Satisfy Your Hunger With The Right Bread
The sixth chapter of John begins with the famous story of Jesus feeding a huge mass of people with a small amount of food from a young boy’s lunch. Jesus knew that the folks who had been crowding around Him were drawn to Him by His miraculous healings and His intriguing words. He took full advantage of a teaching moment and gave them great advice regarding their spiritual diet. He told them to spend their time and energy seeking the eternal life that He could give them, not for miraculous appearances of food for the body.
When Jesus referred to Himself as the “Bread of Life” He was drawing on a rich symbol of Jewish life. Bread played an important role in Israel’s worship. It was an essential part of the sacrifices offered during the celebration of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17). Also, twelve loaves of unleavened bread were placed before the Lord in the tabernacle each week to symbolize God’s presence with the twelve tribes (Exodus 25:30).
Lets take a look at the following passages.
John 6:26-40 25When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.” 28Then they asked Him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” 30So they asked Him, “What miraculous sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You? What will you do? 31Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” 32Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34“Sir,” they said, “from now on give us this bread.” 35Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me.39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day.”
In Verse 26 Jesus criticized the people who followed Him only for the physical and temporal benefits and not for the satisfying of their spiritual hunger. Many people use religion to gain prestige, comfort or even political votes. But those are self-centered motives. True believers follow Jesus simply because they know He has the truth and His way is the way to live.
He goes on to say in vs. 27 that we are not to labor for food that would perish, but rather to seek the food that would have lasting qualities. How do we acquire that food? He tells us in verse 29 all we have to do is believe in the One whom God has sent.
Many sincere seekers of God are puzzled about what He wants them to do. The religions of the world are mankind’s attempts to answer this question. But Jesus’ reply is brief and simple: we must believe on Him whom God has sent. Satisfying God does not come from the work we do but from whom we believe. The first step is accepting that Jesus is who He claims to be. All spiritual development is built on this affirmation. Declare to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”, and embark on a life of belief that is satisfying to your Creator.
The people were eager to receive this bread that would cease their hunger. After finding out how to receive this gift (verse 29) they said to him in Vs. 34: “from now on give us this bread.” We eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder He called Himself the Bread of Life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life.
At the conclusion of this passage Jesus makes yet another mystifying statement: ”unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (verse 53). When Jesus made the statement about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, He was making the point that intellectual belief is not enough. He calls each of us to go further than that. We are to base our entire lives upon Jesus. To eat and drink JEsus is to allow Him to permeate our very soul.
How is your spiritual appetite? Do you eat until you are satisfied? If you are filling up on things of the world (personal pleasures, material goods, etc.) you will have little appetite for spiritual food. The problem is you will never satisfy your hunger with things of this world. Jesus says that if you fill up on the “Bread of Life” you won’t ever hunger. The perpetual dissatisfaction and discontent you once felt will be gone. In its place will be real lasting peace, contentment and deep, satisfying joy! So go ahead and eat all you want. You can never get too much!
Excerpts on this blog have been taken from the book “Spiritual Exercise.” Permission has been given by the author Helen Krudop. they appear in italics.