March 17, Satisfied
Does the intensity of your faith in Jesus match the immensity of His supply for you?
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Jesus is the bread of life. All throughout the earthly ministry of our Lord, He cared for the basic needs of people, including the need for physical sustenance. (This is seen particularly in the feeding of the multitude.) But Jesus always prioritized spiritual food – the nourishment of the soul that can only come from the Father and through the Son. As vital as bread is to the body, so a relationship with Jesus is to all of life. He is indeed the bread of life for you.
From the earliest record of Jesus’ ministry, shifting emphasis from physical bread to spiritual nourishment was His ultimate aim. Do you remember when Jesus said, “man does not live by bread alone”? Jesus spoke this during one of the inaugural events of His earthly ministry, referred to in Biblical history as the “wilderness temptations of Christ.” (Matthew 4:1-11) Jesus then described something even more significant that hungering for food: hungering for every word that precedes from God. Jesus spoke this directly in the face of Satan’s feeble effort to tempt Jesus to turn rocks to bread.
Later in His earthly ministry, just after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus spoke to the multitude who were vainly seeking a continued demonstration of Jesus’ miraculous power. Jesus said to them, “you seek me not because of the miracle, but because you ate the food and became full.” Many had followed Jesus because they were desiring more of the same physical substance. Jesus redirected their erring priority with the divine testimony: “I am the bread of life.”
In the Gospel of John, Jesus gave seven specific self-revelations known as the “I Am” statements: “I am the bread of life”, “I am the light of the world”, “I am the door of the sheep”, “I am the resurrection and the life”, “I am the good shepherd”, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”, and “I am the true vine.” Each saying demonstrated a specific expression of Jesus’ saving relationship with the world. What is meant by Jesus’ self-revelation, “I am the bread of life”?
First, when Jesus announced that He was the bread of life, He expressed that He is essential to life (as physical bread represents the essentialness of human sustenance). Jesus presented Himself as the solution. As bread is the solution to man’s physical needs, Jesus’ whole identity as Messiah, Savior, Redeemer, and Lord is the solution to emotional, relational, and spiritual hunger. Faith in Jesus Christ satisfies the soul, mind, and spirit, and changes one’s life completely through divine satisfaction. This is impossible through any other person or means. Jesus’ touch on your life is essential.
Second, Jesus’ “bread of life” announcement referenced eternal life (and not merely the physical). Jesus attempted to get the minds of His Jewish audience off the physical realm and onto the spiritual realm. As the spiritual bread, Jesus brings spiritual life – eternal life. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can take that spiritual life away. You dear child of God are indeed a spiritual creation. Yes, our minds and bodies will at times become fatigued. The more years, the more fatigue, for our bodies are temporary dwellings. But faith in Jesus brings the supernatural reality: the spiritual life. For, He is the bread of life. Depend upon Him spiritually as you depend upon necessities of life physically. Allow His daily presence and truth in your life to feed your soul. As you allow your minds to dwell more in the spiritual realm, the physical things will appropriately lesson in value. I guarantee it!
Third, Jesus, as the bread of life, demonstrates deity. When Jesus said, “I am,” most within the Jewish audience likely experienced familiarity with God’s announcement from the Hebrew Scriptures of Exodus 3:14. This declaration of deity is a covenant name of God – Yahweh (YHWH). This expression of self-existence (meaning that God is sufficient in and of His own nature, and all things depend upon Him) could only be attributed to God. Jesus unveiled His deity in the statement “I am the bread of life.” Jesus spoke of His nature as equal to God, and as God. “To see the Father,” Jesus said, “is to see me” (John 14:9). How powerful and utterly amazing is the revelation that Jesus, as God, becomes for you and me “the bread of life.”
He is more than sufficient. He is more than enough. He fills the cup to running over. He never stops giving. He nurtures. He strengthens. He supplies. He satisfies. He loves. He cares for you. He cares for your life: your soul, your relationships, your income, your wellbeing, your tomorrow, your uncertainties, your latest medical diagnosis, your family issues, your personal grudges and burdens! He cares for it all. Every piece of your life. Every large or small portion. Jesus cares. And as the bread of life, He can be trusted to not only sustain and supply, but to satisfy. So, based on this truth, how is your faith in the Bread of Life? How is your trust in Jesus?
Does the intensity of your faith in Jesus match the immensity of His supply for you? I pray it does. If not, ask God to strengthen your faith today. Ask God to awaken your soul to the Bread of Life. He is indeed the “I Am.” You can trust Him.
Blessings.
READ
Read John 6:1-40 to genuinely determine how much you hunger after the spiritual bread?