Our Lord Jesus has just performed the miracle of multiplying the five loaves and two fishes which fed 5,000 men plus women and children. It was probably a crowd of 15,000. When He did that, the people were filled with joy and hope. They thought to themselves that their political messiah had finally come. Finally, someone that would make Israel win again. Someone who would make Israel great again. Someone who has the power and ability to feed and to provide for them.

The Lord, knowing then that they wanted to make Him an earthly king, immediately sent the crowd away that day, sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee in a boat, and He Himself departed up into a mountain to pray.  

Matthew 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42: Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? ...

This is the question of questions. This is a very crucial question. It is not a question of one's view of mode of baptism, or one's view of the timing of the second coming, or one's preference in music, etc.

This is a question of one's view of Christ, which is a very important one, because it will determine lifestyle and behavior.

"Tell me what you think of Christ and I will tell you everything else about your life and your ministry." - S. Lawson

But most importantly, one's view of Christ will also determine one's eternal destiny as well. It will determine where a person will spend eternity.

So, who is Jesus Christ? What did He come to accomplish?

Jesus Christ Himself gives the answers to these questions. Seven times in the Gospel according John, our Lord identifies Himself and what He is to believers in the words, "I AM."  I am the Bread of life.  I am the Light of the world.  I am the Door.  I am the Good Shepherd.  I am the Resurrection and the Life.  I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  I am the True Vine.

As I have said last Sunday, I would like to begin a series of messages on the I Am's of Jesus.  We begin today with the one that is recorded for us in ...

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

What a statement! But before we consider these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us look at the background behind this extraordinary statement.

I - The Rebuke

When the multitude saw the miracle of feeding the 5000 and that they were fed, we find them diligently and eagerly seeking Jesus Christ.

John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 

"Rabbi, when did you get here?"

But the Lord rebukes them for He knows what was in their hearts.

26: Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

They were seeking Jesus Christ for the wrong things and for the wrong reasons. Their minds were focused on the temporal and material, rather than on the eternal and spiritual. They were not seeking Jesus for eternal life. They were not interested in the person of Jesus Christ. What they were seeking in Jesus is more bread. All they want is physical food. They were seeking Jesus only for what He could do for them materially.

26: Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

They were seeking Him not because they saw the miracles. They missed the miracles' true significance. They missed the spiritual truth that is represented in the miracle that our Lord just performed. They were seeking Him because they ate of the loaves and their stomach were filled. 

So it is today, there are people who would literally go to the ends of the earth and would spend all their livelihood just to see miracles. They love to see the display of supernatural power through miracles. But there is no real interest in the person of Jesus Christ, there is no real interest in obeying His words, all they wanted is the display of the power of Christ and what they can get from Christ.

II - The Command

27: Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth (spoils and perishes), but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Our Lord is not saying that we should all quit our jobs and close our businesses and live a life of poverty.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

It is true that He warns us about the dangers of earthly riches but He does not condemn having them.

1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9: But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10: For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 18: That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19: Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

But what our Lord is saying, is that we are not to labor exclusively, or excessively, for the satisfaction of our bodily wants. We should not be so caught up with working and laboring for physical food that we neglect seeking and striving for "that meat which endureth unto everlasting life."

Do not be too caught up with laboring for bread that can only temporarily fill the earthly belly. What we must seek is eternal food, food for our souls.  The real need of our lives is spiritual food that alone can satisfy, not the body but the soul, the heart. We ought to work hard and strive for that spiritual food — that supply for the wants of our souls, which once obtained is an everlasting possession.

III - The Declaration

After rebuking them for seeking Him for the wrong things and for the wrong reasons, our LORD then declares who He is.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Here, our Lord is speaking symbolically. He is using an analogy. He is not saying that He is a loaf of bread. He is not saying that He is physical bread. He is comparing Himself to a bread. He is saying that He is like bread. What bread is to our body, Jesus is to our soul.

Jesus is saying, instead of laboring for bread that grow molds and becomes stale and can only fill temporarily, seek Him because He is the Bread of Life. 

51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

1. Bread is necessary

Bread, as we know, is a necessary food. It is a basic staple of life. It is not a luxury item. It is absolutely necessary. There are many kinds of food that we can do without such as snacks and chips and desserts. But bread is necessary.

So it is with Jesus Christ, He is absolutely necessary for spiritual life and eternal life. We must have Christ, or die in our own sins. Without Christ we shall perish. There is no spiritual life or health apart from the Bread of Life.

