Jesus-I Am The Bread

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All this because when Jesus miraculously fed the 5000 and said I AM the BREAD He was saying:

• God blesses all of life. The multiplied barley loaves and fish were divinely created, and the satisfaction the people experienced must have been like no other in their lives. The food Jesus made for them was perfect, not tainted by the Fall and its consequent corruption of all the earth through sin.
• Thiswasthemostpublicofallmiracles.Thiswasoverwhelmingtoall who saw Jesus do it. Why? Because no miracle seems to have made such an impression on the disciples as this, because this is the only miracle of Jesus which is related in all four gospels.16
• Jesus offers a totally new life to all. I am all you need because a God who can feed 5000 like that can do anything! Think about it: Jesus with a word multiplied the molecular structure of those humble barley cakes and pickled fish! It is this creation power that he brings to our lives. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• Nothing is beyond Christ’s reach! And finally, nothing is impossible physically or spiritually for Jesus Christ. No one is beyond his redemption. Christian, if you are willing, there is no moral flaw in your life which God cannot heal.

Please join me in John 6:1-14; 31-35

WHAT DID GOD DO IN THE WILDERNESS!

“I am the Bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41–51). The manna17 God provided for the Israelites during the Exodus is a picture of Jesus as the “living Bread.” When God’s people traveled through the wilderness, they had to depend on God to provide their food supernaturally. God provided the food in a way that would also teach the people something about their relationship with Him. Every day God gave enough food for that day. No one could gather more than a day’s supply. There had to be a continual, constant dependence on God; He was the only source of sustenance.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE?

Jesus transports us in His 1st I AM declaration to a spot 3,500 years ago in the Sinai Wilderness. The Camp of Israel was at least 81 square miles just for 600,000 fighting men and their families! That is the equivalent of a square camp ground containing solid rows of tents from Lewis Street on the West to Elm Street in BA on the East, from 21st street in the north to 101st street in the south. That would put us today in the tabernacle in the center of the camp! (NOTE: The Exodus march at 5 people wide would have stretched 225 miles long. If they traveled 50 wide they would have been 22.5 miles. For a missions note, our world of 6 billion would be @ 100 wide 45,000 miles long!)

HOW BIG WAS THE TASK?

Now here is the unbelievable need these people had. For nearly 40 years of their WILDERNESS WANDERINGS, ISRAEL under the leadership of MOSES wandered through the dry, sun baked arid wastelands of the Sinai. No lush green gardens, no stores and grain elevators to draw from and yet to feed three million people would take 1300 box cars of food each day or a train 9 1/2 miles long!

So what does Jesus say in John 6:48? I AM the Bread of LIFE. I am all you ever need. And, just like the bread of God that came down from heaven, I can deliver my bread of life anywhere you ever get! WOW!

Twenty-three times in all we find our Lord’s meaningful “I AM” (????????, Gr.) in the Greek text of this gospel (4:26; 6:20,35,41,48,51; 8:12,18,24,28,58; 10:7,9,11,14; 11:25; 13:19; 14:6; 15:1,5; 18:5,6,8). In several of these, He joins His “I AM” with seven tremendous metaphors which are expressive of His saving relationship toward the world. IN other words, the Christian life may be described in these seven declarations of Jesus. A believer is described by Jesus in seven profound ways. The perfection of Christ our God is seen in the seven “I AM’S” in John’s record of Christ’s life and ministry. Christ has given His own eternal life (John 17:2), but He has also given them the revelation of the Father’s name (John 17:6). The Old Testament Jew knew his God as “Jehovah,” the great I AM (Ex. 3:11–14). Jesus took this sacred name “I AM” and made it meaningful to His disciples: “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35); “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12); “I am the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11); etc. In other words, Jesus revealed the Father’s gracious name by showing His disciples that He was everything they needed.

• A Believer is: HUNGERING FOR JESUS AS MY BREAD OF LIFE.“I AM the Bread of life” (6:35,41,48,51).
• A Believer is: WALKING WITH JESUS WHO LIGHTS MY PATH OF LIFE. “I AM the Light of the world” (8:12).
• A Believer is: ENTERING THROUGH JESUS WHO IS MY DOOR TO LIFE.“I AM the Door of the sheep” (10:7,9).
• A Believer is: STAYING WITH THE GOOD SHEPHERD WHO IS THE SAVIOR OF MY LIFE. “I AM the Good Shepherd” (10:11,14).
• A Believer is: RESTING IN JESUS WHOS RESURRECTION GAVE ME ENDLESS LIFE. “I AM the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25).
• A Believer is: FOLLOWING THE WAY OF JESUS, BELIEVING THE TRUTH OF JESUS, AND LIVING THE LIFE OF JESUS. “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6).
• A Believer is: ABIDING IN JESUS WHO IS MY SUPPLY OF ALL I EVER NEED. “I AM the true Vine” (15:1,5). Psalm 92

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE(6:35)-He FEEDS OUR STARVING SOULS, but apart from Him is only unsatisfied hunger. The internal gnawing pain that hunger brings is the illustration of our condition apart from Christ. He alone feeds our soul and satisfies our hungers, all else is emptiness, hopelessness and empty mirages. Jesus said I am your food that satisfies, I am the Bread you need. I have settled the longings of your soul, I can satisfy all the hungers of your life. What do you really hunger for?

