And Jesus said to them, "I AM the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:35
Painting a picture with words is an art. When a master uses word pictures to illustrate their teachings, people are left with an long-lasting imprints that mold and shape their thought processes. Jesus was the Master of Word Pictures. No one in all history used word pictures as effectively as Jesus to teach the about Who He was and about the Kingdom of God.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses seven great "I Am" statements as Word Pictures to describe Who He is in His relationship to save the world. We will discuss each of the "I AM" statements as we come to them. We will also list them here below for you:
“I AM the Bread of life” (6:35, 41, 48, 51).
“I AM the Light of the world” (8:12).
“I AM the Door of the sheep” (10:7, 9).
“I AM the Good Shepherd” (10:11, 14).
“I AM the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25).
“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6).
“I AM the true Vine” (15:1, 5).
Today's passage takes the Israelites back to the time when they had come out of bondage in Egypt. God had given them Manna to eat. It was described in Exodus 16, "like coriander seed, white,” with a taste “like wafers made with honey." They had eaten this manna for forty years in the desert. They got tired of eating it. Also remember that Jesus had just fed 5,000 in a miraculous demonstration of His power. The people wanted more food. Jesus bypassed their desire for food and pointed to Himself as the Bread of Life that brings salvation to everyone who truly believes in Him. Such a simple Word picture with profound meaning. The Israelites had to eat manna to survive. Jesus was using that analogy and word picture to say that He was the true bread from Heaven that people needed to partake of to be saved.
Let us remember that Jesus is the source of all that we need. Partaking of Him is not just saying a prayer or raising our hand or even taking of communion. It is a joining of our spirit to His Spirit. It comes from believing what He said about Himself and receiving Him as Lord of our lives. When we truly consume the Bread of Life in this manner, we will find that we are filled to overflowing with His love and goodness.
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