Jesus, The bread of life
The Crowd Finds Jesus
Jesus walks on water
After Jesus fed 5000 people by a miracle, the disciples left in the boat. But Jesus was not with them. He went up a mountain to pray.
On the lake, suddenly a storm began. A strong wind blew. The waves on the sea became very big. The disciples were in danger. Jesus walked on the water to get to the boat. Immediately the disciples were safe, and they reached the land.
But the crowd had seen that the disciples left without Jesus. People then tried to find Jesus. They did not find him, and so they went to the other side of the lake themselves.
Jesus wanted to give better things than bread
When the rest of the crowd found the disciples with Jesus, they had a question to ask. They wanted to know how Jesus had got there. Jesus did not answer this question. Instead, he said this to them. He wanted them to think about him seriously. He said:
26 Jesus answered, ‘I tell you this: You saw me do miracles that show God's power. But you are not looking for me because of that. No, you are looking for me because you ate the loaves. I gave you all the food that you needed. 27 Do not work only for that kind of food. It soon becomes spoiled. Instead, work to get the food that continues for ever. That kind of food gives you life with God. The Son of Man will give this food to you. God, the Father, has given the Son authority to do this.’
John 6:26-27 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
They expected good things from Jesus, but he wanted to give them much better things. But first they had to trust him. The crowd then asked Jesus to prove who he was. They remembered that, for 40 years, Moses had given food to the Jews in the desert. Jesus told them that the food came from God. It did not come from Moses. Now God would give them the best food. By 'food', Jesus did not mean the food that you eat. This 'food' really meant Jesus himself. He had come to give the world the best way to live. He was here now, with them. The crowd did not understand. They asked for bread that they could put in their mouths.
God sent Jesus into the world
Then Jesus made a series of wonderful statements.
35 Then Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread that gives life to people. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry. Anyone who believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
38 I have not come down from heaven to do what I myself choose to do. No, my Father has sent me. I have come to do what he wants me to do.
John 6:38 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
40 These are the people who will have life for ever with God: everyone who sees the Son and believes in him. I will raise them all up on the last day. That is what my Father wants.’
John 6:40 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
Jesus declared that God sent him to this world. Jesus came to show people in the world how to live. He can satisfy completely those who believe in him. He also declared that they are safe for all time. They will be safe with him on the last day. [The last day will be when Jesus comes back to the world. He has promised to do this in the future.] And they will always live with him in heaven. Jesus, and only Jesus, can show us how to live in God‘s way. People must believe and trust in him.
The Jews did not like this and they said so. They knew that Jesus came from Nazareth. So they did not believe that he came from heaven. They did not believe that God sent Jesus to this world.
Jesus had said some difficult things. He said that before his birth to Mary, he had already existed. That was before he came to earth (for example: John 8:23, John 3:13 and John 3:31.) Later the apostle John wrote wonderful words at the beginning of his gospel: John 1:1-5. These words explain this well. Men could understand what Jesus said later. Jesus died on the cross and came alive again. After that it was easier to understand some things. When he died on the cross, he gave himself for the sins of other people. He died so that we can live in God‘s way. Because he did this, God can forgive us. If we believe, God forgives us and blesses us.
Jesus' gift of eternal life
Jesus then explained again what he had said.
47 I tell you this: The person who believes my message has life for ever. 48 I am the bread that causes you to live. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. 50 This bread that comes down from heaven is different. Anyone who eats this bread will not die. 51 I am the bread that gives life to people. This bread came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live for ever. The bread that I will give is my own body. I will give it so that all people in the world may have life with God.’
John 6:47-51 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
'A man may eat it and not die.' Jesus did not speak here about the death of a person‘s body. He spoke about the death of the spirit that is inside a man. He called this the ’second death‘. These verses in the Bible give a wonderful promise to those who believe in Jesus. But when he spoke these words, many people did not understand. They went away from him. Jesus turned to the disciples. He asked if they also were going to leave him. Peter answered for them all:
68 Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, there is nobody else that we could go to. You speak the words that give us life for ever. 69 We believe that you are the Holy One that God has sent. We are sure about that.’
John 6:68-69 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
There were many things that the disciples did not understand. But they knew that the promise of eternal life came from Jesus. One day, Jesus would give his body on the cross so that people could have eternal life. This whole event taught them this. Jesus fed 5000 people by a miracle. Then Jesus taught them. This miracle showed them a wonderful truth.
