A Year with Jesus Week 6: The Bread of Life PDF file at the bottom Scripture: John 6:25-59. One of the most simple, yet profound statements Jesus ever made was, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). The Greek words Jesus used were simple enough. Artos simply referred to bread in contrast to meat and could also designate the shewbread, consecrated bread, in the temple (Matt. 12:4). Jesus said this to a multitude of people who were following Him after He miraculously fed them with five loaves and two fish. They followed Jesus because He had satisfied their appetites, and not because they had seen a sign from God (John 6:26). To those caught in the drudgery of sustaining life, Jesus said “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you” (John 6:27, ). In other words, Jesus told the people that the food they were striving and working for would not give them eternal life. But if they believed in Him, they would have eternal life. [1] 1. Read John 6:25-59. 2. What miracle had Jesus just done in John 6:1-15? What connection does Jesus make with that miracle and why the people are now looking for him (John 6:25-27)? 3. What does Jesus tell the people they should really be looking for? 4. According to Jesus in verse 28-29, how can we work for the food that endures? 5. In verses 30-34, the people appear to still not understand what Jesus is saying. They start appealing to the manna that God gave through Moses. What were the limitations with that manna? 6. In verse 35, Jesus declares that he is the “bread of life.” What is he really referring to here? What makes this bread different than all other kinds? 7. How do we receive this bread of life Jesus speaks of here? 8. What does Jesus say his Father’s will is in verses 38-40? Explain in your own words what this means. 9. How did the people respond to Jesus in verses 41-42? Why? 10. Read verses 46-59. What is Jesus telling the people here? 11. Relate the Scripture in this lesson to the sacrament of Holy Communion. 12. Why do you think those who heard Jesus’ teachings often confused the physical and the spiritual – the temporal and the eternal? Why do we still do so? 13. How would you explain the key points of Jesus in these verses to a friend who is not a Christian? 14. What does it mean to you to call Jesus the bread of life? Have you trusted in him in the way he talks about in these verses? 15. Write a prayer giving thanks to our Lord Jesus, who offered himself to us and the bread of life. [1] Carpenter, E. E., & Comfort, P. W. (2000). In Holman treasury of key Bible words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew words defined and explained (p. 245). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
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