INTRODUCTION
We’re doing a series on ‘Titles of Jesus.’ We’ve done two so far. My first talk was on Jesus the Good Shepherd. Then, last week, we looked at Jesus the Rock. It’s wonderful to know that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and our rock.
Both of those descriptions of Jesus have their roots in the Old Testament. Today, we’re going to look another title of Jesus which also has its roots in the Old Testament. We’re going to look at Jesus, the bread of life. As we will see, it is also a wonderful fact.
We’ll start with the Old Testament background. Then we’ll look at Jesus feeding 5,000 people. Then we’ll look at how Jesus used that miracle to teach a greater spiritual truth, that he doesn’t just GIVE bread; he IS the bread of life.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
You know the story of the Exodus. The people of Israel flee slavery in Egypt. They travel across the Red Sea and then across the Sinai Peninsula. There wasn’t a lot of food or water in the Sinai Peninsula, but God provided manna for them to eat. The manna was VERY important to the Israelites. God occasionally provided quail for the Israelites to eat, and I suppose they might have found other food here or there. But the manna was their staple.
That’s the Old Testament background. Let’s go on now to the New Testament.
JESUS GIVES BREAD
The background to Jesus saying ‘I am the bread of life’ is one of his most amazing miracles: the feeding of the 5,000. This is the only miracle that comes in all four gospels so it must be important. But why?
Jesus was teaching a large crowd in a remote place. The people weren’t bored and as far as we know, they hadn’t fallen asleep. But they were getting hungry. Thomas tells Jesus, ‘Jesus, it’s getting late. People here are hungry. You’ve taught them enough for today. We ought to send them away.’
Jesus replies, ‘They don’t need to go away. YOU give them something to eat!’
Jesus’ disciples scratch their heads. It’s a remote place. Where are they going to find food? Then a boy pipes up. ‘I’ve got some food! I’ve got some bread and some fish!’ He shows what he’s got to Andrew.
I can imagine Andrew thinking, ‘Five small barley loaves and two fish. Hmm! That won’t go very far!’ But he takes them to Jesus.
I’m sure you know what happens next. Jesus takes the five loaves and two fish. He thanks God for them and then distributes them. Miraculously, all the people there are fed, and there’s food left over. That’s the background. Jesus hasn’t yet made his claim, ‘I am the bread of life.’ But let’s reflect on the miracle for a moment.
Jesus saw that the people were hungry. He gave them bread and fish. Jesus wasn’t only concerned about the people’s spiritual needs. He was also concerned about their material needs. He provided food. It means that WE can trust Jesus to meet OUR material needs now. Jesus hasn’t changed. He’s the same now as he was 2000 years ago. He sees and understands our material needs, he cares, and he does something about it. That’s good to know!
JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE
We’ve set the scene. Now let’s move on. Jesus wraps up. He sends the people home and he sends his disciples off in a boat. Then – as if he hadn’t already done enough amazing things that day! – he walks on water to catch up with them.
The next day, the crowd come chasing after him. Today, if you’re a film star and your new film is just about to come out, or if you’re a top tennis player and you’ve just won Wimbledon, journalists will want to interview you. The people who come to find Jesus have questions. This is the point when we discover why this miracle was SO important. Listen to how the conversation goes. It’s in John 6:25-35.
The Jews: ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’
Jesus: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. DO NOT LABOUR FOR THE FOOD THAT PERISHES, BUT FOR THE FOOD THAT ENDURES TO ETERNAL LIFE, WHICH THE SON OF MAN WILL GIVE TO YOU. For on him God the Father has set his seal.’
The Jews: ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’
Jesus: ’This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’
The Jews: ‘Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’
Jesus: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. FOR THE BREAD OF GOD IS HE WHO COMES DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND GIVES LIFE TO THE WORLD.’
The Jews: ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’
Jesus: ‘I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’
UNPACKING IT
What an amazing conversation! Physical food perishes. Jesus told the people not to waste their energy getting that. But, he says, there’s another kind of food which doesn’t perish. This food endures to eternal life! But Jesus doesn’t simply GIVE this food. He IS this food! He IS the bread of life.
Bread is important today. I think that in Jesus’ day it was even more important. It was people’s staple food. When Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life’ it means ‘I’m what you need, day by day. I’m your daily sustenance.’ But Jesus is food which doesn’t perish. Jesus said, ‘Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’ Jesus, as the bread of life, meets our needs, forever.
Notice that Jesus said, ‘I am THE bread of life.’ The little word ‘the’ is significant. It’s there in our English Bibles and it’s there in the Greek too. We talk about ‘THE sun’ or ‘THE moon’ or ‘THE pope’ or ‘THE Eiffel Tower’ because there’s only one of them. Jesus is THE bread of life. He is the ONLY bread of life. There’s no substitute.
Most people don’t know that. Most people labour for bread that does not satisfy. They labour to develop a career. They labour to gain friends. They labour for money. They labour to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend. They think that if they get the thing they’re labouring for, they will be satisfied. But there is only one true bread, and that is Jesus.
Billy and Ruth Graham had five children. Their second child was Anne Graham Lotz. Lotz had an incredibly busy, high-pressure, life. She wrote a book. It was called ‘Just give me Jesus.’ She wrote, ‘I don’t want a vacation, I don’t want to quit, I don’t want sympathy, I don’t want money, I don’t want recognition, I don’t want to escape, I don’t even want a miracle! This book is the cry of my heart—JUST GIVE ME JESUS. Please!’ Lotz knew that there was only one bread that would satisfy her. Jesus was that bread.
THE BREAD OF LIFE GIVES ETERNAL LIFE
Jesus said that he is ‘The bread of life.’ He’s the bread that satisfies. But it’s an interesting phrase, ‘The bread of life.’ There’s something amazing about this bread. IT GIVES LIFE.
Suppose you go to the doctor. He’s a bit concerned that you might have cancer. You go to the hospital and have a CT scan. Thankfully, there’s no sign of cancer. You’re very happy about that. But suppose there’s a solution to death itself?! That would be unbelievable, wouldn’t it? But it’s what Jesus claimed. Listen to what he said and count how many times he says he can give eternal life.
'Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes HAS ETERNAL LIFE. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, SO THAT ONE MAY EAT OF IT AND NOT DIE. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, HE WILL LIVE FOR EVER’ [John 6:47-51a].
How many times did Jesus say that a person can have eternal life? I made it three.
When politicians speak it’s often hard to know what they’re saying. But Jesus could hardly be clearer. He is saying that it’s possible to live forever!
We’ve now reached the point where we can grasp why Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5000 people is so important. It’s a picture of a deep and vitally important spiritual truth, and it validates it.
In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus received five loaves of bread. He broke them, and in his hands the bread miraculously increased to feed the people present.
On the cross, Jesus offered his body. It was broken. But his body miraculously provides for all those who feed on him by faith. Our spiritual need is met.
The feeding of the 5,000 is a picture of this spiritual truth. It also validates it.
What Jesus claimed sounds unbelievable. Many of Jesus’ disciples left him after he made this claim. But there’s a very strong reason to believe it. Jesus had just fed 5,000 people! Who could do that? It was an extraordinary miracle! If someone can do that, we must take what he says seriously.
That brings us to the end of our reflection on Jesus, the bread of life. What do we have to do?
Suppose, today, you’ve decided that you believe Jesus. You believe he can offer the bread of life. And you want it! What do you have to do? Jesus tells us. Look at verse 35.
Jesus told the people, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever COMES to me shall not hunger, and whoever BELIEVES in me shall never thirst.’
You have to do two things. COME to Jesus. And BELIEVE in him.
How does that work in practice? We can’t physically see Jesus. But he hears us if we pray to him. So we can come to Jesus and say something like ‘Jesus, I believe that YOU are the bread of life. I want to receive you into my life as my Saviour and my Lord. Please come in.’ If we pray that and mean it, Jesus enters our lives and satisfies us like no other bread can. If you have never taken that step of coming to Jesus and you’d like to, please do speak to me after the service.
But what if we’ve already committed our lives to Jesus? Do WE have to do anything? We also have to do something! God gave the ancient Israelites manna, and they had to come out of their tents days by day to collect it. In a similar way, feeding on Jesus isn’t a one-off thing. We have to come to him day by day and feed on him.
PRAYER
Thank you, heavenly Father, that you sent us Jesus, the bread of life. Help us, Lord Jesus, to feed on you day by day and discover that you are indeed the bread that truly satisfies, the bread which gives us eternal life. Amen.
TALK GIVEN AT ROSEBERY PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, BOURNEMOUTH, UK, 1ST SEPTEMBER 2024, 4 P.M. SERVICE.
