John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to
me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’”.
An article on the "I am" verses in the New Testament that I read recently states that it is no surprise that Paul
and the other New Testament authors had such a high Christology — a doctrine of
Christ that identifies Him with the one true God — because they merely reflect what Jesus said
about Himself. The gospel of John contains our Lord’s most direct affirmations
of His divine self-identity, especially in the various “I Am” sayings found in
the beloved disciple’s account of the life and ministry of our Savior. So that
we might have a greater understanding of what Jesus said about Himself, we will
be looking at these “I Am” sayings in John’s gospel.
The first “I Am” saying of
Jesus recorded in the fourth gospel is “I am the bread of life” in John 6:35.
First of all, let us note that there is a significance to the Greek construction
that is translated “I am.” This construction, egō eimi, is used in the New
Testament to place emphasis on the subject — the “I” of the above saying. The meaning
is seen more clearly if we translate egō eimi as “I, I myself, am,” and though it
is a rare construction used in the New Testament, it appears in the gospel of
John each time Jesus says “I am.” It is the same construction found in the
Greek version of Exodus 3:14, where God declares of Himself: “I am who I am.”
No first-century Jew would have missed such a clear self-reference from Jesus
to His own deity.
Additionally, Jesus’ use of
“the bread of life” in John 6:35 gives us other information about Him. Just
like He gave bread or manna to the Israelites during the exodus, the Father
sent Jesus to grant and sustain life. Yet Jesus is far better than the manna of
the exodus because Israel’s hunger was satisfied temporarily, but those who
partake of Christ will never be hungry again. The Bread of
Life grants and sustains "eternal life" — no one who comes to Christ in faith can
ever be cast out. We are confident of this because the Father has given
to His Son a people who cannot be lost, since the Father compels them
to put their fate in the hands of Jesus, and He will raise His people from the
dead on the last day.
We also see the purpose for
Jesus’ coming in this statement. Christ came down from heaven to grant and
sustain eternal life, and Jesus accomplishes this feat through His redemptive
death whereby He gives His life for the world.
The
first time we (figuratively) feed on Christ by faith, putting our trust in Him alone for salvation,
we are brought out of the kingdom of sin and darkness into the light. We are sustained
in the faith that saves us as we continue to feed on the Savior, learning from
Him as we read God’s Word and hear it preached, and as we experience His
presence among His people through the sacraments. If we regularly taste and
savor Jesus, we can be assured of our salvation.
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