I AM the bread of life

Who is Jesus? John’s gospel captures seven definitive proclamations Jesus makes, telling us exactly who He is in a series of I Am statements. The first was: 35 …“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35. So what does that statement mean to us? A lot!

Consider the context. The day before making this statement, Jesus had fed 5000 men and everyone with them - likely closer to 20,000 - with five barley loaves and two small fish. The next day, many from this crowd was looking for and found Jesus. When they did, Jesus had a conversation with them about what they were looking for and what He had really come to give them. It was clear this crowd was looking for another free meal from Jesus. In their defense, many of us might do the same… if we heard Chick-Fil-A was offering free #1 combos, we would probably hustle over to get one! These people knew Jesus could feed them and they were hungry.

But Jesus had come to offer much more than a free meal to satisfy a temporary, physical hunger; He had come to satisfy an everlasting, spiritual hunger. Jesus was not merely providing bread for this earthly life, but for eternal life!

The food we eat is temporary. It spoils. We eat a meal, then we are hungry again in just a few hours - well, you may not be, but I am! This crowd wanted another meal from Jesus, but He wanted them to understand what He was offering was not temporary and would never spoil. (John 6:26-34)

Many try to satisfy their hunger with something that doesn’t really last - wealth, possessions, achievement, trophies, titles, status, even food. We hunger for those things; we put time and energy into getting those things; we obsess over those things. But Jesus says He offers far more than any of that! He offers salvation and eternal life! Jesus offers the bread of life! When you come to Him and believe in Him, you will never be hungry of thirsty again. (John 6:35). Will you come to Him today? Will you believe? For much more, listen to: Who is Jesus? Part 3 - The Bread of Life.