They waffled: “Why don’t you give us a clue about who you are, just a hint of what’s going on? When we see what’s up, we’ll commit ourselves. Show us what you can do. Moses fed our ancestors with bread in the desert. It says so in the Scriptures: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32-33 Jesus responded, “The real significance of that Scripture is not that Moses gave you bread from heaven but that my Father is right now offering you bread from heaven, the real bread. The Bread of God came down out of heaven and is giving life to the world.”

34 They jumped at that: “Master, give us this bread, now and forever!”

35-38 Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me.  (The Message)

How obtuse we can be! Weren’t these people seeking Jesus out because they had seen something different in Him? Hadn’t Jesus already told them that He carried God the Father’s ”seal of approval” ? (27) But the truth was they didn’t really see and so they didn’t really believe. Sometimes the desire for a ‘sign’ may be just camouflage to hide behind.

The Jews in New Testament times believed that when the Messiah came, He would send them ‘manna’ from heaven. Jesus told them that He actually is the true food from God –”the Bread of Life”. Only He Himself can satisfy the gnawing hunger in the human heart. Bread was the main food in the Middle East in those times. It speaks of a basic necessity. We need Jesus; and He can satisfy our deepest longingsol0

Tom Hale explains:

‘We must understand that the bread of life is the same as the living water mentioned in John 4:10-11. We must understand that to ”eat” this bread and to ”drink” this water means to believe in Jesus. It means to receive Jesus into our life. Just as we take food and drink into our stomachs, so we take Christ into our hearts through faith.’

An old hymn expresses the truth of this passage very well:

1 O Christ, in thee my soul hath found,
and found in thee alone,
the peace, the joy I sought so long,
the bliss till now unknown.

Refrain:
Now none but Christ can satisfy,
none other name for me!
There’s love and life and lasting joy,
Christ Jesus, found in thee.

2 I sighed for rest and happiness,
I yearned for them, not thee;
but while I passed my Saviour by,
his love laid hold on me.

3 I tried the broken cisterns, ah!
But how the waters failed;
even as I stooped to drink they fled,
and mocked me as I wailed.

4 The pleasures lost I sadly mourned,
but never wept for thee,
till grace the sightless eyes received,
thy loveliness to see. (Frances Bevan)