Jesus: the Bread

Today we have a shortened teaching followed by a time of remembering the Lord with the bread and the cup, as He has asked us in His Word to remember Him. We will follow this with a “sharing time” in which anyone is welcome to share what the Lord has been teaching them in the past month. And then we will spend some time in prayer together.

There are some grand themes in the Bible, and as we have been going through this current series on Broken Vessels, looking at the imperfect lives of the Old Testament that God has used to further His purposes on Earth, one theme I have noticed is that of the provision of food. The actual historical events of the Old Testament not only simply happened and were recorded for us to learn from; they also were shadows of things to come. These things are often veiled, partially hidden, but they are there for those who look, for those who seek, and they point to our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.


Joseph is one of the clearest foreshadows of Christ in the entire Bible. We could talk about this for weeks, but here are some highlights: In Joseph we have a man who is the Seed of Abraham, and in whose work in Egypt we see the fruitfulness and blessing of all nations, for without him, everyone would have perished in famine. Christ too is the Seed of Abraham, and in His work on the cross we see the fruitfulness and blessing of people from every tribe and nation, and apart from Him, no one would have eternal life.

Even the details of Joseph’s life foreshadowed Christ in so many ways. Joseph was hated by his own brothers, just as Christ was hated by His own people. And in both cases the reason for the hate was the claim of future reign over his people. In both cases there is a progressive growth in hatred until a decision is made to murder the person. In both cases, a persecutor tried to save him at the last minute – Reuben, in the case of Joseph, and Pilate, in the case of Jesus. Joseph was cast into a pit, a symbol for a grave, just as Jesus was put into the tomb; in Jesus’ case, He was truly, not just symbolically dead. Both were sold for pieces of silver. Also in both cases, the real dirty work was not done by the person’s own people; Joseph’s brothers made him become a slave to Egyptians, likely thinking that the grueling work would kill him. And the Jews handed Jesus over to the Romans to let them do the dirty work. Joseph was stripped of his coat before being thrown in the pit, and likewise Jesus was stripped of His clothing before being put on the cross.

Even in later events there are strong parallels. Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and convicted based on these false accusations. Jesus was similarly falsely accused by the Jews and similarly convicted. In prison, Joseph was with two men, one whom received his freedom, his salvation, and one who did not. Similarly, Jesus on the cross was with two men, one of whom had faith and to whom Christ said He would see in paradise. The prison was also a picture of death, like the cross. And then, from this picture of death, suddenly there is a dramatic change in Joseph’s situation – Gen. 41 says he was suddenly brought from the dungeon, clothes changed, his prison outfit left behind. Jesus too suddenly left the tomb, His clothes changed, His grave clothes left behind.

And then suddenly, from symbolic death, Joseph is now in charge of all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself, who was viewed as a supreme god. Again, this is a picture of the reality in Christ, who is in charge of everything but yet doing only the will of His Father.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt." Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. – Gen. 41:44-45

This is a transliteration of an Egyptian phrase, which scholars say means Salvation, or Savior of the Ages. This verse goes on to say that Pharaoh gave Joseph a Gentile bride. I find this also symbolic and a foreshadowing, as Scripture says that we are the bride of Christ.

Pharaoh, when speaking of Joseph, said,

"Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the Spirit of God?" – Gen. 41:38

As we know, the Spirit of God came and rested on Jesus, so this too is a foreshadowing of Christ.

And now we come to what I think is the greatest analogy or foreshadowing of Christ in Joseph. After seven years of plenty, the great famine came to the world. This famine was not just in Egypt, but everywhere. And not just a year or two of drought, like we have recently seen here in South Carolina, but seven years of famine! This kind of famine turns everything to desert. Plants die, trees die, crops die, and men die. Only in Joseph’s storehouses was there grain for sale. The situation reached the point that truly, if you wanted to live, you had to come to Joseph. Joseph had quite literally become the Bread of Life. If you wanted to live, you had to ask him (or one of his representatives under his authority) for food. If you did not ask, you did not receive.

Now consider this conversations Jesus had with the crowds during and after the time Jesus fed the 5000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Even the feeding of the 5000 was itself a foreshadowing of something greater.

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do. Philip answered Him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" – John 6:5-7

These people had a famine of their own, so to speak. There was nothing for these people to eat. There was no Wal-Mart to go to; even if there were local bakeries, they could not have even begun to supply this crowd, let alone, as Philip points out, could anyone have paid for it. There was nothing to do; nothing that could be done, except to go to Jesus.

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. – John 6:10-11

I am so glad John, inspired by the Lord, added the little details here! There was plenty of grass. Nobody was sitting in the dirt. And Jesus and His disciples personally served them. There wasn’t some 5000-person line that you had to wait through, like going to the DMV. Everyone sat and rested and waited until they were personally served by Jesus or, you could say, by one of His representatives under His authority. And they all had as much as they wanted. Nobody went hungry. Everyone was as filled as they wanted to be. If you wanted to stuff yourself like at a Thanksgiving dinner, you could. If you just wanted a light meal, you could do that too.

But as wonderful and as wondrous as this was, it was itself simply a foreshadowing of something greater, something that Jesus Himself talked about on the next day to the crowds that were eager to follow Him wherever He went, now that He had miraculously fed them.