 

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD(8:12)-He LIGHTS OUR DARKENED SOULS, but apart from Him is only impenetrable darkness. Jesus said I am the Light, I have settled the darkness of fear, the darkness of death, the darkness of dying, it is all settled by Me!

 

I AM THE DOOR OF LIFE TO MY SHEEP(10:7,9)-He INVITES us lost sheep back into God’s Family, but apart from Him is only hopeless exclusion. Jesus said I am the Door of Life, all your security and access needs are settled, by Me! In the ancient world there were sheep folds built of stones or made from caves, dotting the hills and valleys of Israel. The door was made so that the shepherd himself would lay down at night and become the door so that no sheep could wander out without stumbling over him and no predator could slip in without stirring him. So Jesus says I keep you safe from harm and secure from wandering away from my salvation!

 

I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD(10:11)-He LEADS US HOME, but apart from Him is only aimless wandering. Jesus said I am the Good Shepherd who died, I have settled the issue of the unknown. I am your companion through life and death. Jesus gives us the perfect example of how to live and how to die!

 

I AM THE RESURRECTION AND LIFE(11:25)-He pours upon US endless LIFE, but apart from Him is only endless dying. Jesus says I am the Resurrection, I am the Life. I have settled the issue of Hope, you can count on me, hope in me all through life and into death!

 

I AM THE WAY, TRUTH & LIFE(14:6)-He secures us in the way of endless life, but apart from Him is only endless lostness. Jesus said I am the way, I have settled the issue of your home. I am making it, your very own room, and the minute that it is ready I am coming to get you!

 

I AM THE TRUE VINE(15:1)-He NURTURES us through life, apart from Him is only continual withering. Jesus says I am the Vine, your source of life and health. The state of your health is all in my hands. I will provide for you living grace, enduring declining life grace, and dying grace. Each just when you need them! If the vine speaks of all of life as one growing season, then we should get more fruit filled the older we get (ala Psalm 92), if it is many seasons then life is a succession of growing /pruning /bearing /resting and then growing/pruning…

 

Now this morning, meet Jesus who is the great I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE!

I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE (6:35) – He FEEDS OUR STARVING SOULS, but apart from Him is only unsatisfied hunger. Our hungers and thirsts of life are settled by Jesus.The internal gnawing pain that hunger brings is the illustration of our condition apart from Christ. He alone feeds our soul and satisfies our hungers, all else is emptiness, hopelessness and empty mirages. Whatever we hunger for reveals what we are. What are your secret hungers? Do they resemble the flesh or the spirit? Jesus gave a list of what those who hunger to sow to the Spirit desire. Remember them?

WHEN JEUS CALLED HIMSELF THE BREAD OF GOD FROM HEAVEN HE WAS SAYING THAT THE MANNA EXPLAINS WHO HE IS. PLEASE TURN WITH ME TO EXODUS 16

Exodus 16 should always be read in connection18 with John 6, for the manna from heaven is a type of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. Jesus also noted that manna illustrates the written Word of God on which God’s pilgrim people feed from day to day

 

1ST JESUS WAS GREATER THAN MANNA. When Jesus called Himself “the Living Bread,” He was not claiming to be exactly like the manna. He was claiming to be even greater!

Old Testament Manna	Jesus the Bread of Life
1. The manna only sustained life for the Jews	1. but Jesus gives life to the whole world.
2. The Jews ate the daily manna and eventually died	2. but when you receive Jesus Christ within, you live forever.
3. When God gave the manna, He gave only a gift	3. but when Jesus came, He gave Himself.
4. There was no cost to God in sending the manna each day	4. but He gave His Son at great cost.
5. The Jews had to eat the manna every day	5. but the sinner who trusts Christ once is given eternal life.
6. But those that did eat manna hungered again, died at last, and with many of them God was not well-pleased	6. whereas those that feed on Christ by faith shall never hunger, and shall die no more, and with them God will be for ever well pleased. The Lord evermore give us this bread!19

Just noting the Hebrew word manna, we see it means “What is it?” (v. 15). This helps us realize that the Jews could not explain this new food that God had sent. What a parallel to Paul’s exclamation of Christ when he wrote ,” in 1 Tim. 3:16 “Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh.” Jesus in human flesh is a mystery, but it is a beautiful mystery revealed when we stop to consider how the manna pictures Jesus Christ:

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JESUS IS SO MUCH LIKE MANNA.

