JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE

Meanwhile, the Jews complained because Jesus said He was the bread that came down from Heaven. Remember when we talked about people not believing in prophets from their home country? Well, there they went again, saying, Isn't this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we all know? How can He go around saying, I came down from Heaven? The moment that they waited centuries for, the coming of the Messiah that they read about and yearned for was present to them, but they couldn't recognize Him, even with all the miracles they saw, and prophecies fulfilled, they still just couldn't accept it.

Jesus said to them, Don't murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me, unless the Father calls him, and I'll raise him up on the last day. It's written in the prophets, They will all be taught about God. So, every man that has heard and learned about God, comes to me. No man has seen the Father, except the one who is of God. Truly I tell you, whoever believes in me has everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that comes down from Heaven, that a man can eat and not die. I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eats this bread, he will live for ever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

The Jews argued among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat? Jesus answered them, 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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I'll raise him up at the last day. My flesh is truly meat and my blood is truly drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. As the living God has sent me, and I live because of the Father, Whoever eats my flesh will live because of me. This is that bread that came down from Heaven, not like your fathers ate manna, and are dead, but whoever eats this bread will live for ever.

Even many of the disciples, after Jesus explained this for the third time, said among themselves, This is a complicated thing, who can understand it? Jesus sensed in His Spirit that the disciples were troubled about it and He said to them, Does this confuse you? What if you see the Son of man ascend up where He was before? It's the spirit that gives life, the flesh has no value. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they give life. But there are some of you who don't believe. Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray Him, so He said, That's why I said to you that no man can come to me, unless the Father calls him.

From that time, many of Jesus' disciples went back and didn't follow Him anymore. Jesus asked the twelve Apostles, Will you also go away? Peter answered, Lord, who would we go to? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and are sure that you're the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied to them, Haven't I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil? He was talking about Judas Iscariot, because he was the one who Jesus knew would betray Him even though he was one of the twelve.

There's a really cool thing to notice about all of this bread talk. Why did Jesus use bread as a symbol for Himself? Could it be because He wanted us to be reminded of Him each time we eat? What if every time you ate bread you're reminded that you're abiding in Jesus and Jesus is abiding in you, what a difference that could make in your life. Also, usually a meal is shared with other people. Maybe Jesus chose bread as a symbol of Himself so that we would share Him with one another often. Whatever the reason, it's time to recognize Him as your BREAD OF LIFE.