The Bread From Heaven
Introduction
Brothers and sisters, gather close this morning as we explore one of the most profound declarations Jesus ever made. In John 6:35, our Savior stands before a hungry crowd and speaks words that echo through eternity: "I am the bread of life."
This statement did not come in a vacuum. The people had just witnessed Jesus feed 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish. Their stomachs were full, but their souls remained empty. They wanted more bread for their bellies, but Jesus offered them bread for their beings.
Turn with me to Exodus 16, where we find Israel wandering in the wilderness. They cried out for food, and God rained down manna from heaven. Every morning for forty years, this mysterious bread appeared with the dew. But that manna was only a shadow, as Hebrews 10:1 reminds us that the law had only a shadow of the good things to come. The reality stood before them in the person of Jesus Christ.
Today, we will trace the journey from the temporary provision of manna to the eternal satisfaction found only in Christ. We will discover why Jesus is better than anything this world offers, and how we can feed on Him daily. As the psalmist declared in Psalm 34:8, "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" This morning, we invite you to taste the goodness of the true Bread from heaven.
1. Manna in the Morning
A. Israel's Daily Bread
Look at Exodus 16:13-15 with me. The Israelites woke up one morning to find the ground covered with a strange, flaky substance. They looked at each other and asked, "What is it?" The Hebrew words "man hu" became the name of their new food: manna.
God designed this provision with purpose. Every morning, without fail, the manna appeared. The people had to go out and gather it before the sun grew hot and it melted away. Each family collected an omer per person, about four pints. Nobody could hoard it. When they tried to store it overnight, it bred worms and stank, as we read in Exodus 16:20.
This daily rhythm taught Israel a crucial lesson: dependence. They could not rely on yesterday's provision for today's need. They could not store up enough to skip tomorrow's gathering. God was training them to trust Him one day at a time. This pattern echoes throughout Scripture, from Lamentations 3:22-23, which tells us His mercies are new every morning, to the prayer Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:11, "Give us this day our daily bread."
The manna itself was remarkable. Scripture describes it as white like coriander seed, tasting like wafers made with honey, according to Exodus 16:31. It could be ground into flour, baked into bread, or eaten raw. Numbers 11:7-8 gives us additional details about its preparation. For forty years, this supernatural food sustained an entire nation in a barren wilderness where nothing else would grow.
B. Temporary Satisfaction
But here is the reality we must face: the manna was temporary. Yes, it filled their stomachs. Yes, it kept them alive through their wilderness journey. Yes, it demonstrated God's faithfulness. But every single person who ate that manna eventually died.
Exodus 16:35 tells us the manna lasted exactly as long as Israel needed it. The day after they ate the produce of Canaan, the manna stopped, as recorded in Joshua 5:12. Its purpose was fulfilled. It had brought them from Egypt to the Promised Land, but it could not give them eternal life.
The crowd in John 6:31 understood this limitation. They quoted Scripture back to Jesus: "Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness." They knew the story. They celebrated it in their festivals. They taught it to their children. But they also knew their fathers died in that wilderness, never reaching the land flowing with milk and honey. As John 6:49 plainly states, "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead."
Physical bread, no matter how miraculous its origin, can only sustain physical life. It fills the stomach for a few hours. It provides energy for a single day. Then hunger returns. The cycle repeats. The need never ends. This is why Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 6:7, "All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied."
C. Looking for More
The people came to Jesus with a request that revealed their hearts: "Lord, evermore give us this bread" (John 6:34). They wanted what the Samaritan woman wanted when she asked for living water so she would never have to draw from the well again (John 4:15). They wanted convenience. They wanted comfort. They wanted their physical needs met without effort.
But notice what they were really seeking. They were looking for more because what they had was not enough. The world's bread never satisfies. You can drive the fastest car, live in the biggest house, earn the highest salary, achieve the greatest fame, and still feel empty inside. As Ecclesiastes 5:10 warns, "He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase."
This is the human condition. We are afflicted with dissatisfaction, boredom, anxiety, and care. We cannot find authentic rest or true peace. We search for something to fill the void, but everything the world offers leaves us hungry again. Isaiah 55:2 asks the piercing question, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?"
