The Word of God as Food (Part 2) By Babatunde Olugboji
In John 6: 30-31, the disciples told Jesus: “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”And Jesus’ response is what can be described as “classic Jesus,” as he puts the issue of the word as nourishment into perspective: “Truly, truly… it was not Moses who provided you with bread from heaven, but my Father offers you the genuine bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who descends from heaven and grants life to the world” (John 6:32–33).
Following this is the pivotal statement: “I am the bread of life; whoever approaches me will not experience hunger, and whoever places their faith in me will never experience thirst” (John 6:35). The miracle of feeding the 5,000 serves as a significant setup. Its narrative function is to emphasize a singular message: Jesus is the ultimate sustenance for the soul. We must partake of his flesh and drink his blood if we wish to attain eternal life (John 6:53–57). His flesh is “true food” and his blood is “true drink” (John 6:55). What is the essence of Jesus’ message?
Throughout the history of the church, these verses have been utilized to support various interpretations of the Lord’s Supper; however, we can set aside those discussions for now. What is evident is that consuming Jesus relates to His earlier statement about striving for “the food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27). That endeavor, as we have observed, is to have faith in Jesus. This notion is reiterated later when He states that the means to partake of the bread of life is through belief in Him (John 6:35). Eating signifies believing.
However, belief in Jesus cannot be separated from faith in the words He conveys. This is the reason the crowds request a sign to facilitate their belief in Him —that is, in His teachings (John 6:30). This is also the reason this episode concludes with Peter’s profound confession: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Peter and the disciples partook of Jesus as the genuine bread from heaven. Yet, they also understood that to nourish themselves with this bread necessitated feeding on His words. The sustenance of the word provides access to a banquet of life-giving flesh and blood.
Not Only Bread:
The interaction of Jesus with the crowds in this Gospel narrative evokes the most significant miraculous feeding in the history of Israel, at least prior to His own miraculous feedings of thousands, the provision of manna in the wilderness. This story is well-known. The Israelites are traversing the desert, shortly after the defeat of Pharaoh and his army at the Red Sea. They are extremely hungry, leading them to voice their complaints regarding their food choices, particularly when compared to what they consumed as slaves in Egypt (Exodus 16: 1–3). In response, God provides them with “bread from heaven,” along with specific instructions on when and how much to gather, in order to “test them, whether they will walk in My law” (Exodus 16:4).
To be continued
Have a great week.
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