July 3
________________________________________
THE BREAD OF LIFE
30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”– John 6:30-40
________________________________________
In this revelation of Jesus, he corrects the belief of the people that it was Moses who gave them the bread out of heaven and told Jesus the story of their fathers who ate the manna in the wilderness. In verse 32, Jesus reveals to them that it is His own Father who gives the true bread out of heaven and not Moses. He himself is the bread of life. In verse 36-38, Jesus reminds them that despite all the signs he made for them to believe, they still didn’t believe. Christ reveals the will of the Father in verse 39-40, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life and will be resurrected by Him on the last day.
It is interesting how Jesus spoke the truth to all these people who wanted to have the bread of life so dearly and yet fail to understand what Jesus was actually revealing to them. Don’t most of us fail to get the meaning of the truth presented to us? Sometimes, we don’t understand things because we allow the worldly things to hinder us from those teaching moments that Jesus gives us. We do not see the spiritual side. We fail to understand spiritual things unless we believe that Jesus is the only One who can actually reveal truth and make us understand it as well. It is a divine work, not human.
________________________________________
REFLECTION
• How can believers constantly feed on the bread of life?