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The Bible highlights four life metaphors: the breath of life,( Gen 2:7) a person can live three minutes without air, the shelter of life,( Psalm 91:1) it can take 3 hours for someone to live without a shelter, the water of life,(John 7:38-39) a human being can live three days without water and finally the bread of life, Bread represents the basic sustenance of life, food. History a science tells us that a person can stay without food for at least three weeks.

The Bread of Life.

Bread is a basic food in Man’s diet, most communities in western Kenya and most of the African communities have ugali, and rice as the major diet. Historically, bread has been a fundamental part of man’s diet and existence from the beginning of time. Old Testament presents to us the following facts about bread:

    Bread is first mentioned in Genesis 3:19 as part of the curse — “by the sweat of your face You will eat bread.”

    The patriarchs serve bread throughout Genesis.

    The pre-incarnate Christ eats bread with Abraham. 

    Bread is part of the Passover celebration (Exodus 12:8).

    Bread is incorporated into temple worship (Exodus 25:30).

    While the children of Israel wandered through the wilderness for 40 years — God rains down bread from heaven to feed them.

New Testament helps us to get the true metaphor of the bread of life. When the crowds are hungry, Christ multiplies loaves of bread to feed them. Christ cares about the physical needs of people and spiritual needs as well. In John 6:26, He reprimands the people for seeking Him only for physical nourishment (John 6:26). Friend, As much as Jesus is providing all that you need, His primary concern is your soul. He tells the people, “I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died…I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John 6:48-51). Jesus was referring to His death and resurrection.

Today we memorialize this act of grace by eating the bread of communion. The physical “piece” of sustenance represents the spiritual “peace” we can have through Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. 

In light of this beautiful metaphor, the Christian must ask an important question today.

Is bread good? Or is bread bad? When we appeal to Scripture, the answer is clear. Why then are so many people around us are opposed to eating something as fundamental as bread?

We serve a good God who cares about both our physical and spiritual bodies. He knows we are in a distressful situation, He knows we cannot make ends meet as of now but again he is appealing to us to come to Him. He holds the key to all that we are seeking in this life. Jesus Christ is making an invitation to come to Him, He has rest that you are seeking.

BREAD OF LIFE

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51 NIV

One of the most simple, yet profound statements Jesus ever made was, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). The Greek words Jesus used were simple enough. Artos simply referred to bread in contrast to meat and could also designate the shewbread, consecrated bread, in the temple (Matt. 12:4). To those caught in the drudgery of sustaining life, Jesus said “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you” (John 6:27,). In other words, Jesus told the people that the food they were striving and working for would not give them eternal life. But if they believed in Him, they would have eternal life. The people would not believe in Him, however, until they saw a sign. They even quoted the Scriptures to Jesus: “he gave them bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:31; compare Ps. 78:24; 105:40,). But Jesus told them, “Moses has not given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world” (John 6:32–33, ).

The manna that had been given to the Israelites in the wilderness had no present effect on the Jews of Jesus’ day. Their boast in the ancient miracle could not give them life. Jesus was the real “bread of God,” who came to be the ever-present manna—the ever-present life-giving supply.

As a disciple of Jesus, Jesus is reminding us that He is the bread of life. He came sacrificed His life so that the world could have eternal life (John 6:51). He instructed that the people eat His flesh and drink His blood. If they didn’t, they would have no life in them. This was a repulsive thought to the Jews. Mosaic Law prohibited the drinking of blood (Lev. 3:17; 7:26, 27; 17:10–14). The death of Jesus which had shedding of blood enables followers of Jesus to have eternal life.

So what does Jesus mean when he says, “I am the Bread of Life?” Well, simply put, he means that we are not satisfied spiritually unless we know Jesus; we are not spiritually satisfied unless we have Jesus in our lives. We cannot survive spiritually without Jesus. On our own, we will try to fill ourselves with that which does not or cannot satisfy our deepest longings.

Everyone has a need to belong, to have a purpose, to be loved, but so many people are looking to the wrong places to satisfy that need —- it can be as extreme as looking to things like drugs or alcohol, but also may be things that do not at first seem harmful, like social media, or the accumulation of things, or self-serving and selfish ways of being.

Eventually, we become slaves to those things.

Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” He is saying that ultimately, he can satisfy our deepest needs and longings. He can make us feel “full” and overflowing with blessing. To live physically, we need bread or a staple food, but to live spiritually abundantly and eternally, we need Jesus, who indeed is the bread of life, and who is always ready to welcome you to his table.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of life. thank you Lord for satisfying me with all my needs in this life and life to come, Lord give us today our daily bread. Amen.