Jesus, the Bread of Life
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
2/17/2013 PM
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Text:
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John 6:35
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Psalters: |
30, 111, 112, 366 |
- What this means.
- Jesus is here thinking about the miracle, but also the manna in the wilderness, for it came from heaven.
- The people had brought up the wilderness manna (30,31) as a challenge to Jesus.
- First Moses did not give the bread from heaven, but Jesus’ Father did.
- Second, His Father not only gave the manna, but also He gives them the true bread from heaven (32).
- Jesus speaks of Himself as spiritual bread, i.e., as food for the soul.
- Bread is a necessary food; it has the nutrients necessary for life.
- Spiritually, Jesus is necessary food for sinners.
- As the Savior of sinners, He is the only One who is able to fill man’s soul with saving grace and perfect satisfaction.
- How does this take place?
- First, Jesus is the “I am.”
- He is Jehovah, not a mere man.
- He is the bread of life because He came down from heaven (33, 51).
- More, Jesus (God) came down and gave His flesh for the life of the world (51).
- Second, we must eat this Bread (50b) in order to know Jesus as the bread of life personally.
- We must appropriate assimilate Him as the very food for our souls, i.e., to come to Him and to believe on Him.
- So we eat Jesus by frequently casting ourselves on Him with a believing heart, embracing Him and His work, receiving Him.
- The fact that anyone eats the Bread of life is because God performed a work first (37).
- The result of eating the Bread of life is that we “never hunger” and “never thirst.”
- This means that one is fully satisfied with the riches of salvation in Christ.
- It means that we “shall live for ever” (51).