LEARNING DAILY

John 6:35, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.’”

Pastor Ed Newton began a series this weekend on the seven times Jesus said, “I AM”. He began where Jesus said, “I Am the bread of life”. When Jesus made this statement, “Make no mistake He was claiming to be God in the flesh” (from the Listener Guide). He was referring to Exodus 3:14 when Moses was standing before the burning bush receiving instructions to go to Egypt to lead His people to the Promised Land. When Moses asked who he should say sent him, he was told, I AM WHO I AM. Tell them I AM has sent me”. Those hearing Jesus say this understood Jesus was making a direct connection to God speaking to Moses. He was saying to His listeners that as “I AM”, He was everything you need Him to be” (Pastor Newton).

The people connected easily to Moses leading the Hebrew people through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Pastor Newton continued to tell us that Jesus also said that He was greater than Moses (6:32). He made the following comparisons (listed on the Listener Guide). “Moses was the Mediator; Jesus is the source.” Moses performed ten miracles before Pharaoh would allow the Hebrews to leave; he was able to do so because Jesus was with him empowering him to do what needed to be done to get the people released. Jesus continued to do the miraculous through Moses. “Moses led them out of Egypt; Jesus leads us out of sin.” Moses led the people to the Promised Land. Jesus is the only One who can take us to heaven. “Moses dies; Jesus lives.” Moses was not allowed to live and enter the Promised Land because of disobedience. Jesus overcame death through His resurrection – He defeated death.

Jesus said in John 6:51, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I give for the life of the world is My flesh.” Pastor Newton said, “The things I [Believers] keep chasing [power, prestige, wealth, things of this world] do not fulfill my life. I eat snacks, sometimes, as a meal substitute but they do not fulfill my needs. Jesus fulfills me, giving me life [eternal life] and that is all I need.” Pastor continued, “Jesus was not saying people needed to literally ‘eat His flesh and drink His blood’. He was teaching the people that when you accept Him as Savior and Lord, He fully takes away your sins. He was saying to them He was looking for people who are ‘all in’ when following Him. He wanted people to follow Him not for what was in His hand, but for what He has for them in their heart.” Jesus told the people and Believers today when they come to Him, receiving Him as Savior and then walk with Him on the narrow way, He is all they need – “whoever does so shall never hunger or thirst again [spiritually].

Pastor Newton ended his message with three responses. In verse 60, the people could not understand what He was saying; it was too difficult. In verse 66 the people walked away from Him. Pastor noted this verse – John 6:66 – as it relates to the sign of the Antichrist with people walking away from Jesus. I had not given this a thought before. If you read on, Jesus did not go after these that walked away begging them to come back to Him. The third response (verse 69) was to accept Him as “the Holy One of God”. They accepted Him for who He was and followed Him.

As Believers, we have accepted Him “the Holy One of God” and He has saved us from our sins. Now it is our responsibility to do all we can to follow Him in obedience and in faith as we walk a narrow way set before us. It is our responsibility to be diligent reading/studying/ meditating on His word making sure it gets deep into our heart and soul. We need to be in prayer daily and doing all we can to bring honor to our Savior and Lord until He takes us to be with Him for eternity. Be encouraged as you walk the narrow way, the more difficult way, knowing He is with you guiding and strengthening you to become more and more like Him!