Scripture:
John 6:32–35
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (NRSVUE)
Observation:
The people were following Jesus around and watching all that He was doing. He had fed the five thousand, and they were amazed. Now they wanted to find Him again, and He challenged them regarding their motivation. Were they only there because they wanted more free food?
Jesus told them that they needed to change their focus and set their hearts and minds on the work of God. They wanted to know what kinds of works they needed to accomplish. Jesus responded that the work of God was to believe in the One whom He had sent. They were still thinking about signs and bread, while Jesus was inviting them into faith.
Then Jesus begins to explain what He hopes they will understand. This is not simply about earthly food but about food from above. The people would need to have faith in the heavenly Father, who makes provision for them. But this provision is far greater than earthly food, because He gives us bread from heaven—bread from above. The bread from above gives eternal life, while bread from below sustains us only for a time. Bread from above is available to the whole world. Bread from below can only reach so far.
Obviously, they wanted this bread, and they wanted it all the time. Then Jesus says something that I doubt they fully understood. The bread from heaven had already come down and was standing right in front of them. He was calling them to come to Him.
Application:
The other day we contrasted fire from above with fire from below. Today, we find another contrast, that of food from above with food from below. We all know that we need food from below to survive as human beings, but I’m not sure that we recognize our great need for food from above.
Diets are an interesting thing to consider. I don’t really like them, and I’ve struggled with dieting through the years. My problem is that I like a lot of different foods. I enjoy trying different foods, but not all food is created equal. Some foods that I love, like chocolate (okay—does that count as a food?), might supply me with empty calories. In other words, there are a lot of calories, but they don’t necessarily give me the nutrients that I need. Our bodies need a variety of nutrients for us to be healthy. We need proteins, green leafy vegetables and fruits, as well as dairy and whole grains. We are holistic beings, and we need to look at our diets as a whole.
Then let’s consider our spiritual diet. Some of us are filling up on empty calories. We may only go to church occasionally and think that we can get by on candy bars. That may give us a brief sugar high, but it will not sustain us for the long run. We need good, nutritious spiritual food from on high!
This food comes through faith in Jesus, the One who is the Bread of Life. We do not work to earn this bread. Sure, we may participate in going to church, reading the Word, and spending time in prayer, but we don’t receive the Bread of Life because we’ve earned Him by doing these things. Rather, through these practices, we place ourselves in His presence to be nourished by His grace. For us to be healthy, whole Christians, we need to receive the spiritual nourishment that comes only from Christ. We come in faith, sit down in the Lord’s presence, and allow Him to feed us.
Are you hungry today? Are you tired of trying to survive on a church sugar high? The invitation is still as true today as it was two thousand years ago. Jesus says to come to Him, and He will feed you. Come to Him, and He will give you drink. Come to Him in faith, and let Him care for you.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for quieting my heart today as I think about all that You have provided. You have given me so much more from on high than I could ever imagine. Please help me not to take that for granted. And help me to share Your bread with those whom I may encounter today. Amen.
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