JESUS is the Bread of Life

In looking at the symbol of bread, Jesus wants us to see the importance of Him as the Bread of Life, and calls us to eliminate “hurry” and working off of limited resources, in order to be fully and regularly nourished, and equipped in and with Him.

In the gospels, “Bread” (artos) is used fifty-seven times in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark + Luke) and twenty-four times in the Gospel of John. Bread is an illustration that would have easily been applicable to Jesus’ listeners’ everyday lives. Jesus uses this illustration, pointing to Himself as the Bread of Life that means he not only gives us ongoing sustenance through eternal life in Him, but also daily sustenance when we are in relationship with Him. In this way, we can see the similarities of bread and our relationship with Jesus: You can’t “hurry” the process of making bread; bread brings nourishment, bread is portable and meant to be shared, and bread is meant to be what sustains us for a day at a time. Rather than living on limited resources, strained and stressed, Jesus calls us to run to Him as our sustenance, our “Bread of Life.”

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