Day Ten: I Am The Bread Of Life
Just as John’s Gospel contains seven signs of Jesus, so does it contain seven “I Am” statements. These statements reveal nuances about Christ’s identity, who he is, and what he came to accomplish.
When the crowds come to Jesus, they immediately ask, “What must we do to be doing the works of God (John 6:28)?” This question strikes at the heart of the impulse of the natural man, the man who has never truly been born again.
Every religion ever created has attempted to find a way to please God. The religions of the world provide laws that, if a person is holy enough and diligent enough, they will be able to follow and, as a result, earn favor with God. The problem is that these inquisitors do not understand that the natural man and the born-again man are two fundamentally different states: The natural man, no matter how many good works he musters, will never please God for his heart is corrupt, and he has not realized what he truly needs.
Christ responds to this question, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29).” Faith in Jesus Christ is the prerequisite to pleasing God. Until one has gazed upon the wonder of the gospel, the free gift of salvation by grace through faith, and received a new heart capable of true motivations and true love of God, they cannot please God. Jesus exhorts us in this text to flee man-made religion and to place our faith in Jesus, on his terms.
The crowd, feeling unsettled by Christ’s response, demanded a sign similar to the bread or manna that was provided to Israel when they wandered in the wilderness.
Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Bread is a symbol of sustenance and nutrients. To eat bread is to fill the body with the fuel it needs to survive and flourish. To be alive, however, is more than to simply be a body with an engine that needs constant feeding.
Humans are both body and soul; just as one dies if they fail to feed their body, so does one die if they fail to feed their soul. Just as a child in its mother’s womb is fed through an umbilical cord that passes the necessary nutrients of life forward, so it is when we believe in Christ.
At that point, a union is forged between our souls and Christ, whereby the soul is made alive and kept alive by God’s covenantal grace. The soul that has been made alive by faith in Christ becomes filled with new desires, new motivations, and new understandings of God and His law.
So many Christians walk with atrophied souls, starving themselves of the nutrients they need, while all the while Christ offers a divine buffet for free. The feast is ours for the taking. Open His Word, learn of His majesty, reflect on His omnipotence, pray in the Spirit, live in His strength, feast on the wonders of God.
When the crowds come to Jesus, they immediately ask, “What must we do to be doing the works of God (John 6:28)?” This question strikes at the heart of the impulse of the natural man, the man who has never truly been born again.
Every religion ever created has attempted to find a way to please God. The religions of the world provide laws that, if a person is holy enough and diligent enough, they will be able to follow and, as a result, earn favor with God. The problem is that these inquisitors do not understand that the natural man and the born-again man are two fundamentally different states: The natural man, no matter how many good works he musters, will never please God for his heart is corrupt, and he has not realized what he truly needs.
Christ responds to this question, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent (John 6:29).” Faith in Jesus Christ is the prerequisite to pleasing God. Until one has gazed upon the wonder of the gospel, the free gift of salvation by grace through faith, and received a new heart capable of true motivations and true love of God, they cannot please God. Jesus exhorts us in this text to flee man-made religion and to place our faith in Jesus, on his terms.
The crowd, feeling unsettled by Christ’s response, demanded a sign similar to the bread or manna that was provided to Israel when they wandered in the wilderness.
Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” Bread is a symbol of sustenance and nutrients. To eat bread is to fill the body with the fuel it needs to survive and flourish. To be alive, however, is more than to simply be a body with an engine that needs constant feeding.
Humans are both body and soul; just as one dies if they fail to feed their body, so does one die if they fail to feed their soul. Just as a child in its mother’s womb is fed through an umbilical cord that passes the necessary nutrients of life forward, so it is when we believe in Christ.
At that point, a union is forged between our souls and Christ, whereby the soul is made alive and kept alive by God’s covenantal grace. The soul that has been made alive by faith in Christ becomes filled with new desires, new motivations, and new understandings of God and His law.
So many Christians walk with atrophied souls, starving themselves of the nutrients they need, while all the while Christ offers a divine buffet for free. The feast is ours for the taking. Open His Word, learn of His majesty, reflect on His omnipotence, pray in the Spirit, live in His strength, feast on the wonders of God.
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