The whole crowd went in pursuit of Jesus, from one side of the lake to another.
If I am honest, I knew that many people were seeking the miracle worker who had fed them the previous day. How could we forget the joy of that day and the sight of all the bread and fish as it was served out to us on the grass? People spoke of the days of Moses when our ancestors ate bread in the desert. It was a heavenly food like no other food, and we dreamed that the blessing of food would be repeated over and over again, a great banquet where no one lacked food and no one went hungry for a moment.
So, we went across the lake again, seeking the rabbi. We found him at last, but we did not understand him. It was as if he eluded us, leaving us hungry and thirsty again. We longed to be fed again, but he would not be drawn into the plan. And so, the people challenged the rabbi to prove himself to them again.
What Sign Will You Give?
“What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’.”
I was shocked to hear them speaking of the daily miracle in the desert. It was not enough that he had given them a greater miracle than that performed by Moses. He must continue to produce signs in order to become more famous than Moses. (Did they not remember the way that our people complained against Moses in that desert?)
Not Moses … It is my Father
Jesus looked steadily back at those who challenged him so rudely and said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.’
I looked at him as he spoke and a shiver passed through me. Why did he say ‘ …my Father … gives you the true bread from heaven.’ Was his Father giving food at that moment? What did he mean by ‘true bread?’
The Bread That Comes From Heaven
And then he added ‘For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
I understood his meaning now and I was shaken to the core. A man in the crowd called out ‘ ‘Sir, … always give us this bread.” As though he could ensure a steady income of food through the ministry of this worker of miracles. No, I knew at that moment exactly what the bread was. If it was the ‘true bread which came down from heaven, and if it was the gift of the Father, then it must be Jesus himself.
It was a mysterious and sublime notion. The one who stood in our midst was the gift of God. He was sent by God, who is the Father, so he was Son.
And he did not only give us bread, for anyone who heard him now should know that he was that bread.
The Bread of Life
He said, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’
Since then, I will say that He is the Bread. He is life and he gives us life. His promise held true. Whatever has happened since that day, I have never been truly hungry or thirsty.. He is more truly present to us now than he was as He walked by the Sea of Galilee and each time we gather together now to eat this Bread I know that we receive Him into ourselves and into our fellowship and we will live forever with Him.
