The more I think about Jesus’ signs in the gospel of John, the more I realise the rich layers of detail and truth that Jesus revealed as He spoke about the Kingdom of God in connecting the Old Testament with the New. Reading about the feeding of the 5,000 in chapter 6, I’m amazed at the sheer size of the miracle on the one hand, and on the other Jesus’ tender care as He met each man’s physical hunger.

Of course food is essential for life. In teaching His disciples to pray Jesus told them to say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” which implies we need God to provide us with everything necessary to sustain daily life — a fact Jesus reiterated later in the passage when He reminded Israel of His Father’s faithful provision during the 40 years their ancestors tramped around the wilderness.

In many cultures bread appears at the heart of a meal. But Jesus doesn’t only talk about the physical bread that satisfies our physical hunger, He speaks of the bread that moves us from simple existence to actual living; the type of living that brings true joy and energy to our lives. Each one of us is searching for this bread, this eternal life that nothing or no being other than Jesus can give.

In the wilderness God told His people that He would fed them, but that He would only give them enough for each day. He instructed them not to hoard the bread He provided because it would become inedible. However, they didn’t listen and tried to save it when God was simply asking His people to depend on Him each day.

I smile, remembering my own futile efforts to hang on to the things God has given me. How easily the world’s loud promises of satisfaction mesmerise me, diverting me from dependence on God. But the world’s promises are hollow and cannot give me the quality of life I’m looking for. I don’t just want to exist; I want to live, to live life fully and abundantly. And that’s not something I get from the world. It’s not even something I get from Jesus. It is Jesus!

I have the bread of life. I didn’t get it through my own efforts, through working at prayer or by specifically obeying the 10 commandments. The bread came through belief in God, and through that belief I received faith to know Jesus, the bread of life, personally, until He becomes my life.

But in order for us to eat and be fed, a loaf of bread has to be torn apart and broken up. Likewise in order for us to be fed by Jesus, He needed to be broken. He came into this world as God made vulnerable to do that very thing. By allowing Himself to be broken, He enabled us to be fed and made complete.

“I am the bread of life.” said Jesus. His statement was emphatic, using the divine name that God gave Himself when He spoke with Moses at the burning bush. I AM!

Those words carry with them a sense of eternity, of something that has no beginning or end. Of something which is not dependent upon anyone or anything; of someone on which everything depends.