• GOD USED MANNA TO REFLECT Christ’s humility because it was small (v. 14), which speaks of His humility; for He became a baby, and even a servant.
• GOD USED MANNA TO REFLECT Christ’s eternal nature because it was round (v. 14), which reminds us of the circle, symbol of His eternality; for Jesus Christ is eternal God (John 8:53–59).
• GOD USED MANNA TO REFLECT Christ’s holiness, because it was white (v. 31), a reminder of His purity and sinlessness; He is the holy Son of God.
• GOD USED MANNA TO REFLECT Christ’s sweetness, because it like honey was sweet (v. 31). “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). Note in Num. 11:4–8 that the “mixed multitude” that went with the Jews did not appreciate the taste of the manna but asked for the “leeks, onions, and garlic” of Egypt. They were not satisfied with simple manna. They “ground it, beat it, and baked it,” but then it tasted like “oil” and not like honey. There is a spiritual lesson here for us; we cannot improve upon the simple Word of God (Ps. 119:103).
• GOD USED MANNA TO REFLECT Christ’s feeding us (v. 35). It was satisfying and strengthening, for the nation lived on manna for nearly forty years. All that we need for spiritual nourishment is Jesus Christ, God’s heaven-sent Bread. We are to feast on the Bread that will never leave us hungering.

WHEN JEUS CALLED HIMSELF THE BREAD OF GOD FROM HEAVEN HE WAS SAYING THAT THE MANNA ILLUSTRATES HOW HE CAME

• Exodus16:1-3reflectsthatJESUSCAMETOAWORLDTHATDIDNOTOBEY HIM JUST LIKE Manna came to a rebellious people (vv. 1–3). What poor memories Israel had! They had been away from the bondage of Egypt only six weeks and had already forgotten God’s many mercies. They murmured against Moses and against God (see 15:22–27), and they longed for the fleshly diet of the old life; yet God in His grace and mercy supplied them with bread. Verse 4 could well have read, “I will rain fire and brimstone upon those ungrateful sinners!” But, no, God proved His love toward them by raining bread upon them. See Rom. 5:6–8. Someone has calculated that to supply six pints (an omer) of manna each for two to three million people daily would have required four freight trains of sixty cars each. How generous God is to us!
• Exodus16:4reflectsthatJESUSCAMEFROMHEAVENJUSTLIKEMANNA CAME FROM HEAVEN. It was not imported from Egypt, or manufactured in the wilderness; it was given from heaven, the gift of God’s grace. Jesus Christ came down from heaven (John 6:33) as the Father’s gift to hungry sinners. To say that Christ is “just another man” is to deny the teaching of the whole Bible that He is God’s Son sent from heaven. These come from heaven, as the manna did, and are the support and comfort of the divine life in the soul, while we are in the wilderness of this world. It is food for those only that follow the pillar of cloud and fire.
• Exodus16:13a“inthemorning”reflectsthatJESUSCAMETOASIN DARKENED WORLD JUST LIKE MANNA CAME AT NIGHT. The people gathered the manna early each morning, for the manna fell at night. This suggests the darkness of sin in this world when Jesus came. It was night when Jesus was born, for He came to be the Light of the World (John 8:12). And it is still night in the hearts of all who have rejected Him (2 Cor. 4:1–4). Also as Luke records Jesus came as the sunrise on a sin blackened world Luke 1:78-79 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” NKJV
• Exodus16:13b-14“thedewlay…whenthelayerlifted”reflectsthatJESUS

CAME BY A SUPERNATURAL BIRTH JUST LIKE MANNA CAME ON THE DEW (vv. 13–14). Just as Numbers 11:9 implies the manna lay atop the pure dews, and the dew kept the manna from being defiled by the earth, so the Virgin birth of Jesus through the Holy Spirit brought Jesus to earth, unstained by sin (Luke 1:34–35). Had Jesus not been born of the virgin, He could never be called “that Holy One.”

• Exodus16:13c“allaroundthecamp”reflectsthatJESUSCOMESTOWHERE WE ARE JUST LIKE MANNA FELL RIGHT WHERE THEY WERE. How easily accessible the manna was to the Jews! They did not have to climb a mountain or cross a deep river; the manna came where they were (see Rom. 10:6–8). Jesus Christ is not far away from sinners. They can come to Him at any time.

WHEN JEUS CALLED HIMSELF THE BREAD OF GOD FROM HEAVEN HE WAS SAYING THAT THE MANNA ILLUSTRATES WHAT WE MUST DO WITH JESUS CHRIST

• BELIEVERS FEEL THE NEED TO RECEIVE CHRIST. There is a spiritual hunger within that can be satisfied only by Christ (John 6:35). It was when the Prodigal Son said, “I perish with hunger” that he decided to go back to the father and seek forgiveness (Luke 15:17–18). Much of the unrest and sin in the world today is the result of unsatisfied spiritual hunger. People are living on substitutes and rejecting the nourishment that God freely provides (Isa. 55:1–3).
• BELIEVERS STOOP TO RECEIVE CHRIST. The manna did not fall on the tables or on the trees but on the ground, and the people had to stoop to pick it up. Many sinners will not humble themselves. They will not bend! They will not repent and turn to the Savior!
• BELIEVERSPERSONALLYTAKEJESUSFORTHEMSELVES.Thehungry Jews were not fed by looking at the manna, admiring it, or watching others eat it; they had to pick it up and eat it themselves. Christ must be received inwardly by faith if the sinner is to be saved. This is what Christ meant in John 6:51–58 by “eating His flesh and drinking His blood.” John 6:63 makes it clear that Christ was not speaking about literal flesh and blood, and John 6:68 tells us that it was His Word that He was referring to. When we receive the Word inwardly, we are feeding on Christ, the Living Word. It is to be gathered; Christ in the word is to be applied to the soul, and the means of grace are to be used.
• BELIEVERS TAKE JESUS WHILE THEY CAN. (v. 21). “Seek the Lord while He may be found!” is the warning of Isa. 55:6 (NKJV). “Today if you hear His voice…” the writer of Hebrews exhorts. The manna disappeared when the sun became hot, and this suggests that the day of judgment will arrive when it will be too late to turn to Christ (Mal. 4). It also suggests that, as believers, we must get our spiritual nourishment from the Word early in the day as we meditate on it and pray. We must every one of us gather for ourselves, and gather in the morning of our opportunities, which if we let slip, it may be too late to gather.

