“’I am the living bread that comes down
from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will
live forever
This bread is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world.’”
John 6:51 (NIV)
Jesus spoke these words to the Jews. The listeners argued
among themselves. They didn’t believe what they heard.
Just as bread is basic to our survival, Jesus is essential
to our spiritual health. In John chapter six, Jesus refers to himself as the
bread of life five times (6:33, 38, 41, 51, and 58.) The Jewish listeners
couldn’t process the thought that Jesus compared Himself to something so
different and yet so basic.
My research on this passage shows me that Jesus is essential
to our spiritual nourishment as bread is to our physical strength1.“He
claimed to be the genuine source of spiritual life and nourishment.”
Just as our physical bodies become run down without our
eating of the proper foods, our spirits need to take in Jesus and His teachings
in order to grow in our awareness and knowledge of Him.
1.Gleaned from The Gospel of John, The Daily Study Bible
Series, by William Barclay © 1975 p.220
2. The Discovery Study Bible, by Zondervan © 2004 p. 1401
Graphic: Turnbacktogod.com