21. Jesus The Bread of Life

Jesus, the Bread of Life

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. I am the living bread . . . if any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever. John 6:49-51.

Manna was the name given to the small round food flake that God rained from heaven for the Israelites to eat while traveling through the wilderness. When the puzzled people asked, “What is it?” Moses re- plied, “It is the bread which Jehovah hath given you to eat” (Exodus 16. 16). This became their daily bread for some forty years. This manna was a type of the true bread, namely, Jesus Christ, that Jehovah would send in due season. Therefore Jesus told the people when they referred to the manna, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. I am the living bread. . . . If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever” (John 6. 49—51). Let us note some of the similarities between the manna and Jesus.

Both the manna and Jesus came from above. In both instances it was the plan of Jehovah. He wanted to teach Israel, as He wants to teach us, that power for our daily life comes from above. We live only as we feed on Jesus Christ. “Except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves” (John 6. 53). The manna fell to the ground where there was easy access to it. It did not grow on trees, but fell on the ground where even the children could pick it up. Jehovah always thinks of the lowly. The bread of life is to be accessible to the lowliest. Therefore Jesus cried out, “Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out”
(John 6. 37).

The manna could be trampled under foot, even though it was God’s love gift to a starving people. The matter of choice was left with the people. They were not forced to eat it. If their own hunger did not prompt them to stoop down and pick it up, it lay in their power to despise it and to trample upon it. This is also true of Jesus. “Of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and bath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10. 29).

The manna, if left untouched, melted away in the heat of the sun. “And when the sun waxed hot it melted” (Exodus 16. 22). The time came when it was too late to pick it up. The fullness of the day caused it to disappear. Of course, the next day would bring more. “For his grace is every morning new,” but if neglected day after day, death is certain. We do well to heed the warning, “Let everyone that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found” (Psalm 32. 6). There comes a time when it will be too late to receive God’s blessings.

The manna was of no use unless it was picked up and eaten. The ground was covered and there was plenty for all, but it was useless to the people until they themselves gathered and ate it. In like manner we may hear others talk about Jesus until our dying day, and it will do us no good unless we ourselves receive Him. “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear and your soul shall live” (Isaiah 55. 2—3).

The Lord Jesus, our Bread of Life, invites all hungry souls to come and feast. He suffered death in order to offer Himself to us as “the bread of life.” He stands ready and prepared now to be received. He has said, “He that eateth this bread shall live forever” (John 6:58). Come, fainting friend, eat to your heart’s content.

O Bread of life from heaven,
To weary pilgrims given,
O Manna from above:
The souls that hunger feed Thou,
The hearts that seek Thee lead Thou,
With Thy most sweet and tender love.