This supernatural life is not in a church, not in religion, not in church membership, not in baptism, not in Lord's Supper, not in a minister, not in the world, not in marriage, not in any human relationship, not education, not in career, not in business, not in entertainment, not in music, not in a hobby, not in sports, not in a vacation, not in a house, not in a car, not in a boat. It is only, exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

What our Lord is saying, is that He is absolutely necessary for our soul. You and I cannot live with God, we cannot have peace, we cannot have satisfaction in our soul, we cannot be saved apart from Him. He is the Bread of life. We may want many things: health, a worry-free life, our bills paid, perhaps we want a wife or a husband. But we must have Jesus or we die.

51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

He is the living Bread. He is the Giver of Life. He is the Sustainer of Life. We must have Christ it we will perish. He is absolutely necessary.

2. Bread is satisfying

Bread satisfies man's need. When we eat bread, it nourishes and strengthens our physical bodies. There are foods that may only satisfy the palates and fill our stomachs such as chocolate, cotton candy, sponge cake, and chips, but only bread can satisfy our basic needs and leaves us well.

So is with Jesus Christ. He alone can satisfy.  

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Only the Bread of Life satisfies our real need. Jesus Christ alone can satisfy the deepest needs of our souls.

Michelle a young student, wrote in her blog entitled "Searching for Something":

"I am stuffing chocolate in mouth, as much as I can take in. It is sickening sweet, dripping down my throat, coating my tongue. I cannot take it, I am not hungry, yet I stuff it in to try to avoid that which cannot be solved by stuffage. When you think about it, hunger is so easy to solve, the action of eating requires only some way of getting food into mouth. Yet we go hungry, we go hungry because we do not have food, we go hungry because we have no time to eat, we go hungry because we diet, we go hungry because we are not satisfied. I just downed a bar of Hershey's chocolate, yet I am still hungry. Hungry for answers to things that cannot be solved through simple arithmetic or logic. Hungry for somone to tell me what I'm living for, for I have no answers." 

Here is a young lady who is searching. She is searching for that which would really satisfy; that one thing that would meet her inner hunger. Searching for reason for living but finding no answer.

Stuffing ourselves with the things of this world is like going to an "All-you-can-eat-lobsters and-steak" restaurant. Do you notice, as soon as you enter the restaurant and get seated, they serve you, not the lobsters and steak but chips and soda. And when they finally serve the lobsters and steak, you could barely eat because you have filled up yourself with chips and soda.

People stuff themselves with the things of this world, yet rather than feeling satisfied, they are full but not satisfied and many time they just feel sick. 

How often have we turned aside to other things, like the prodigal son, only to find them like but husks! None but the Bread of life can satisfy.

But what bread is to physical hunger, Jesus is for the soul. He alone satisfies.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

This not an ordinary bread. You will never taste bread like this. You will never have bread like this ever enter your soul. He is not a bitter taste. He is not like a medicine that we have to take and endure. He is so pleasing. He is so fulfilling. He brings such contentment, such joy, such fulfillment.

And once you tasted this bread you will never ever crave for any other bread but this Bread. Just one bite of this Bread from Heaven, you will never crave for husk of this world. If you will just taste of Him just one time, you would never go back to the leftovers of this world. You will never go back and eat among the swine of this world. You will never be like some other dogs who return to their vomit. 

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

IV - The Promise

Fiends, there is only one Bread that has life. There is only one Bread that will give life. And this Bread is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. This is why He is precious to us. This is why He is so valuable to us. This Bread of Life is so desirable and so wonderful and so precious, what do I have to do to have it? Our LORD supplies the answer for us.

John 8:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 

These two expressions, "come to me" and "believe on me" are parallel statements. They are synonymous words which means the same thing. To come to Christ is to believe in Christ and to believe in Christ is to come to Christ. 

When He says, He who comes to me, He is not referring to physically coming like with your feet walking to where Christ is. No, the word "to come" refers refers to drawing near in your heart to the Lord. It is coming by faith in your heart, to the only One who can give life to your dead soul.

Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 

When you come and when you believe there is nothing you need to bring. There is nothing you need to work for. There is nothing that you need to earn. Everything has already been provided. Everything is to be received freely. Everything has been paid for. The invitation is to come. Just come.

2: Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Why do you waste your time and energy pursuing things that do not satisfy? Why are you caught up in a bread of this world that cannot satisfy. Listen the LORD is speaking, the Lord is inviting, come eat that which is good, eat to the delight and satisfaction of your soul.

Jesus Christ the Bread of Life is available to everyone. He is free for the taking.

The Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, is ready to give to every one who desires to have it, that spiritual food which endures for ever.

AMEN!