The Good Old Days

A Series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 6:22-59

[Moses encountered God at the burning bush where the Lord gave His name as “I Am”. Jesus used that same name for himself, thus claiming to BE God. In this series, we’re looking at the “I Am” statements of Jesus to learn about him and about God.]

  

The good old days... Back when they knew how to build a solid house out of oak instead of pine and pressed wood. Back when they knew how to build a car out of metal instead of preformed plastic. Those were the good old days.

 

After Jesus fed the 5000, the disingenuous Jews followed him across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. In the synagogue, they pretended to be interested in what Jesus had to say, finally asking him for him a sign. A sign like the good old days when their ancestors ate manna for forty years while wandering in the wilderness.

 

They didn’t care anything about a sign, or the good old days. They just wanted to get their bellies fed. However, Jesus must have learned some fishing tricks from his disciples. Because it’s at this point that he hooked the Jews by talking about “bread from heaven that gives life”. They bit hard, asking to receive this bread every day!

 

³⁵ Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  NLT

 

He followed this statement by ramping up his rhetoric with this highly inflammatory comment.

 

⁴⁸ Yes, I am the bread of life! ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. ⁵⁰ Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”         NLT

 

Generally speaking, the Jews were an impoverished people, oppressed by the Romans. They lived day to day, barely making ends meet. Jesus promised them bread from heaven so they would never be hungry; never be thirsty. Not only that, but the bread would bring them eternal life!

 

Wow! I want that bread! Don’t you? The Bread of Life.

 

I go through my daily routine without worrying about food or housing or clothing. All my basic needs are met. I have no idea what it’s like to need something so badly that it hurts. But the Jews did, and they had the Bread of Life standing right there in front of them... so do you, and so do I.

 

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  NIV

 

Just like the Jews, I get sidetracked by all those things that I think I have to have; that I think I need. When all I really need, is to believe in him… the Bread of Life.  It’s way better than the good old days.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

Life is the Trip

John 3:5-8; John 6:53-59

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203%3A5-8%2CJohn%206%3A53-59&version=NIV;NLT

 

What’s the most hungry that you’ve ever been? For me, it was the Boy Scouts Polar Bear overnight that I attended as a teen. I had to do all of my own cooking, and basically I starved. When I got home Saturday night, my Mom fixed seven slices of her mouthwatering French toast which I devoured in front of the TV until I fell asleep.

 

 

When teaching, Jesus would often use earthly objects and events that people could easily visualize in order to drive home a spiritual lesson. Because of this, he spoke to Nicodemus about being “born again”.

 

In Capernaum, he taught in the synagogue about the “Bread of Life”. Bread from God was a familiar image to the Jews. After all, God had provided manna for the nation of Israel as they roamed the wilderness for forty years.

 

The crowd that Jesus was teaching had been a part of the five thousand he had miraculously fed. They followed him, not because they knew who he was, but because they were hungry. Jesus on the other hand, was trying to steer their attention from the temporal to the eternal.

 

²⁷ Jesus told them, “Don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you…                       John 6 NLT

 

^33 “The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world…  ³⁵ I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  John 6 NLT

 

When I got home from the Polar Bear overnight, all I could think about was food and sleep. HALT is an acronym that stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. These are emotions that can affect you any day of the week. You don’t have to go on a winter camping trip to experience them. Life is the trip.

 

How do you deal with HALT distractions in your life? How does the Bread of Life regain your nourishment; refocus your sense of purpose; revitalize your spiritual strength? Answer these questions and you will experience the abundant life that Christ promises.