JESUS IS ALL I NEED: Christ My Vine from the Gospel by John

• BELIEVERSALWAYSFEEDUPONJESUS.OncewereceiveChristasSavior, we are saved eternally (John 10:27–29). It is important, however, that we feed on Christ to have the strength for our pilgrim journey, just as the Jews fed on the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:11ff). How do believers feed on Christ? By reading, studying, and meditating on His Word. God invites each of us to get up early in the day and gather from the Word the precious manna to nourish our souls. We cannot hoard God’s truth for another day (vv. 16–21); we must gather fresh food for each new day. Too many Christians mark their Bibles and fill their notebooks with outlines, yet never really feed on Christ. The manna they gathered must not be hoarded up, but eaten; those that have received Christ must by faith live upon him, and not receive his grace in vain. There was manna enough for all, enough for each, and none had too much; so in Christ there is a complete sufficiency, and no superfluity.

Note that the spiritual manna (Christ) accomplishes more than did the physical manna that God sent to the Jews.

• The OT manna sustained physical life, but Christ gives spiritual life to all who receive Him.
• The OT manna was for the Jews only, but Christ offers Himself to the whole world (John 6:51).
• It did not cost Moses anything to secure the manna for Israel, but to make Himself available to the world, Christ had to die on the cross. How sad it is that most of the people in the world walk on Christ as if he were unused manna on the ground, rather than stooping to receive Him that they might live.

The daily gathering of the manna was God’s test of Israel’s obedience (v. 4), and it is still God’s test for His people. Those Christians that begin their day with the Bible, gathering spiritual food, are the ones God can trust and use. Alas, many Christians still hunger for the carnal diet of the world! (v. 3) And many expect the pastor or the Sunday School teacher to gather the manna for them and “spoon-feed” them. The test of our spiritual walk is this: do I think enough of Christ and His Word to start my day gathering manna?

 

18 The manna points are adapted from Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament, (Wheaton, IL:

36 JESUS IS ALL I NEED: Christ My Vine from the Gospel by John (Matt. 4:4).

37 JESUS IS ALL I NEED: Christ My Vine from the Gospel by John

Transcript

Let’s open again to the sixth chapter of the Gospel by John. As you turn there, we’re looking at Christ’s first declaration of His great I AM statements. Remember, we’re looking at the seven. There are seven different times Jesus Christ says, I AM something. The first time He declares I AM, He says, I AM the Bread of Life. When Jesus said, I AM the Bread of Life, Jesus said it all. Jesus said, no matter where you are, wherever you are on this planet, I can provide for you. Jesus said, no matter what you need, whatever you need, no matter how great, how difficult, how impossible, I can provide. Jesus said, I’m the Bread of Life. I can provide for you.

You say, how do you get all that out of verse 35? You have to look at the whole chapter, and that’s why we’re looking at verse 1 down through verse 41 that we read. We’re looking at the context of the feeding of the 5,000. This is what Jesus says that should get our attention. In verse 31, the people are all talking about His great sign miracle when He said, I AM the Bread of Life. In verse 31, they said, wait a minute. Our fathers ate the manna in the desert. It’s written, and they quote from Deuteronomy, He gave them bread from Heaven to eat. All of a sudden, we realize that Jesus Christ uses the picture of the children of Israel coming out of the land of Egypt with the mighty hand of God, delivered from Pharaoh’s army, crossing the Red Sea. The seas closed, and Pharaoh’s chariot and all those chariots with him. All of those soldiers drowned, and the man who wouldn’t acknowledge God ended up drowned, floating in the Red Sea. Pharaoh himself.

Someone once said that those sightless eyes, as he lay there dead in the water, looking up toward the Middle Eastern sun, those sightless eyes were looking straight up toward Heaven at the God he would never acknowledge. That man’s life was a testimony of God’s power. But God wasn’t through, and He kept the children of Israel in the wilderness. If you remember, the key event of the wilderness was God fed 600,000 families for 40 years in the desert with this little tiny food called manna, and that’s what the background is to what Jesus is talking about.

