I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
Apart from the resurrection, Jesus' feeding of 5,000 people is the only miracle that all four Gospels record. It shows Jesus meeting the most basic human need, food, by using barley loaves, the least expensive kind of bread. John describes the effect of the miracle on the ordinary people who saw it. Dazzled by Jesus' power, they try to crown him king. When he slips away, persistent fans commandeer boats and sail across a lake in pursuit.
The next day as the crowds catch up with him, Jesus meets them with a blunt warning: "I tell you the truth, your are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you."
Hearing this, many Jews no doubt remember the miraculous manna that their ancestors ate in Moses' day. Jesus points to a better, life-changing meal: himself. As the "bread of life," he will nourish his people far better than any miraculous meal could.
Sensation-seeking crowds, however, care more for physical spectacle than for spiritual truth. What happens next certainly bears that out. As Jesus is interpreting the spiritual meaning of the miracle, all their enthusiasm melts away. The crowd grows downright restless, then hostile. They cannot reconcile his exalted claim- "I have come down from heaven"- with their knowledge that he is a local man whose mother and father they know.
1 comment:
Jesus's miracle of feeding five thousand pales in comparison to the "meal" of Eternal Life that He offers to those who trust and align themselves with Him. We then enter real, eternal life.
Post a Comment