Two Kinds of Bread

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.” 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.’ ” 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” (John 6:25-34).

Don’t you admire the tenacity of Christ’s followers? This crowd was mostly poor Jewish farmers and fishermen. There was a sprinkling of religious leaders in their midst. When they realized Jesus had crossed over the Sea of Galilee, they jumped into a few boats and journeyed across the Sea of Galilee to find Him. The Holy Spirit shows us here that Jesus had the kind of spiritual discernment that confirmed He was God incarnate. He confronted these eager followers with a heart–exposing declaration. Their real motivation for following Him was revealed as He invited the Christ following crowd to become His disciples by choosing correctly between two kinds of bread.

It’s probably not common among Christ followers to reflect on the reasons why they are following Christ. The spiritual disciplines of regular worship, fellowship, Bible study, and prayer can too subtly become habit if we don’t pause from time to time to examine why we do what we do. Do we go to church because it’s Sunday, because we need the blessing of some good Christian music and preaching? Real disciples go to church because it’s a meeting with the Lord on His special day. They don’t demand that this meeting feels good or that God gives them something for coming to His house. How many Christ followers read their Bible and pray because they have some deep question or urgent need? Real disciples create and maintain a daily sacred place where they meet with God and allow Him to set the agenda and speak what’s on His heart. A disciple’s prayer in the sacred place begins as a response to the revelation and character of God, and then includes requests that have been shaped by the word and presence of God. What makes the difference between a Christ follower and a disciple? One of the things is a hunger for the bread of God that is greater than hunger for the bread from the world.

The bread from the world, like water from a well, satisfies hunger and thirst only temporarily… “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Jesus taught His followers that God will provide food for their daily needs in this life by reminding of how God provided manna for their ancestors in the wilderness… “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness”. He taught His disciples to trust God through prayer to provide their daily food… “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). They were not to be consumed with concern about the bread of the world… “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Matthew 6:31).

While Christ followers are concerned about temporal things, Christ’s disciples seek eternal things, like His kingdom and righteousness… “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The truth Jesus illustrated here in Galilee was spoken by Moses in the wilderness and repeated by Christ to the devil… “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

As we grow up into Christ hunger for the “bread of God” grows as we learn the difference between…

Two Kinds of Bread.