Now, think about this: when Jesus said, I’m the Bread of Life, it was in the context of Him multiplying the loaves and fishes. Those barley loaves that the Bible talks about, and two little fish that would be much like sardines. I don’t know if they’re popular anymore. When I was little, we used to get them in our lunch, the little cans. You know, where you put that key in, and you crinkled it back, and it smelled awful. It smells like cat food, actually. When you opened it up, there were those little tiny sardines in oil. I don’t know. I think they were cheap. That’s why I’d get them in my lunch. I don’t know. But I remember you always would smell like fish oil and everything, but that’s what the two fish were. They were not pike. One of our men here this morning caught a 41 incher this week. They weren’t 41 inches. They were usually two inches long. The little barley loaves kind of looked like the biscuits left over from two weeks ago at a restaurant you might get that are hard like hockey pucks. Those were the cheapest foods. Two hard barley cakes and two sardines that would be like pickled sardines that you’d mix with the bread so that it wouldn’t be tasteless and hard.

Jesus took that and look what it says in verse 11. It says that when they got the bread and the fish, they had as much as they wanted. In verse 12, they were filled. In verse 13, they gathered up, and there was a lot of stuff left over. So, Jesus gave them the best meal they ever had. He gave them more than they even wanted, and there was stuff left over. That’s significant in the story because Jesus divinely created a satisfaction that these people experienced that must have been like nothing else they’d ever known in their lives. This is a unique miracle. When Jesus healed sick people, He restored people back to what they formerly were. When Jesus raised people from the dead, He restored them back.

But when Jesus fed the 5,000, He divinely created something that had never existed before. This was His most public miracle of all. Of everything Jesus did before the cross, this is the most dramatic public miracle. In front of the whole world, He supernaturally brought bread from Heaven and gave everybody more than they needed. That’s why it’s so significant.

Another interesting thing to think about is that there’s no miracle that Jesus did that made such an impression. This is the only miracle that all four of the Gospel writers mentioned. The only one, other than the death, burial, and resurrection. Of all the different healings and signs and everything else. This is the only one they all mentioned. It made a big impression. When Jesus provided for these people, He provided completely what they needed, totally what they needed, absolutely. In fact, the word that it says in verse 11, as much as they wanted. The other disciples put that they were, in verse 12, they quote it, full. That means absolutely to the top satisfied.

It’s kind of like the Thanksgiving dinner push away from the table feeling. That’s what Jesus did for them. But if you think about it, the God who could feed 5,000 people like that can do anything. The God who fed the 3 million in the desert was quite a wonder. But now God came to Earth in bodily form. He went to those people and took them out into a desert place where there was no means of provision. There, on that spot, instantly provided the best meal they’d ever had in their whole life. That supernatural power tells us something. Jesus, with one word, multiplied literally the molecular structure of those hard hockey puck barley cakes and those little pickled sardines. He altered the structure so that those little humble cakes and pickled fish were multiplied to meet every need that those people had. That same creative power, the Apostle Paul says, therefore, if anyone comes to Christ, he faces the power of the Creator God to make him a new creation. You see, this most public miracle is talking about our salvation, that Jesus can meet any need anywhere, no matter how great it is. At any time He can be there.

Another interesting thing is when Jesus said, I’m the Bread of Life, it was because nothing is impossible physically or spiritually for Him. There is not one person beyond His redemption. Christian, this morning, if you’re willing, Jesus Christ says there is no moral flaw, no sin, no struggle, no failure, no difficulty that He doesn’t have the power to heal, to make new.

In John chapter 6, let me survey it with you. The first 14 verses are the miracle. By the way, tonight we’re going to have some fun. When I was talking over my schedule with the Elders, a few of them said to me, why don’t you ever do any of your pictures when you’re teaching the Bible? And I said, okay, I’ll work on it this fall. So, I am dovetailing tonight the first 14 verses. We’re going to see on the screens, and I’m going to apply this morning’s message tonight and explain the feeding of the 5,000. But the event is the first 14 verses, and we’ll see that tonight. But what did God do in the wilderness with these people? He totally provided for them. But what was He talking about? Again, look at verse 31. He’s talking about the manna in the wilderness.

Now, I want you to take just a moment and turn back with me to Exodus 16, okay? If you have a pen, you’re going to circle a few words with me because I want to show you the backdrop for what Jesus did. Jesus, in the Gospel by John, chapter 6, verse 3 says, they were on their way to the Passover when Jesus fed the 5,000. So, to us, we just read the Bible, and we go, oh, that’s great. What was the Passover? The Passover was the annual remembrance of the Jews coming out of Egypt. God smiting and destroying the armies of Egypt, splitting the sea, taking them into the wilderness, keeping their shoes from wearing out, their clothes from wearing out, and feeding them everything they needed for 40 years. We go, oh, great. We don’t even think about that.

Let’s just, for a moment, consider the magnitude of what it is. Chapter 16, which Jesus alludes to when He said, I AM the bread of God, and I read it to you. He says it seven times in chapter 6. Jesus said, I’m the bread of God come down from Heaven. What was He talking about? He’s talking about manna, and He says, I was the manna of the Old Testament, and everything that happened to those Jews in the wilderness was a picture pointing at Me.

Now, let me show you the pictures this morning. First of all, what did God do in the wilderness? Basically, in chapter 16, there are 36 verses. If I could summarize it, it would be this: God provided manna for the Israelites during the Exodus to portray what Jesus truly wants to be to us. He wants to be living bread coming down from Heaven in our lives. When God’s people, the Jews, traveled through the wilderness, they had to learn to depend on God to provide their food supernaturally.

