The Gospel According to John--"I Am The Bread of Life" (John 6:35)

Ash Wednesday and the season of lent is upon us (for those Christians who observe this season), and we are making our way to Holy Week during the last week of March.

I thought it would be profitable to take a fresh look at the Gospel according to John to gain some new insights into Jesus' ministry and His commitment to fulfilling His calling and purpose to finish the Father's work (John 4: 34).

John's Gospel is so chuck full of spiritual meat, and I think it's the most important book in the Bible (of course, all of God's Word is important and valuable). John gives us insights the other Gospels don't have on Jesus' teachings, and I'd like to highlight a few verses that are standing out to me as I take another journey through this remarkable testimony.

I'll try to keep these postings short and sweet and would appreciate additional observations from my brethren here in Christian Chat.

John 1:1-3

New King James Version

The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

Jesus was with God "in the beginning", and they have always coexisted together in eternity. Everything was created through Jesus--the universe, the earth, all the creatures of the earth, and man who was made in God's image.

What a beginning to this book, and it ties in nicely and amplifies the beginning of creation from Genesis by showing us our true "beginning" in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!

In keeping with the title of this thread, we should focus on what Christ meant by this: "I AM that Bread of Life" (John 6:48). [I believe all the "I AMs" in the Gospel of John should have been capitalized to reinforce the fact that Jesus is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (with the Father and the Holy Spirit). That is what He said in Exodus 3.]

The context of that statement is important.

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I AM that Bread of Life....

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 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 for ever: and the Bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world...

The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this Bread shall live for ever...

When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life.

1. In the Bible bread speaks of human sustenance, and some kind of bread is the staple of all human diets. If necessary bread and water are sufficient to keep a person alive. The Israelites received manna ("bread" of a special kind) for forty years in the wilderness to keep them alive.

2. When Christ says that He is the Living Bread which came down from Heaven, He is speaking of spiritual things, and the sustenance of the soul and spirit. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to receive the gift of eternal life. Therefore to "eat" His flesh and drink His blood is to believe on Him -- that the body of Christ was the supreme sacrifice for our sins, and that His shed blood is the only way to receive the remission (or forgiveness) of our sins. "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission".

3. To "eat" Christ is not only to believe on Him, but also receive Him into our hearts as both Lord and Savior (Rev 3:20). Which means that we are to "invite" Christ as the spiritual Living Bread for our souls, That is how we are washed in the blood of the Lamb.

4. Those who believe on Him not only receive the gift of eternal life, but also gift of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of Christ Himself within us. "Christ in you the hope of glory". And that is how He becomes the Living Bread and gives eternal life to the children of God.

John chapter six is one of the most important and powerful chapters in the Bible. I like your emphasis on Jesus as the great "I Am"--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God of the New Testament as well (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--one God).

The disciples just could not grasp what Jesus was explaining to them about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Many of them said "this is a hard saying, who can understand it" (v. 60), and many disciples deserted Jesus after this critical teaching (v. 66). It was only after His death and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that the apostles and disciples could grasp this teaching, and it correlated with the communion the disciples had with Jesus at the last supper of their final Passover meal together.

From a spiritual perspective, we partake of the bread which is Jesus' body, and the wine, which is Jesus' blood that provides forgiveness/remission of sins as you noted. It is belief in our Lord and Savior and faith in the promises He has made to us. We will never hunger or thirst again once we receive the gift of eternal life.

The Gospel According to John--"I Am The Bread of Life" (John 6:35)

That sure puts more clarity into the single sentence of the Lord's Prayer He taught to His disciples. Give us this day our "Daily Bread."

John 6 is amazing in so many ways concerning the gospel

1. Chapter 1. Receive him

But as many as have received him, to THEM he gave the right to become children of God

2. Chapter 3 - Be born again by trusting in Christ and his death

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

3. Chapter 4 - Ask, and you will recieve living water flowing to eternal life, as that person will never thirst

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Chapter 5 - Hear the word and believe - you will not be judged

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

Chapter 6 - work for the food which Jesus will give us, which will endure to eternal life. The bread from heaven, the flesh and blood. whoever takes this bread in will never hunger, never thirst. live forever. be raised on the last day, and has eternal life

27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
35 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.
40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Amazing in 6 chapter Jesus gave the gospel multiple times. Yet the message was always the same
Receive him
Look to him
Believe (have faith) in him
Ask
See and Trust
Eat this food which will endure forever (never die)

whoever does these things are saved eternally, and nothing can separate them from the love of God. they are assured they will be raised by (not delievered to) God in the end.



The gospel in a nutshell

Actually peter understood

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the [q]Christ, the Son of the living God.”


And it had nothing to do with the last supper.

In john 6, Jesus said eat (once) this food will never die. just like he told the woman at the well. Ask, and he will give you living water to drink (once) and she would never thirst.

