The Bread of Life
“I am the bread of life…. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”
John 6:48, 51a (NKJV) Bread-making is an ancient activity. Women made bread during the time of Moses. You may remember the story of the Exodus. When the Israelites left Egypt, they did not have time to let the bread dough rise. So they baked a flat bread that had no yeast (or leavening).
In Jesus’ day, women also baked bread. They used wheat or barley flour. Bread was a staple, or main part, of their diet. You know the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with some fish and barley loaves (John 6:9). And the Lord’s Prayer says: “Give us this day our daily bread”. Bread is often mentioned in the Bible.
What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the bread of life”?
Bread was an essential food. Unless you wanted to go hungry, you would eat bread every day. Today, we have so many other things we eat, that we could manage for a long time without eating bread. But in Jesus’ day, bread was often the main part of the meal.
When Jesus spoke of bread, He knew the people could relate to what He was saying. He wanted them to know that He is as essential to life as the food they ate.
When we go to Jesus in prayer, or study His word, He comforts and strengthens us. If you go too long without food, you will get weak. If we go without a daily prayer time and reading God’s word, we get spiritually weak.
We need to stay close to Jesus every day just as surely as we need our daily food. He helps us with our daily walk here on earth, and He also offers us eternal life. That’s why He said He is the “living bread” and “anyone who eats of this bread will live forever.”
We need to spend time in His presence daily. He is our strength now while we’re on this earth. And we need to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior so that we may have eternal life and spend eternity with Him.
Jesus is essential in our lives – now, and for all eternity!
Copyright, 2007, Laurie Latour.
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