"True Bread From Heaven"

"I am the bread of life," Jesus explains. "He that comes to me will not get hungry at all, and he that exercises faith in me will never get thirsty at all. But I have said to you, you have even seen me and yet you do not believe. Everything the Father gives me will come to me, and the one that comes to me I will by no means drive away; because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me. This is the will of him that sent me, that I should lose nothing out of all that he has given me but that I should resurrect it at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone that beholds the Son and exercises faith in him should have everlasting life."

At this the Jews begin murmuring at Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They see in him nothing more than a son of human parents and so in the same manner as did the people of Nazareth, they object, saying: "Is this not the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it that now he says, 'I have down from heaven'?"

"Stop murmuring among yourselves," Jesus responds. "No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me, draws him; and I will resurrect him in the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'and they will all be taught by Jehovah.' Everyone that has heard from the Father and has learned comes to me. Not that any man has seen the Father, except he who is from God; this one has seen the Father. Most truly I say to you, He that believes has everlasting life."

Continuing, Jesus repeats: "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness and yet died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever." Yes, by exercising faith in Jesus, the one sent forth by God, people can have everlasting life. No manna, or any other bread, can provide that!

The discussion regarding the bread from heaven apparently began shortly after the people found Jesus near Capernaum. But it continues, reaching a climax later while Jesus teaches in a synagogue in Capernaum. John 6:25-51, 59; Psalm 78:24; Isaiah 54:13; Matthew 11:55-57.

Next time: Many Disciples Quit Following Jesus

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived, 1991