The crowd wanted Jesus to be their personal bakery. They missed the point entirely. They were standing face to face with the answer to their deepest hunger, and they were asking Him to give them something less. They were willing to settle for bread that perishes when the Bread of Life stood before them.
Their fathers looked for more in the wilderness. They complained about the manna. They wanted meat and cucumbers and melons like they had in Egypt, as Numbers 11:4-6 records. They despised the gift of heaven because it was not what their flesh craved. Their children were making the same mistake two thousand years later.
2. I Am the Bread of Life
A. Better Than Manna
Jesus answered their misguided request with a correction and a revelation. First, He corrected their theology: "Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven" (John 6:32).
Moses was only the messenger. God was the provider. The manna came from the Father's hand, not from Moses' staff. As Psalm 78:24-25 declares, "Had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full." And now the Father was giving them something infinitely superior: the true bread from heaven.
The word "true" here means genuine, real, ultimate. The manna was bread, but it was only a type. It pointed forward to something greater. Jesus is the reality to which the manna pointed. As Colossians 2:17 explains about Old Testament practices, these "are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
Consider the comparison. The manna was small and round, speaking of humility. Jesus left His throne of glory to live among us, taking the form of a servant, as Philippians 2:7 describes. The manna was white and pure. Jesus had no sin, no spot, no blemish, as 1 Peter 1:19 affirms. The manna was round, speaking of eternity. Jesus has no beginning and no end, as Revelation 1:8 proclaims, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." The manna tasted like honey, speaking of sweetness and satisfaction. Jesus satisfies our deepest longing, fulfilling Psalm 107:9, "For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness." The manna came from heaven, speaking of deity. Jesus came from the Father and is one with the Father, as He declared in John 10:30.
But Jesus is better than manna in every way. The manna sustained physical life for a time. Jesus gives eternal life forever. The manna came only to Israel. Jesus came for the whole world. The manna required daily gathering. Jesus, once received, abides with us always. The manna kept people alive in the wilderness. Jesus brings people into the Promised Land of God's presence. This is why Hebrews 3:3 says, "For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses."
B. Eternal Satisfaction
Now Jesus makes His great declaration: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).
This is the first of seven magnificent "I am" statements in John's Gospel. Each time Jesus used these words, "I am," He was claiming equality with Jehovah, the God who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. When Moses asked God's name, God said in Exodus 3:14, "I AM WHO I AM." The Jews understood this claim perfectly, which is why they later took up stones to kill Him for blasphemy in John 8:58-59.
No mere man could speak these words without blasphemy. No ordinary teacher could make such a claim without madness. But Jesus is neither ordinary nor merely human. He is God in flesh, the Word made manifest, the exact representation of the Father's nature, as Hebrews 1:3 confirms.
What does it mean that Jesus is the bread of life? It means He is essential for life, the way physical bread is essential for physical existence. It means He sustains life, providing ongoing nourishment and strength. It means He satisfies life, meeting the deepest needs of the human soul. As Jesus Himself said in John 6:51, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever."
The promise is staggering: "shall never hunger" and "shall never thirst." Both negatives are emphat in the Greek text. This is not temporary relief or partial satisfaction. This is complete, permanent, eternal fulfillment. John 4:14 echoes this promise regarding spiritual water: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst."
Those who come to Jesus and believe in Him find what they have been searching for their entire lives. The restless soul finds rest, as Jesus promised in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The anxious heart finds peace. The empty life finds purpose. The guilty conscience finds forgiveness. The fearful spirit finds courage. The lonely existence finds companionship.
This satisfaction does not mean believers never desire more of Christ. The appetite for God grows as we feed on Him. But it means we will never again search for satisfaction in the empty cisterns of this world. We will never again try to fill the God-shaped void with the junk food of sin and selfishness. As Jeremiah 2:13 warns against forsaking God, the fountain of living waters, to hew out broken cisterns that hold no water.
C. Available to All
Jesus says the bread of God "gives life to the world" (John 6:33). Not just to Jews. Not just to the religious. Not just to the good or the worthy. To the world. John 3:16 makes this crystal clear: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
The invitation is universal: "He who comes to Me." Not he who is born in the right family. Not he who performs the right rituals. Not he who achieves the right status. Simply he who comes. Revelation 22:17 extends this gracious invitation: "And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely."
