I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE

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. John 6:35

The “I AM” verses are all located in the Gospel of John. As we uncover the deeper meaning behind these powerful statements I pray that you’ll come to realize that Jesus is the key to any kind of satisfaction that we’re looking for. Apart from Him, there is no true satisfaction. He alone fills the empty places in our hearts!

I am the Bread of life!  Bread is significant in the Bible. God caused special bread called manna to rain down from heaven for the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. There was a Festival of Unleavened Bread celebrated by the Jews. And the word Bethlehem means “house of bread.” I love that, the house of bread is where the Bread of life was born.

Since the beginning of time bread has been something used to sustain the physical body. So is it any wonder that Jesus compares Himself to bread. But not just any bread. He is the Bread of Life.

There are two words for life in the Bible. Bios – used 10 times – means, “breath in your lungs or physical life.” And, zoe – used 135 times – means, “possessed with vitality looking to the fullness of life.”

We need both bios life and zoe life. It’s not one or the other. Jesus doesn’t just want us to have breath in our lungs, but He wants us to have a rare vitality, experiencing Him to the fullest every single day! He doesn’t want to just sustain us physically, but He wants there to be fullness in every area of our lives.

Before Jesus speaks his first I AM statement, He performs a miracle – the feeding of the 5,000. Most people are familiar with this miracle in John 6, but did you know it’s the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels?

It was Passover; a springtime festival that celebrated the deliverance of the Hebrew people out of Egypt. A multitude had gathered and as they approached Jesus asked Philip, “Where are we going to buy bread to feed all these people?” What a question…poor Philip! Andrew spoke out his idea. There was a boy with a lunch of 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish. They were hopeless. Feeding all these people was, to them an impossible situation.

Jesus gave thanks in vs.11 and the thankfulness opened the door to what God had in store for this group of 5,000. Not only were the 5,000 fed but there were 12 baskets left over.

Jesus became their provider. But not only is He our provider, He is the Bread of life who never runs out and gives exceedingly, abundantly over all we can ever ask or imagine. All we have to do is believe.

Each day when we take in truth; the scripture, we take in Jesus making Him our daily bread, part of our life, our very sustenance.



Declaration to Life: Jesus is the source of my zoe fullness! I must direct my cravings to Him. He wants to be taken in personally by me. He is my Bread of life!