I AM the Bread of Life
George Stiekes
And Jesus said unto them, I AM the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. John 6:35
There are a number of I AM passages in John’s gospel followed by a metaphor that are used to reveal that Jesus Christ is sufficient for our every need. Jesus is bread (6:35), light (8:12), the door (10:7), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25) and the true vine (15:1). So many people today are looking for happiness and the meaning of life in the wrong places.
Jesus knew that His disciples would not understand certain truths about Him until after His resurrection from the dead and His ascension into glory. Each one of the I AM passages are filled with profound truth.
J. C. Ryle states that Jesus, being the bread of life “is the appointed food of man’s soul.” Bread has always been the staple food of man in every generation, necessary food for survival.
In the text, Jesus had just fed the five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two small fish. The people were so interested in the physical food that they failed to recognize Jesus as food for their souls. They did not recognize that their promised Messiah had come. Moses had called for bread (manna) from Heaven which was a type of the true bread, Jesus Christ, also out of Heaven. The manna could only meet a physical need while Jesus alone can meet man’s spiritual need.
In Philippians 4:19, the Apostle Paul wrote, But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ. All our spiritual needs are met in Christ and yet there is a sense that He supplies our daily needs as we trust in Him. This is why He asked us to pray, Give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). No matter how great our spiritual needs, Christ is enough! Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6).
How hungry are you for spiritual food? It does not make sense that there are Christians satisfied on a Pablum diet which is meant for infants. Growing in Christ is to get beyond the milk of the Word to the meat of the written Word of God. We must not be content to remain in the elementary stage of the Christian life. There are battles that will come that we cannot win at this stage. We need to grow in the grace and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18) that we might be victorious over the enemy of our souls and that we may know the joy of an abundant life (John 10:10). Choose not to labor for the food that perishes, but for that which will endure eternally, that which only the Bread of Life can give you.
George Stiekes held successful pastorates in churches in Michigan and Washington among other places. He currently resides in North Carolina and blogs at Reverent Reflections. We recommend his ministry and republish his material by permission.