John 6:31-35

 

John 6:31 (KJB)

Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

 

Those in attendance tried to justify themselves in asking for a sign. They then cite the fact that God fed them with manna in the wilderness. (Psa 78:23-24 KJV) Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, {24} And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Since this would have been considered a great sign that the manna came out of Heaven, they wanted a repeat performance, not necessarily manna, but some other sign to convince them of who Jesus was. Again, here is spiritual darkness in action, they just received a great miracle where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes and yet they still wanted a sign to confirm who Jesus was. Just as God fed the Israelites in the desert with manna, Jesus fed these Jews with both bread and fish. It seems they could not make the association in their minds.

 

John 6:32 (KJB)

Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

 

Here Jesus is making a comparison between the bread from the first Heaven which surrounds the earth and the true bread which came from the third Heaven. Jesus is now refocusing their minds upon the true bread which came from the third Heaven or the abode of God. The bread which Moses gave them caused them to become physically hungry once again. Now Jesus is stating that Moses did not give the true bread which came from the abode of God but the Father gave that bread. (Gal 4:4 KJV) But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, The true bread was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who came from the Father. Jesus is now beginning to give them a great spiritual lesson.

 

John 6:33 (KJB)

For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

 

Now Jesus is making sure that they understand that the true source of this bread is not the clouds or the atmosphere but it is sourced in God Himself. This means that there is a spiritual lesson coming concerning this bread. This bread is not a loaf but it is a person and that person is the Lord Jesus Christ. While physical bread can sustain a person from physically starving, the spiritual bread of God keeps a soul from damnation but even before that, it satisfies their soul whereby they never hunger again. Those who become saved by grace through the Lord Jesus Christ never hunger again in the realm of satisfaction of the soul. Religion tries to fill the spiritual void in a person’s life but it is nothing but a bucket with holes in it. Religion can never fill the void in a person’s soul, only the Lord Jesus Christ can do that.

 

John 6:34 (KJB)

Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

 

Evermore - Perpetually, at all times, always

 

Here is the hypocrisy of religion at work. They wanted Jesus to always give them this bread so they would always be filled. They were still thinking that the bread was some kind of loaf, maybe a special bread from God which would keep them from being hungry. They were asking the Lord for this bread on a perpetual basis. When the Lord finally reveals to them that He is the bread, they then rejected Him. Religion always wants things on their terms and will even reject the things of God if it does not fit into their theology. Jesus did not fit into Talmudic Judaism so the bread they wanted perpetually was rejected by them, even to the present day. (Luke 19:14 KJV) But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. To this day they have no idea who they have rejected.

 

John 6:35 (KJB)

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 

Food and water are the essentials to keep a person physically alive. Here Jesus not only states that He is the bread of life but he is also the water of life. He tells them plainly that He is the bread of life and those that come to Him shall never hunger and those that believe shall never thirst. What Jesus is stating here is that those who become saved through Grace, will never have a hunger pang, that is, a spiritual hunger pang. Religion continues to require that a person continually do things to try and earn their salvation. Religion is a bottomless pit of works and in the aggregate, still leaves a person missing the mark of God’s requirement of perfection. Martin Luther was a Monk who obeyed all the dictates of the Catholic Church he served and yet he was still unfulfilled until God stirred his heart with Romans 1:17. (Rom 1:17 KJV) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. When Luther became saved, he shed the shackles of earthly religion and what He had in Christ, through Grace, caused him to neither hunger or thirst. Jesus filled his soul with the bread and water of life. What Jesus was telling these Jews was that they had to leave their religion if they believed in Him because Christ was totally sufficient to keep them and adding works in no way added to their salvation or standing before God. These Jews did not want to leave Judaism because they were steeped in it for 1500 years and they thought that it was the only way to gain Heaven and God’s favor.

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