Last week, we began exploring the question, “What is God like?” This is a vital question we must answer if we want to relate to Him properly. We discovered that the best way to understand what God is like is by looking at Jesus, as He said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” This means that God looks like Jesus. If you missed last week’s article, you can check it out here.
Today, we will delve into the first of seven “I AM” statements made by Jesus. These statements reveal His divinity and describe His very essence. The first “I AM” statement is found in John 6:35, where Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.” Here’s the verse:
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.”
To understand this statement, we need to look at the context of the verse. The day before, Jesus had multiplied five loaves and two fish, which astonished the crowd and led many to want to make Him their king. This response seems curious at first because didn’t Jesus come to be king? John 2:24 gives us insight into why Jesus reacted this way:
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men…
Jesus came to be a king, but not merely a natural king. He came to establish His throne in people’s hearts. He knew through the Holy Spirit that the people weren’t genuinely interested in this so when they tried to make Him king, He departed in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.
The next day, the people followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea and asked Him for a sign to prove who He was. This request might seem reasonable, except that Jesus had already performed many miracles in their presence, including the multiplication of the loaves and fish just the day before! The people wanted to discuss another miraculous provision of bread, referring to the manna in the wilderness. We find this in John 6:31:
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Now, let’s look at Jesus’s response: 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” 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.”
Next, let’s examine the people’s response before making some applications for us:
41 The Jews then complained about Him because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Why did the people complain? Because Jesus came in a way they did not expect to provide what they didn’t know they needed. Why do many of us complain and question what God is doing in our lives today? It’s often because God provides for us in ways we don’t expect or even know we need.
In this account, the Jews wanted a natural king who would rise to power in Israel and overthrow the Romans. Was that desire wrong? No. Roman oppression was real and challenging to endure. However, even if Jesus had become a political king and overthrown the Romans, the Jews would still have been in bondage to a greater enemy: sin.
Unfortunately, the Jews did not recognize their need for a Savior because they placed their trust in the Mosaic Law to make them right with God. Righteousness does not come from our works; it comes from our belief in Jesus. A major key to receiving the gift of the true bread from heaven is recognizing our need for it.
Interestingly, the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew word “mân,” which means “What is it?” Think about this: In the wilderness, God fed Israel with “What is it?” for 40 years. He gave them manna daily for 40 years in order to build the faith and character in them to eventually be able to take a promised land and to sustain living there. God moved and the people didn’t understand it. Two thousand years later, God provided them the new manna, Jesus, and most of the Jews said, “What is it?” Their savior was there and they didn’t recognize Him. He was what they needed. He just didn’t come in a package that they wanted or expected!
I experienced a similar situation years ago when I started Bible College. I moved to Colorado to attend Charis Bible College because I wanted to learn how to pray for the sick and walk in the miraculous. This was my passion! However, when I arrived, it seemed like most of the instructors focused more on unconditional love and grace than on operating in the miraculous. After a while, this frustrated me!
Grace was my manna in the wilderness; God kept providing it to me, and I found myself disappointed, asking, “What is it?” The more they taught about grace, the more I kept saying “What is it?” I thought I had a strong understanding of grace, but over the next year and a half, something shifted in my heart. I began to see the love of Jesus and the grace of God in a new light, which made my previous understanding pale in comparison. It was awesome!
Then the unexpected happened! When I prayed for people, they began to get healed more regularly. When I prayed for provisions, I saw answers like never before. The reason was that when God shifted my focus from developing my faith for miracles to embracing His love and grace, my faith for miracles increased as a byproduct. This is because faith works through love. When we truly understand how much God loves us, faith comes alive in our hearts!
So, what is God like? He is the bread of life! He is the bread in the wilderness, meaning He provides for us before we have a need and He will provide in such a way that He will give us what we need in order to sustain that which we desire! I hope this article has encouraged you! If you’d like to learn more, check out this message I taught at Grace Life Church.
