Words from the Rock
I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.
John 6:57–58 NLT
Do you think Jesus repeated himself simply because he liked the sound of his own voice? No, of course not. It was only because he knew that his listeners weren’t getting it. He had to make this whole thing as clear as possible, even if that meant pounding it into them. He was offering the words of life, and they needed to get a hold on them.
He drives home his point even more by reminding his listeners of their ancestors, because he knows that everyone there has heard the old story—how Moses led the children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt, how they got hungry out in the wilderness, and how God rained down bread from heaven to feed them. It was a happy, miraculous story that they’d heard repeated since childhood.
Then Jesus reminds them that those same ancestors, the ones who enjoyed that heavenly bread, still died in the end. Although the bread filled their bellies for a while, it didn’t give them eternal life. Jesus wants you to understand that God created a deep-down hunger inside of you. If you try to fill that hunger with pizzas, cheeseburgers, or fries (which might add to your waistline), you’ll still be spiritually starving. Until you get that Jesus is the only one who can satisfy that hunger, you’ll try to fill the void with something else.
Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. When he’s inside you, you’re satisfied and full, and you have eternal life. Why would you want to settle for less?
My Prayer
Dear God,
I realize that I’m spiritually hungry. I want Jesus, the Bread of Life, to fill that emptiness inside of me.
Amen.
Final Word
My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NIV
Stone for the Journey
Jesus satisfies my deepest hunger.