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BREAD FROM HEAVEN
A. Introduction: We began a new series last week about something that Jesus did at the Last Supper, the
final meal He ate with His twelve apostles, less than twenty-four hours before He was crucified.
1. At that meal Jesus took bread and wine and offered it to the apostles as His body and His blood,
telling them to eat and drink it. This became what is known as the Lord’s Supper or communion.
2. We are considering how Jesus actions and instructions fit into the big picture (God’s plan of
salvation), what it meant to the men sitting with Him at the table, and what it means for us today.
a. The big picture: God created human beings to become His sons and daughters through faith in
Him. Sin disqualified us for the family. Jesus came into this world to die as a sacrifice for sin
and open the way for all who believe in Him to be restored to their created purpose. Ultimately,
Jesus will come again and cleanse and restore the entire material creation to what the Bible calls
a new earth—this world, the home God created for His family—transformed (upcoming lessons).
b. What it meant to the men at the table: As good Jewish men, the apostles were raised on the
Scriptures (the Old Testament). It shaped their worldview, and they heard and understood
Jesus’ words in the context of the Bible. They assessed Jesus’ words in terms of the Scripture.
c. What it means for us today: This series will make us more aware of what Jesus accomplished
through His death and resurrection, give us a greater appreciation for the Lord’s Supper, and
enhance our relationship with the Lord.
B, Let’s review. Last week we looked at the background of the Last Supper, because it is critical to
understanding the mindset of the twelve apostles and how they heard Jesus’ words that night.
1. The Last Supper was actually a Passover meal, an annual tradition practiced by the Jewish people
(Israel). It was a reminder of how God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. Ex 13:3; 8-9
a. The meal this particular night was like every other Passover they participated in since childhood
—except for the fact that they were sitting with Jesus, whom they believed to be the Messiah (the
promised Anointed One) whom the prophets wrote about (Dan 9:24-26; Matt 16:16). However,
near the end of the meal, things took an extraordinary turn. Let’s reread what happened.
b. Matt 26:26-28—And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to
the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and
gave it to them, saying, “All of you drink from it. For this is My blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (NKJV); Do this in remembrance of me (Luke
22:19 (NKJV).
2. These men understood covenants because they (the Jewish people, Israel) had a convent with God
Almighty. Almost 1900 years earlier, the Lord made a covenant with their ancestor, Abraham,
which included his descendants. His descendants grew into the nation of Israel.
a. God promised Israel that if they worshipped only Him, He would protect and provide for them,
and give them the land of Canaan (modern-day Israel). This covenant (known as the Old
Covenant), like all covenants, was sealed in blood. Gen 12:1-3; Gen 15:1-21; Gen 17:1-2; etc.
b. Through the centuries, Israel repeatedly abandoned God to worshiped other gods. But the Lord
did not abandon Israel. Through His prophets, Almighty God promised that He would one day
make a new covenant with them and, “I will…put a new spirit within them…so they will obey
my laws” (Ezek 11:19-20, NLT).
1. When Jesus called the cup of wine His blood of the New Covenant, shed for the remission of
(release from) sins, the apostles knew that the Old Testament prophets not only spoke of a
new covenant, but a covenant where Israel’s sins would be remembered no more. Jer 31:34
2. They also knew that at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptist called Jesus the
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Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29
c. These men had to have been wondering: What does Jesus mean? Is He going to initiate a new
covenant? What does His body and blood have to do with it? What is He saying to us?
3. Remember, at this point, these twelve men did not yet know that Jesus was going to be arrested that
night, crucified the next day, and then rise from the dead three days later.
a. Nor did they know that the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ would commission them to go out and
preach His resurrection, or that this good news would grow into a worldwide church that would
alter the course of human history—and still be going strong two thousand years later.
b. And, they did not they know that this meal (bread and wine) would continue be eaten by millions
and millions of people down through the centuries in remembrance of what He was about to do.
C. Jesus gave a teaching earlier in His ministry in connection with a well-known miracle He performed.
This miracle gives further insight into the apostles’ mindset as they sat at that Last Supper with the Lord.
