Jesus, The Bread of Life
30 So they asked him, “What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (NIV)
Was Jesus asking too much of them by telling them to put their faith in him? Their language in verse 30 emphasizes an accusation with the rapid-fire you - you - you. What sign will you give? We should believe in you?! What will you do? They recall the miracle of the manna; God (but their minds are on Moses) gave our ancestors manna every day. If you give us more, Jesus, we’ll give you more faith. They even snip a little at Jesus’ miracle with the five thousand of them by saying that what their ancestors got was “bread from heaven,” far more special than bread from a guy with a kid’s lunch.
So Jesus uses their own words to explain his point. He doesn’t twist anything; he doesn’t become impatient. He just keeps teaching them, from one point to the next. First of all, Moses didn’t give Israel the manna, God did. Second of all, the real bread I’m offering here isn’t made from wheat and water and oil, its made up of trust in me. The bread of God isn’t kneaded, but it is needed. It isn’t rolled and baked, but it’s necessary. And it comes from God himself, who gives life to the whole world.
Another point is tied to the tenses of the verbs used by Jesus and the Jews. They are focused on the bread that God gave in the past. But Jesus wants them to crave the bread that God gives right now and forever. Jesus is building on their questions to show them that the bread from God, the Bread of Life, is everything Jesus has done for us; everything we trust in and put our faith in. It’s Jesus himself—but we’ll let Jesus say more about that.
Something Extra:
Psalm 37:37-40
ש (Shin)
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
the future of the wicked will be cut off. (NIV)
Shin is the twenty-first letter of the alphabet in Hebrew. It can actually stand for two different letters (a dot above the letter to the left or right distinguishes them). One form, sin, is more rare (it’s in the word laugh in verse 13 of this Psalm). The other has an sh sound and is the first letter of the word shamar, “watch, consider” at the beginning of verse 37. When Jesus talks about the end of the world, he often warns us to “watch,” so that we are prepared. In fact, Jesus says either “watch” or “be on your guard” seven times in Mark 13, while talking about signs of the end of the world.
Here, David encourages us to watch or consider the blameless, those who have faith in the Lord. When I was a missionary in the Pacific Northwest, one of the women who helped my mission work used to say, “Your life might be the only Bible some people ever read.” So as you watch, be aware that someone might be watching you, too, to see how a believer lives and acts.
ת (Taw)
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him. (NIV)
The final letter of the Hebrew alphabet is taw (pronounced with a v so that it rhymes with the first part of the word Java). It begins the noun teshua, “deliverance, salvation,” which is from the same stem as the names Joshua and of course Jesus (both of those names mean “The Lord Saves”). David doesn’t beat around the bush. Salvation comes from the Lord. David has called it a gift, a blessing, and the inheritance of the righteous. But its source is God himself.
And David even finishes by giving the reason that we are saved. Is it because of something we do? Is it because of something God sees in us? Is it because of our potential, or our usefulness to God’s plan? No. It isn’t any of these things. God saves us because he loves us, and so he puts faith in our hearts so that we “take refuge in him.” He is the cave that protects us from the storm. He is the parachute that preserves us from the freefall of our sins. His is the hand that brings us the living water of faith, so that our parched throats are opened, our hearts are jump started and beat for him, and so that we praise him today, tomorrow, and for all eternity.
He is our God. That’s why we take refuge in him. That’s faith, from A to Z, or in this case, from aleph to taw.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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