Living Bread

by Terry Wane Benton

What did Jesus want us to get from His claim to be “the living bread” (John 6:51)? Bread feeds energy into the body and keeps us going a little further in our bodily journey. Yet this body will still die, and bread will not stop our death.

Jesus speaks of “living bread” because He is the supplier and the substance that will give eternal life to all who partake of Him as the energizer of our spirits. By faith, we drink into our hearts the faith-building knowledge of Jesus, who lives and keeps us from spiritually dying.

Jesus is like bread for our souls. We learn about Him and let our minds chew on His love and life, His power, and His great and precious promises, and this strengthens our conviction and determination to keep our commitment strong and move forward in our resolve. We keep living by faith because we keep eating from Jesus, our bread of life!

Eating His flesh is a metaphor for mentally and spiritually devouring the testimonial information about His time in the flesh, what He did and said. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John describe Jesus’ life, His goodness and kindness, His teaching, and miraculous confirmations. By reading or hearing them, we are eating His fleshly life and feeding our souls with conviction-building substance.

Drinking His blood is a metaphor for drinking into our minds what was accomplished for us through His blood. His blood purchased redemption, forgiveness, pardon, a cleared conscience, and peace within so that all is well with our souls before God. That gives us spiritual life. So, the two metaphors of eating His flesh and drinking His blood are merged in the metaphor of Jesus being the “living bread.” The spiritual substance God provides us to satisfy and uplift our souls and keep us spiritually alive! We must never neglect such living bread! It is your only hope for eternal life!