Read: John 6
“Jesus says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” - John 6:35
In today’s society, one or both partners in a marriage earn a wage to provide for their needs. Our idiomatic term for the wage earner is also the “breadwinner.” Even in our slang, we use the word “bread” as a synonym for “money.” Bread remains, at least in our language, as a symbol of the basic provision for our needs. A number of ancient archaeological sites turned up fossilized cakes of bread, showing it’s importance in our daily life for eons of time.
Whether bread is made from rye, barley, corn, millet, wheat, rice or even potato flour, it has been served as part of the basic human diet ever since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Paradise. God pronounced a curse on man and the whole earth, because of their sin. "…cursed is the ground for thy sake; …In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground..." (Genesis 3:17,19).
Due to God’s curse on the ground as the result of sin, whether we till the land or participate in any other “breadwinning” activity, it involves hard work in an uncooperative environment. God’s Word reminds us that, ". . . if any would not work, neither should he eat" (II Thessalonians 3:10).
Bread is also a continual theme throughout the Bible. The term "bread" in the Bible refers to food in general or is used symbolically as well. Abraham shared bread and wine with Melchizedek, king of Salem, which was a customary expression of peace and fellowship. To break bread with someone was an act of communion (Gen. 14:18).
Unleavened bread reminds us of the Israelites exodus from Egypt to a new life in Canaan (Exodus 12:39). For Christians, this trek is symbolic of our walk with the Lord in the Kingdom of God.
Also, the Bread of the Presence, or showbread, was placed daily in the Holy Place in both the Tabernacle and the Temple. One of the Levites’ duties was to tend to this sacred bread (1Chronicles 23: 29). This showbread reminded the Jews that God was their provider and sustainer, and they lived constantly in His presence. The showbread is only mentioned twice in the New Testament in Hebrews 9:2, and in Matthew 12:4 where it is called "The Consecrated Bread". Christians know that in Jesus, who is our True Bread of Life, our lives are lifted up above the mundane, earthly level, and we live with him "in the spiritual, heavenly realm" (Eph. 2:6).
Also, we have the manna in the wilderness. When the Israelites needed food, God promised to “rain bread from heaven” (Exodus 16:4). The next morning, when the dew lifted, there remained behind on the ground “a small round substance, as fine as frost. It was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey” (vv. 14, 31). Even in the face of the rebellion of Israel not to enter the Promised Land, God sustained them. He gave them bread from heaven that preserved their lives (Exodus 16:2-4).
The manna trained the Jews to completely depend and rely upon God for their daily bread. In the prayer that Jesus taught his apostles, He prayed, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). We learn this obvious lesson from God’s manner of providing the manna. No matter how much effort a person invested to obtain it and no matter how much manna they gathered, each person ended up with his precise nutritional needs for a single day.
Those who attempted to store up manna for the next day, found that their "savings" spoiled during the night. This speaks to us of trusting God for our daily provision and to not store up treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy, but in heaven instead (Matthew 6:19). The manna was actually called "the corn of heaven," and "angels' food" (Psalm 78:24-25).
Our bread of heaven, Jesus Christ, nourishes our lives and keeps us safe as we sojourn on this earth toward eternity with Him in heaven. Bread is a powerful symbol of God’s provision. John 6:31-51 gives us an abundance of symbolism, which includes Jewish historical tradition, as well as their cultural associations. Jesus taught that belief on Him is equal to eating spiritual manna, which is far superior to the Old Testament manna.
Manna gave temporary life to the Jews for one day only. However, Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread (heavenly manna) of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven..." In John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
Jesus not only spoke the words of God, but He IS the Living Word of God. God stated “…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live" (Deuteronomy 8:3). The New Testament tell us that our life is in Jesus (John 1: 4).
Another instance of the use of Bread in scripture is found in the account of Jesus rebuking Satan in the wilderness temptation, "It is written," He said, "That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4). The Words of God’s Scripture are not only spiritual bread, but also honey and milk and meat (Hebrews 5:12). As we feast on the words of Scriptures, they give us life for our soul. As Jeremiah said: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" (Jeremiah 15:16). Or, as Job stated: "I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). And in the longest psalm, there is this testimony: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103).
After the Korean War, a Korean orphanage soon discovered that, although the children enjoyed three solid meals a day, they had great anxiety about whether they would have food the next day. To help resolve this problem, the relief workers in one particular orphanage decided that each night when the children were put to bed, the nurses would place a single piece of bread in each child’s hand. The children held onto the bread as they went to sleep. It provided them with a “security blanket”, reminding them that tomorrow held adequate provision for their daily needs. Sure enough, the bread calmed the children’s anxieties and helped them to sleep.
Likewise, Jesus gives us security to lay down in sweet repose and to awaken the next morning with faith in His provision. We take comfort in knowing that our physical needs are met, and that He “Gives us our daily bread.” These words teach us to come to God in a spirit of expectant dependence, asking Him to provide our needs and to sustain us each day. We make our needs known to Him, and then trust that He will provide.
Another Biblical illustration using bread is the parable of the loaves and fishes in John 6:1-15. Verses 12-13 tell us, “When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” Jesus supplied their need in abundance, and He will do the same for us.
To believers out of fellowship with God, as with the elect nation of Israel, the spiritual bread that God sends can be very bitter. The Bible speaks, for example, of "the bread of tears" and "the bread of sorrows" (Psalm 80:5; 127:2). God disciplines whom He loves and chastized those who are His Sons (Hebrews 12:7). "Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel" (Proverbs 20:17). Those who participate in careless and unfruitful living, "…eateth not the bread of idleness" (Proverbs 31:27) and"..eat the bread of wickedness" (Proverbs 4: 17). The Bible also mentions the "bread of affliction" (I Kings 22:27), "the bread of adversity" (Isaiah 30:20), and "the bread of mourners" (Hosea 9:4).
All of our food, spiritual and physical, is provided by God through Jesus, "who created all things by Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:9). In one sense, the Lord Jesus is in His entire creation, for "by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:17) and He is now "upholding all things by the word of His power" (Hebrews 1:3). Even Paul expounded to the philosophers in first-century Greece, that the God who created the world was "not far from every one of us: For in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:27-28).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I will give thanks to You, for You are good. Your loving kindness endures forever. I give thanks to You, Lord, for Your unfailing love and Your wonderful acts to the children of men, for You satisfy the thirsty soul and You fill the hungry soul with good things (Psalm 107:1, 8-9).
Thought for the Day:
