JOHN 6:25-35, 48
Bread is no longer a required part of the diet in societies with a diverse range of food options, thus some people choose to live without it for a number of reasons. Bread, on the other hand, was seen as an essential meal in the first century. A diet devoid of bread was unthinkable.
Because Jesus had performed the miracle of multiplying loaves of bread, the crowd went out to find Him. People were confused when He declared Himself to be the genuine bread from heaven. They desired daily bread in the most literal sense. But Jesus was stating that He had been sent to be their spiritual bread, to meet all of their spiritual needs on a daily basis. They would find everlasting satisfaction if they embraced and digested His words of life into their very souls by faith.
Jesus desires to be the essential staple in our lives, our “required” food, rather than an optional item in our meals. As first-century Jews could not contemplate life without physical bread, may we never seek to live without Jesus, our spiritual sustenance.
The hunger of the soul can only be satisfied by spiritual bread.
🙏🏼”Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me now and evermore,
feed me now and evermore” (A&M 296).
