Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

Jesus had just worked a mighty miracle of feeding over 5000 people (John 6: 10-14) as a setting for a plain talk on His true mission in the world. While He had spent much time ministering to men's bodily needs, the real purpose of His coming into the world was to save men's Souls. In the synagogue at Capernaum (John 6:59) Jesus takes the bread as His starting-point for a deeper lesson. And this lesson was that He came to provide "bread" that will satisfy more than physical hunger. Jesus is the bread God gives, the one who comes to give life to the world (John 6:33). Those who believe in Him will never hunger (John 6:35). When Jesus told them that, they all began to lose interest.

The crowd was all in favor of a Messiah who can provide free meals for the asking (John 6: 26, 34). No one can live without food. As long as Jesus fed their bodies they thought He was great. They wanted Him to be their king. It seems that the people generally were expecting the Messiah to bring in a social order in which men could get their bread without working. It would have been just wonderful if they could have had a king who would every day feed them miraculously, as He had done the day before, as Moses had given the daily manna.

People eat bread to satisfy physical hunger and to sustain physical life. We can satisfy spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by a right relationship with Jesus Christ. No wonder Jesus called Himself the bread of life. But bread must be eaten to sustain life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk to sustain spiritual life (John 4:13, 14).

When Jesus uses the words "seen - not believe" in John 6:36, He is saying that seeing does not necessarily mean believing (John 6:30; 11:46–57), although sometimes it does (John 11:45). On the other hand, Christ blesses those who believe without having seen (John 20:29).

Jesus did not work independently of God the Father, but in union with Him. This should give us even more assurance of being welcomed into God's presence and being protected by Him. Christ will not cast out any who come to Him because He came to do the Father’s will (John 6:38). The will of the Father is twofold: 1) that all who come to the Son will be received and not lost; 2) that all who see and believe on the Son will have everlasting life (John 6: 39-40). Jesus' purpose was to do the will of God, not to satisfy His human desires. When we follow Jesus, we should have the same purpose.

Jesus said He would not lose even one person whom the Father had given Him. Thus anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior is secure in God's promise of eternal life. Christ will not let His people be overcome by Satan and lose their salvation (see also John 17:12; Philippians 1:6). Those who put their faith in Christ will be resurrected from physical death to eternal life with God when Christ comes again (see 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16).

Father God, it is my prayer today that all who hears the message of your free gift of salvation, which comes only through Jesus, will fall down on their knees, reach out to you and repent of their sins and accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Lord, I continue to pray for those lost souls who deny You and worship false gods in an attempt to find peace and joy in this wicked and lost world. I continue to pray for our government and for the safe return of our young men and women serving in the military. I pray this all in Jesus’ name. Amen

References: NKJV Holy Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), the Nelson Study Bible, Halley's Bible Handbook and the Archaeological Study Bible (NIV).