January 13, 2023: I Am The Living Bread

“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.” (John 6:51, ESV)

The manna that the children of Israel ate in the wilderness came from heaven. It was supernatural sustenance. Every day the Israelites rose in the morning to go and gather the bread that would sustain them for over forty years of wilderness wondering. The manna, like God’s mercy, was new every morning! That manna was a foreshadowing of the true Bread of Heaven to come.  

Jesus made direct reference to the life-sustaining Manna as Himself. Like the manna, He, too, came from heaven. The significant difference between the manna in the wilderness and the Bread of Heaven was twofold: The Bread of Heaven comes as a one-time permanent supply; and it comes in the form of eternal life! The Israelites ate the manna in the wilderness and still died. But those who eat the Bread of Heaven live forever!

The bread that Jesus offers the world is His flesh, the sacrifice of His life for theirs. Anyone who believes that He is the Son of God and receives His sacrificial offer by faith will never die. Yes, we will taste physical death, but thanks be to God, we will never taste spiritual death.

As you receive communion, remember the Word that became flesh. And remember the flesh given at Calvary that you might live forever!