John 6:47-51 -- Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Jesus continues to press the crowd that He is the bread of life. For us American believers here in 2022, bread is just another item we pick up at the store. If we keep it too long and see a bit of mold, we toss it and add it to the grocery list. No big deal. No problem at all.
However, this is not how bread was viewed in Jesus' day. There were no walmarts and no money for them even if there were. These people were under Roman rule and were being taxed heavily. Most were just scraping by. Surviving daily was very much top priority for most. Think about this out of 5000+ people in the crowd, only a young boy had few loaves and fish.
Why does this matter?
Well, if we don't understand that bread meant everything to these people, then we won't understand the weight of what Jesus is saying. Why do you think this giant crowd didn't try to make Him their king after seeing Him heal sick person after sick person? It wasn't until He sat them down and fed them that their mentality changed. Forget healing of the sick, this guy fed us, surely, He's the Prophet, the Messiah, He must be our King…
Bread was necessary for life. For us modernized folks, we could say, food is necessary for life. I'm no scientist but I know if we don't take in some kind of nourishment our bodies will eventually shut down and die.
As bread or food, is necessary for physical life, Jesus is necessary for spiritual/eternal life. This was what Jesus tried so hard to point the crowd to.
Just as we have a choice in what food will nourish our physical body, we also have a choice in what will nourish our spirit.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me.". He also said in Matthew 6:11 " Give us this day our DAILY bread", as he taught how to pray.
Why does this matter?
Christian, it matters because you have DAILY choices to make. What will you feed your physical body today? More importantly, what will you feed your spirit today? You must feed your body daily and there is no difference when it comes to your spirit.
Romans 12:2 -- Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Beloved, the world never stops trying to conform and press you into its mold, so what happens if you are not renewing your mind daily in His Word and in prayer?
Just something to think about today.
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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