By Hope 103.2Thursday 5 Dec 2024Real Hope – The PodcastChristmasReading Time: 2 minutes
I am the living bread which came down out of 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. John 6:51 (VW)
Key points
- Jesus tells us He is the bread of life, and if we eat of Him, we will be filled. He is the living bread.
- Only through faith can we partake of the bread Jesus is referring to.
- Listen to the ‘Why Jesus Came to Earth’ series and others on Real Hope | The Podcast.
“I’m hungry!” The child bangs through the door at the end of the school day.
“What’s to eat?” The fridge door opens, the fridge door closes. The pantry door opens, the pantry door closes.
“There’s nothing to eat.” Eventually a decision is made, and several slices of bread are slapped down onto a plate, and various toppings are applied. Thank you, Lord, for bread.
In John chapter 6 Jesus feeds five thousand. They are fed, and they are satisfied. But it is temporary relief for their hunger.
As my ravenous teenager knows, he will be back peering into the fridge sometime later in the afternoon.
Jesus tells us He is the bread of life, and if we eat of Him, we will be filled. He is the living bread.
Jesus offers us something more. Jesus offers us Himself. He tells us He is the bread of life, and if we eat of Him, we will be filled. He is the living bread, who has come down out of Heaven.
It isn’t a comfortable metaphor, is it? Jesus is trying to shock us out of our single-minded focus on earthly needs.
In referring to bread from heaven, He deliberately makes the connection to those who ate the manna in the wilderness, bread from heaven given to sustain.
And yet, those who ate of it are dead.
When Jesus breaks the bread, and hands it to those who are hungry He is giving them life.
Only through faith can we partake of the bread Jesus is referring to.
What He is offering is for our spiritual hunger.
Only through faith can we partake of the bread Jesus is referring to.
Only by taking Jesus into our innermost selves are we nourished through faith.
And only by faith are we saved to eternal life.
Listen to this episode in the player above.
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Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro
Episode supplied with thanks to Chris Parfoot
Originally published as ‘Why Jesus Came to Earth – To Give Eternal Life’ in Real Hope, December 2023