Coming to Jesus means approaching Him with empty hands and open hearts. It means acknowledging we have nothing to offer and everything to receive. It means turning from self-reliance to Christ-dependence. It means recognizing we are spiritually bankrupt and He is infinitely rich. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Believing in Jesus means more than intellectual agreement. It means personal trust and commitment. It means staking your eternal destiny on His finished work. It means accepting His person, His claims, His authority, His salvation. Romans 10:9 defines saving faith: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
The Father draws people to the Son, as Jesus explained in John 6:44. Those whom the Father gives to Jesus will come. And Jesus promises in John 6:37, "The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." He will not reject anyone who genuinely seeks Him. He will not turn away anyone the Father brings to Him.
This is grace upon grace, as John 1:16 describes. We could never seek God unless He first sought us, as Luke 19:10 reveals. We could never come to Christ unless the Father drew us. We could never believe unless the Spirit opened our eyes, as 1 Corinthians 2:14 explains. Salvation from beginning to end is the work of God, as Ephesians 2:8-9 declares.
But the invitation still stands: Come. Believe. Receive. Eat. Drink. Be satisfied. Isaiah 55:1 proclaims, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat."
3. Daily Bread for Today
A. Coming to Jesus Daily
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). This petition reflects the pattern established with the manna. God's provisions are fresh every morning, as Lamentations 3:22-23 assures us: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."
The Christian life requires daily feeding on Christ. Yesterday's spiritual experience cannot sustain today's spiritual walk. Last week's sermon cannot meet this week's challenges. Last year's Bible reading cannot nourish this year's growth. As Job testified in Job 23:12, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."
Many believers struggle because they try to live on stored-up faith. They had a powerful encounter with God years ago, and they assume that experience will carry them through life. They attended a conference once where they learned a lot, and they think they have enough knowledge to coast.
But faith does not work that way. We must come to Jesus daily, gather our portion daily, feed on Him daily. The person who neglects morning devotion often finds Christ strangely absent in the heat of the afternoon battle. Psalm 5:3 models this pattern: "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up."
This daily feeding is not drudgery. It is a delight. It is not a burden. It is a blessing. It is not the law. It is love. We come to Jesus because we need Him, yes. But we also come because we want Him. We hunger for His presence. We thirst for His Word. We long for His fellowship. Psalm 42:1-2 expresses this longing: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."
The manna appeared with the morning dew. There is something powerful about meeting God early, before the day's demands crowd in, before our minds fill with worries, before our hearts grow hard with hurry. The morning watch sets the tone for the entire day. Mark 1:35 records Jesus' example: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed."
B. Feeding on His Word
How do we feed on Christ? Through His Word. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."
Jesus quoted this verse when Satan tempted Him to turn stones into bread in Matthew 4:4. He recognized that spiritual nourishment is more important than physical nourishment. God's Word is more essential than daily food.
The Bible is not merely information. It is a transformation. The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, as Hebrews 4:12 declares. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit. It discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart.
When we read Scripture, we are not just reading about Jesus. We are encountering Jesus. He is the Word made flesh, as John 1:14 proclaims. The written Word reveals the living Word. The Spirit takes the truth and makes it real in our experience.
The Word of God is milk for new believers, as 1 Peter 2:2 instructs. It is bread for growing believers. It is meat for mature believers, as Hebrews 5:12-14 describes. And it is honey for all believers, as Psalm 119:103 celebrates: "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" It builds us up. It tears us down. It comforts us. It convicts us. It instructs us. It corrects us. It encourages us. It warns us. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 explains, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
We must not just read the Word. We must meditate on it, memorize it, apply it, obey it. We must let it dwell in us richly, as Colossians 3:16 commands. We must hide it in our hearts, as Psalm 119:11 advises. We must delight in it like treasure, as Psalm 119:72 expresses.
The person who neglects the Bible is like the Israelite who ignored the manna. The provision is there. The supply is abundant. But if we do not gather it, we will not benefit from it. If we trample on it or leave it unused, it will melt away, and we will go hungry.
C. Never Hungering Again
The ultimate promise of feeding on Christ is complete satisfaction. Those who eat this bread will live forever, as Jesus promised in John 6:51 and 58. Those who come to Jesus will never be cast out, according to John 6:37. Those who believe in Him have eternal life right now, as John 6:47 assures: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."
