Jesus Is the Bread of Life – August 9, 2021

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval” . . . Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:26,27,35

Jesus Is the Bread of Life

There is a park in Arkansas called Crater of Diamonds State Park. Inside is a 37.5-acre field in which anyone can go and look for diamonds, and you get to keep any diamonds you find. A few years ago, a woman found a 3.69-carat diamond. The diamond was worth about $20,000. The year before, someone found a 6-carat diamond. The largest diamond ever found was a 40-carat gem called the “Uncle Sam” diamond–worth over $50 million.

But these are the exceptions. Most people who look for diamonds in this large field don’t find anything, no matter how hard they look, no matter how long they stay. Everyone hopes to find the very best diamonds. But the vast majority end up disappointed.

The group to whom Jesus was speaking in John chapter 6 never wanted to feel disappointed again. One day earlier, Jesus used five loaves of bread and two small fish to miraculously satisfy the hunger of thousands. But do you know what happened the next day? The same thing that does the day after we eat even the most satisfying meal. Their bellies were hungry again. So they came to Jesus, who then promised them a food that would never fail to satisfy them.

But he wasn’t talking about food for their bellies. He was talking about nourishment that would never fail to feed their hurting hearts and sinful souls. He was talking about himself—the one who would feed their souls with forgiveness by his sacrificial death and fill their hearts with hope by his resurrection.

He was pointing them and us to the Bread of Life, who will never disappoint us.

Prayer:
Father in heaven, as I listen to your Word, feed me with the living bread that will never fail to satisfy. Amen.