Assertion of Jesus: "I AM The Bread of Life"
I'm writing a series of blogs called "Assertions That Unsettled The World." The source of these unsettling assertions is Jesus Christ. What was unsettling is what Jesus said about himself. For instance, God gave himself the name, "I AM." When God called Moses to lead his Hebrew people out slavery from the land of Egypt, Moses asked God "Who should I tell them that sends me?" God, replied to Moses in Exodus 3:14, "I am who I am. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you." Jesus, as God the Son, took this name as well. He defined the nature and character of God through a series of "I AM" statements. So far, I’ve looked into the assertions of Jesus when he said, "I AM" the gate to salvation" and "I AM the Good Shepherd." And in this post today, you’ll hear Jesus make this assertion: "I AM the Bread of Life."
An Unimpressive Claim?
It seems on the surface that claiming to be the bread of life is a humble, unimpressive claim. However, with a little digging, what you find is an assertion no one else is capable of fulfilling; an assertion you and I can’t live without. In John chapter 6, leading up to the "Bread of Life" claim, Jesus had just miraculously fed five thousand people by multiplying a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. It was an astonishing miracle, and the word got out. The next day a very large crowd of the curious showed up at the site of the miracle. The problem was, Jesus wasn’t there. After the miracle of multiplication, Jesus desired spiritual renewal and some downtime, so during the night he walked across the Sea of Galilee (Yes, literally!). On the way, he hooked up with disciples who were crossing the sea by boat. In the morning, they arrived in the village of Capernaum.
Meanwhile back at the site of the feeding miracle, the large crowd found out Jesus wasn’t there. They promptly secured boats and in hot pursuit, sailed across the Sea to find him. (Nothing like a good miracle to get people talking and clamoring for more.) You’ll find this event in John 6:25-35...
Jesus said, "I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again." Of course, what Jesus was getting at was humanity’s inability to satisfy the hunger of their soul for God. His claim was that only he could fill our God-hunger. John quotes Jesus as saying this in vv. 38-40…
38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 40 For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.
There's nothing unimpressive with Jesus’ claim of being "The Bread of Life." He is the only source of eternal life. No one else is capable of fulfilling that assertion but Jesus.
Bread and Jesus—Necessity for Sustaining Life
There was an interesting newspaper article out a while back written by Susan Seligson ( award-winning humor columnist and author). Susan had traveled the world sampling the breads of different cultures. She wrote a newspaper piece on the op-ed page in protest against the "low-carb" diet craze. Apparently, Susan was upset that people were eliminating bread from their diet—adding it to the ever-increasing list of foods that are bad for you. So, in defense of bread, her article pointed out that this crusty delight has an 8,000-year track record for sustaining life. She pointed out that bread exists in every culture on earth. Muslims and Hindus consider it blasphemous to cut bread with a knife. Rather, bread is broken as a form of community.
She pointed out that in Arabic the word for bread is aysh — this is also the Arabic word for life. She writes, "When you demonize bread, you demean life itself and I wouldn't want to live in a world without bread." Amen sister!
Perhaps Susan was a bit over the top. On the other hand, the point she's making is that bread is a basic staple of life, foundational to human health and happiness. It sustains, nourishes, comforts, and draws people together in community. In fact, during the low-carb diet craze, the bread industry launched an aggressive PR campaign to counter such diets that assaulted bread. Their slogan? "Bread. It's essential." That's what Jesus was saying about himself: "I am essential to your life. You weren’t meant to live without me. Everything that bread represents to human beings—sustenance, comfort, identity, relationship, goodness—I am!"
Back to the Story
Well, those miracle starving, carb deprived people who had rowed across the Sea of Galilee started complaining. All they wanted was some of that free bread Jesus was handing out the day before. Instead Jesus said, "You don't need bread, you need me. I AM the Bread of life." But his listeners stumbled over his claim. To be fair, It was a shocking assertion, especially if they took it literally—to eat flesh sounded cannibalistic and just plain nasty. Of course, Jesus was not talking about eating his flesh. He was saying…
…his life had to become their own
…he was the only one who could sustain them in this world
and for eternity
…he’s the only one who could satisfy their human needs
and spiritual hunger
…he’s the only one who could bring meaning to their lives
…he’s more important than anyone or anything else in life
…apart from him, they were lost
That was more than the crowd could take; it was too over the top; too incredible; to difficult. In v. 66, we read this…
"At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him."
Hunger For Jesus
The people in the crowd that day were impressed by Jesus' miracles; they admired his teaching, they liked the thought of free bread. But they weren't prepared to admit that they needed him to bring purpose to their lives—they weren’t ready to submit to him as Savior and Lord. They'd rather eat manna to fill their bellies. They preferred a list of religious rules rather than a relationship with God; they'd rather live with a form of godliness but deny the real power of it. (2 Timothy 3:5).
The fact is, it’s no different today—disciples of Jesus are still stumbling over Jesus' claim that he is the Bread of Life. Many Christ-followers today are just nibbling around the edges of Jesus, choosing instead to feast from the cuisine of worldliness. Rather than finding sustenance in Jesus as their "daily bread," they clamor for a dessert of miracles. Rather than a daily relationship under the Lordship of Jesus, they search the cultural menu settling for a form of godliness without the real power behind it. Don’t fall into that "low carb" spiritual diet. Live with a hunger for Jesus each day. Only he can satisfy the deep hunger of your life.
Next Step
1. If you have been into a low “Bread of Life” diet, start introducing more of Jesus into your daily experience. Talk to him throughout the day. Read about him in the gospel of John. Consistently attend worship at your church. Look for ways to serve him at home, in your neighborhood, at work, or in your community. Make Jesus your all in all!
2. Take a moment and worship with this song, “HUNGRY” by Kathryn Scott.
