Bread for the Hungry

MEMORY VERSE: “The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven and giveth life unto the world.” —John 6:33

JOHN 6:35-51

MANY of the great truths of the Bible are presented, at least in part, by illustrations. This lesson shows that God, through Christ, has provided life for those who believe on his Son and obey his teachings. This fact is illustrated by the life-giving qualities of bread, and in this instance it is referred to as bread from heaven. Jesus used his miracle of feeding the multitude to impart this lesson.

Jesus reminded the Israelites listening to him that Moses had given them the manna to eat, but that it had not given them life—not everlasting life, that is. Now, he explained, the Heavenly Father had given them the true bread from heaven, “the bread of God … which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Then the Master explained, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”—vss. 31-35

Jesus stressed the fact that his life-giving powers were not his own but had been given to him by the Heavenly Father. He came down from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him. Thus his words were the words of the Father, and his works were the works of the Father. And so far as this lesson is concerned “this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”—vs. 39

In John 5:24 Jesus is quoted as saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life” This is the Heavenly Father’s viewpoint of those who are true believers in Jesus. They are not at once given life in the sense of being made free from imperfection, and the creeping of old age which results in being laid away in the grave. But God looks upon them as being free from condemnation to death; and while ultimately they fall into the sleep of death, they are raised to actual life in “the last day.”

The Jews to whom Jesus preached on the day following the miracle of feeding the multitude “murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.” (vs. 41) They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?” (vs. 42) Of course Jesus was not actually the son of Joseph, but apparently the neighbors of the family were accustomed to referring to him in this way. “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country,” and apparently these words of Jesus were quite true in his own case. (Mark 6:4) To his family and friends Jesus appeared no different from anyone else, since they could not see the workings of God’s Holy Spirit in his heart and life.

In this discourse Jesus expressed another great truth. He said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (vs. 44) To be drawn to Jesus by the power of the Heavenly Father is a wonderful experience. It implies being brought into contact with the Word of God and the glorious plan of salvation which it contains. And how thrilling it is through the divine plan to get our first glimpse of the true love of God, and of how that love is drawing us to Jesus, the One whom the Father sent to redeem and restore the world of mankind to life!

Referring to himself, Jesus said, “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (vss. 50,51) Jesus’ “flesh,” his humanity, is the bread from heaven, but it had to be crushed, sacrificed, before it could give life.

The disciples heard this discourse, and they said, “This is a hard saying; who can hear it?” Then Jesus explained, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing”—it would do you no good to eat my flesh, and to this he added that it was his words which gave life.—vss. 60-63

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