The Bread of Life Now and Forevermore (Luke 9:16-27)

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.” (Luke 9:16-17)

The miracle of five loaves and two fish is recorded in the four gospels, which indicates the significance of this miracle. The miracle reveals a truth that Jesus is the bread of life. Apostle John records the full account of the miracle that Jesus expounded the hidden meaning behind this miracle in giving the answers to the questions raised by the Jews. When they were fed and satisfied by the bread and the fish, they tried to make Jesus king by force because they believed Him as the Prophet to come into the world.

The leftover was twelve basketfuls of broken pieces which indicate the nation of Israel. God sent manna over the Israelites in the wilderness every day for forty years. It was their food for strength and energy to live in the desert. It was not given by Moses and sent from heaven above faithfully by the hand of God the Father. Jesus Christ was that manna fallen from heaven to sustain the lives of His people. He is the Giver of life.

What we eat is what we are. Our body needs food daily. Behind food there are the mills. Behind the mills, there are the fields to produce a crop. Behind the fields, there are sunshine and rain. Behind sunshine and rain, there is a God who generously provided daily over the hundreds of thousands years and will provide. What God gives us becomes what we are. God gave His Son Jesus for us and we who received Him becomes like Him. Jesus said to those who came to Him because they were satisfied by the bread not to work for food that spoils but for food that endures to eternal life.

“Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed 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. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (John 6:26-27)

The digestion and metabolism is the process for the food to become the part of our body. As there is a physical metabolism, so also there is a spiritual one. If we eat and drink Jesus His body and His blood, we shall become like Him. But if we eat and drink other than Him, we shall not become like Him. If you breathe of anger and complaints all the time, soon you shall be the son of anger and complaints. But if you breathe of love and peace and joy of God all the time, you shall be the son of love and joy and peace.

“Very truly I tell you, 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 them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 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 ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:53-58)

No wonder Dr. Luke put the account of asking who Jesus was followed by the miracle. It is a logical question that should be asked. “Who is Jesus?” The disciples asked the same question when Jesus calmed down the winds and the storm in the Sea of Galilee. Now Jesus asked His disciples the question.

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” (Luke 9:18-20)

People were not clear who He was. But Peter and the disciples knew who He was, God’s Messiah because the Father in heaven had given them the revelation (Matthew 16:17). Although Peter confessed Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed to come into the world, he wasn’t fully grasping who Jesus was. Our Lord Jesus further taught them about the complete knowledge of Him. Jesus was the Son of God who came into the world according to the Scripture. He was God in glory and honor in the beginning. He was the begotten Son of God, Immortal and Everlasting God.

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:21-27)

Though He was God, he must suffer and be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Dr. Luke portrays Jesus as Man who must fulfill His humanity not through His power and might which God bestowed on Him but through the obedience, even the death on the cross in Calvary. God’s Messiah must suffer and be killed and be raised on the third day. That’s the complete knowledge of Jesus Christ. Why? It’s because God’s Messiah must save the fallen humanity from the sin and death.

Man is lost and fallen in Adam. There is no life in the race unless a mediator reconciles to God. The gap between God and the humanity cannot be overcome by anything other than the sacrifice of the mediator. The problem of human evil is so serious and deadly that nothing can cure of the disease other than the blood and death of humanity. That’s the wages of sin. No one can save himself. All is destined to death.

That’s why our Lord Jesus Christ the Mediator offered His body unto death with the blood in the heavenly temple and revoked the penalty of God, death. He suffered and died in our place. He was buried in our place. On the third day, He was raised from the dead. God gives eternal life, the life of the Risen Christ to those who believe in Him. In Christ, we died with Him, were buried with Him, and were raised from the dead with Him.

That’s what Jesus is and what we are. Our Lord Jesus cancelled out the penalty of death by taking the cup of death on the cross. So, we take up the cross of Jesus Christ daily and follow Him. The cross of Jesus Christ is shame, guilt, despair, and humiliation. It’s the offense of the cross to the world.

Therefore, if we save ourselves there is no life. But when we die and lose ourselves, life flourishes and blossoms. Why? It’s because our Lord Jesus pours out eternal life just as when He was shamed and condemned He was raised to life, eternal and immortal life. He is the Bread of life now and forevermore.