The Jesus who came in the form of a baby entered the public ministry with some intense and bold statements about himself. Those statements were not the kind that you could easily ignore or decide to be neutral about. They were the kind of statements that would either demand you falling on your knees and worshipping this Son of Man; or it would have created a great offense, one which would have caused you to avoid Him.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. John 6:51
Bread is a very valuable food to the Middle Eastern culture. Because of its sustaining simplicity, it is honored by people. Growing up, I remember people honored bread so much that if they saw a piece on the street, they would not step on it. Or, they would stop to pick it up and put it by the side of the walkway, so others inadvertently wouldn’t step on it. Bread was seen as a source of provision from the Lord and one that everyone should be thankful for. Additionally, the Jewish people knew from their own heritage that manna sustained them in the desert for 40 years. At that time, they could not settle down to make a life and enjoy the many varieties of food that they were used to before.
When Jesus made the bold statement that He is the bread of life, basically He was communicating that regardless of your season in life, I will continue to be your source of sustenance. Believing in me sometimes will feel like “what is it!” wondering if Jesus has the power to change our lives and fill our emptiness, but with simplicity of faith in Him, He will sustain us in difficult times.
Just as the Israelites started complaining that they wanted more than Manna (what is it), sometimes we will get bored with simplicity of our relationship with Jesus and we will crave for more. We need to continue to be thankful to the Lord for His consistent and faithful provision in our lives even when we don’t have meat to eat.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
Another bold statement that Jesus made was that He is the light of the world. Light allows to us to see what we cannot otherwise see. If we didn’t have the sunlight we wouldn’t have the brightness of a day. With today’s technology and electricity, we usually have some of sort of light in the darkness, but if you were camping you know how dark it can get in the night. Unless you have some of sort of flashlight or lantern with you, it can be very difficult to see. Jesus basically is declaring that there will darkness all around us. However, we don’t have to walk in darkness, confusion, or despair if we follow Him. It would be like someone who is blindfolded. All they see is the darkness of being blindfolded, but they hold onto someone else’s arm and this person guides them to where they need to go. They must trust the person that is guiding them to guide them to a place which will be for their good and not to a place of harm. That’s what faith in our savior sometimes will look like.
When the Israelites were in the desert, God gave them a pillar of fire for light to guide them in the night. Our eyes work with light. Regardless of how powerful our eyesight can be, it requires light entering our eye through the cornea before our eye can process the information, so we can see.
The Lord’s will is to sustain us through His bread and He wants to give us vision to see, so we won’t walk in darkness. Let’s pray today and ask the Lord to help us in those areas that we feel we have a lack or we don’t see clearly. Jesus made the declarations, “I am” not “I do”. Provision and vision is part of His identity. It means whenever we go to Him, His provision and His light is available to us to help us in life!! Thank you Jesus! Precious Father, help me see what I can’t see on my own!!