This does not mean we will never face trials. It does not mean we will never experience pain. It does not mean we will never wrestle with doubt. But it means we will never be abandoned, never be forsaken, never be left to starve spiritually. As Hebrews 13:5 promises, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
The Father who began a good work in us will complete it, according to Philippians 1:6. The Son who saved us will keep us. The Spirit who sealed us will preserve us, as Ephesians 1:13-14 declares. We are secure in God's hand. Nothing can snatch us away, as Jesus promised in John 10:28-29. Nothing can separate us from His love, as Romans 8:38-39 triumphantly proclaims.
On the last day, Jesus will raise up all who have believed in Him, as He repeatedly promised in John 6:39, 40, 44, and 54. Death will not have the final word. The grave will not hold us. We will be resurrected to eternal life in glorified bodies, free from sin and suffering forever, as 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 describes.
Until that day, we feed on Christ daily. We come to Him in prayer. We open His Word. We gather with His people, as Hebrews 10:25 urges. We partake of His ordinances. We walk in His ways. We rest in His promises. We trust in His provision, as Philippians 4:19 assures us: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Conclusion
Church, we stand at the same crossroads as that crowd in Capernaum. Jesus is offering us Himself, the Bread of Life, the only food that truly satisfies. But we must choose. As Joshua declared to Israel in Joshua 24:15, "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."
Will you settle for the world's bread? Will you keep trying to fill your soul with things that perish? Will you exhaust yourself chasing satisfaction in money, pleasure, success, relationships, or achievements? That bread will leave you hungry again. As Jesus warned in John 6:27, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life."
Or will you come to Jesus? Will you believe in Him? Will you receive Him as your life, your sustenance, your satisfaction, your all? As John 1:12 promises, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."
The manna in the wilderness kept people alive temporarily. Jesus gives eternal life. The manna came only to one nation. Jesus invites the whole world. The manna required daily work to gather. Jesus freely gives Himself to all who ask.
Perhaps you have been coming to church, going through religious motions, but never truly feeding on Christ. You know about Jesus, but you do not know Jesus. You have information, but you lack transformation. You are still hungry, still empty, still searching. As Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."
Today is your day. Jesus says, "Come to Me. Believe in Me. Feed on Me. I will satisfy you now and forevermore." As Acts 16:31 declares, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved."
Perhaps you once walked closely with Jesus, but you have drifted. You used to feed on His Word daily, but now you barely open your Bible. You used to find satisfaction in His presence, but now you are trying to find it elsewhere. You are spiritually malnourished. But 1 John 1:9 offers hope: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Come back to the table. Return to the Bread of Life. Resume your daily feeding on Christ through His Word and prayer. He has not moved. He has not changed. He is still ready to satisfy your hungry soul, as Jeremiah 31:25 promises: "For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul."
Perhaps you are here, and you know Christ, but you are settling for less than He offers. You are living on spiritual leftovers from past experiences rather than gathering fresh manna each morning. You are trying to coast on yesterday's faith. But James 4:8 calls you: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Make a commitment today. Decide right now that you will meet with Jesus daily. Set aside time each morning to read His Word, pray, and feed your soul. Do not let anything crowd out this essential practice. As Jesus said in Luke 10:42, "One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
The altar is open. The invitation is clear. Jesus stands before you, saying, "I am the bread of life. Come to Me. Believe in Me. Feed on Me. And you will never hunger again." As Isaiah 55:6 urges, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near."
Will you come? Will you come right now, in this moment, and receive the Bread of Life? As 2 Corinthians 6:2 declares, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
--------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE:
Your feedback matters!
If this message resonates with you, please take a moment to rate it on Sermon Central. Ratings help me know what's working and inspire me to keep creating fresh content.
Here's how to rate:
Look for the star rating system above the sermon text. Click the number of stars that reflects your experience (5 being the highest).
Thank you for your time and support!
In addition to ratings, feel free to leave a comment to share what impacted you or ask questions.
Blessings,
Pastor JM Raja Lawrence
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
email: lawrencejmr@gmail.com
Mobile: +91 9933250072
