Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Tonight’s Study, Session 33: I Am the Bread of Life
Introduction: Without bread, no one in ancient Palestine would have survived long. So, it seems entirely reasonable for Jesus, in what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer, to instruct His disciples to pray for their daily bread. Yet the Lord also challenged His followers not to work for food that spoils, announcing Himself as the only food that would enable them to live forever.
In fact, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread.” After feeding five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, He shocked His listeners by declaring: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). This week, we will seek to understand what it means that Jesus is the Bread of Life, and see what it exactly means to feed on Him.
Bread is considered a staple food – a basic dietary item. A person can survive a long time on only bread and water. Bread is such a basic food item that it becomes synonymous for food in general. We even use the phrase “Breaking bread together” to indicate the sharing of a meal with someone. Bread also played an integral part of the Jewish Passover meal. The Jews were to eat unleavened bread during the Passover feast and then for seven days following as a celebration of the exodus from Egypt. Finally, when the Jews were wandering in the desert for 40 years, God rained down “bread from heaven” to sustain the nation (Exodus 16:4).
Exodus 16:4 – Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
Key Scripture Passage where the Name Bread of Life is Found
On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”
And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum (John 6:22-59).
By Jesus equating Himself with bread, He is saying that He is essential for life. Second, the life Jesus is referring to is not physical life, but eternal life. Jesus is trying to get the Jews thinking off of the physical realm and into the spiritual realm. He is contrasting what He brings as their Messiah with the bread He miracously created the day before. That was physical bread that perishes. He is spiritual bread that brings eternal life.
Third, and very important, Jesus is making another claim to deity. The “I Am the Bread of Life” statement is the first of the “I AM statements in John’s Gospel. The phrase “I AM” is the covenant name of God (Yahweh or YHWH), revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). The phrase speaks of self-existence, which is an attribute that only God possesses. It is also a phrase the Jews who were listening would have automatically understood as a claim to deity.
Fourth, the words “come” and “believe” found in the John 6 passage are an invitation for those listening to place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. This invitation to come is found throughout John’s Gospel. Coming to Jesus involves making a choice to forsake the world and follow Him.
Fifth, there are the words “hunger and thirst.” Again, it must be noted that Jesus isn’t talking about alleviating physical hunger and thirst. The key is found in another statement Jesus made, back in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:6, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” When Jesus says those who come to Him will never hunger and those who believe in Him will never thirst, He is saying He will satisfy our hunger and thirst to be made righteous in the sight of God.
If there is anything the history of human religion tells us, it is that people seek to earn their way to heaven. This is such a basic human desire because God created us with eternity in mind. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
A Little Practical Application Goes a Long Way
- Satisfying spiritual hunger: The world offers many forms of “food” that promise lasting satisfaction, such as wealth, status, or worldly achievements. However, Jesus’ teaching reveals that these are temporary, like the manna in the wilderness, which left the Israelites hungry again. True, eternal fulfillment comes only through faith in Jesus Christ.
- Prioritizing the eternal: Believing that Jesus is the only true source of satisfaction reframes our priorities. This perspective encourages us to “not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27).
- Overcoming dissatisfaction: A sense of spiritual unhappiness or perpetual dissatisfaction can be a sign that Jesus is not the main source of nourishment in one’s life. The practical application is to repent, turn to Jesus, and consciously make Him the center of your daily thoughts and pursuits to regain a sense of spiritual satisfaction.
- Daily reliance on Christ: The prayer for “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11) takes on a whole new meaning. It encourages a daily, intentional reliance on Jesus for spiritual strength, guidance, and peace, especially during difficult and uncertain times.
- Accessing strength in trials: When facing new needs, problems, or life situations, the Christian can turn to Jesus to experience Him as the Bread of Life in a fresh way. This practice offers strength that surpasses one’s own power, empowering believers to face adversity with Christ’s strength.
- Fueling action and service: The spiritual nourishment received from Jesus is not meant to be hoarded. Instead, it provides the meaning and energy needed to live a life of purpose, serving others as Jesus did.
- Hope for the future: Knowing Jesus as the Bread of Life provides lasting hope beyond this life. Jesus contrasts Himself with the manna eaten by the Israelites, which only sustained them temporarily. The “living bread” He offers grants eternal life to all who believe and receive Him, securing their ultimate future.
- The promise of resurrection: The hope of being “raised up on the last day” is a repeated promise in Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse. This offers a practical, future–focused hope of resurrection and eternal life in the coming kingdom.
Conclusion: Having Jesus as our Bread of Life means that we will never hungry again spiritually. He is the bread that fills, nourishes, and satisfies our souls. Since He died on the cross and rose again, He lives forevermore to fill us with His unending love and presence. There is no need for any Christian to be hungry spiritually when they have Jesus as their Lord and Savior. All the things of the world only fill us temporarily; Jesus fills us eternally; He is our Bread of Life!
Next Week, Session 34: I Am the Door