Read:
John 6:22-71
The day after the feeding of the 5,000 the people looked for Jesus to
see if He would perform more miracles for them, but He responded that they
should instead do the work of God and believe in Him (v. 29). He continued by telling them that He was the
bread of life, sent by the Father, to give life to the world (v. 35). He emphasized that anyone who eats the bread
He gives (namely His flesh) shall live forever (v. 53-54). This sounded strange to the people. Unfortunately, many of Jesus followers were
disturbed by this teaching and stopped following Him (v. 66). Yet in contrast, Peter proclaimed that Jesus
teachings are the words of eternal life and that He is the Christ, the Son of
the living God (v. 68-69).
JOURNALING AND PRAYER
1. This chapter started with Jesus miraculously
multiplying bread (to get the people’s attention) then it concludes with Jesus
calling Himself the Bread of Life.
Coincidence? I think not!!! The
people had let themselves be satisfied with physical bread and Christ is
offering them true bread from Heaven – Himself.
Obviously Jesus is not talking about cannibalism or about actually
drinking His blood and eating His flesh.
Just like food nourishes our physical bodies, Jesus is teaching us that
we need Him to nourish us. We must abide
in Him; depend on Him, moment by moment. When we walk with Jesus in this way,
the result is everlasting life. What
does this say to you about spending regular time with Him through Bible reading
and prayer? Spend some time praying for
yourself in this area. Ask the Lord to
show you what you should pray, for example, endurance, passion for the Word,
understanding of the Word, etc.
2. In the previous passage Jesus used intentionally
offensive language in order to drive off everyone who is not truly following
Him. Notice how He doesn’t attempt to explain the word picture of Him being the
bread of life. The same is true today,
the Bible can actually be somewhat offensive to those whose hearts are not
willing to completely follow God. For
Example, marriage being one man and one woman, life beings at conception, the
faith the saves must lead to good works, obedience to God’s Word is critical to
salvation, suffering and persecution refines people, hell is real, etc. Ask the Lord to show you any areas in your
heart where you may struggle with accepting the truth of the Bible. Confess this as rebellion against God. Pray that the Lord would refine your heart so
that you would not be offended at Him and turn away.
