The Bread of Life

Pastor Rod Thompson

Midland SDA Church

December 1, 2018

Imagine in your mind’s eye the hill on which Jesus fed the 5,000.   Can you see the people sitting on the grass in small circles?  Can you see Jesus taking the 5 barley loaves and the two small fish?   Can you see Him breaking them and giving thanks and distributing them?  Can you see the amazement on the disciples face when the food never runs out?  Can you imagine the surprise when they gather up the left overs and it fills up 12 baskets

Can you imagine what’s going on in the hearts and minds of the multitude as they see this miracle happen right before them?  – they said to themselves, “this is truly the prophet who is to come into the world.” 

You can imagine that Jesus understands what’s going on in their hearts.  They want to make Him King.  They will do it by force if they have to.  The gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus immediately tells his disciples to get in the boat and go across the lake.  Jesus dismisses the crowd and He goes up into the mountain by Himself. 

The disciples get in the boat and they row for about three or four miles, but the sea is getting rough.  But then the look, and there is Jesus walking on the water and drawing near to them.  The disciples are afraid.  But He reassures them and gets into the boat and John 6:21 tells us, “and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.”

Mark tells us it was at the land of Gennesaret which is just south of Capernaum.  They get out of the boat and the people recognize them.  The people immediately run throughout the surrounding area telling the people that Jesus is there.  They bring their sick and lame.

Meanwhile the people on the other side of the lake get in their boats and they come to Capernaum seeking Jesus.  When they find Him Jesus says to them,

Read John 6:26

They answer Him by telling Him that Moses gave their fathers bread to eat in the wilderness and asking for a sign from Him.

Jesus tells them

Read John 6: 32-33

They say to Him, “Give us this bread.”  And Jesus says

Read John 6: 35

John 6:41  Then the Jews complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 

But Jesus doesn’t stop there

Read John 6: 43-51

But this just makes the people murmur and quarrel among themselves all the more.  So Jesus says to them,

Read John 6: 53-58

Jesus essentially said to them, I am the author, nourisher, supporter of eternal, the sustainer of spiritual life. 

He represents Himself under the likeness of heavenly bread.  Therefore to eat His flesh and drink His blood means to receive Him as a heaven sent teacher.     Belief in Him is essential to spiritual life. Those who feast on the Word never hunger, never thirst, never desire any higher or more exalted good. 

     Christ exclaimed the meaning of His words so clearly that none need stumble over them. His statement regarding eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God is to be taken in a spiritual sense. We eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood when by faith we lay hold upon Him as our Saviour. 

SDA Bible Commentary Vol 5 P1135

Jesus used the figure of eating and drinking to represent that nearness to Him which all must have who are at last partakers with Him in His glory. The temporal food we eat is assimilated, giving strength and solidity to the body. In a similar manner, as we believe and receive the words of the Lord Jesus, they become a part of our spiritual life, bringing light and peace, hope and joy, and strengthening the soul as physical food strengthens the body. 

     It is not enough for us to know and respect the words of the Scriptures. We must enter into the understanding of them, studying them earnestly. . . . Christians will reveal the degree to which they do this by the healthiness of their spiritual character. We must know the practical application of the Word to our own individual character-building. We are to be holy temples, in which God can live and walk and work. Never must we strive to lift ourselves above the servants whom God has chosen to do His work and to honor His holy name. "All ye are brethren." Let us apply this Word to our individual selves, comparing scripture with scripture.     In our daily lives, before our brethren and before the world, we are to be living interpreters of the Scriptures, doing honor to Christ by revealing His meekness and His lowliness of heart.

In other words,   As we eat and digest the bread of life, we shall reveal a symmetrical character. By our unity, by esteeming others better than ourselves, we are to bear to the world a living testimony of the power of the truth. . . . 

     When we submit entirely to God, eating the bread of life and drinking the juice of salvation, we will grow up into Christ. Our characters are composed of that which the mind eats and drinks. Through the Word of life, which we receive and obey, we become partakers of the divine nature.

The emblems that we partake of today are reminders of this reality.  They are designed to point us to Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.  They are designed to point us to His word which if spiritual eaten brings life.

And so Jesus says, I am the bread of life.  We must partake of Him.  He must be in you.  And so today we celebrate the communion service.  This play where we act out the ingesting of His flesh and blood.  Which speaks of a very real reality when you invite Him into your heart, mind and life.

Let’s pray