God’s Renewing Word of Wisdom
Introduction
John 6:25-59: The day after Jesus miraculously fed the people, the crowd went looking for him. When they found him, Jesus explained the difference between the manna that their ancestors ate in the desert and the “real bread from heaven.” Yet there were people in the crowd who took issue with what he said, and arguments arose among them.
Scripture Reading
Jesus the Bread of Life
25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”
26 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. 27 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”
28 So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”
29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”
30 They replied, “What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 “I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said. “What Moses gave you was nota]”>[a] the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty. 36 Now, I told you that you have seen me but will not believe. 37 Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, 38 because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day. 40 For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day.”
41 The people started grumbling about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 So they said, “This man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn’t he? We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say he came down from heaven?”
43 Jesus answered, “Stop grumbling among yourselves. 44 People cannot come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me; and I will raise them to life on the last day. 45 The prophets wrote, ‘Everyone will be taught by God.’ Anyone who hears the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 This does not mean that anyone has seen the Father; he who is from God is the only one who has seen the Father. 47 I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. 50 But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”
52 This started an angry argument among them. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. 55 For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them. 57 The living Father sent me, and because of him I live also. In the same way whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This, then, is the bread that came down from heaven; it is not like the bread that your ancestors ate, but then later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”
59 Jesus said this as he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Today’s Key Verse: John 6:35
“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.”
Reflect
After Jesus tells the crowd that God wants them “to believe in the one he sent” (verse 29), the people demand a miracle. Why? How does Jesus contrast himself as the “real bread from heaven” with the manna that was given to the people’s ancestors in the desert (verses 32, 33, 58)? Jesus once again says that he is “the bread of life” (verse 48) and that “those who eat this bread will live forever” (verses 58). What does Jesus as “the bread of life” mean to you? How did Jesus respond to those who challenged his words (verses 53-58)?
Pray
Lord Jesus, you are the true bread of life that has come down from heaven to give life to the world. I hunger and thirst for your word each day and trust in your promise that all who believe in you will be raised to life on the last day. Amen.
And now, join us in praying for Scripture distribution to the people across Central Africa. Lord God, the people across Central Africa have experienced horrific violence, and they need to know the healing power of your Word. We pray that those who have experienced pain and persecution can find peace through the Holy Scriptures and that every Bible placed in the hands and hearts of men, women, and children will make an eternal difference for their souls and an immediate difference for the nations of this region. We thank you, Lord God, that, through the generosity of donors, those who are hurting are being brought closer to you. Amen.
Tomorrow’s Reading
John 6:60-71: Jesus’s words offer eternal life.