"And When the Day of Pentecost Was Fully Come" (continued)
Then the people began to look for the Lord Jesus, and when they found Him the next day, He said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek Me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting Life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed" (John 6:26, 27).
"Then the people asked Him, 'What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?' and Jesus answered and said unto them, 'This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent" (John 6:28-35). In other words, the Lord was saying, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
Then, even though they had witnessed the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 filling their thoughts, they also spoke of the manna their fathers had eaten in the wilderness. "As it is written, He gave them Bread from Heaven to eat" (John 6:31; Psalm 78:24). Many of the Jews believed that Moses was a redeemer and that he had caused the manna to rain down from heaven. And it was also their belief that the Messiah to come would cause manna to come down from heaven. They were looking for a Messiah who would satisfy their earthly needs and desires.
Again, Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and He said unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; [no, that manna came from God, and His next words brings them right to the present time] but MY Father giveth (present tense) you the True Bread from heaven. For the Bread of God is He Which cometh down from heaven, and giveth Life unto the world." Then said they unto Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread" (John 6:32-34).
"And Jesus said unto them, 'I AM the Bread of Life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me Shall never thirst' ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on ME hath everlasting Life'. I AM the Bread of Life." (John 6;35, 47, 48).
With these words, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaims the principle of Life in the New Creation; for as the Bread of Life, He gives Eternal Life to the believer - Life in the present, and Life in the future, and Life for-ever-more. And we receive this Gift of Eternal Life because He gave His Life upon the Cross; for as the Bread of Life, Christ is saying of Himself, "I AM the Living Bread which came down from Heaven: 'If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world' " (John 6:51).
Furthermore, Christ is saying, "I AM the Living Bread," I AM the Bread that endureth, which means: I, the Christ, will sustain your lives before the Lord for evermore. Notice that John 6:47 tells us, "He that believeth hath everlasting life"; and John 6:51 states that, "If anyone shall eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever." So in these two Scriptures, we find that we not only have Ever-lasting [Eternal] life, but if we eat (partake) of Him Who is the Bread of Life we shall live forever, we shall have age-abiding Life. The Emphasized Bible puts it this way: "If one eat of this Bread, he shall live unto times age-abiding." Beloved, Jesus Christ is the Living Bread, and as we partake of Him, He alone will sustain our lives before the Lord God both now, and forevermore - through Christ, we shall live breath by breath, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, year after year, age after age - for in Him we have age-abiding, everlasting Eternal Life.
~ T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 15)
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