◄ What Does John 6:55 Mean? ►

The apostle John had written his Gospel in order that we may know and believe that: "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing we may have life in His name." And although the written Scriptures, the Messiah, and God's plan of redemption was to come through the Jewish nation, God in His grace knew that for a time Israel would have to be set aside for a time, due to unbelief. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, would have to be formed in order to be God's earthly representatives for a time, and share the good news to a lost world. 

As Christ's ministry progressed, the apostle John incorporated a number of signs that would give clear and irrefutable proof to the nation of Israel that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, and that by believing in Him they might have life in His name. The first sign was at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, when Jesus turned water into wine. This was the point where we read that His disciples first believed in Him.

The second and third signs were connected with healing those that were sick. As Isaiah had prophesised, the Lord God had anointed and qualified Christ Jesus to preach the gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, the helpless and the afflicted. He was sent to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those that were in both physical and spiritual captivity, and to open the blinded eyes of those who are bound by the god of this world. And we read that many believed in Jesus, and many followed Him.

His fifth sign was the feeding of the 5000, which demonstrated that Jesus was the Living Bread Who came down from heaven to feed the hungry and to give refreshment to those that were tired and thirsty. Jesus proclaimed: "He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty." And following His fifth sign, when Jesus walked on water, stilled the storm, and rescued those that were perishing, He started to give a message that was increasingly difficult for His followers to accept. It was a message which caused many of them to leave Him and to walk with Him no more.

Despite all the signs that Christ performed in His ministry, and despite each one being a direct fulfillment of prophetic Scripture, the Jews called for a yet another 'sign' which would meet their own criteria as proof that He was their Messiah! Biblical proof from the prophetic Word of God was not sufficient for this adulterous generation of Jews; they demanded a different sign. But elsewhere we read that no other sign would be given to this generation except the sign of the prophet Jonah; three days and three nights in death followed but a miraculous resurrection.

As the Jews of His day started to reject the biblical signs that authenticated Christ's messiahship, the Lord Jesus began to give a much more graphic teaching on Who He was and why He had come: " 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....He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink."

As the perfect Man, Jesus died to pay the price for sin. As the eternal God Who had life in Himself, He rose from the grave so that His life would become the life of all who believe on His name, and the power of death would be broken for all who, by faith, are His seed. God loved the world so much that He gave His Son, the eternal Son of God, to be born as the perfect Son of Man  so that by His death we might be forgiven and by His life we might have eternal life. For His flesh is the true food and His blood is the true drink. May we feed on Him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving, today and into the eternal ages to come.

Heavenly Father, thank You that Jesus is the Bread of Life, and that by partaking in His flesh and drinking of His blood I am cleansed from my sin and have received life everlasting. To You be all praise and glory. In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.