The Bread of Life

The Bread of Life

Genesis 16-18 | Psalm 6 | John 6

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." John 6:53-58

Who is this man!? So far in John, Jesus has been described, or described Himself, as "the Word of God", "the Lamb of God", "teacher", "the Son of Man", "God's Son", and "the Messiah" (among others). He's said some pretty amazing things - to Nicodemus He said "In order to see the Kingdom of God, you must be born again" (John 3:3f), He offered the woman at the well living water (4:10f), He healed the official's son (4:46f) and the invalid by the pool (5:2f). And now we read that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you."

Many believers, myself included, can read the Bible without immediately being amazed by such statements. I have read the Gospel of John many times, and I've read the other Gospels just as much. They all tell roughly the same story, so when reading I find it easy not to be surprised. But that is where we must stop and remind ourselves of what we're reading. This isn't a Fantasy/Adventure novel. This is an historical account of the life of a man who lived two thousand years ago in what we now refer to as the Middle East. And He is an amazing man (!) - but more than that, as we read in John 1, He is the Son of God and became a man in addition to His divinity. He is the central figure of the Bible, and is at the centre of the Christian faith. Much of Western culture is related to Him in some way. The calender is based on the time of His birth, Christmas and Easter are celebrations of His birth and resurrection (respectively), and for better or worse, the Church of Christ has had a prominent place in history and power over the millenia. His message in today's reading (quoted above) is a profound statement of what He and His Father see is the life of a believer.

First let us note the similarity of Jesus' teaching here with His previous conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well regarding the "Living Water" (John 4). Like the water from the well, bread of this world will only satisfy temporarily, and the consumer will soon hunger again. Also, like the "Living Water", "he who feeds on this [living] bread will live forever" (v.58). Like the Living Water again, Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life and as the Bread of Life He calls on us to 'eat His flesh' and 'drink His blood'. He is God's food to us, God's provision of eternal life.

But how are we to 'eat His flesh' and 'drink His blood'? It's obvious that this is not meant in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense (v.63). We are to have faith in Christ to the point where we believe Him to be true and therefore follow Him as an example of truth. Just as having faith in a Fireman will lead us to follow his instructions in the case of a fire, so having faith in Jesus will lead us to follow Him and His instructions for our lives. Jesus likens this to becoming part of Him. By 'eating his flesh' and 'drinking His blood,' we are taking His life and making it our own. We are to live as He lived, because by faith, He is in us and we are in Him.

F. F. Bruce (a Scottish biblical scholar) puts it in this way: "To believe in Christ is not only to give credence to what he says, it is to be united to him by faith, to participate in his life." Saint Augustine (an early prominent Christian) sums up His thoughts on this passage with: "Believe, and thou hast eaten".

Who is Jesus to you? Is He merely a man with a profound teaching? Is He a crackpot who may or may not have lived two thousand years ago? Is He the Son of God who came to earth as a man? Or are you unsure?

The Bible proclaims Him as the Son of God who came to earth as a man. He has a profound teaching (but you would expect that from God, wouldn't you!) and calls us to have faith in Him to the point that we try to live like He did. This is an awesome claim. It means that if you do think Him to be the Son of God, you should be sure that your life reflects His. It means that if you're unsure who He is, it is of the utmost importance to make up your mind about Him. Take your time, continue reading His word and ask His help in understanding. Whatever your position, to ignore Jesus or to ignore the chance to decipher whether He is worth listening to, is a folly beyond adequate description in the written or verbal language (i.e., I tried to describe it but gave up!). Jesus claims that He came to earth to call you to know Him. What is your response?

Pray concerning your understanding of who Jesus is. Ask that you may always understand better who he is, His claims and His power.

Find Out about Jesus is a section of this site in which I seek to introduce Jesus and explain His message and significance in your life.