Why? Just someday take your globe if you have one at home, or take a map and kind of look at the U.S. region called Death Valley in the Mojave Desert. If you have ever lived out west, it’s a fantastic region. You don’t need a hairdryer now. I don’t need one anyway, but if you needed one, you could just take a shower and go and step outside in Death Valley, and you would dry right out. It’s the most amazing thing. You can just feel the evaporation process. It’s so arid, it’s so desolate, it’s so bleak, it’s so dry. It’s called Death Valley because you can only go three days without water, and it takes more than three days to cross that valley. So, it killed a lot of people. If you trace your finger on a globe and go all the way around the planet to Israel, that’s the exact same sector of the biome of the Earth’s surface. That region is exactly where Israel is. There is an even more arid, desolate dry spot going down from the Dead Sea into the Negev and down into the Sinai Peninsula. That’s where they had to live for 40 years.

So, it was supernatural provision, and God provided their food in a way that would teach them something about how they were to relate to Him. Do you remember? Chapter 16 says that God provided every day just enough food for that day. Now, we’re not used to that. We like to stack up stuff for the rest of our lives. In fact, the American dream is that I work hard enough all through life to earn enough money so I can live like a king to the end of my life. That’s the American dream.

God says that’s not how I want to teach my people. I want to give you enough every day for what you need for that day. No one was allowed to gather more than one day supply. No hoarding was allowed. You couldn’t go out and say, ah, oh, this is mine. You gather all the manna up and say, now I can only go out once a month. I’ve got enough until I retire. That was not the idea. Every day, God gave them enough for that day; you couldn’t gather more. There was to be a continual, constant dependence on God as the only source of their sustenance. So, that’s what God did in the wilderness.

Now, what was it like? Now, I want to give you a little graphic. Okay. The top of this pulpit is almost the size of the Ark of the Covenant. It’s higher, but it’s about the same square size. If this was the center of the Tabernacle in the children of Israel’s camp 3,500 years ago in Israel, then that camp would’ve stretched from here all the way in Broken Arrow to Elm Avenue, that would be four miles from this spot. It would also have spread four miles that way to Lewis, and it would’ve gone up four miles to 21st street, and it would’ve gone down four miles to 101st. Those are just the tents. God had them in nice orderly tents, all the tribes, and all the clans, and all the families. At the center He put the Ark. So, the camp, just of the bodies and the tents and the people, was 81 square miles of people. Nine miles wide and nine miles long. That was just their camp. That was just tents.

Inside that little 81 square mile box were 600,000 families that had to live, had to eat, had to drink, had children to nurse, to change, to feed, to help through their sicknesses, had parents that were dying, and they had to bury. It was the whole spectrum of life in that little 81 square mile camping ground.

Now, how much food would it take to feed those people in Death Valley or by the Dead Sea in the Sinai Desert? It says right here in chapter 6 that they ate manna, in verse 35, the entire time they’re there. It says it in chapter 16, verse 35 of Exodus, they ate it the whole time. So, they ate this stuff for 40 years, and it even says how much they could gather. They said they could gather half an omer. If you multiply half an Omer per person times 3 million people, do you know what that equals every day? It equals a railroad car. Actually, 1,300 railroad cars stuffed full of manna, which would be a train nine and a half miles long. Imagine 1,300 railroad cars, nine and a half miles of a train that had to pull up to that camp and get its food to those people. That’s just the food, that’s not the water and all the other stuff they needed. That’s how great.

So, what was it like? Jesus declares that 3,500 years ago in the Sinai wilderness, the Camp of Israel, 81 square miles with 600,000 families, that those people, He would provide everything they needed every day. Not anymore, not any less. Just what they needed. If you lined up the entire nation of Israel, remember it says they marched. If you marched five wide as a family, mom and dad and the kids in the middle five wide, the children of Israel, 3 million people, would stretch 22 and a half miles long.

Now, someone reminded me that Oklahoma has just over 3 million people. So, can you imagine getting everybody in our whole state to stand five wide, 22 and a half miles long, and walk through the desert and wait till God fed us. Can you imagine that? That’s what it was like for the children of Israel. Now, for those of you who are missionary-minded, which all of us should be, do you know how many people there are in the world? Over 6 billion. If you put the whole world a hundred wide, if we were standing shoulder to shoulder a hundred wide, the line of the people in this world would stretch 45,000 miles. There are a lot of people on this planet, and yet, whether it’s 3 million Jews, 3,500 years ago, or the world today, Jesus said, I’m all you need.

So, the unbelievable needs of those people for 40 years in the wilderness, as they wandered through the dry, sun-baked, arid wastelands of the Sinai, Jesus said, I’m just like the bread of God from Heaven that fed them. I can feed you wherever you are, whatever you need. What a declaration.

Let me show you what I mean, and I want to take you through chapter 16. So, let me show you how Jesus is portrayed in the manna, because he said in chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, I’m the bread of God come down from Heaven. I’m like manna. What does that mean? In Exodus 16, I’m going to give you about 15 different comparisons between Christ and manna. First of all, when Jesus called Himself the bread of God from Heaven, He was saying that manna explains who He is. Okay? How?

