I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
– John 6:35
Oh, this is so good. After Jesus had fed over 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish, people were saying, “We want more bread.” And Jesus looks at them and says, one of these many I am statements in the Book of John, “I am the Bread of Life.” I am, this name of God that he revealed to Moses at the burning bush. “I am the I am, who was and is and always will be.”
John 6:35 shows us Jesus revealing His divine identity.
Jesus is equating himself with God, using this name to refer to himself. “I am the Bread of Life. I am the sustenance of life.” Not bread that you eat. Yes, we all need food to sustain our bodies, but the reality is that food will soon leave us empty because we’ll need more food and we’ll need more food the next day and the next day.
But not with Jesus. He’s the Bread of Life. And when we come to him we are not hungry again. When we believe in him, we’re not thirsty again. Because he alone can satisfy our souls. He alone can give us eternal life. Oh, what a verse. And to think about the way Jesus is using language of satisfaction here. Desire for food, desire for drink. And Jesus says, “I came to fulfill your desires. I am the fulfillment of your desires.” I want to encourage you today to seek Jesus alone as the fulfillment of all your desires. Knowing, yes, you’ll eat today, likely, unless you’re fasting, or you for some reason don’t have food. You’ll eat today. But know it’s Jesus who provides that food. It’s God the Father who gives our daily bread.
John 6:35 calls us to seek God as our supreme satisfaction.
And when we experience satisfaction and joy in a variety of different ways in this world, know that God is the author of satisfaction. He is the giver of fulfillment. So make sure then to seek satisfaction and fulfillment from him according to his Word. Not in opposition to him, according to the ways of this world.
You and I will be tempted today to seek, to try to find satisfaction and fulfillment through the desires of this world, through desires that go contrary to God’s Word. C.S. Lewis said it best though. He said, “We’re fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us. Like ignorant children who go on making mud pies in a slum because they cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” He says, “We are far too easily pleased.” And that’s the picture here in John 6:35.
This verse challenges us not to settle for the fleeting pleasures of this world.
I don’t seek pleasure in the stuff of this world, apart from God, in the ways of this world, apart from his Word. No. That’s like settling for mud pies in a slum. You’ve been offered infinite satisfaction today in God and his ways and his Word. So come to him today and feast on the goodness and the grace and the mercy and the joy and the satisfaction that’s found in him alone.
Oh God, we praise you for satisfying us with your love, with your mercy, with your grace, with who you are. Jesus, we praise you as the I am and as the Bread of Life who doesn’t leave us hungry and doesn’t leave us thirsty, who alone can satisfy our souls. Jesus, we praise you. You are our life. So help us to live in you today, to walk in step with your Spirit as we prayed about in John 5. And in holiness, God, help us to turn aside from the pursuits and pleasures of this world that go contrary to your Word. God, help us to experience the joy, delight, satisfaction, strength, comfort, help, peace… The everything our souls long for that’s found in you alone today.
Prayer for the Cuiba People
And God, help us to spread the good news of life that will never fade away… To people around us today and to all the peoples of the world… To the Cuiba people of Venezuela and Colombia, this remote tribal people group. God cause the Cuiba people to be reached with the gospel… And to experience the satisfaction for their souls that you have made them for. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name, in the name of the I am, the Bread of Life. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
