Jesus is the Bread of Heaven

Hello Friends,

“Schools out for the summer!” It’s official… school is out for the summer which means that summer vacation has arrived! How was your first full week of summer vacation? Did you do anything fun, anything exciting, make any plans for the rest of the summer, or did you just relax, sleep in, and sit on the couch all day? So far, I have attended several baseball/softball games and worked outside: nothing to exciting, but things that I have been waiting to do for awhile now. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you enjoy it, have fun, and create moments of laughter and joy!

For this week’s lesson, I thought we could continue thinking about “heaven”–you know, that place that is up in the sky and beyond, where God and Jesus live. Except, we are going to think about heaven as a place but rather as someone (and quite possibly something). I know that sounds confusing. So to help us understand what I mean, we need to think about what Jesus says in the Gospel of John. Jesus says that he is the bread of heaven, or rather the bread of life. (Now, that’s confusing!) Let me explain…

In this day of gluten-free, carb friendly diet consciousness, we might lose sight of how essential bread has been historically to life. It is a food staple that sees variations throughout time and culture, but which nourishes and strengthens us physically. Understanding that Jesus is our “bread” reminds us that He provides what we need for spiritual strength and health. We need more than just food to survive in life. We need Jesus! This means that we rely on Him for all things, and that He spiritually nourishes us.

Let’s read John 6:25-27: When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Not long before this, Jesus had performed an amazing miracle by feeding a huge crowd with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. He tried to get away to another spot, but the crowds followed Him. Here, Jesus calls out the group. They want to follow Him for a meal ticket! He warns them that they should seek a different kind of food.

What do you think Jesus is talking about when He tells the people to work for food that “endures to eternal life”? What might that mean? John 6:28-31 states, Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” The first answer didn’t quite satisfy the crowds. Now they question what they need to do. But they missed the point! Believing Jesus isn’t about anything we do; it’s about who He is. The people wanted a task list. They wanted visible signs and miracles. They wanted works. Jesus wanted to let them know that they should trust HIM, not things He did.

The next thing brought up is how God provided the Israelites with manna in the wilderness. John 6:32-34 shares, Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave 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.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus is making an amazing connection here. He first emphasizes where the manna came from: it came from God the Father, who provides what we need. He then explained that God had sent a new bread from Heaven: Jesus Himself! However, the people still didn’t quite understand…

Have you ever had a hard time understanding a difficult concept? What do you do when you’re not sure of what something means?

John 6:35-40 helps us answer these questions: Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Unfortunately, the crowds still failed to fully comprehend who Jesus was and what He came to do. Christ made things pretty clear, but a lot of people at His time missed it. It was like they tried to make a sandwich with no bread! They missed the main point! But we don’t have to do the same. We recognize that Jesus is the foundation of our lives. He wants to give us what we need to be healthy and “fed” spiritually. He has given His very life for us, and we know we can trust in His word.

Now, we need to ask, “How can we have ‘spiritual food’?” We can read our Bibles, pray, go to church, etc. We also recognize that God will take care of us. We have Jesus, and we can trust Him to give us what we need. We might still have physical hunger, but we know He will bless us spiritually, in this life or the next.

So, to say that Jesus is the bread from heaven or that Jesus is the bread of life does not mean Jesus is the very bread we eat but is the spiritual bread we receive; and this spiritual bread we receive from Jesus reminds us that Jesus gives us what we need. So, during the summer, every time you have a slice of bread, make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, eat an uncrustable, or any other kind of sandwich, remind yourself that Jesus is the bread of your life.

Let us pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for providing us with all that we need in life. Most importantly, thank you for nourishing us with love, forgiveness, and grace. Amen

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!

Lesson Help from: https://ministry-to-children.com/jesus-is-the-bread-from-heaven-john-6-sunday-school-lesson/