Well, number one manna explains that Jesus is so much greater than what those Israelites got in chapter 16. What do I mean by that? That manna in chapter 16 of Exodus only sustained their life, but Jesus gave life not just to 3 million people, but He offered His life to the whole world. Manna only covers Jews 3,500 years ago. The Bread of Life is good for the whole world if they come to Christ.

Secondly, the Jews ate that stuff every day, but they still died. They ate all that manna for 40 years, and they still died. Jesus said, you eat Me, you’ll never die. Much better. I’d rather have Jesus than manna. When God gave the manna, He gave only a gift. He just sprinkled down food for them. But when he gave Jesus, he gave Himself. That’s why feeding the 5,000 and Jesus saying, I’m the Bread of Life, was the biggest declaration of Christ’s ministry. It was the most public miracle because it was God giving Himself, offering Himself to the world.

Next, there was no cost to God in sending manna in the Old Testament. It didn’t cost Him anything. He just made manna for them. But when God gave His Son, He paid the greatest price. See, manna was cheap. Jesus is the most costly gift possible. The Jews had to eat the manna every day. That was their only hope to stay alive. For us, any sinner who trusts Christ one time is given everlasting life. Don’t need to come back to church every day and get your fix. Don’t need to be hoping that you can make it to the end as they did with manna. You come to Christ once, and it is once for all our great salvation.

Finally, those who did eat manna got hungry again. Every morning, they woke up, and they were hungry again. They would finally die. All of them who came out of Egypt died, those who were 20 years and up. With a lot of them, God was not well pleased. That’s what the book of Hebrews says. God destroyed them. In fact, the writer of Hebrews says their carcasses rotted in the desert. Pretty graphic stuff. But those who come to Christ think about what He said. If you feed on me by faith, you’ll never hunger, you’ll never die, and I will forever be well pleased with you. That’s what Jesus offers.

First of all, Jesus is much greater than manna. Secondly, and I want you to see with me in Exodus 16, look at verse 14. Secondly, not only is Jesus greater than manna, but manna shows us a lot about the character of Christ, what He was like. This is just fascinating to me. Now, I want you to remember that the Bible is supernaturally engineered. Every word of God is pure. The Holy Spirit breathed out every word. The men didn’t say, ah, I’m not sure what I’m going to write today. I’ll just figure something out. God inspired this book. So, if there’s a detail in here, God planned it to be in here, and we should not lightly, casually blow through the Bible, and say, ah, details don’t matter.

Look at verse 14. When the layer of dew lifted, there was on the surface, this is Exodus 16:14, of the wilderness a small round substance as fine as frost on the ground. When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another. What is it? Which is manna. That’s the word manna. What is it? So, all of Hebrew, manna means, what is it? So, you can speak Hebrew this morning. Okay. That’s a little lesson for us. So, there are some details. God used manna, first of all, to reflect Christ’s humility. What does it say in verse 14? It says that there was on the surface a small substance. Manna in the wilderness was a picture of Christ coming.

How did Christ come? When the Magi, the wise men, came looking for him, where did they go first? They went to the largest palace of the ancient world, Herod’s palace. His palace was bigger than the Caesars. In fact, he had so many palaces that they’re still excavating them. Herod was one of the greatest kings of the ancient world, and they came to that giant palace, and Jesus wasn’t there. Where was he? He was in a small feeding trough, a manger. Jesus’ humility is reflected in the manna because Jesus came in a small way, which speaks of Him being a baby, which speaks, as Paul says, of Him coming as a servant.

It’s not in the mighty; it’s not in the great things. It’s not in the high and lofty things. Jesus came as a servant. He humbled Himself. He took upon Himself the form of a man. Jesus came in a lowly way and was only witnessed by the outcasts of society, the shepherds, who, by the way, the Pharisees wouldn’t get near shepherds because shepherds were dirty. They touched dead animals. They had to pick up the carcasses when the lions and wolves ate their things, and they were always perpetually unclean. So, the Pharisees and Sadducees never got near shepherds. So, who did Jesus let come and welcome Him? The outcasts, the people who were excluded. God used manna to reflect Christ’s humility.

Also, verse 14 says that the manna was not only small, but it was also what? Round. Now, I just stood right here yesterday afternoon at a wedding. I was standing up here, and the bride and groom were here, and I was holding their rings in my hand. I say the same thing, that’s the seventh of eight weddings this summer. I took the rings out, and I held one up. I said, it’s made of gold because love is precious, and it’s made in a circle because love is unending in Christ. You know the circle represents endlessness. Manna was round, which reflected Christ’s eternality. He is the Ancient of Days. He is the end of days. In fact, as it says in John 8:53, Jesus Christ is the eternal God. That circle is a symbol of His eternality, and manna reflects Christ’s humility. It was small, his eternality, it was round.

But that’s not all. Look at verse 31, and it’s just so much fun to read all this and find this. Look at verse 31, the house of Israel called its name manna, and it was like white coriander seed. Manna, thirdly, is used to reflect Christ’s holiness because it was white. It’s a reminder of His purity, His sinlessness. He is the Holy Son of God. White is very important. The priests were clad in white linen garments. The high priest on the day of atonement wore a white linen garment. They were to have white throughout the linen temple curtains and the linen Tabernacle curtains. Why? To reflect the holiness of God and Jesus, pictured in the bread of God coming down in the wilderness, is small, round, and white.

