“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, give us this bread always.’” John 6:32-34.
Having fed five thousand people on the day before, some of those who had been fed followed Jesus to a synagogue in Capernaum and began hinting for the Lord to continue feeding them.
In doing so they misquoted Exodus 16:15 related to receiving the manna in the wilderness, some fourteen hundred years earlier, accrediting Moses for the manna and not God by saying, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
The Lord corrected this by saying.
“…Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.” John 6:32.
The correct Old Testament quote goes as follows.
“So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ for they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ‘This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.’” Exodus 16:15.
Though it seems ridiculous to be such a stickler for detail, it is important to get the word of God right because misquotes are how Satan tricks us and many cults have gotten started.
The words in Exodus and those of the people’s quote to Jesus are very different and change the entire meaning.
It is important that Moses gave God the credit for the manna; we must never rob God of the glory for something that He did and not us.
Men rob God everyday by not acknowledging the things He has done for them.
Both then and today in most countries food is available to those who can work for it, and in this country it is available to many who cannot. It was not necessary for the Lord to feed them further.
Yet Jesus continued to present Himself as a sort of free bread that gives eternal life; something they did not seem to understand, since their response was, “Lord give us this bread always.” John 6:34b.
Now, a lot of head banging could have been avoided if the crowd had really listened to Jesus’ answer when they asked Him.
“Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’” John 6:28.
The Lord’s answer is the means of eternal life.
“… This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:29b.
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3.
“Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” 1 John 2:23.
“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 1 John 5:11.
Jesus responded to the people’s request for physical bread that would have kept them alive a few years by presenting Himself as the bread that would keep them alive eternally in heaven.
This bread is free, by the way, as free as the manna in the wilderness was; all they had to do was accept it.
“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33.
Jesus’ statement that He came down from heaven would be a pretty arrogant statement if it was not true and it becomes a bone of contention later in the chapter.
Yet Jesus not only claims to have come from heaven (which none of us have), but He “…gives life to the world.” The only thing that could mean is that the world was dead at that time. And even today many in the world are still dead.
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…” Romans 5:12.
“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14.
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14.
Without the shed blood of Jesus Christ the world could never have been reconciled to God, nor could it have been saved from destruction.
“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29b.
“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.’” John 6:35-36.
Look around you sometime and really notice folks like the young people, children really, who are clothed in Goth dress, notice the piercing and the tattoos.
Listen to the often empty things talked about around the water cooler. Read about the lives of celebrities, they are painted as happy by publicists and the media but the divorces, arrests, drug and alcohol rehabs, tell a different story.
Compare the immorality that societies’ leaders are indoctrinating everyone with to the book of Proverbs or passages from the New Testament. Would you say that folks are dying of hunger and thirsting for the truth?
Examine the suicide rate among children, is this normal, or are they starving for a reason for their existence? True, there are a lot of reasons for suicides, but we have an epidemic on our hands.
As of 2010, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death, about 11.3 per 100,000 persons, for every one that succeeds there are eleven attempted, with one estimate that it may be as high as 25 attempts.
It is the third leading cause of death in the 15-24 age groups, with some being as young as 5 to 10 years old. This happens every 14 minutes; these things ought not to be my friends.
More current stats show a rise of 24% from 1999 to 2014, and as of 2016 they are at the highest in 30 years at 13 per 100,000.
Depression is the major cause, with drugs and alcohol factoring in, and while chemical imbalance will cause depression, other things can cause it.
Thinking back on the Goth children, you realize what a dismal, dark world we live in. Everyone is taught from birth that we evolved from slime, that we came about by, time, plus chance, plus the impersonal; and scream as loud as you wish, there is nothing out there.
But wait, there is more, the divorce rate has caused a majority of homes to be without a father; did you know that children learn empathy from their fathers?
Scripture rightly says that in the latter days people will be, unloving, unforgiving, brutal, and disobedient to parents, among other things.
Sex and violence is readily available in books, movies, and particularly video games, where often, the criminal is the hero.
Schools today offer them no moral teaching other than the bland morass that is political correctness, and indoctrinating them to be good socialist lemmings, which again is based on evolution.
Is there any wonder that campus violence is so prevalent, and the greatest worries of the teacher has gone from talking or chewing gum in class, and running in the halls, to being raped, beaten, or shot.
Marriage has been so degraded that they are considering two or three year marriage contracts, and same sex marriages. These things guarantee an even greater population of dysfunctional children and millions of dollars to the divorce lawyers.
Liberal theologians agree with the destruction of marriage to make it fit for modern morality. Yet the Apostle Paul, whom they would describe as a homophobic woman hater, has this to say about marriage.
“Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Hebrews 13:4.
Why do folks seek out cults like far eastern religions, spiritism or atheism instead of Christianity?
Many people claim to hate religion or organized religion (meaning Christianity), yet they do not seem to think of Islam, Mormonism, and Scientology as organized religions, yet they are.
Buddhism, Hinduism, or Theosophy, may not be as closely knit but the different sects have leaders.
Jesus offers love, life, and peace, but that seems to be inadequate and far too religious.
The world is drowning in its own filth, both moral and physical, yet governments are not able to do anything. In fact they all lack common sense, which would solve most of the critical issues facing the world today.
The Bible tells us that Satan is the ruler of this world and as such he is the designer of the system by which it is run. And the system is geared to grind you down.
“We know that we [Christians] are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19.
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…” Ephesians 2:1-2.
It is Satan’s desire to turn the children of this world into hellions, which he is doing with great success. It is man’s job to stop the corruption of our youth. However it can only be done in Christ, any other method is futile.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:11-12.
It is time to partake of the bread of life.
“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2.
As you study the Scriptures and especially the book of Revelation it will become clear that no matter whether they are signs and wonders, miracles, or raising the dead, no matter what, the heart that does not want to believe, will not believe.
That is a harsh statement, but it is a reality that the Christian has to come to, so they will know how to speak to some individuals.
I am not advocating giving up on someone you are burdened for, but rather that one should seek wisdom from God when dealing with them.
Couple this with the necessity for prayer that God would soften their heart; actually, everyone’s heart should be lifted up in prayer. It is going to take patience.
This hard heart is what the Lord is dealing with here and He makes it plain that He knows it; “…you have seen Me and yet do not believe.”
I Am the Bread of Life, John 6:32-36 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 10-2-12, updated on 8-26-17.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.