April 18, 2023

Manna Doesn’t Fill-

Only Jesus Does

 

“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” John 6:45-51 (NASB)

I know many who feverously take great care of their bodies. They are good stewards of their bodies, but on the weekends, they abuse the same body they worked so hard the previous week. I guess I too could fall into this category. My weakness is food and chocolate. I love it. I love the taste of it, even after COVID. It, however, doesn’t fulfill my greatest desire. My real hunger is for God’s Word. It gives me what food cannot. I hope you feel this way today.

Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” The Jews were knowledgeable about the provision by God over history. God reigned down manna from heaven to provide for their sustenance while they were wandered forty years. It was a blessing sent by God, but it didn’t cure man’s underlying condition. Man, still has a death sentence that hangs over him, it is called sin. This bread God sent from heaven fed them, but the Jews still died in their journey. Manna did not prevent their physical death. But this new manna would prevent spiritual death. Isn’t it interesting that many who ate the manna from heaven died before they arrived in the Promised Land? They were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of their bickering against God. The manna gave life to their bodies, but it didn’t cure the starvation of the soul for something greater. Their soul needed peace with God which only Christ could provide. Jesus is the Living Bread from heaven. Jesus alludes to this truth as he shared, “and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” In this, Jesus introduced the listeners to the concept of His sacrificial death. By His death, life came for those who would place their faith in Him. Calvin gives says something interesting, “If any man eat of this bread. Whenever he uses the word eat, he exhorts us to faith, which alone enables us to enjoy this bread, so as to derive life from it. The bread which I shall give is my flesh. As this secret power to bestow life, of which he has spoken, might be referred to his Divine essence, he now comes down to the second step, and shows that this life is placed in his flesh, that it may be drawn out of it. It is, undoubtedly, a wonderful purpose of God that he has exhibited life to us in that flesh, where formerly there was nothing but the cause of death.”[1]

I know today the most important thing in my life is to know I have eternal life. Jesus said if I trust Him in faith, He would provide me with eternal life. For now, it is my duty here to share the Living Bread with others, so they will not just die one day as the Jews did in the wilderness, but to enjoy a life, after-life with Jesus! Will you join me today?

[1] John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentary on the Gospel according to John, vol. 1 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 261–262.