WHAT BREAD IS TO HUNGER, JESUS CLAIMS TO BE FOR THE SOUL!
Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of life. He who comes to be will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).
Bread is food that we need daily. Jesus is the Bread of Life. People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder he called himself the Bread of Life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life.
Travel to almost any country and sit in any restaurant and they’ll serve you bread. Bread is a staple. If the poor have nothing, they have bread. If the rich have everything, they still have bread. No country claims to be the exclusive source of bread. Bread is eaten daily; some fruits are available only in season. Not so with bread—and not so with Jesus. He should be brought to our table every day. We let him nourish our hearts, not just in certain months or on special events, but daily.
Jesus recognizes the universal hunger for bread beyond physical bread. They asked the Lord to give them bread always. This was a mixed crowd of believers and unbelievers, but when they caught some sense that Jesus was talking about something other than physical bread they immediately wanted it. The crowds still think Jesus is offering them some kind of literal bread, which they can eat and fill their stomachs, just as they ate the barley loaves at the feeding of the 5,000. So when Jesus speaks to them about “bread,” they quickly ask for more: “Sir, give us this bread all the time!” They offer Jesus a full time job as their chef.
In His response, Jesus makes it very clear that He is speaking of “spiritual bread,” not literal bread. It is He who is the “bread,” so whoever comes to Him will never hunger. In verse 35, Jesus speaks of the one who “comes to Him” as the one who “believes in Him.” To come to Jesus is to trust in Him, by faith, as the “Bread from heaven,” who is God’s only provision for eternal life. You cannot go anywhere on earth today without finding people hungry for something more than a full belly and a comfortable home. There is a restlessness about us that cries for more. Jesus recognized this. Everyone in this crowd wanted whatever it was he was offering. They did not understand what it was, but they wanted it. They sensed there was more to life than bread. “They said to him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’”
Then Jesus tells the crow plainly in verse 35 how to eat and partake of the Bread of life. He uses two simple things everyone understands: hunger and thirst. “He who comes to be shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.” What do you do when you are hungry? You eat, and if you keep on eating regularly you will never hunger. What do you do when you are thirsty? You drink, and if you keep on drinking you will never thirst. What Jesus is saying is that eating him is coming to him, or coming to him is to eat of him. “Coming” means to see him as present in your life and expecting him to do something—to act, to comfort, to strengthen, whatever it is. “Eating” means a sense of expectancy that he is available and that he will act. “Drinking” is believing—listening to what he has to say and obeying it. If you keep on doing that you will never thirst. How simple, how beautiful this is! “Come and believe.” Keep on coming—Keep on believing. This is the way to lay hold of the gift of bread from heaven, life that is real life indeed.
Bread is necessary food. We can manage tolerably well without many things on our table, but not without bread. So is it with Christ. We must have Christ, or die in our own sins. Bread is food that suits all. Some cannot eat meat, and some cannot eat vegetables. But all like bread. So is it with Christ. He is just the Savior that meets the needs of every class. Bread is food that we need daily. Other kinds of food we take, perhaps, only occasionally. But we need bread every morning and evening in our lives. So is it with Christ. There is no day in our lives but we need His blood, His righteousness, His intercession, and His grace. Well may He be called, “The bread of life!”
Do we know anything of spiritual hunger? Do we feel anything of craving and emptiness in conscience, heart, and affections? Let us distinctly understand that Christ alone can relieve and supply us, and that it is His office to relieve. We must come to Him by faith. We must believe on Him, and commit our souls into His hands. So coming, He pledges His royal word we shall find lasting satisfaction both for time and eternity. It is written—“He that comes unto me shall never hunger, and he that believes on me shall never thirst.”