In that teaching Jesus called Himself the Bread from Heaven that gives life to the world. John 6:1-71
1. All four New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) record the event. Jesus
multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish, and fed five thousand men plus women and children.
a. The miracle took place on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (Matt 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6).
When we examine all the day’s events surrounding the miracle from beginning to end, we find
that at least five miracles actually took place.
1. First, before Jesus multiplied the food and fed the crowds, He healed multitudes of people
(Matt 14:13-21; John 6:1-14). After the multiplying of the food, Jesus and His apostles
returned by boat to Capernaum, a city west on the west side of the sea.
2. Jesus wasn’t with His men when they left. A fierce storm blew up as they were crossing the
sea, and Jesus came walking to them on the water. Then He spoke to the storm and calmed
it, and suddenly, they instantly arrived at their destination. Matt 14:22-32; John 6:15-21
b. The next morning, the crowd that was fed by Jesus came looking for Him. When they realized
that Jesus and His men were gone, some got into boats and crossed the sea to try to find Jesus.
2. They found Jesus at the synagogue in Capernaum. The crowd asked Him how He got there so
quickly, and He replied, “The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you
saw the miraculous sign. But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.
Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you. For God the Father
has sent me for this very purpose” (John 6:26-27, NLT)
a. In response, they asked Jesus, what does God want us to do? And He answered: “This is what
God wants you to do. Believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28-29, NLT).
b. They replied: “You must show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What will
you do for us? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness!
As the Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat’” (Ex 16:12-15; Ps 78:23-24)”
(John 6:30-31, NLT).
1. Remember, none of this is happening in a vacuum. Jesus was interacting with people
steeped in the Scriptures, which are a record of their history (the Old Testament).
2. The crowd knew that when God delivered their ancestors from Egypt, they had to travel
through a desert wilderness to get back to Canaan. God fed them with manna (a small round
seed that covered the ground every morning but the Sabbath. Manna means what is it).
c. John 6:32—Jesus said, “I assure you, Moses didn’t give them bread from heaven. My Father
did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. The true bread of God is the one who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (NLT).
1. The crowd responded: Sir…Give us this bread every day of our lives (John 6:34, NLT), to
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which Jesus answered: “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be
hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst” (John 6:35, NLT).
2. Jesus continued: The bread from heaven gives eternal life to everyone who eats it. I am the
living bread that came down out of heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever;
this bread is my flesh, offered so that the world may live (John 6:51, NLT).
A. The crowd had already begun to argue about how Jesus could call Himself the bread from
Heaven when they knew his mother and father. Their arguing became more intense.
What does He mean? How can this man give us his flesh to eat (John 6:52).
B. John 6:53-56—So Jesus said again, “I assure you that unless you eat the flesh of the Som
of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But those who eat
my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them at the last day. For
my flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink. All who eat my flesh and drink
my blood remain in me, and I in them (NLT).
3. At this point, even Jesus’ own disciples were struggling with His words, and many deserted
Him. Jesus asked the twelve apostles: Will you leave also? Peter replied: “Lord, to whom
would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we
know that you are the Holy one of God” (John 6:68-69, NLT).
3. Jesus was clearly talking about something more than natural food and nature life. He has come to
give eternal life to men and women. Jesus made it clear that eternal life means resurrection of dead
bodies in the life to come (John 6:40). But it also means that God is going to indwell those who
believe on Him by His life, His Spirit in them, in this life.
a. They don’t realize it yet, but Jesus came to bring life to men by uniting us to Himself through the
Holy Spirit. Since the beginning of His ministry Jesus has been telling them that this is His
purpose in coming: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16, NKJV).
b. Remember that God uses word pictures to help us understand how He, Almighty God, who is
Infinite and Eternal, interacts with finite human beings.
1. By the time of the Last Supper Jesus has referred to Himself as the Door, the Good Shepherd,
the Light of the world, etc. At the Last Supper Jesus called Himself the Vine and believers
in Him branches, picturing union and shared life. John 8:12; John 10:9-11; John 15:5; etc.
