Bread of life
It was after that amazing miracle of Jesus multiplying the little boys lunch into something that will satiate the hunger of 5000 people that the crowds started following Him in droves looking for Him and thronging behind Him and even planning to make him their king. Jesus understood their hearts and motives, He says "Why are you looking for me? Is it because you saw miraculous signs? The truth is, you are looking for me because you ate the bread and were satisfied". John 6:26 They were following Him for the wrong reasons and then He goes on to offer them an irresistible offer, Jesus tells the crowd that He can give them food that will not perish but will give them eternal life. The people were still unable to understand it, they were asking for a sign, a miracle like the manna from heaven which Moses gave them.
2000 years back if the crowd followed Him for the food, today we see this being replayed in a much larger canvas, people follow Jesus for the wrong reasons, and the sad part is to see the so called servants of Christ giving out the call to follow Jesus and He will give you health, wealth and prosperity. Follow Him you will have no sickness, follow Him and all your troubles and problems will vanish, you will see miracles and wonders. How I wish the Bible would back up those claims!!
What did Jesus say about this when the crowd was following him expecting food and miracles. He goes on to make an emphatic claim in verse 35 of the same chapter. Jesus said, "I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty." He is the bread of life, People who ate the manna in the desert felt hungry again because that was just physical food, but Jesus here is speaking about spiritual hunger and thirst which can only be satisfied by the bread of life Himself. He goes on to say in verse 48-51 "I am the bread that gives life. Your ancestors ate the manna God gave them in the desert, but it didn't keep them from dying. Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my body. I will give my body so that the people in the world can have life." All that the crowd needed to do was to believe Him and receive Him by faith. But they did not understand it because their expectations were different.
Have we ever asked the question to ourselves, why am I following Jesus? Is it because of the benefits that we will receive, the material blessings, the healings, the miracles and signs or Is it because He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the redeemer of mankind, the only one worthy of worship, the bread who came down from heaven and broke Himself for us so that we might have eternal life. That should be our only reason for following Him.
2000 years back if the crowd followed Him for the food, today we see this being replayed in a much larger canvas, people follow Jesus for the wrong reasons, and the sad part is to see the so called servants of Christ giving out the call to follow Jesus and He will give you health, wealth and prosperity. Follow Him you will have no sickness, follow Him and all your troubles and problems will vanish, you will see miracles and wonders. How I wish the Bible would back up those claims!!
What did Jesus say about this when the crowd was following him expecting food and miracles. He goes on to make an emphatic claim in verse 35 of the same chapter. Jesus said, "I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty." He is the bread of life, People who ate the manna in the desert felt hungry again because that was just physical food, but Jesus here is speaking about spiritual hunger and thirst which can only be satisfied by the bread of life Himself. He goes on to say in verse 48-51 "I am the bread that gives life. Your ancestors ate the manna God gave them in the desert, but it didn't keep them from dying. Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my body. I will give my body so that the people in the world can have life." All that the crowd needed to do was to believe Him and receive Him by faith. But they did not understand it because their expectations were different.
Have we ever asked the question to ourselves, why am I following Jesus? Is it because of the benefits that we will receive, the material blessings, the healings, the miracles and signs or Is it because He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the redeemer of mankind, the only one worthy of worship, the bread who came down from heaven and broke Himself for us so that we might have eternal life. That should be our only reason for following Him.
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