In John 6, after feeding the multitude in the wilderness, Jesus and His disciples went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. People came to the place where Jesus fed the multitudes and did not find Him, so they also got into boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. When they found Him, Jesus told them they were looking for Him because they ate the loaves and were filled.
John 6:27-31 NKJV 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.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
Notice that they were still talking about the bread that Jesus gave the multitude. It is obvious that Jesus was correct in saying, “You seek Me because you ate the loaves and were filled.” Yesterday’s bread does not satisfy today’s hunger. Jesus uses their unsatisfied hunger for more bread to teach them.
John 6:32-35 NKJV 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. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 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.”
Bread has been the staff of life for thousands of years. After the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind has hungered for daily bread. Bread is first mentioned as part of the judgment after Adam and Eve sinned.
Genesis 3:19 NKJV In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Daily bread was necessary to sustain life. In our text, Jesus spoke to the people about the manna in the wilderness. Manna was God’s provision of bread to keep them alive throughout the wilderness wanderings. Now Jesus said, God had given them the true bread of life.
Everyone has a gnawing hunger for something physical, emotional, and spiritual to satisfy. We hunger for food and material things and for God and spiritual things. We hunger for acceptance, love, joy, and peace. Much of our time and energy are spent seeking to satisfy our hungers. This passage deals with the answer to man’s great hunger.
John 6 reveals three miraculous supplies of bread.
- By the Sea of Galilee,Jesus fed 5,000 men plus women and children with five barley loaves and two small fish.
- The second mention of bread refers to the manna of Moses in the wilderness.
- The third bread that is mentioned is the Heavenly Bread, Jesus Christ.
The first provision of miracle bread was limited and met only the temporary need of a limited number of people.
Some lad brought a sack lunch with him to see Jesus. When the people came to Jesus, they were very hungry. Jesus took the little that they found and multiplied it to meet a temporary but necessary need. That temporary bread sustained life.
We all have times when temporary need is very pressing and necessary. It is good to know that the Lord is able to do miracles with the little that we have.
Matthew 6:26 NKJV Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
The Lord can take our meager supplies and multiply them to meet our pressing need. Some of you may be in this kind of situation now. You came with everyone else, but your need is pressing you so much. When we get into these kinds of situations, we must have God’s help right now.
The second bread mentioned in John 6 is manna from heaven.
Multitudes of people were traveling with Moses out of Egypt toward the Promised Land. When they ran out of the supplies that they had brought from Egypt, they became hungry and thought they would die. Everyone was hungry and complaining to Moses and God. It was a difficult thing to go through. They thought they were going to starve in the wilderness because their supply was depleted. Manna in the desert offers an underlying message for all of God’s people. You cannot depend on the things you brought with you when God brought you out of bondage. If you have been saved, God has a new life for you. He has a supply that you cannot find in the world. When the people reached an end of the Egyptian food supply, God gave this message to Moses.
Exodus 16:11–14 NKJV And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
When the people got up the next morning, the ground was covered with manna. The people did not know what it was. Moses told them: “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.” All they had to do was go out daily and pick up all they could eat. God provided bread from heaven that sustained their lives through the wilderness. Once again, that bread was temporary and very limited. The manna only met a temporary hunger and it spoiled overnight.
This was God’s grace for their daily need. Manna was a daily supply to satisfy temporary hunger. Everyday for forty years God supplied manna for their daily need.
The third bread mentioned is Jesus Christ, the Living Bread of Life.
After Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee, the crowd of people followed Him to Capernaum. This was when Jesus began talking about bread. He said the people followed Him because He multiplied the five barley loaves and fed their bodies. For a while Jesus spoke to them about Moses and the bread from heaven. That manna was a daily miracle provision from God for the continuation of natural life.
John 6:32-36 NKJV Then Jesus said to them …My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”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. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.”
Jesus is offering anyone who believes “bread” that truly satisfies hunger and gives eternal life. When He said that He was the bread of life, they did not understand.
John 6:41 NKJV At this, the crowd began to grumble because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
Then Jesus took the dialogue a step further and said:
John 6:48–58 NKJV I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 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. The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, 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 food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
This is not the only time Jesus said something like this. Even though He broke the bread with them and said: “This is my body that is broken for you…” And “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood,” He was not referring to communion.
This message goes far deeper than that. Jesus was telling them that He has been given from the Father in heaven to all men to bring life. Jesus is talking about real faith and trust in Him as God’s only source of salvation and new life. He is the Bread of Life that satisfies the hunger of the spirit, soul, and body. He is the Bread of Life that provides eternal life. He is the answer for physical and spiritual needs.
After they ate the manna in the wilderness, their bodies died. They came to hate the manna in the wilderness. They murmured and complained over it. They ate manna and wanted something else.
They ate the bread of multiplication and did not have spiritual satisfaction. What they ate on the other side of the Sea of Galilee did not satisfy their hunger on this side at Capernaum. The physical food that was provided did not increase their faith. They were not made better because they ate.
John 6:54–56 NKJV 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 food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Jesus offered His Own body and Blood to satisfy our hunger and thirsts.
What He is giving will supply all of our need. He reaches past the temporary into the eternities. Jesus is giving life that knows no end and love that has no borders. He provides joy that gives strength and peace that passes understanding. He supplies hope that reaches beyond the veil into the secret chambers of heaven and gives real life and satisfaction.
Just before Jesus was to be crucified, He met with His disciples in the upper room of a house in Jerusalem. The disciples and Christ were gathered in the room where they had prepared the Passover meal.
Mark 14:22-24 NKJV And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we remember that He gave His body and blood for us. The life is not in the wafer of bread or the juice, but in the Lord. Jesus wanted all believers to know that He gave Himself fully so that we may have life abundantly.
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Here it is. Jesus became the sacrifice so that you may receive life. He took your transgressions, iniquities, and sicknesses. Through His sacrifice and death, He gave us everything He is. He not only gave His body and blood, He gave His life for you. There is help for you in Jesus Christ today. You need healing, He is the healer. You need peace, He was chastised for your peace. You need forgiveness and cleansing, His blood cleanses us from all sins. Jesus can satisfy your deepest hunger and thirst.
