Read John 6:28-59
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
In this chapter, we have seen provision and protection come from Jesus. He desires to give even more. Jesus calls us to hear his word, which promises life and salvation.
Sometimes I wonder if my interest in his promise of eternal life isn’t still, in some ways, wrapped up in my stomach being filled for today. It is as if my mind works it so that this promise of eternal life somehow relieves my worry about the provision I need not only today, but three days from now, three months from now, three years from now, even thirty years from now. If God desires to give me eternal life, then he will certainly take care of this, that, and the other thing. If Jesus wants to give me eternal life, then surely everything else in life will be taken care of until my life’s end.
It’s not that these things are not important. Clearly, God is concerned with our daily needs. But the bread that we eat feeds for a day. Jesus wants to give the bread that leads to eternal life. While we are often consumed by needs of the moment, Jesus also sees our souls that are starved because of sin. While we are often concerned with fears about our future, Jesus sees our malnourished spirits on the brink of death, ravenously desperate for his life-giving word. And so, he would not only feed us with bread, but with himself. He invites us to cling to him, feed on him, and be nourished by him, for he and he alone is the life-giving food. He gives salvation to body and soul. In his mercy and wisdom, he provides all that is needed. Great is his faithfulness!
Prayer
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!1 Amen.
1 Refrain from the Hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, Thomas O Chisholm. Hope Publishing Co, 1923.
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