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The Bread of God

When Jesus fed the 5,000 in John 6, he was performing the fourth of eight signs that John handpicked to include in his gospel. The explanation and interpretation of this sign is given in the last half of the chapter (John 6:26-65). John quotes Jesus Himself.

Two Kinds of Bread

First, Jesus says in John 6:27,

²⁷ Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.

Food that we eat physically is perishable, for it always breaks down, rots, and returns to the ground. But true spiritual food is imperishable, and “endures to eternal life.” The disciples appeared to have caught on to some extent, for they said in John 6:31,

³¹ Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written [in Psalm 78:24], “He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.”

Jesus then explains this in John 6:32, 33,

³² Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.”

The origin of the bread makes the difference. Bread from the earth feeds the body, keeping it alive for a bit longer; bread from heaven feeds the spirit and brings “life to the world.” By this, He means immortality, life that does not end. It is life of a higher quality. The word “life” itself, then, has two levels of meaning, and for this reason, the New Testament often distinguishes the two by inserting the word aionian (“age-abiding”) to describe this greater form of life.

When Jesus broke the barley bread in John 6:9, it was from natural grain that was grown on the land, having the power to extend men’s life for a short time. However, when Jesus “took the loaves and gave thanks,” this natural bread took on new meaning. Matthew 14:19 says “He blessed the food.” Christ’s blessing turned this natural barley into a heavenly sign representing supernatural food.

Eating natural bread is a daily routine. It must be repeated in order to sustain life. In this way, it is comparable to the Old Covenant sacrifices. By contrast, Jesus was offered just once, showing the efficacy of the New Covenant Sacrifice for sin. So we read in Hebrews 10:11, 12,

¹¹ Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.

Eating natural food, then, is comparable to the Old Covenant principle of daily repetition on account of its limited ability to sustain life. Just as animal sacrifices prophesied of something greater that was yet to come, so also does natural food, when blessed, prophesy of the greater food of the Spirit, as we see in John 6. Furthermore, once the final Sacrifice was made on the cross, “there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). Why? Because Christ’s sacrifice put an end to all repetition of sacrifices.

The author of Hebrews points out that those who remain under the jurisdiction of the Old Covenant have no effective sacrifice for sin any longer. If they sin, and if they offer an animal sacrifice, the only result is “a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27). In other words, God no longer recognizes animal sacrifice as having any value in forgiving sin, because God has replaced these with a final, better Sacrifice. Since the cross, forgiveness of sin can come only through Christ.

Eating the Sacrifices

The people were instructed to eat the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:9). They were also to “eat unleavened bread” (i.e., barley) for seven days during the feast of Unleavened Bread. Priests were to eat the grain offerings (Leviticus 6:16), as well as the sin offerings (Leviticus 6:26).

All of these prophesied of Christ and are the basis of Christ’s teaching in John 6:53 about eating His flesh to obtain aionian life. The underlying principle is that we are what we eat. More accurately, we become what we eat. Eating that which is sacrificed (i.e., that which is “holy”) invokes the principle of Identification, where we become one with that which we eat.

To eat an animal sacrifice identifies a man with the Old Covenant, which “is becoming obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13). But to eat of the one true Sacrifice identifies us with the New Covenant and makes us part of Christ’s body. This needs no repetition, except through Communion, which is a ritual of “remembrance” (1 Corinthians 11:24). Communion, even if taken daily, does not make us part of the body of Christ. We became His body by believing (“eating”) His words, and our status does not need to be renewed through Communion. Communion reminds us of our status, just as it reminds us of what Christ has already accomplished once for all.

Bethlehem, the House of Bread

In John 6:48 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of life.” The Hebrew word for “bread” is lehem. Beth-lehem is the House of Bread. The divine plan from the beginning was for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem in order to proclaim Him as the Bread of God and the Bread of Life. Also, I believe it was for this reason that when He was born, he was laid “in a manger.” A manger is full of hay to feed the animals. Jesus came to be bread for the world.

The Gospel

To “eat” Christ’s flesh is not to be taken literally. Jesus explained the meaning in John 6:47, 48,

⁴⁷ Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life.

Jesus then said in John 6:54,

⁵⁴ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Hence, we see that “he who believes has eternal life,” and “he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.” To believe His words is to eat His flesh. This is not cannibalism.

This metaphoric language is built into the Hebrew language itself—particular in the word basar, “gospel/good news, flesh.” The word basar is translated “good news” in Isaiah 61:1, “the Lord has anointed me to bring good news (basar) to the afflicted.” This word is translated as “gospel” in Luke 4:18. The same word is translated “flesh” in Genesis 2:23, “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” One could say that the woman was “good news” to Adam, and she was also the personification of the gospel of Christ.

The point is that the gospel of Christ specifically refers to His teaching in John 6 about eating His flesh—i.e., believing His word. It also relates to John 1:14, “the Word became flesh.” Jesus is said to be the Word, and the Word became flesh/gospel in the House of Bread. Those who believe that Word/Gospel are given aionian life—life in The Age.

To eat His flesh is to consume (and assimilate) the Word that was spoken “the beginning” (John 1:1). The first Word was “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). So John 1:4 says,

⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

Again, we read about John the Baptist (Christ’s witness) in John 1:8,

⁸ He [John] was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light [Christ]. ⁹ There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

So the order is that the Light was the spoken Word, and this Light is the equivalent of Life. Christ is both the Light and Life, and He was then made flesh in Bethlehem in order to present His flesh as food for the world for those who believe His Word—the Gospel of Christ.