I Am the Bread • John 6:26-40
By Rick Henson
When I was a young pastor in the middle 1970’s, I mistakenly thought people came to church simply because they loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him. While that is true of many, it certainly is not true of all. Jesus called out the crowd following Him around the Sea of Galilee, “Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves and were filled.” John 6:26 (KJV). Amazingly, the crowd saw Jesus perform a mighty miracle of feeding a massive crowd with very little food. Yet, they wanted more food and not more Jesus. He called them out on that. They weren’t interested in worshiping or serving Jesus.
Each Sunday when you attend church to worship with fellow believers in Jesus, what is your desire? Hopefully you seek to worship and to serve the Lord. Since 1973, I have served in some capacity of the ministry, from youth minister to senior pastor. Those who are called to the ministry are especially tempted to make Sunday services more than worship and service to Jesus. Distraction from worship often occurs due to sermon preparation, church administration, dealing with staff and members, and much more. Maybe from time to time we all need to be confronted as to our motives, as was the crowd for why they followed Jesus.
The same crowd that saw Jesus turn five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish into a feast for 5,000 men plus women and children then had the audacity to ask Jesus for a sign. I can imagine one saying, “Yeah, we want a sign but not that sign!” Jesus said in Matthew 16:4, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign…” (KJV).
Jesus referred the people to the manna given to Israel. The Old Testament Jews during the Exodus and in the Wilderness saw miracles daily in the received manna. From their actions, they still did not trust God much. The crowd in Jesus’ day also overlooked the mighty miracles of God. Jesus said, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31 (KJV). We learn from 2 Corinthians 4:3 that Satan blinds disbelief.
Jesus then boldly claimed that he was the Bread from heaven, offering an end to hunger and thirst for those coming to Him.“For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world,” John 6:33 and “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14 (KJV). The Master knew the people were hungry, so He used that to emphasize His gift of eternally-sated spiritual hunger and thirst.
Jesus later gave a greater reason for filling people- so they would then influence others. “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38 (KJV). As we are filled, may we overflow on others.
Henson is minister of outreach and evangelism at Bethel Church, Brandon.
