I am the Bread of Life

John 6 contains the first of the seven great "I Am"  statements recorded in the Gospel of John. The seven "I Am" statements are:
(1) The Bread of Life
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)
(2) The Light of the World
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
(3) The Gate
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)
(4) The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)
(5) The Resurrection and the Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)
(6) The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
(7) The Vine
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The Gospel of John is unique this way. Each of these "I Am" statements helps the readers know Jesus better using metaphors that are familiar to the listeners in His day. Even though times have changed, these symbols can still teach us great lessons about who Jesus is. Of interest, the same author for the Seven I Am article also wrote about the Seven Miracles in John. I have found this explanation very helpful as I will be reading through John's Gospel for the next few weeks:

"Due to his extensive use of symbolism John’s Gospel, written to the church, can be the most intriguing.  Everything he recorded in his gospel actually happened, but he arranged and described them in such a way as to convey additional truth beyond the obvious point of his narrative. Sometimes he even rearranged the order of events to underscore emphasize this additional truth.  John 2 is a good example of this. He placed the cleansing of the Temple right after the wedding at Cana to illustrate the point that the Lord came to create an intimate personal relationship with His church (as in a marriage), not to fix a broken religion.

The focus of John’s gospel is the Lord’s Judean ministry and really only the last part of that.  He devoted most of 9 chapters (John 12-20) to the Lord’s last week and used 1/3 of the gospel’s 879 verses to describe His last 24 hours. The first 11 chapters define the Lord’s ministry through John’s selective use of 7 miracles, and we’ll use them to show how John’s Gospel contains more than meets the eye." (A Bible Study by Jack Kelley - get his free book)

Returning to my topic for today, Jesus called himself the Bread of Life. He said this after He had just performed two great miracles - feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15) and walking on water (John 6:16-24). People were desperately looking for him and finally found him. Jesus said to them: "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." (John 6:26-27)
Here is the first lesson I learned today: my faith in Jesus is much more than seeing miracles or receiving material blessings. In Him I have found the very meaning of my existence! Using bread as a symbol for my physical life on earth, Jesus tells me (1) don`t forget - there is eternity, (2) eternal life is a gift from Him, and (3) He has the seal of approval from God - i.e. He is the very representation of God. So my life is about pursuing everything with an eternal perspective. So even as I am finding something to do in my retirement I should always ask the question: will this work have any eternal value? Will it glorify God? Will I enjoy God while I am doing it? Will it bring others to Him?

When asked “What must we do to do the works God requires?” (John 6:28) Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29) That's it! Every time doubt arises in my mind whether to take anything on (in order to please God) I need to remind myself that my faith is in Jesus, whom God has sent. It`s not about what I do but more about believing in the One who has already done all the `doing`. That`s eternal life at its best.

Again, the crowd brought up the manna their forefathers had eaten in the wilderness (Exodus 16:13-18), to ask Jesus for another miracle to prove Himself! Jesus then told them (and us!) that He is the real manna! But unlike the last manna miracle whoever partakes of Him now will never again know spiritual hunger. Like the manna, every one who seeks Him will find Him (Matt. 7:7-8), but each of us has to find Him for ourselves. No one else can receive Him for us, nor can we receive Him for anyone else. We all get an amount sufficient for our salvation. No one is lacking, none of Him is wasted. He is the manna of Life! He is the true bread from heaven! No more miracle is needed. And look at these promises:

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37)

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.  (John 6:39)

They will all be taught by God. (see Isaiah 54:13) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. (John 6:45)

This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (John 6:51b) and yes He did, and on the cross He gave His life for me.