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Tag: Bread of life

Jesus Gave Thanks :: to be the Sacrifice for us

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On November 20, 2012

In Christian, Thanksgiving

It is thanksgiving season and there are many reasons for us to be thankful to God for, but have you ever wondered what Jesus was thankful for. Luke 7 records the account of what we generally refer to as the Lord’s supper, wherein Jesus communes with his apostles on the evening of the passover. But before Jesus served his apostles the elements of the cup and the bread, the Bible records, that Jesus first told them, how he, with desire, desired to eat the passover with them (Luke 7:15) and he gave thanks (Luke 7:17, 19). Symbolically the bread he broke and the cup he passed over to his apostles, signifies the willful sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood, which he desired with joy to share with us, for us (Hebrews 12:2).

Points to ponder:
Jesus gave thanks to God for being the perfect, unblemished and acceptable sacrifice (Isaiah 53:10; Hebrews 10:10). He willfully broke himself from his Godship, and humbled himself, to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-7), shedding his blood by which we all have pardon from our sins (Matthew 26:28). Jesus’ desire is to commune with you and me. Are we willing to take him in? We can give thanks this thanksgiving season, for Jesus who became the sacrifice for us. Jesus himself did!

Luke 7: 14-20 (KJV)
14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

Jesus Gave Thanks :: to Satisfy us

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On November 19, 2012

In Christian, Thanksgiving

It is thanksgiving season and there are many reasons for us to be thankful to God for, but have you ever wondered what Jesus was thankful for. Matthew 15 records the account of Jesus miraculously feeding 4000 men, besides women and children, with just seven loaves of bread and a few fishes. But before Jesus performs the miracle of multiplying the few to feed the many, he gave thanks and broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to give it to the people (Matthew 15:16). The Bible records that all ate and were filled (satisfied) (Matthew 15:37).

Points to ponder:
Jesus gave thanks to God for the miracle of satisfying the people who had followed him and not eaten for three days (Matthew 15:32). He is the bread of life and all who come to (follow) him shall be satisfied and filled and shall never hunger (John 6:35). Are you fasting and following Jesus? Am I fasting and following Jesus? We can give thanks this thanksgiving season, for Jesus who satisfies us to the fullest, unlike any other.

Matthew 15:32-39 (KJV)
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

John 6:35 (KJV)
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.

Jesus in the OT :: Exodus

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On November 17, 2009

In Christian, Jesus in the O.T.

The book of Exodus gives us a glimpse of who Jesus is in the Old Testament (O.T).

The account that is recorded in Exodus 16 is of the Israelites who were wandering in the wilderness, grumbling and murmuring against God and his servant, Moses, saying that we were filled in Egypt but now they had been  brought to a wilderness wherein they will die for lack of food. God tells Moses, tomorrow you will eat meat and bread and in the morning and just as God had promised, there appeared on the ground something that was Small, Round and White and the Israelites called this “Manna”. Manna means ‘What is it?’ for they did not know what it was.

In John 6 – Jesus eluded to this manna. He made the proclamation – “I AM the bread of life”. However, many like the Israelites are still asking the question – Who is this Christ, Who is this Jesus?

The manna mystery is demystified in Jesus Christ.
The Manna was small – Jesus humbled himself to nothing (Philippians 2)
The Manna was round – Jesus has no beginning and no end, He is the alpha and omega, from everlasting to everlasting Jesus is God.
The Manna was white – Jesus is pure and divine, no spot, no blemish, no sin, no blame. 1 Peter 2:22 speaks of Jesus as one who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.
The Manna appeared in the night when it was dark – Jesus came into this world and will comes into our lives that is in spiritual darkness.

In Exodus, Jesus Christ is the humble, everlasting, pure Manna, the bread of life!

Water – satisfying and purifying LORD

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On August 18, 2009

In Christian, The Elements

The fourth and final element in our series is Water.

Recently as I watched an episode of  “I shouldn’t be alive” covering the lives of certain folks lost at sea, and how their desires for water after the second or third day started to drive some members delusional leading eventually to their death as they hallucinated seeing land in the open ocean and trying to swim to it. This got me thinking about the length of term that one could possibly stay alive without drinking water and from the Holy Scriptures I read that for a period of forty days and forty nights, Moses did not eat any bread or drink water (Deuteronomy 9:9) as he went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of the covenant of the LORD. I wondered as to how Moses could have stayed alive and without being able to rationalize in a human sense, how this could have been possible, I had to remind myself of the words of Jesus, that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4) and that Jesus is the giver of living water and whoever drank of him shall thirst no more (John 4:14). It was the Water from the Rock (Jesus) that sustained and saved the Israelites as they trekked toward the promised land, led by God’s servant, Moses. (Numbers 20:7-11)

Water not only satisfy one’s thirst, but it also purifies (Number 31:23). When Naaman the leper immersed himself in water, his skin was purified and he was made into a new creation with skin as if it was like that of a child (2 Kings 5:14).

Just as water is essential for physical survival, Jesus, the Living water is essential for Spiritual survival. Despite the fact that the human body is composed 90% of water, we still need water to live. Despite the fact that we are made in the image of God, we need the expressed image of invisible God (Colossians 1:15), who is Jesus Christ to live eternally (John 3:16).

Jesus is THE ELEMENT, the LIVING WATER that satisfies and purifies us making us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) when we believe in Him.

I AM the Bread of life

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On July 8, 2009

In Christian, I AM, The Name

‘I AM the bread of life’ is the first of the seven ‘I AM’ statements in the gospel according to John, that is claimed by Jesus.  Jesus does not mention this once but three times does He explicitly call out that He was the bread of life (John 6:35), that bread of life (John 6:48) and living bread (John 6:51).

Exodus 16 records the incident of the daily provision of the LORD wherein He rained down bread from heaven that the Israelites called ‘manna’ for they knew not what it was (Manna means ‘what is it?’). (Exodus 16:15). It was a  mystery, just as Jesus is a mystery to some. Jesus refers to this manna in John 6 and calls to our attention that while the manna sustained the Israelites in their jouney to the promised land, it did not save them, for those who ate of it eventually died. Drawing that parallel, Jesus makes his first ‘I AM’ claim in which He talks about himself not just as a sustaining bread for our lives, but as a saving bread for our lives.

Point(s) to ponder:

  • Without food (bread), we will die physically, but without Jesus (the bread of life), we will die physically and spiritually. Double whammy!
  • Note the Israelites did not know what it was (manna), nonetheless they took and ate it. Food is absolutely useless to the one who does not eat of it. You may have the fanciest of food choices presented to you, but unless you take the first step of taking (accepting) it and eating (partaking) it, it’s nutitritive and life giving abilities remain merely in itself. Similarly, the bread of life (Jesus) is always available for our taking, even if we dont really know who He is, but unless we take the first step of accepting Him and partaking of Him, we  will continue in our road to physical and spiritual death.
  • The manna in the wilderness was found on the ground (Exodus 16:14) and in order for one to take it, they must have had to bend to the ground to pick it. Asking Jesus to be your bread of life is also a similar experience – we must first humble (bend our mind and heart) ourselves and take him into our hearts, accepting his sovereignity and Lordship.

Jesus said, I AM the bread of life and he that eateth of me (takes me into their heart) will never die, but live, and not just live, but live abundantly and eternally. The choice is yours now – whether you want to humble yourself and accept Him to be your living bread or the only other option is double whammy! It is time now, for you to decide.

John 6: 35,48-51 (KJV)
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.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: …

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