existent. Here, Christ declares equality with God when he references an exchange recorded in Exodus 3:14 (NASB), “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”.

• Jesus proclaimed He is the bread of life. The day before Christ gave this message, He miraculously fed 5,000 hungry people. The crowd wanted a meal ticket, but the Son of God promised eternal life.

Those who feast on Him receive that which surpasses physical needs.

 

Applying the Bread of Life to Our Lives

Last week’s post explored the importance of hungering for God. Today, I would like to expand on the four specific ways we can pursue the Bread of Life.

We must maintain:

• spiritual humility

Christ’s influence is unlike any other in the world, but many refuse to recognize Him as Lord. Even within the church, syncretism threatens to discredit Biblical teaching as woke viewpoints (and others) infiltrate the pulpit. As George Barna points out,  “we have a nation where almost seven out of 10 adults call themselves Christian, but only six out of every 100 try to think like Jesus so that they can live like Jesus.”

 

As 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 reminds us, we must return to a position of spiritual humility.

 

• a recognition of our need

The Israelites depended on God for forty years. During that time their clothes never wore out, their shoes never wore through, and their stomachs never remained empty.

 

Without the bread of life, we waste away—neither receiving eternal life nor continuing in the abundance of the day-to-day. But in conceding our poverty, Jesus fills us with Himself and we gain everlasting life. Joy. Daily renewal.

In conceding our poverty, Jesus fills us with Himself and we gain everlasting life. Joy. Daily renewal. #dailybread Click To Tweet

• expectation of holy provision

In the dry places, the Lord provided for every need. We, too, can look to Christ for daily sustenance—both physically and spiritually—as we pray “give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 NASB).

 

• continual feasting on the Word

Scripture confirms that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and, once we believe and confess (Romans 10:10), our salvation is secure.

But in the same way that the Israelites collected honeyed wafers in the desert each day, we must invest in our relationship with Jesus.

 

A Prayer for You

Jesus,

I praise you—the marvelous I AM. Lord, I confess you are the manna for which I long; the Bread of Life I desperately need. Nothing else satisfies my heart but too often I allow the demands of the day to dictate my schedule. Help me to seek you out first instead. To make time for you. Jesus, help me remember to feast on you—the One who gives life abundant.

Amen

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Tammy Kennington

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