In John, chapter 6, we are told the story of Jesus performing the miracle of feeding 5,000 people with only five small barley loaves of bread and two small fish. After doing this, Jesus said: "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" (John 6:35).

Bread has been a staple food and is referred to as the "staff of life." What bread is to our bodies physically, Jesus is to us spiritually.

Notice that:

Jesus is the true bread. In John 6:32, He said: "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 (speaking of himself)."

Jesus is the living bread. In John 6:51, He said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

Jesus is also the life-sustaining bread. In John 6:48-49, Jesus said: "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die."

Jesus is the bread from heaven. He said he was the true bread from heaven (verse 32); that He had come down from heaven (verses 33, 50, 51, 58); and, as the bread of life, he had come down from heaven to do the will of the Father. (verse 38)

One of the elements of the Lord's Supper is unleavened bread. Jesus is the bread of life, and the bread represents his flesh, his body, which was crucified for the sins of all humanity on the cross.

It is not enough to know "about" Jesus. We need to "know" Jesus personally, and partake of his fresh, living bread, by faith. Come to Christ and enjoy fresh bread that truly satisfies, not only here on earth, but eternally. The next time you have bread with a meal, remember Jesus who is the true bread of life, and be thankful.

The Rev. Wayne Rutherford

LifePointe Church of the Nazarene