Bread from Heaven John 6

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst’” (Jn. 6:35, NASB).

When John a disciple of Jesus Christ writes his Gospel, he lives in a world much like the world that we live in today. Most scholars date the writing of this gospel A.D. 80 or later. Today’s article is taken from the sixth chapter. We will explain this later. Let us begin by stating a few similarities of John’s world with our world.

John lives in a world in which the people are influenced by the Greek-Roman pantheon of gods. This means that people worship many gods. Polytheism is the way of life for most people. The gods are many and each god serves its purpose. Some gods are limited to specific geographical locations. Some gods have larger jurisdictions and are seen as more powerful. People seem to gravitate to the various gods based on their perceived needs. The Roman emperor is a god and he alone is king. The belief that there are many gods presents a problem for the people that are in the community that believe in Jesus Christ.

The people that claim Jesus Christ as their redeemer and savior reject the gods accepted by the people in general. These people believe that there is only one God. We may be surprised to know that the first atheists were the people that believed that there is one God. The word atheist is defined as a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods. Since these people do not believe in the gods they are atheists.

The first people that claim that Jesus is savior and redeemer are Jews. Jesus is a Jew but in His lifetime the Jewish leaders do not believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised by the prophets. He is not the Son of God as He claims to be. When John writes his gospel the person of Jesus Christ is an unsettled and disputed issue. In our world today the person of Jesus Christ remains an unsettled issue; even among people that call themselves Christian.

There are two main issues that John addresses in his gospel. The first is the person of Jesus Christ Himself. The second issue is the belief is the resurrection from the dead and eternal life. Now, some scholars believe that John writes to combat the false beliefs found in Greek-Roman philosophy and religion. Other scholars believe that John writes to combat those Jews that reject Jesus as the Son of God and the promised Messiah. There is no resurrection from the dead and various philosophies have their own version of how one gains eternal life. It is the view of this writer John writes this gospel not to combat either Greek-Roman philosophies or the various Jewish beliefs about the person of Jesus Christ. Instead, I believe, that John writes to the people of his own community to establish them in their faith. He writes to invite other people to investigate the claims about Jesus; to hear the story of Jesus and believe in Him and receive eternal life.

A few years ago I was driving a van with about fifteen youth aboard. Our church usually took the youth on a yearly tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). One of the young men asked a question about Jesus. He begins by saying what people of another religion say. I ask him, “What does your Baptist religion say. He could not answer. I explain to him and the group that before they ask about the beliefs of other religions they should learn what their own religion says about the issue. I believe that this is the goal of John as he writes this Gospel.

I have titled this article “Bread from Heaven” based on John 6. Jesus claims to be the living bread come from heaven. Those that believe in Him will have eternal life. When Jesus says, “I am the bread of life,” this is the first of seven “I Am” sayings with a predicate that John records in the gospel. The saying “I Am” is first seen in our bible in Exodus 3:14. Moses sees a burning bush. He goes to investigate why the burning bush does not burn out. When Moses gets near the bush he hears the voice of God calling him by his name. In the conversation Moses ask the one talking to him his name. “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (NASB). So, whenever Jesus uses the word “I AM” He is stating that He is the same God that the sons of Israel have been worshiping all alone. The predicate “bread of life” expresses some unique characteristic of God in His relationship to His people.

In John 6 Jesus feeds over 5000 people with the lunch of a lad containing five loaves of bread and two fish. The next day the people follow Jesus. Jesus now begins to explain the purpose of the miracle. He is not establishing a feeding ministry. In fact, they should be more concerned about the bread that gives eternal life than the bread that satisfies temporarily. Physical bread satisfies physical hunger, but it does not give eternal life. Jesus says, “ I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever, and the bread also which I will for the life of the world is My flesh” (v. 51, NASB). It seems that a large number of people do not understand what Jesus is saying so they stop following Him. At the end of the chapter Jesus is along with the twelve. He asks them if they want to continue with Him or follow the crowd. “Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (vv. 68-69). Let us summarize what John is saying to his community in chapter six.

Jesus feeds 5000 people. He does this to introduce Himself as one that can meet our physical needs. However, although our physical needs are important, Jesus comes to meet our spiritual needs. Jesus is the Son of God come down from heaven. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day do not believe that He is the Son of God because Jesus does not meet their expectations. Jesus does not allow their interpretations of the Law to stop Him from doing the work that God sends Him to do. Jesus knows that life is more important than a system of rules and regulations; especially when that system denies people resources to meet their needs.

The Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. It is the Sadducees that lead in the murder of Stephen because Stephen teaches from the Scriptures that there is a resurrection of the dead. Jesus Christ is the Son of God come to save people from their sins and give eternal life to those that believe in Him (Acts 7:54-60).

When John writes his gospel, many of the Greek and Roman philosophies hold to beliefs that make it impossible for Jesus to be the Son of God. In his gospel, John does not seek to engage in debate with other beliefs. Rather, John tells the story of the life and teaching of Jesus.

Jesus states His claim to be the Son of God. He comes to die on a cross. His body dies and God raises it from the dead. His body is a sinless body. Jesus lives by the Law and does not sin. Thus he is qualified to be the lamb without defect, sport or wrinkle to take away the sins of the world. “Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God’” (Jn. 1:36, NASB). In the Law there is the spotless lamb that is killed. Its blood covers the sins of the people. When Jesus talks about His flesh and His blood, He means that He will die and shed His blood. Those that believe in Jesus receive the One that God sends into the world. Those that believe that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb are given eternal life.

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” Just as bread is necessary for physical life, Jesus is the necessary spiritual food that one must receive to be redeemed from sin and have access to eternal life. Jesus is the Son of God. He comes from heaven to do the will of the Father. He gives His life for the sins of the world. Those that believe in Him have eternal life and Jesus will raise that person at the last day when He returns.