Jesus: The Bread of Life
by: Gracie Priestley
February 12, 2025
“I am the bread of life: whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Just as we need food for survival in our physical bodies, so we need Jesus. We simply cannot live without Him. Any life outside of Christ is not truly life. Jesus came that we may partake of His body and never die. This is a miracle!
All through the Bible, we see countless times where people depended on God for food. It was the kind of situation where if He did not perform a miracle, they would die. In the wilderness, God sent manna from Heaven and provided water through the rock (Exodus 16 and 17). In the New Testament, we see God providing bread and fish for the five thousand so that they would not waste away (John 5).
Many of us have not experienced this kind of desperation. I once met a woman while on a mission trip in Central America who prayed that God would send food. She was not sure where her next meal would come from, but the next day we came to her with rice and beans. I will never forget the revelation this woman received of the faithfulness of God to bring her food for her physical body.
In these stories in the Word, we can see much foreshadowing of Jesus. For example, in John 5, Jesus only had five loaves and two fish. As He blessed the food, broke it, and distributed it, all five thousand were filled and there was more left over. Notice that there was no miracle until the loaf was broken. This is a picture of how He would supply life to our mortal bodies through the breaking of His body. Although He is one man, when His body is broken it miraculously feeds all who will take of it.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:48-51). More than God provided food, He provided His Son, the Bread of Life.
Likewise, He is the Living Water. The Israelites depended on Him for water that He provided through the rock, which is a type and shadow of Jesus. When Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, He says to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Although she does not perceive it, Jesus speaks of Himself. More than water for our bodies, we cannot live without Jesus and His Holy Spirit, which He freely gave us as the well within.
Again, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you…For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:53, 55). This food, this drink, as it was offered to the disciples on this day, is offered to you now. This offering is for you! Jesus came to give true life, that you never would hunger again (John 6:35). More than you need food and water for survival, you need Him. We get to feast on the living God, and He satiates every nook and cranny of our beings.
More than just a ticket to Heaven, He came to restore the union which was broken in the Garden when we chose our own way. We live in an age threatened by independence, both from one another and from God. This happens when we do not partake of Jesus as our Bread of Life and Living Water. His sacrifice tore the veil that stood between heaven and earth, and now we can be in right standing with God. When we partake of Him, we partake in this union that He paid the highest price for!
Worship: I Need You More
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for providing for us. Not only do You fill our physical bodies and supply those needs, but You also supply our need for a Savior. Thank You for Your body, which was broken. Thank You for Your blood, spilled for our sake. Today, we receive You as the Bread of Life and the Living Water. Would You reveal how much we truly need You, more than we need food and water for our physical bodies. We praise You, and thank You, Jesus. Amen.
Further Study
John 6, Isaiah 12:3, John 7:37-38, Revelation 21:6
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The past few years, the Lord has led me on a journey of uncovering the treasures hidden in the name of Jesus, and it has been a glorious experience. It has been an honor not only to unveil the mystery behind this powerful name but also to witness its transformative power.