I Am the Bread of Life
February 11, 2018

Scripture: John 6:30-36

I. Jesus is God’s provision for you because He is God.

A. In John 6:9-10 Jesus has performed a spectacular miracle: he took five barley loaves and two fish and fed five thousand men from that small amount of food. Jesus goes on to correct the people’s faulty understanding of the Bible in vs. 32, “It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.” So if Jesus did the same thing that God did in the days of Moses in giving the people bread, what does that tell you about Jesus’ identity? Jesus is God in the flesh.

B. In using the words I am Jesus deliberately restates the words given to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked God what His name was. Exodus 3:14: ^“God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.’” What is God’s name? I am. And what does Jesus call Himself? I am. I am the bread of life. By applying God’s holy name to himself in making his 7 I am statements in John’s Gospel Jesus staked an unmistakable claim to his deity. Jesus is God.

II. Jesus is God’s provision for you because He is the God who saves.

A. Jesus does not say “I am bread.” He says “I am the bread of life.” Why does He add the two words of life? Because Jesus is telling people that He is the source and giver of eternal life. He is the Savior who can free us from death, sin and hell and give us eternal life instead. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” By saying I am the bread of life Jesus is saying that in the same way that our bodies depend on bread, Jesus is necessary for the life of our souls. Jesus is the God who saves and gives eternal life.

B. The bread God gave in Moses’ day and the bread Jesus gave was in the end just a sign. It was a symbol which pointed to something greater. Yes, you need bread to live your lives on this earth. But if you want to live eternally with God you need another kind of bread. You need what Jesus calls in vs. 32 “the true bread from heaven.” And what is that true bread? Jesus Himself. Jesus is the true bread who can save your soul and give you eternal life. Jesus would meet your greatest need. You would live for eternity if you came to Jesus.

III. Jesus is God’s provision for you because He is the God who saves us by being broken for our sins.

A. In John 6:11 we read “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated.” But in Matthew’s version of the story in Matthew 14:19 we read that Jesus “broke the loaves.” The breaking of the bread is a symbol of the fact that Jesus would be broken on the cross for our sins. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24: “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” The broken bread was a symbol of Jesus’ broken body. Why was Jesus’ body broken? For you. He died to pay the penalty of death for our sins so that through faith in Jesus we might be restored to a relationship with God.

Application:
Come to Jesus in faith for eternal life. Pray for others to come to Jesus.

Sources:
Commentaries on John by D.A. Carson and Richard Phillips
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels edited by Joel Green