The Food of Jesus

One day Jesus and His disciples tried to get away for some rest, but they were followed by over 5,000 people. Jesus felt very sorry for them; so He taught all day, then worked a miracle to feed them from a little boy's lunch.

The next day, the people followed the Lord again. He was a great teacher and often taught with illustrations of food, flowers, and farmers. On this occasion, He used bread for the lesson. He told the people that they were only following Him because they wanted food (John 6:26-27). He told them to work for the kind of food that would last into eternal life (John 6:27). Some asked Jesus what kind of work they needed to do. He answered, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he sent" (John 6:29). Then, after all Jesus had already done, they asked for another miracle! They had seen what He had done and had not believed. He did not waste any new miracles on them that day!

Continuing the lesson from bread, Jesus taught that He is the bread of life. He was talking about spiritual matters. These people needed to understand that life goes beyond Earth. The people would not get food off their minds. Once more, the Savior taught, "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life..." (John 6:54). Many of His followers did not understand, because they were thinking too much about their physical needs. He carefully explained that His words were spiritual (John 6:63). He was not telling people to take a bite of His flesh and drink His blood. He was teaching that believing and obeying His words would give them eternal life.

From that day forward, many went away from Jesus. He sadly asked the twelve disciples if they, too, were going to leave. But Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:68-69). The "words of eternal life"—Peter understood!

Let us understand too. By placing Jesus in first place as the Lord of our lives, and by believing and obeying His precious words, He becomes our spiritual food—the bread that gives eternal life.

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