I Am the bread of life
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35 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. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Potatoes were the staple food in Ireland, the equivalent of bread in the 19th century. When the harvests failed in the 1840’s more than ½ million Irish people emigrated and more than ½ million people died of starvation. It amounted to a quarter of the population. Today there are 1¾ million in Northern Ireland and 4¼ million in Eire. The Irish potato famine effects the Irish population even today. John 6 invites us to explore the staple food of the Christian, without which we would die spiritually. We need to feed on Jesus, what he said, what he did and still does, who he is…. to give us life.
I Am the bread of life
This is another one of those ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus’ I am the bread of life. It was a picture the people of that time would have been familiar with - part of their culture. Baking smells in the early morning streets. In Jesus' day fresh bread every day was a way of life. When Jesus describes himself as the bread of life he is saying we can feast on him, nourish us, an attractive aroma drawing us to himself.
Bread is so ordinary but it is so good. It is no respecter of race or class, it is affordable to nourish the poor and the rich. It goes well with meat or fish, with pudding or cheese. It can be on the table 3 x a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner. Bread is always welcome, when Jesus Christ said, "I am the bread of life. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever… the bread I give… is my flesh…." He was reaching out to all, rich, poor, all races & cultures and all day long! However you describe yourself, Jesus the bread of life reaches out to you today, offering eternal life in Him.
Up to this point the crowd had been on Jesus’s side but when He challenges their unbelief. John 6:35-36, “Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.’
They were hoping for a leader who would lead them to freedom (from the Romans) like Moses (freedom from Egypt), and he also provided bread (Mana) from heaven. They say v34 ‘give us this bread from heaven’, referring to the Mana provided in the Egyptian desert, food from ‘the heavens. Jesus shocks them in v35 by saying I am the bread, he is God with them, among them, he is God in the flesh.
John 6:41 ‘they began to grumble.’ This appeared odd to some because they knew he was the son of Mary and Joseph and not some modern-day Elijah sent from heaven back down to earth.
There was once a term frequently used in the church. In the old days it was used often. You rarely ever hear it today. Indeed, in my years in the ministry I have never preached a sermon on the topic until now.
Despite its unpopularity as a topic, I think it is still very relevant…. It is ‘backsliding.’
The term backsliding was popularised in the1600s by JohnBunyann in Pilgrim's Progress. In the story, you may recall, the characters Christian and Hopeful are on their religious pilgrimage and on the journey they begin to discuss a man called ‘temporary.’ He had started the Christian journey but along the way he slid back from it or, as Bunyon worded it, backslid. That term was picked up, by the Methodists and became part of Christian jargon. It refers to people were active practising Christians but for various reasons they lost interest.
Years ago, on a holiday to Jerusalem, I saw a sign in a Suke market: "Cheap crosses for sale, genuine olive wood!" We may look for cheap crosses - no sacrifice, no commitment, no cost, no pain – but there is no such thing.
Jesus' followers know we follow the way of the cross.
You can then understand why in John 6:66 we read that many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘’Backsliding.’ They turned back! They quit following. Maybe His teaching confused some. Maybe His claim to be the new source of life, his claim to be greater than Moses, a new Manna. Many backed off Jesus after this.
Notice John 6:39 ‘I will lose none of all that the Father has given me, but will raise them up at the last day. For those who fear that you can accidentally backslide or be unsaved once you have been adopted in the family of God. Hear the truth of John 6:39,40 ‘my fathers will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.’
Today I am convinced that he is the bread of life, given for you & I. I believe he was predicting his brokenness thro the image of the broken bread, his sacrifice for our sins through his blood symbolised thro the red wine. I have been to that empty tomb in Jerusalem. I believe on that 1st Easter he defeated death & opened the door to eternal life and a life long reln with him our living Saviour. I believe it I hope you believe it too.
Postscript
On another level, this is a meditation on Holy Communion. The sacrament is life-giving because it is Jesus who gives it, and it is life-giving because it is Jesus himself who was broken and given for us. The Eucharist is life-giving because it draws us deeper into a relationship with Jesus, so that we may "abide" there (John 6:56). There can be no proper understanding of the sacrament except from participating and remembering the death of Jesus himself. Faith that is urgent & desperate. Eating (believing) "gnawing" as though life depends on it, and it does. 2000 years later here today we are in the minority of people who choose to believe that he is the bread of heaven who gives us eternal life. I am convinced that he is the Corpus Christi: bread of life, given for you & I, offering eternal life to us. I believe it, I hope you believe it too.
Ephesians 5:15-20 challenges us to be wise with the time we have left - ‘be careful how you live, making the most of the time.. …..understand what the will of the Lord is…don’t get drunk… sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves …making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
While this passage in John 6 brings to mind the sacrament, it is not foremost about the Eucharist. It is primarily about Jesus himself as the food of eternal life from the Father. Is your response to love and worship him? The one who gave his flesh and blood for us, so that we might have eternal life.
Let us declare today that we will not backslide, despite our troubles, we will trust that he is in control and he will guide us all the way through our life’s journey. Declare today in words and hymns - that we love him and take up our cross and follow him.
Cover Photo Jason Swain Photography https://jasonswain.co.uk/
