No one made greater claims for himself than Jesus Christ. In this series we examine some of these claims. But take care. Our attitude toward Jesus Christ will never be the same again! If his claims are found to be false then we must reject him as the greatest deceiver of all time! If his claims are found to be true then we must respond to those claims, and live our lives in the light of them by acknowledging Jesus as our Saviour and the Lord of our life! Sitting on the fence will not be an option for us. (Each of the 8 claims are found in John’s Gospel. To get your FREE copy, send off the coupon on this page.)

2: I am the Bread of Life (John 6:25-51)

It had been an extraordinary 24 hours – even by Jesus’ standards! The previous day he had been mobbed by people, fascinated by his miraculous healing of the sick. Jesus climbed a mountain and sat down with his disciples. As evening approached he realised the people’s need of food. A boy was found in the crowd with 5 small loaves and a couple of fish. A drop in the ocean perhaps - but in Jesus’ hands the food was multiplied until there was enough to feed the crowd - with plenty to spare.

Later Jesus sent the disciples across the Sea of Galilee while he stayed to spend the night in prayer. When the disciples were three and a half miles into their journey a powerful wind blew up and waves threatened to overwhelm the boat. Then Jesus came to them – walking on the water. Joining the disciples in the boat they arrived safely on the opposite shore.

The following day the crowds flocked around Jesus once again. But there was no free food this time! ‘You are looking for me not because of the miraculous signs’ Jesus said to them, ‘but because you ate the loaves and had your fill’.

He didn’t mince his words – we all need to hear the truth about our motives at some time in our lives. Jesus wasn’t being unkind or unsympathetic but offering them something of much greater value than the food he had provided for them the day before. ‘Do 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’, (27).

Now the crowd really began to listen. Food which would satisfy them once and for all was very appealing! But they had some questions they needed answering before they would really believe what Jesus was claiming:
‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ they asked. ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’, replied Jesus. ‘What miraculous sign will you give that we may see it and believe you?’ they wanted to know – apparently forgetting the miracle that had fed them the previous day. Their great leader, Moses, had fed them with manna in the wilderness. They could believe him because of that. ‘It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world’ Jesus said. The crowd seemed convinced. There was no doubting Jesus now. ‘Sir’, they said, ‘from now on give us this bread.’ (34)

Once again Jesus told them, ‘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’, (35).

• Re-occurring hunger is something we all experience. Most of us enjoy three meals a day as a matter of course! Jesus was speaking about spiritual food which meets the spiritual hunger deep within us. Jesus was claiming not only to be the provider of this spiritual food which satisfies our deepest needs but that he is himself the ‘Bread of life’ (35).
• Evidence of spiritual hunger is everywhere. Our material age has totally failed to meet the deepest longings of the human soul. Weird cults, mystic religions, spiritism and new age practices flourish in an age of disappointment and disillusion. Thousands seek to fill the missing ‘something’ with alcohol. Many successful professional people seek relief from pressurised lives in designer drugs. Serial relationships have long been a well-trodden path in search of a satisfying emotional life.

   

  These trends are stunningly real. As I write, the body of a top police chief has just been discovered on Snowdon. Reports of letters left and text messages sent suggest he was escaping a tangled web of past affairs. Apparently even career success and achievement can also leave us empty and unfulfilled. Your life and mine might be rather more ordinary – yet our need of that ‘Bread of life’ is no less essential.

• Jesus is the ‘Bread of life’ (48). How can we receive it? Jesus said we receive that soul-satisfying, life-giving food as we believe in him, (40). He also promised eternal life to all who put their trust in him (40).

 

It all seems simple enough - yet the people who heard Jesus’ claims never did receive the food Jesus had to give. Unbelief (41-42) and scepticism (52) got in the way. In fact even some of his disciples turned back from following him (60). If we are empty and hungry, and if Jesus is the Bread of life, how foolish not to feed on him by faith? We may be sure that the Man who satisfied the hunger of 5000 on a mountainside is able to satisfy your deepest needs and mine for all eternity.

Michael Toogood