The living food is the gospel. Not a ceremony we participate often in remembrance of him

I don't know if you would be able to help me with is but I have always understood you have great insight into scriptures there was adream I had early in mt faith where I encountered death and for some reason I was actually not afraid of him then a door appeared and i just knew I had to go through it once I did i was in hell the humidty and heat made my shirt stick to my skin like glue the thirst was unbearable I saw to my left the lake of fire where to my right people lived in what seemed like ruins but merely stepping on the ground gave them such horrific pain but to my front Jesus was waiying for me in a chair and I ran to his lap after hugging him even though I so thirsty I asked him instead for bread and he gave it to me this is only a small portion of the dream but I always wondered why did I ask for bread when I was clearly thirsty

What was this bread why did I ask for bread when I was clearly so thirsty?

I love Johns gospel account , and how it ties back to Moses and the law so beautifully

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:14-16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I love how it makes things much more understandable if we take his cue and look back to what he’s talking about

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭21:8-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I really love the cohesion and contrast from the law revealing the superiority of Christ over written things

“Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:31-35‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life

. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:39-40, 45-47‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Johns gospel is my favorite literature on earth

I admire your heartfelt devotion to his word how it speaks toyour heart keep going this way it will lead you into a realm with him that seems impossible even to other Christians I can feel your heart in your words you have a genuine love for him his word speaks to your heart I can tell you don't rely on what others say you hear him through your heart that is why the book of John speaks to you so much

That's a tough one. Possibly because Jesus is the Bread of Life and you needed Him at that point, while the Holy Spirit is compared to water (John 7:38,39) and the gift of the Holy Spirit comes only AFTER believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Amen, I also have been moved to repeat that prayer saying give us this day our daily Bread, Jesus Yeshua...........

Great to see you've joined the discussion, brother, and I was hoping you would hop in soon (I would have prompted you to if I didn't see you in here in a few days ).

Yes, I love how John references back to that "serpent in the wilderness" as a foreshadowment of Jesus' crucifixion and the eternal life that is made possible to us as believers through that sacrifice.

This reminded me of another reference to our Savior right after the fall in Genesis:

Genesis 3:15

New King James Version

15 And I will put enmity
Between you [the serpent--Satan] and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

The entirety of God's Word fits together so nicely to create a beautiful puzzle that illustrates how much God loves us despite our rebelliousness.

What's your take on the connection between Jesus' crucifixion and that serpent on the pole, especially since serpent is usually tied to our adversary the devil? Also, how about that prophecy that "He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” How has or will that play out?

I love that example Jesus gave

If we go back to look at the story. The children of Israel were getting bit by Serpents. And God told Moses to lift a serpent on a pole

Whoever in faith looked. They lived

Whoever in unbelief did not, and rejected salvation, Died.

In same token, If we look to the cross in faith. we will live

if we do not in unbelief, we will die.

He who believes (looks) is not condemned, Who who does not believe is condemned already

amen

And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

this was said just after the devil did his work of deception in Eden

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:8‬ ‭

That was said after he was born and come into the world bearing the truth

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
‭‭John‬ ‭18:37‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The truth destroys deception


amen I think the most convincing thing of the Bible’s truth is the conformity between prophecy and fulfillment regarding Jesus the Lord I think it’s why the law and prophets witness of him and the everlasting gospel

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:21-26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

All this justification without the law that cannot justify

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:19-20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

and so the value of the law becomes not the letters and rules Moses wrote but the things he foretold about Jesus the messiah who would later come things like this

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭18:18-19‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:48-50‬ ‭KJV‬‬

and then Peter puts a bow on it after he receives the holy ghost

“and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. ( such as genesis Ch 3 and what you quoted )

( Or Deuteronomy which I quoted )For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. ( this is true they all foretold the time of the messiah and gospel ) Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.( not the covenant made with only israel which Moses mediated and angels ordained , but the one promised to Abraham by the Lord beforehand for all people )

Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭3:20-26‬ ‭KJV‬‬

personally I think the key to understanding the Bible is to find the consistency and conformity of the doctrines within its pages it’s incredibly consistent and focused upon Christ and the gospel throughout

I appreciate the encouragement thank you brother ….

more than encouragment take it all and bring his kingomd here very few have the rare tresure you have take it and spread it show who he truly is what his kingdom his heart really is you have power in you and like my favorite quote from spider man with power comes responsibility

Those who have strength and power have the obligation to stand for encourage and strengthen the weak and ther are many even those who put on the facade if being strong and right words have power all I ask of you is this place to do this never underestimate the poer your words have

It's sounds like you where worrying about your faith, and Jesus is saying no don't be, because i can pull you out of the fire 😊

Jude 1:23 save others by snatching them out of the fire;

Again I really appreciate the kind words brother it’s a blessing to my heart thank you

Well yes there was a part of the dream where suddenly I was put in this cage with other people and at a random time the cage would fall into the lake fire and as it fell I said to myself I trust him and was suddenly taken to a different realm that wasn't hell but this doesn't explain the bread part

You where thirsty so he filled you.

You hunger for rightouseness, and you want the best for His children, and you like to build people up, and your prepared to snatch people out of the fire.

So you may be getting called to snatch people out of the fire, and he may be giving you the bread to do it.