2. We pointed out in recent lessons that the bulk of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper were aimed
at preparing the apostles for the fact that, once He returned to Heaven, He and the Father
were going to indwell them by the Holy Spirit: When I am raised to life again, you will
know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:20, NLT).
4. By calling Himself the Bread from Heaven, Jesus conveyed another important aspect of who He is
and His relation to human beings. Consider what bread meant to 1st century people.
a. Bread has been a food staple since ancient times. It was a primary, if not the most important,
source of food because it can be made from simple ingredients: grain and water. Down
through the centuries bread has been called the staff of life and used as a symbol of substance,
nourishment, and provision.
b. Jesus’ followers would have been familiar with using bread as a symbol to convey a spiritual
truth, something more than physical bread. When Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn rocks
into bread (during His wilderness temptation) He referred to God’s Word as bread.
1. Jesus actually quoted the Old Testament (Deut 8:3)—It is written: Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4, KKJV).
2. The context of this Old Testament passage is Israel’ wilderness journey where God fed them
with manna. Jesus’ point is: There is something more important than physical bread.
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c. We eat bread, or take it in, and it becomes our life through assimilation. To assimilate means to
take something in and make it part of and like the thing it has joined (Webster’s Dictionary).
1. Nutrients are assimilated into our body and become life giving nourishment and energy when
we eat bread or take it in. We take Jesus in, or eat Him, by believing in Him.
A. Jesus becomes our life, as symbolized by bread, when we take Him in, when we believe
in Him. Jesus is our source of life. We live by Jesus (lessons for another day),
B. Jesus said: John 6:56—If you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you are one with me,
and I am one with you (CEV); whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwells
continually in me and I dwell in him (NEB); whoever lives on my flesh and drinks my
blood remains united to me and I remain united to him (Goodspeed).
2. God’s plan has always been to indwell us by His Spirit and life. Jesus is going to make this
possible through His sacrificial death.
5. As the crowd continued to murmur, Jesus said to them: Does this offend you? Then what will you
think if you see me, the Son of Man, return to heaven again (John 6:62, NLT).
a. In that context Jesus said: John 6:63-64—It is the Spirit who gives eternal life. Human effort
accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some
of you don’t believe me (NLT).
1. Following His crucifixion and resurrection Jesus will return to Heaven, and He and the
Father will send the Holy Spirit to indwell all those who believe in Him.
2. Consider this rendering of John 6:63—All the words through which I (Jesus) have offered
myself to you are meant to be channels of the spirit and of life to you, since in believing
those words, you would be brought into contact with the life in me (J. Riggs Paraphrase).
b. Jesus told the crowd: “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry
again. Those who believe in me will never thirst” (John 6:35, NLT). Those who willing come
to Him, and believe that He is who He says He is, will have true life in this life and the life to
come—true joy, true peace, true purpose, true satisfaction.
D. Conclusion: We have more to say next week. But consider these thoughts as we close this lesson by
reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper.
1. Luke 22:19-20—Then he took a loaf of bread; and when he had thanked God for it, he broke it in
pieces and gave it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance
of me. After the supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This wine is the token of God’s new
covenant to save you—an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you” (NLT).
a. Offering His body and His blood is a reference to His upcoming sacrifice the next day. His
body will be given and His blood will be shed so that our sin can be remitted (forgiven, wiped
out), and He can then indwell us by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
b. Jesus is going to willing give His body (lay down His life) and shed His blood as a sacrifice for
sin, and open the way for all who believe in Him to be restored to God our Father. When we
believe in Jesus (accept Him, receive Him, take Him in) He, by His Spirit, becomes our life.
1. Jesus told His apostles just a few days before this Last Supper: No one can take my life
from me. I lay it down voluntarily (John 10:18, NLT).
2. That night He said: Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. You are My friends, if you do whatever I command you (John 15:13-15, NKJV).
2. Note that Jesus instructed His followers to take bread and wine in remembrance of Him. To
remember means to call back to your mind. There is much to remember (call to mind) regarding
Jesus’ sacrifice for us (upcoming lessons). But one thing to call to your mind is His great love for
you and me. Lord, help us to remember what you have done for us and why. More next week!
