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Jesus: The Bread of Life

By James Jeffery

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.” (John 6:47-48)

One of the deepest desires of the human heart is to be satisfied. We may call it joy, calmness, or peace. The problem with us humans is that we try and find satisfaction in all the wrong places. Instead of looking to God, we look to the things He has made. We look for satisfaction in food, sex, money, careers, friends, possessions, and all other created things. Indeed, this is what the Bible calls idolatry.

Yet, the problem with all created things is that they are temporary, insubstantial, and fail to fill the vacuum. We all know this, because we have all experienced the disappointment when worldly things fail to deliver on their promise to satisfy. Only the eternal God who made us can eternally fill the vacuum in our heart.

There is only one person who follows through with His promise to satisfy us, and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is deeply concerned about our satisfaction because He created us. Our hunger for meaning, peace, joy, and purpose can only be met by coming to the one who proclaimed Himself to be the ‘bread of life.’

John’s Gospel and Jesus’ ‘I Am’ Statements

One way to break down John’s Gospel is to examine Jesus’ seven ‘I Am’ (Εγώ εἰμι) statements. In these statements, Jesus declares who He is and what He came to do. In them, we see that Jesus is more than a mere man — He is God Himself. Furthermore, the introductory ‘I Am’ is the divine name from the Old Testament, drawing us to worship Jesus not only as our source of life, but also as the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

My goal over the next few weeks is to cover each of these seven statements. In each devotion, I will draw out significant features of each statement and how they apply to us today. This week, we will consider what Jesus meant when He said ‘I am the bread of life.’

Understanding the Context

In the sixth chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus makes a remarkable claim. He says, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’ (John 6:35). What did Jesus mean by this, and how does it apply to us today?

Bread is a staple food that virtually everyone ate in the ancient world. The same could be said about Australia today! Jesus uses the term ‘bread’ as it carries theological significance and is a synonym for food in general (the literary term is a synecdoche). Our physical bodies depend upon food to survive. Without food, we are sure to perish.

During their sojourn in the wilderness, God gave the Israelites manna from heaven which was ground down and used to make bread. In Nehemiah 9:15, we read that ‘In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst, you brought them water from the rock…’ The LORD was their source of both spiritual and physical nourishment.

Jesus is our True Bread

This manna was never intended to be an end in itself. Rather, God used it to point His people to the Himself as their true bread. As Moses said in Deuteronomy 8:3, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.’

Coming to John 6:35, it is clear that Jesus is not claiming to be physical bread, nor does He ever dwell in physical bread. Instead, Jesus is claiming to be so essential to our existence that we cannot hope to live without Him. Jesus is claiming to be God, and therefore worthy of our worship.

Those without Jesus are never satisfied; they are always hungry for hope, forgiveness, joy, and peace. Nothing can fill the void except God. As Augustine said, ‘You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’

Final Words

All of us deeply need the satisfaction Jesus speaks of in John chapter 6. Rather than seeking this satisfaction in created things, come to Jesus today knowing that He satisfies the hunger of all who come to Him in faith. Only when you recognise who Jesus is and what He has done for you will you find rest and satisfaction for your soul.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father,

Thank you for sending down to us Jesus, our true bread. Fill our hearts with thankfulness for the way He satisfies our whole being. Holy Spirit, guard us from the lie that we can be satisfied apart from Christ and lead us to trust in Him alone for our satisfaction.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.