The Bread of Life

Next Part The Life

Jesus made the first great I am statement at Capernaum (which means the village of the Comforter). He said. 'I am the Bread of Life' (John 6: 48). Jesus is the Bread of Life. Are we also, or can we also be the Bread of Life?

Jesus spoke of bread again at the last supper. 'He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, "This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me"' (Luke 22: 19). He said that the bread was his body. What did he mean by his body? His physical body was given for us throughout his life on earth and most specifically when he laid down his life on the cross of Calvary. The spiritual body of Christ is his people. Paul said this to the Corinthians, 'you are the body of Christ' (1 Cor 12: 27); and to the Colossians 'his body, which is the church' (1: 24); and in similar words to the Romans and the Ephesians. He also associated the bread with the body when he wrote: 'Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body' (1 Cor 10: 17).

So Jesus is the bread; the bread is his body; his body is his people. He is given for his people, and his people are given for the world. His people are the bread of life for the starved and hungry multitudes of the human race. They, with Jesus their head, are the food for which the world is hungry. Only the whole body of Christ, the head and the members, can satisfy its needs.

Bread is made of many grains of wheat, which have been fused together by baking. Jesus spoke of himself as a grain of wheat. 'Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies' he said, 'it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit' (John 12:24). Those many grains of wheat are his body

Jesus is the bread of life to us; and we - that is to say he in us - become the bread of life for others.

Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world' (John 8: 12), but he also said plainly to his disciples 'You are the light of the world' (Mat 5: 14). He did not say this to them after he had risen from the dead and imparted the Holy Spirit to them, or even when he had finished teaching them on earth. Right at the beginning of his time with them he told them they were the light of the world. His eye of faith could look past their many weaknesses and failings, and see the perfect, finished product.

I believe he can also look at us in faith and say, 'You are the light of the world.'

Without Jesus the state of this world, and everyone in it, is darkness. He and his body together are the light that shines, enlightens, and will enlighten the whole creation.

We receive and follow Jesus, the light of the world; and we ourselves become the light of the world.

The Door

At the beginning of John chapter 10 Jesus says, 'he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.' He himself of course is that shepherd who enters through the door. Later (in verse 9) he says: 'I am the door (or gate); whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.' He is both the shepherd and the door.

At night, the sheepfold is the best place for the sheep. In it they have protection, warmth, and safety. Jesus is the door into the fold. When the day breaks and the sun rises, everything changes. The fold is no longer where the sheep should be. They must go out. They must find pasture and water and take exercise. Again, Jesus is the door. Without him, there is no way in to the shelter and safety of the fold for those outside. There is no way out to the green pastures that are essential for life and growth for those that are in the fold.

First, we enter the fold through Jesus the door. Then we go out through him as the door, and with him as our shepherd. Then he in us becomes the door through which others may enter the fold, and go in and out and find pasture.

The Good Shepherd

Jesus said: 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep' (John 10: 11). In his last conversation with Peter, Jesus spoke the words, 'Feed my sheep' (John 21: 16). If we take the Greek words more literally, he said, 'Shepherd my sheep.' Shortly after he indicated that Peter would also lay down his life.

Two of the greatest men of ancient times were shepherds. Both Moses and David were feeding sheep when God called them to be shepherds of his people.

Today we have true shepherds and false shepherds. The true shepherds are those who are willing to lay down their lives for the sheep. For a few, this may be the final act of a consecrated life. For all true shepherds this will be an ongoing, daily experience.

First, we know the Good Shepherd; then we become good shepherds.

The Resurrection

'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?' (John 11: 25,26).

Jesus spoke these words to Martha when her brother Lazarus lay dead in the tomb. They could have only one meaning for her - the physical resurrection of her dead brother. As of course we know, that was about to happen. Lazarus came back from physical death into physical life. Not many days after, Jesus himself appeared to do the same thing. However, there were two big differences. Unlike Lazarus, Jesus did not remain physically on this earth after his resurrection. Neither did he die again.

The resurrection of Lazarus fulfilled the words that Jesus spoke, but only in a natural way. It was a visible demonstration and manifestation in the natural of the greater and more important spiritual resurrection.

Death means separation. Physical death is separation from the body. Spiritual death is separation from God. In Adam, all die the spiritual death of separation from God. In Christ, all will be made alive in spiritual union with God. Jesus does not offer immortality in a physical body. Rather he gives restored and unending union with God. This is resurrection and life.

Jesus is our resurrection and our life, and the spirit of resurrection and life lives in us.

The Way, the Truth and the Life

Jesus said: 'I am the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14: 6). How could anyone say so much in one short sentence? Behind each of these three words lies a wealth of imagery that points to and illustrates great spiritual reality.

The Way (or the Road)

These days, most countries have hundreds and thousands of roads connecting every town and village to all its neighbours, and even connecting each individual house to the road network. In ancient times, things were different. For the people of Galilee there was just one important road. It went south to Jerusalem. Every active male that was able trod that road three times a year. According to the scriptures: 'Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose' (Deut 16: 16). God later chose Jerusalem to be that place. The disciples must have walked that road many times in their lives, and they had recently just walked it for the final time with Jesus himself. For the people of Israel, it was the road that led to the holy city and the house of God.

This journey meant leaving the familiar surroundings of one's home town or village; temporarily leaving one's normal occupation, and spending up to one week on the road before reaching the all-important destination. For the disciples, this journey began in the low-lying plains of Galilee, and ascended up through the Judean hills to Jerusalem.

When Jesus said, "I am the way (road)", this is the imagery that would have come to the mind of his hearers. He was of course not speaking of the way to his Father's earthly house, but to his heavenly house.

That journey also starts in the low familiar plains of our natural experiences. It also is long and arduous. It too ascends through unfamiliar hills and valleys and finally reaches our Father's house.

Jesus himself is the way for us; and we in him and he in us become the way for others.

The Truth

Pilate asked the question, 'What is truth?' Jesus gave him no answer. Some ancients believed this was because the answer was hidden in the question. They searched and found that if you re-arranged the letters of the question 'Quid est veritas?' (in Latin, the language in which Pilate would have asked the question), you got the answer, 'Est vir qui adest' meaning 'It is the man who is present.' The story may be questionable, but its conclusion is spot on. Truth personified stood before Pilate. If he could not recognise truth standing in person before him, what words could Jesus speak that would enlighten him?

Every word that Jesus spoke was true. However, truth is more than words. Every thing that Jesus did was truth. Every action, every gesture, and every look upon his face expressed the truth. He spoke the truth, he lived the truth and he was the truth - just as he spoke the word of God, he lived the word of God and he was the word of God. The spirit that was in Jesus was the spirit of truth.

The same spirit that was in Jesus is also in his body. Its members also will speak the truth, act the truth and be the truth. They will be a walking gospel and visible demonstration of God to the remainder of mankind. Just as Jesus is the truth, we also are becoming the truth.