Thoughts on the Gospel of John (24) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2024

They said to him, What sign will you perform then, that we may see it and believe you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give 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.
John 6:30-33.

Thoughts on the Gospel of John (24)
The Lord Jesus had told those who had followed Him to believe in Him whom God had sent, i.e. Himself. But they had adopted a despicable attitude in demanding a sign. Had not the feeding of the five thousand, of which they had been eye-witnesses, sufficed to prove that He was the promised Messiah? It was because of this one sign that they had wanted to make Him king on the previous day. Now they were saying, as it were, "You expect us to believe, but what, after all, was the miracle of the loaves compared with that of the manna? Give us bread from heaven, as Moses did for forty years, then there will be time enough to talk about believing."

The Lord replied that it was not Moses who had given them the manna. Moses was, like the people, a recipient of the food. God the Father had given that bread, and it was but a type of the "true bread from heaven". We see that the Person, Jesus Christ, is at the centre of everything.

Here the Son of God presents Himself as the "bread of God". He had come from heaven Himself to give life to the world. Natural bread can only sustain life, not give it. Jesus both gives and sustains life. This is an offer for the entire world. Everyone is invited to receive Him by faith.

(to be continued next Sunday)

Today's reading: Hosea 2:1-13 · James 1:9-18