And Jesus said to them, “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).
the lord’s prayer
Jesus taught his disciples to pray for DAILY BREAD!
Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day (“day by day” – Luke 11:3) our DAILY BREAD...
NOT JUST NATURAL BREAD BUT BREAD FROM HEAVEN
Matthew 4:3,4 – Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become BREAD.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by BREAD alone, but by every WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
Special note: Jesus was quoting from an Old Testament Scripture that referred to MANNA...
Deuteronomy 8:3 – So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with MANNA which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by BREAD alone; but man LIVES by every WORD that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
Special note: Jesus is the LIVING WORD – the revelation of God’s WORD to the world.
JESUS IS THE WORD
John 1:14 – And the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
I Peter 2:2 – as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the WORD, that you may grow thereby…
Special note: The WORD has to do with food, spiritual nutrition that brings nourishment & growth.
KNOWING GOD
If we want to really KNOW GOD intimately, one of the ways we come to KNOW HIM is through the revelation of His names… Jesus is LORD! He is the true & living God!
John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they may KNOW YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Philippians 3:7-10 – But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ… that I may KNOW HIM and the power of His resurrection…
Special note: To KNOW Jesus was the passion of Paul’s heart! It should be our passion as well!
The revelation of Christ through His “I AM’S”…
“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” (Last week’s journal post).
I AM the BREAD OF LIFE; I AM the way, the truth, and the life; I AM the door; I AM the Good Shepherd; I AM the vine; I AM the light of the world;I AM the resurrection and the life; …I AM God!
THE GREAT ”I AM”
EXODUS 3
The Lord revealed himself to Moses in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush in the wilderness… Moreover He said, “I AM the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”… Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is HIS NAME?’ what shall I say to them?”.’
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”
It’s good to know what He has done – it is also good to know WHO HE IS! Knowing His name helps initiate a relationship of getting to know Him as God. WHO IS JESUS? Jesus is God!
Jesus is the source of LIFE! He is the “Bread of LIFE” – the main, key nourishment & food that sustains life. Bread may not be a big deal in our culture today, it is so common it is almost taken for granted as an extra, or side dish – not the main course. In Jesus day it seems to be the main thing – the main course. It was often at the core of, and an essential part of their meals. Bread is referred to over 300 times in Scripture and seems to represents the essential, vital food for life.
LIFE is used around 36 times in the book of John as he reveals to us TRUE LIFE.
Special note: Jesus needs to be the main thing in our life! He is greater than talent, professionalism, materialism, or any other thing! There’s lots of things we can do without that are not essentials in life – but not Jesus! We gotta have Jesus! He is the source of life! He is able to be everything we need Him to be (Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19)!
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE!
John 6:51 – I am the LIVING BREAD which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this BREAD, he will live forever; and the BREAD that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
BREAD
The MAIN THING – (not an extra).
LOT – made them a ‘FEAST” – 2 loaves of unleavened bread (Genesis 19:3)!
Genesis 3:19 – …in the sweat of you face shall you EAT BREAD, till you return unto the ground; for out of it you were taken…
We need BREAD! JESUS needs to be at the center of our lives, homes, families, marriages, work, etc…
Jesus broke bread (Last Supper / Communion – Matthew 26:26).
Church went house to house breaking bread (Acts 2:42).
Exodus 23:25 – “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your BREAD and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
Special note: This was a special promise my parents would claim. The would take the blessing of bread & water literally, and find some nourishing bread & water when struggling with sickness, & claim healing based on this promise. It is interesting to note that they both eventually passed away in their 90’s, after a long & fruitful lifetime together.
MANNA
Manna was heavenly bread sent from God.
Manna was food provided by God for around a million (or several million) people, every day, for 40 years (14,600 days)! It is estimated that averages out to around 21 million, 900 TONS – or 43 billion 300 million lbs. (with no bakeries, no trains or trucks to bring it in…)
FRESH manna. Most of us don’t like old, stale, or moldy bread! It is distasteful. We like the freshly baked bread!
Only enough manna was provided for EACH DAY, with the exception of gathering extra on the 6th fay so they wouldn’t need to gather it on the Sabbath.
Special note: The Lord was teaching them dependance on the Lord – a day at a time, for their needs!
Old manna bred worms! Don’t just live on past experiences! We need to maintain a fresh, continual relationship with Jesus…
JOHN 6
The feeding of 5000 men (estimated around 15-20,000 people) multiplying 5 loaves of bread & 2 small fish. It was A MIGHTY MIRACLE!
5) Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “WHERE shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.
7) Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”
Special note: Notice how Philip responded. Jesus question was “WHERE to get it”. Philips response was a typical “HOW to get it done” type answer. We need to learn where the source to the solution of our problem is, to solve the problem.
8) One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,9)“There is a lad here who has five BARLEY LOAVES and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
Special note: When we give Jesus what we have (even though it may seem small), it gives Him something to work with & He is able to miraculous things with it.
11) And Jesus took the LOAVES, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.
12 – 13) So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
Special note: The multiplication of bread & fish not only filled them and satisfied their hunger but it was MORE THAN ENOUGH!
14) Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”…
22 – 35) On the following day… when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26)Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the LOAVES and were filled. 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 on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the MANNA in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them BREAD FROM HEAVEN to eat.’ ” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “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. 33 For the BREAD OF GOD is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 35 And Jesus said to them, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst…
51) I AM the LIVING BREAD which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this BREAD, he will live forever; and the BREAD that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
REFLECTION
Don’t just seek the power, & the miraculous provision – seek the person! It is not only what He has done – but WHO HE IS! Who Jesus is, is far greater than what He has done – although both are totally amazing!
Jesus was the sign they were looking for, but many didn’t recognize it, or believe.
Some want the miracles, but not ‘the man‘ (JESUS); the crown but not the cross; blessing but not the burden of obedience; glory but not the suffering; temporary but not the eternal…
Our work is TO BELIEVE! Believing should affect everything we do – our working, eating, drinking, living, etc… Right believing leads to right living!
HUNGER AND THIRST
Many are hungry –- they don’t know what for… They are looking in many places to try to satisfy that hunger, yet remain unsatisfied & unfulfilled.
The Psalmist said, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” – Psalm 34:8.
I Peter 2:2,3 …as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
JESUS IS THE ONE THAT CAN SATISFY our hunger!
ISAIAH 55:1-3,10-11
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is NOT BREAD, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David…“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And BREAD to the eater… So shall My WORD be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
REVELATION 22:17
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
HUNGER & THIRST SATISFIED
Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (JESUS), For they SHALL BE FILLED.
Special note: Jesus is our righteousness (Matthew 6:33; I Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, when we hunger & thirst for JESUS, we are filled & our hunger & thirst is satisfied… PTL!
Special acknowledgements: Thanks for the resources of Rich Wilkerson Jr.’s “Jesus – The Bread of Life” & Jantezen Franklin’s – “Bread of Life”, available on youtube.
Am Pastor John Nyabuto from Kenya am being blessed with your teaching which you share under your website.