The Bread of Life

For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives his life to the world... I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. (John 6:33, 35)

Jesus is the bread of life—the one essential element that gives, sustains, and satisfies the soul forever.

Multitudes Following the Signs

As we come to John 6, multitudes are following Jesus, primarily because of the signs He performed. They saw and marveled at the good things He did—casting out demons, healing diseases—and they were in awe. Many began to speculate about whether He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. When Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter, inspired of God, answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." There was a recognition that Jesus was no mere man.

So no small multitude followed Him, with an anticipation that He would do even greater things. The popular view was that when the Messiah came, He would establish an earthly kingdom above all kingdoms. Since Israel was oppressed by the Roman occupier, the people were excited about His coming. There was also a heightened sense that God was doing something, because for 400 years—from Malachi until John the Baptist—God's inspired word through the prophets had been silent.

Signs as a Means, Not an End

When John the Baptist came preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," people sensed something was happening. Jesus came with the same message. The major difference was that John did no miracles, but Jesus did. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:22 that the Jews require a sign. The people of that day were enamored with signs and wonders.

More than twenty centuries later, it is not much different. Many people are still seeking the fantastic, looking for some sort of sign. But the signs Jesus did were not the end of what He came to do; they were a means to an end. In Mark 1:38 Jesus says He came to preach the gospel. The signs authenticated His words and proved His authority. We must recognize that miracles, though many even within Christian churches chase the fantastic, are a means to an end, not the end itself. In fact, in Matthew 16:4 Jesus calls those who seek for signs "a wicked and perverse generation." To focus only on the signs and miss the power of God is to fail at what the signs were given for.

A Test in the Wilderness

Jesus has a multitude following Him around the Sea of Galilee, in what is the northern part of modern-day Israel. The people of Galilee were excited that someone from their home turf was being powerfully used by God. Everywhere He went, throngs surrounded Him. Normally Jesus would leave the cities and go into the wilderness for rest, saying, "Come, let us go aside and rest a while"—yet even then multitudes followed Him.

That is what we have in John 6. Jesus is in the wilderness of Galilee, and now there are 5,000 men, not counting the women and children. Jesus looks at Philip and says, "Where shall we buy bread that these people might eat?" Verse 6 tells us Jesus knew what He was going to do. Philip looks at the multitude and answers that 200 denarii—200 days' wages—would not be enough to feed them.

Sometimes we give the disciples a bad rap for their faithlessness, but we shouldn't. We have the privilege of knowing Jesus's true identity; they did not yet know fully who He was. And we ourselves are often faithless when confronted with difficult situations. What a comfort it is that Jesus knew what He was going to do.

Why God Brings Us Beyond Our Ability

The tests God brings us into are not so He can see whether we will pass or fail; they are tests in which we get to see that He is faithful. We all fall short of God's glory continually. God allows us to go through tests so we can see His faithfulness in the midst of them, and so we are given greater revelation of who Jesus is.

That is exactly what happens here. Jesus brings His disciples into a situation where they cannot, in themselves, provide what is needed, so that He might reveal who He is. He does this in our lives, bringing us into circumstances where the task is greater than our ability to meet it. So when Andrew brings a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish, he says, "What are these among so many?" In Andrew's and Philip's responses we see ourselves, processing the task through our own inability rather than through God's super-ability.

God Works Through the Little

This is seen throughout Scripture. In Numbers 13, the children of Israel reach the border of the promised land and send in twelve spies. Ten return with a true but faithless report: the land is good, flowing with milk and honey, but there are giants, "and we were as in our own eyes as grasshoppers." Joshua and Caleb said, "Yes, there are giants, but God has given them into our hand." The people heeded the majority report—the task is too big, we are unable.

Yet the Bible is filled with stories of how God works through the little to do great things. The application here is clear: God takes a small offering, blesses it, breaks it, and makes it great for His glory. Why? Because He gets the glory from it. If you could tackle any task by your own strength and brilliance, people would glorify you. But God brings us into impossible situations so that He receives the glory. Think of Gideon's 300 against 150,000, Israel marching around Jericho until the one thing certain was "we can't do this"—and then God brought it down. Think of David and Goliath.

This is good news, because God has given us a task far too big for us. He told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. That is impossible for us, so Jesus said to wait in Jerusalem until we receive power from on high. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability, so that we rely on Him and He gets the glory.

Filled to the Full

Jesus tells the disciples to make the people sit down, then takes the five loaves and two fish, blesses them, breaks them, and gives them to His disciples to distribute. Every person there is filled to the full—Thanksgiving-day full, "I can't eat another thing" full. And John 6 records that the disciples took up twelve baskets of fragments, seemingly one basket each, so they could each see the faithfulness of Jesus.

When the multitude saw this, they wanted to take Him by force and make Him king. Jesus had to withdraw secretly and go up the mountain to pray, sending His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. There He performs another miraculous sign, but only in the sight of His disciples. A great storm comes upon them while He prays through the night. At least four of them—Peter, Andrew, James, and John—were expert fishermen, yet all of them were beside themselves with fear. If expert fishermen are losing their minds, you're terrified.

There was a Jewish fable that just before death you would see a ghost. So when they see someone walking on the water, they think, "We're dead." But Jesus speaks comforting words, the storm ceases, and—though John, in his quiet rivalry with Peter, doesn't record it—the other gospels tell us Peter walked on the water. They see His power in calming the storm and in walking on the sea.

Impure Motives Redirected

The next day Jesus is back in one of the cities of Galilee, likely Capernaum, and the multitude tracks Him down. In verse 26 Jesus pinpoints their motive: "You're not coming to see Me because of the signs that I did, but because you ate and were filled." If you feed them, they will come. He identifies their impure motives.

How often do we seek the Lord with motives that are not entirely admirable? I can think of many times in my own prayer life when my seeking was less than the best. Yet notice Jesus does not chastise them. Instead He redirects them toward that which truly deserves their attention and affection. Verse 27: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal upon Him."

Food That Satisfies the Soul

The prophet Isaiah spoke similar words 700 years earlier in Isaiah 55:1: "Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters... Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your wages for that which does not satisfy? ... Eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance." Isaiah was not calling people to physical food, but to that which satisfies the soul. Physical food satisfies the body; there is something more that satisfies the soul.

The feeding of the 5,000 gave Jesus the opportunity to reveal what that is. The works substantiate the words. So when the crowd asks, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answers in verse 29: "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." Put your trust, confidence, and faith in Jesus. That is the work.

"Show Us a Sign"

The multitude understood Him, and so they asked for an authenticating sign: "What sign will You perform that we may see and believe?" Then they give Him a baseline: "Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven." Just three days after God parted the Red Sea, Israel grumbled with hunger in the wilderness, and God gave them manna—"what is it?"—every single day for forty years. So they say, in effect, "Moses gave our fathers bread; You give us bread from heaven. Better than yesterday, when a boy supplied the loaves. Do it on the spot, and we'll believe."

Jesus answers in verse 32: "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven." Everyone who ate manna in the wilderness was sustained, but they all died. Verse 33: "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Jesus says, in effect, "I am the very miracle you are seeking. I am the bread of life."

"Give Us This Bread Always"

Just like the woman at the well who asked for living water, the crowd says, "Lord, give us this bread always." Jesus answers in verse 35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." Coming to Jesus is synonymous with partaking of Him; believing in Him is synonymous with drinking of Him.

This word was deeply offensive to His hearers. As John 6 continues, the people are stumbled by the idea of eating His flesh and drinking His blood—so much so that in John 6:66 many of His disciples followed Him no longer. They took it literally, hearing cannibalism. But Jesus speaks metaphorically. The central truth is this: Jesus is the essential element in giving life to dead sinners.

The Essential Element of Spiritual Life

Physical food sustains physical life—you are probably already thinking about your next meal. It is essential. In the same way, Jesus is the essential element in promoting, supporting, and sustaining spiritual life. Physical food perishes, and we perish physically; spiritual food is found only in Jesus, and it endures to everlasting life. There is no power in you or me to sustain spiritual life. We are completely spiritually bankrupt. That is why Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit"—blessed is the one who recognizes he cannot make himself spiritually alive.

The communion table reminds us of this. Food and drink are the perfect illustration, because we need them to live, just as we need the life of Christ to live spiritually. We don't need the cracker or the cup to sustain spiritual life; they are tangible reminders pointing back to Jesus, who alone sustains everlasting spiritual life.

Coming to the Table Regularly

If you sense a famine of spiritual life, it is not an indication that Jesus is insufficient; it is an indication that you have not been coming to Him, not believing and trusting in Him. Coming to Him is eating; believing in Him is drinking. If we skip two or three meals, our body lets us know. We need to come before the Lord with that same regularity—through His word, worship, prayer, and fellowship.

Even fasting serves this. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, "I beat my body that I might bring it under my control." Many of us are mastered by our flesh; it tells us when to eat, when to sleep, what to want. Fasting brings it under control and says, "You're not going to master me." Eating the cracker and drinking the juice does not sustain spiritual life, but it reminds us who the sustainer is. That is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, "As often as you eat this bread or drink this cup." Though we partake corporately here only every several weeks, people also partake at retreats, in small groups, and in Bible studies. It is a reminder that we need Him constantly, and a time for the family to gather as one.

Man's Responsibility and God's Sovereignty

John 6 is often held up as a principal passage for the sovereignty of God in salvation, and rightly so. I wholeheartedly affirm God's sovereignty, but I maintain that Scripture holds a balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man—often in the very same text. When you find a verse affirming man's responsibility, look in the same passage for one affirming God's sovereignty.

Notice both here. Verse 35: "He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst"—our responsibility. Verse 36: "You have seen Me and do not believe"—they asked for a sign, and He is the sign. Verse 37: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out"—God's sovereignty. Why? Verse 38: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

Verse 39 states the Father's will from the side of God's sovereignty: "Of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." Verse 40 restates the same truth from the side of man's responsibility: "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day." These are joined together throughout Scripture.

Come to the Table

God has provided sufficient spiritual sustenance in Jesus Christ, but we are called to come to the table. All that is needed for life and godliness is found in Him, but we are called to come. Perhaps you have been looking into the things of Christ, you have seen the Son exalted, yet you have not put your faith in Him. Jesus says, "Come." Coming to Him is feeding upon Him; believing in Him is drinking of the living water that springs up to everlasting life.

The cracker and the cup we are about to take are a reminder of this truth: Jesus is the sustaining power of spiritual life. His blood was shed to deal with the heaviness of our sin against God. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ. As you take these elements, hold them, worship, and remember: Jesus is the sole promoter and sustainer of eternal life. It is found nowhere else. He is it. As we come to Him and believe in Him, we have life. Let's worship Him.