January 12, 2025

I AM The Bread of Life – John 6:35

Ice Breaker

1. Read John 6:22-59
2. Talk about your favorite food or favorite restaurant. How do you feel after you have eaten what you enjoy?

Loving God Unreservedly

1. What does Jesus mean when he says, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35)?
2. Do you think the crowd understands what Jesus is saying? Why or why not?

Loving People Sacrificially

1. Jesus contrasts two appetites—one for physical nourishment and one for spiritual sustenance. How is each appetite satisfied? (6:26–27)
2. How would you describe your daily spiritual diet: healthy and nourishing, junk food, starvation level, same old reheated food? Explain the results of this diet in your spiritual life as a whole.
3.  What does Jesus promise to those who come to him in faith for spiritual nourishment? (6:37–40)

Making Disciples Purposefully

1. What does Jesus want the people in the crowd (or people reading this account today) to conclude about who he is?
2. How can you share with someone this week about the bread of life?

Dig Deeper (optional/personal study) 

Research: “Bread” is used in several colloquial sayings in the New Testament. The phrase “to eat bread” was an expression for sharing a meal (Matt. 15:2; Lk. 14:1). Similarly, “to break bread” was to begin a meal (Luke 24:35; Acts 20:7) and refraining from eating bread indicated fasting (Lk. 7:33). “To eat one’s own bread” meant “to earn one’s own living,” (2 Thess. 3:12, NRSV). 

• In John, Jesus refers to Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35, 48) and “the living bread” (Jn. 6:51) After feeding a large crowd with five loaves of barley bread and two fish, Jesus uses the literal bread as a metaphor for His own ability to provide the world with sustenance and new life (Jn. 6:1–13, 22–58). 
• In Matthew and Mark, Jesus metaphorically refers to His miracles as bread for the Jews, yet He allows a Canaanite woman to partake of the “crumbs” (Matt 15:21–28; Mark 7:24–30). 
• Similarly, God’s blessings to the rich are implicitly likened to bread in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, when the rich man blessed by God with wealth is unwilling to share even his breadcrumbs with poor and needy Lazarus (Lk. 16:19–31).