What Jesus Meant when He said "I Am The Bread of Life"
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:44 am
Okay, so I'm reading The Message translation of John 6. The first part was when Jesus fed the 5,000. It was almost time for the Passover Feast (a festivity since the time of Moses that celebrates the day the Israelites by the power of God escaped from slavery in Egypt). Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread to feed those people gathered in the crowd. Jesus knew what would happen, but He did it to stretch Philip's faith. And Philip said that 200 silver pieces would not be enough to feed all those people. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said that a boy had 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. So Jesus, took the food and blessed it, broke it, then fed the people who ate as much as they wanted. Jesus said take the leftovers so that they don't go to waste. And the leftovers filled up 12 whole baskets. After this, the people knew that God was with Him and sought to make Him king. But Jesus ran to the mountains to be alone.
I will zoom ahead to save time.
Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life, and whoever partakes of Him will love forever. People we're confused at this, and some of His "disciples" left because He said this (except the 12, although one of them would betray Him later.)
I asked God/Jesus for help in understanding what He meant. Now, I remembered a saying I saw on a TV show:
"Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, you feed for a lifetime,"
Upon remembering this, I figured that Jesus meant just that He was offering wisdom that people under the Law could not have. But that was not the only thing He was offering. After a little bit, I wondered to myself:
"Am I doing the same thing that the people who did not understand we're doing?"
By this I mean was I trying to understand something that was so obvious? Or something like that.
Then, I read this particular thing Jesus said over again:
"Do not go after the food that perishes, but rather the food that gives everlasting life. That's Me." (I'm paraphrasing.)
I thought about how people who do not know Jesus try to look for something to fill the "gap", and that the things they look to to do this are temporary and perishable. So, I have come to the conclusion (though maybe I should have asked God/Jesus before I did this) that all Jesus was saying was that He is the Son of God, but at the same time He was saying that He is nothing more than a humble servant to His/our Heavenly Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice to those in need. Hunger is a need. Needs are, in a psychological sense, a hunger. I think what He meant was that He has come to satisfy those needs and hungers, so to speak. And offer Himself as evidence of The Father's Love for us.
Nothing more than that, yet so much more at the same time. How can something so simple not be understood?
He's simply saying/simply said:
"I'm Jesus. I've come to save you. Don't hate. Appreciate. Celebrate. And collaborate.
So, did I get that right, God?
I will zoom ahead to save time.
Jesus said that He was the Bread of Life, and whoever partakes of Him will love forever. People we're confused at this, and some of His "disciples" left because He said this (except the 12, although one of them would betray Him later.)
I asked God/Jesus for help in understanding what He meant. Now, I remembered a saying I saw on a TV show:
"Feed a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, you feed for a lifetime,"
Upon remembering this, I figured that Jesus meant just that He was offering wisdom that people under the Law could not have. But that was not the only thing He was offering. After a little bit, I wondered to myself:
"Am I doing the same thing that the people who did not understand we're doing?"
By this I mean was I trying to understand something that was so obvious? Or something like that.
Then, I read this particular thing Jesus said over again:
"Do not go after the food that perishes, but rather the food that gives everlasting life. That's Me." (I'm paraphrasing.)
I thought about how people who do not know Jesus try to look for something to fill the "gap", and that the things they look to to do this are temporary and perishable. So, I have come to the conclusion (though maybe I should have asked God/Jesus before I did this) that all Jesus was saying was that He is the Son of God, but at the same time He was saying that He is nothing more than a humble servant to His/our Heavenly Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice to those in need. Hunger is a need. Needs are, in a psychological sense, a hunger. I think what He meant was that He has come to satisfy those needs and hungers, so to speak. And offer Himself as evidence of The Father's Love for us.
Nothing more than that, yet so much more at the same time. How can something so simple not be understood?
He's simply saying/simply said:
"I'm Jesus. I've come to save you. Don't hate. Appreciate. Celebrate. And collaborate.
So, did I get that right, God?