When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did You get here?" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval." – John 6:25-27

The crowds had followed Jesus because He had filled their bellies, but Jesus was beginning to explain to them that they had a bigger problem than just their appetite, their hunger. They also had a greater hunger, one that could not be filled by mere food. And this hunger had eternal implications. If this hunger was not dealt with, the consequences would persist forever. And this food could not be found any way except as the gift of the Son of Man.

Then they asked Him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent." – John 6:28-29

The people asked what they had to do, but Jesus answered that they had to believe. This hunger, this soul hunger, could not be satisfied except from the Son of Man. And whereas Joseph had sold his grain to those who would purchase it, Jesus’ “food” was not for sale. It could not be earned. It could not be obtained by “doing.” It was a gift, and receiving it required that you believe in the Giver.

So they asked Him, "What miraculous sign then will You give that we may see it and believe You? What will You do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." – John 6:30-33

I find it pretty remarkable that this crowd could ask for a sign like manna. What do they think just happened the day before? They were miraculously provided bread and fish, just like the manna and quail in the desert. And in my opinion, it was a better miracle. The Israelites had to gather the manna and get and clean and cook the quail themselves. Jesus, on the other hand, simply had them sit down and He did everything else. Jesus was like a slave, a servant, to them. He literally waited on them hand and foot.

"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty." – John 6:34-35

What strikes me most from these verses is the comparison to Joseph. Every foreshadow, every “type”, every Old Testament picture of a future New Testament reality, falls short of the real thing. Joseph required payment. In a very real sense, Jesus also requires payment, but He pays it Himself. He is the bread of life, because He has bought our food and drink with the payment of His own life. And unlike Joseph, whose amount of food depends on what you pay, with Jesus, once you come to Him, you will never go hungry. He will take care of you forever. Your bill for an eternity of food and drink is infinite, but He has paid the bill once and for all with His sacrifice of Himself.
Jesus goes on to say that He has come down from heaven to do the will of He who sent Him. The crowds, however, grumble at this statement. Here is what they say:

They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, 'I came down from heaven'?" – John 6:42

We have been talking about an entirely different Joseph, but in a sense Jesus was the son of both Josephs. But again I am struck between the similarity between how the crowds here respond to Jesus and how Joseph’s brothers responded to Joseph’s claims of superiority. A little later, Jesus went on to say this:

"I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." – John 6:48-51

The manna itself was a foreshadowing. Literally called the “what is it,” it remained a mystery. You didn’t have to fully understand what manna was or how it came to appear in order to eat it. You just had to get it and eat it. How much more is the living bread a “what is it”? How can bread be flesh? How does one eat it?

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink." – John 6:52-55

The word translated “real” is alethos, which perhaps is better translated “truly.” Jesus says that His flesh is truly food, and His blood is truly drink. Jesus does not really answer the Jews’ question here, but instead, as He often does, makes a shocking statement become even more shocking. Not only is it true that he who eats of this bread will live forever; it is also true that only he who eats of this bread will live forever.

"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in Him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." – John 6:56-58

We tend to sanitize passages like this – we don’t really think about what we are reading. But today I want you to think about it. This is a grotesque image – feeding on the flesh and blood of Jesus. It sounds like something straight out of a horror movie, something not that different from tales of vampires. Think about it! Picture it! This is exactly what Jesus is trying to get His listeners to do!

You cannot feed on flesh and blood of someone without causing horrible suffering, or even death, to the person you are feeding on. When people say that it was their own sin that put Jesus on the cross, when they say that they really are morally exactly the same as those who crucified Jesus, they are on to something. Because of our sin, we are sentenced to death and to worse than death. Because of our sin, we have no choice, if we want to have life, except to, as it says, feed on the flesh and blood of Jesus. When we take the bread and cup, this is a reminder of what we are doing, of who we are apart from Christ, of what Christ has done for us: to give us Himself to feed on. It’s not that the bread and the juice somehow become the actual blood and flesh of Jesus – this is missing the point, and I believe it is not a concept that is compatible with these verses.

The actual eating His flesh and drinking His blood is not something we do over and over. We do it once, and once we have done this, we will never go hungry and never go thirsty. It is not the same as the manna, which must be eaten over and over. This is what Jesus says.

The actual act of eating His flesh and drinking His blood is what we do when we come to Jesus and confess to Him that we are sinful beings justly deserving whatever punishment He says we deserve, and then we ask Him for mercy. It is at this point, spiritually speaking, that Christ says, “Come and eat of Me. Come and drink of Me. Believe by faith that My sacrifice is for you. My death on the cross pays for your sin. Acknowledge the horror of the consequences of your sin and humbly and gratefully accept My payment in full for your actions.”

As we take the bread and the cup, let us reflect on these things. Let us thank Him freshly and sincerely for what He has done. Back in Joseph’s day, if you wanted to be rescued from your dire situation, if you wanted to live, you had to come to him. And today, if we want to be rescued from the dire situation our sin has caused us, if we want to live eternally, we must come to Jesus. There is no other name; there is no other way.

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day." – John 6:37-40