What has Jesus just been doing in verses 1 to 14?

Why does Jesus withdraw from the crowd in verse 15?

What happens during the night? (See verses 16-21)

What small detail do the crowds notice the next day that gets them thinking?

So with their brains in overdrive the crowd jump into the boats that have just arrived from Tiberias and row off to find Jesus. They catch up with him in verse 25 and immediately ask the question that has been bothering them.

What do you notice about Jesus’ reply to their question?

What is the contrast Jesus is making in verse 27?

Who will be able to provide this ‘food’?

(See also 1:51; 3:13; 5:27 and Daniel 7:9-14)

What needs to be done in order to receive this ‘food’?

Now the Jews are in no doubt that Jesus is claiming to be this Son of Man. But what they want from him is a miraculous sign that will allow them to believe what he has just claimed about himself (although there has just been the obvious sign on the other side of the lake!). They themselves bring up the miraculous feeding of the Israelites in the desert (more on this later) but this only allows Jesus to drive home his point even more. He implies to them that it was not Moses who provided the manna for their forefathers but his Father. And it is his Father who now has provided the true bread from heaven.

So what do we now know about this bread from heaven?

(See also John 1:4)

Do notice how the words ‘believe’, ‘come’ and ‘eat’ are used interchangeably in this section. For example, compare what is said in verses 35, 47, 50, 51 and 53.

What promise does Jesus make about himself? (See also John 6:40; 54)

Why do you think Jesus used this bread metaphor to describe himself?

When does food do you any good? What does this imply about Jesus?

Why else do you think Jesus might have used this bread metaphor to describe himself? (Time for the clever clogs to get their brains in gear!)

(You may find it helpful to look up these references: John 6:4; 6:14: Deuteronomy 18:18; John 6:31; Exodus 16:4; 16:35; Joshua 5:12 and to think back to what we were talking about last week)

So, in conclusion, we can be sure of the following truths:

• There is a link between physical hunger and spiritual hunger. Just as we all need to eat physical food so we all need to ‘eat’ spiritual food.
• Jesus is the bread of life. Not only does he give the bread that endures but he himself is the bread that endures. He is the one given to us by the Father to nourish us spiritually.
• Bread does us no good if we merely look at it. We must eat it and inwardly digest it. So too with the bread of life. We must come to Jesus and put our trust in him.
• There is a wonderful promise here from Jesus about himself. He is the satisfaction we all hunger for.
• Just as the Israelites were sustained in the wilderness by the bread from heaven, as they waited to inherit the Promised Land, so we too are given Jesus to sustain us as we journey in this life, waiting for the inheritance that is kept in heaven for us.