podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/209a3290/bread-you-gotta-have-john-635-john-28 Growing up, we ate bread freely . . . usually some kind of wheat bread, but now my favorite is grilled rye or hot sourdough. I think that God must be fond of bread too as there are so many references to it throughout scripture. Jesus now says of himself, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Surely a book could be written from these words of Jesus, “I am the bread of life”! Bread sustains life. Think of how God provided for the Israelites while they were in the desert—he supplied them with manna, a bread which dropped from the skies on a daily basis. "When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it."1 During the first five workdays of the week, the people were only to gather enough for that day, because the excess would spoil.2 On the sixth day however, they were to gather enough for two days, because no manna came down on the Sabbath. The manna supplied on the sixth day did not spoil like it did on the other days.3 The manna began about one month after the Exodus from Egypt and the Israelites ate it during the entire 40 years of the wilderness journey, until they entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.4 How incredible was God’s provision—manna for 40 years, fresh daily! Jesus’ listeners certainly got the ‘bread’ reference; manna was part of the miracle of God’s sustaining grace of his children. Here Jesus establishes himself as the Bread of Life, a reference to his being our spiritual sustenance. Oh, people exist without Christ, but they never really LIVE until they have met him. Stop and think of people who come to know Christ—their countenance is usually different, somehow brighter, once they enter into relationship with Jesus because they feel different inside. Recently, I wrote about several high school seniors who accepted Jesus. A few weeks later, one said, ‘everything feels different; I feel like I am not alone anymore.’ Then I saw a parent of one of the girls who told me her daughter was more at peace with herself, and even nicer around the house. Having Jesus in our lives should change us. That is why Christ came—to change us, to cleanse us, to bring us life, life eternal. Jesus, Bread of Life. This morning I was up early, studying this passage on the Bread of Life. Before I closed my laptop, I checked my e-mail to find this note: “Thank you very much for your messages i would like to accept Jesus has my Lord and savor please help me to know him well, My name is Joseph M___. Thank you very much i hope to hear from very soon.” (that was as he wrote it; he is from Ghana, Africa) I emailed him immediately to connect him with the Bread of Life - Jesus, who is our sustenance. Now how cool is that?! Not only will we live eternally with Jesus, our Bread of Life, but he is also what gives life meaning each day! Christine 1 Numbers 11.9 2 Exodus 16.19-20 3 Exodus 16.23-26 4 Joshua 5
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