In cultures with many food choices, bread is no longer a necessary part of the diet so some choose to live without it for various reasons. In the first century, however, bread was viewed as essential. A diet without bread was a foreign concept.

One day a crowd of people sought out Jesus because He had performed the miracle of multiplying loaves of bread (John 6:11,26). They asked Him to perform a sign like the manna (a type of bread) from heaven that God had provided for His people in the desert (6:30-31; Ex. 16:4). When Jesus said He was “the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32), the people didn’t understand. They wanted literal daily bread. But Jesus was saying that He had been sent to be their spiritual bread; He would supply their daily spiritual needs. If they, by faith, applied and took His words and life into their lives, they would experience everlasting satisfaction (v.35).

Jesus doesn’t want to be an optional extra in our diets; He desires to be the essential foundation in our lives, our ‘necessary’ food. As first-century Jews could never imagine life without physical bread, may we never attempt to live without Jesus, our spiritual bread!

Author

Marvin Williams

Topics

Our Daily Bread