But also, look at verse 31 at the end. And the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. God used manna to reflect Christ’s sweetness because it was honey-like and sweet. You know how it says in Psalm 34? It says, oh, taste and see, the Lord is good. Thy words were found, and I did eat them. They were the joy and rejoicing of my heart. Sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb, as it says in Psalm 19. That’s the sweetness of Christ.

Now, what’s fascinating is it says in chapter 11 of the book of Numbers that the people that weren’t in tune with God, the mixed multitude, the rabble they’re called, they didn’t like manna as it appeared. If you had gone out this morning and found some manna, if we were in the camp of Israel, and you picked one up and ate it, it would taste just like you were eating sweet, sweet honey. They didn’t like it that way. So, it says in Numbers chapter 11, they beat it, and they boiled it, and they baked it. They didn’t like the way it came. You know what it says? It says that when the mixed multitude, the Jews that did not appreciate the taste of manna, asked for leeks and onions and garlic. When they were not satisfied with simple manna, they ground it, they beat it, they baked it, and they tasted it. It lost its sweet honey taste. Once they beat it, baked it, boiled it, and did all that, it wasn’t good anymore. It was no longer sweet. There’s a spiritual lesson for us. We should take Christ as He is. We can’t improve on Him. We can’t improve on the simple Word of God. We cannot improve on the sweetness of God.

Finally, though, look at verse 35. I love this. And the children of Israel ate manna for 40 years until they came to an inhabited land. God used manna to reflect the reality that Jesus Christ can feed us throughout our lives. It was satisfying. It strengthened them. The nation lived on manna for 40 years. All we’ll ever need for our spiritual nourishment is God’s Heaven-sent bread, and we are to feast on God, and we’ll never hunger. So, Jesus is so much like manna.

But another thing, back up to the first three verses, I want to show you in chapter 16. When Jesus called Himself the bread of God come from Heaven, He was saying that manna illustrates not only what He’s like, but also how He came to Earth. Now, read through this chapter with me again. Look what it says in verse 2. The whole congregation of the children of Israel was complaining. The children of Israel say, man, we don’t want to be here. It was to that group that the Lord sent manna? Think about this: Exodus 16:1-3 reflects that Jesus, like the manna, came to a world that did not obey Him. Jesus came to this Earth to His own, and His own received Him not, it says in John 1. Just as God gave manna to rebellious people.

Isn’t there a parallel? As manna was given to people who were in rebellion against God and complaining, Jesus came to a world that did not receive Him, did not want Him, was not really even hardly looking for Him, and wasn’t very excited that He came, except Herod, who wanted to get rid of Him. It’s amazing what poor memories Israel had. They had been away from the horrible, deathly oppression of Egypt only six weeks, and they’d already forgotten God’s mercy, and they were complaining. To that group, God fed them.

Verse 4 reflects the fact that Jesus came from Heaven. It says the Lord said to Moses, behold, I’ll rain bread from Heaven for you. What’s interesting is that manna was not imported from Egypt. It wasn’t manufactured in the wilderness. God sent it from Heaven. Jesus is not the product of the religious aspirations of all collective humanity. Jesus came from Heaven. Fascinating, the parallel as Jesus came from Heaven, as manna came from Heaven. So, we see that it is a food only for those who will buy faith and partake of it.

Look at verse 13. Here’s something else about Christ coming. It says that manna came in the morning. That means that at first thing in the morning, as the light began to break, they went out and they looked on the ground and there was the manna. So, it had been placed there by God during the night. The night before, it wasn’t there. In the morning, it showed up. So, it arrived during the night, and there’s something about that in the morning phrase in verse 13. Jesus came to a sin-darkened world just like manna came at night. There are a lot of verses about that. Jesus said, I came to be a light in the world. If He came to be the light, the world would be dark. It says in 2 Corinthians 4 that in the night of darkness, in the hearts of those who have rejected God, He came to light. I love the verse in Luke chapter 1, the last two verses 78 and 79, where it says Jesus came as the sunrise on high to light those who sat in darkness. Manna came at night. The bread of God from Heaven came in the sin-darkened night of this world, and Jesus came like manna at night.

Here’s another one. This one, I think, is beautiful. It says in verse 14, when the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a small round substance as fine as frost. That’s Exodus 16:14. If you compare that with what it says in Numbers 11:9, it appears this is how God did it. At night, God coated the ground with dew, placed the manna on the dew, and as the dew evaporated, the manna was seen. Now, it’s fascinating that detail because it appears that God laid down dew and placed the manna on top of it. Then, as the dew disappeared, they could see the manna.

The other day, I was watching, and in some building where I was, this baby was sitting on the floor, and the mother was dropping Cheerios on the floor of a public place, and the little tyke was going [grabbing and eating sounds] and eating it. I thought, ugh, how much hair and ashes from cigarettes, we can’t smoke anymore in our culture, but whatever’s on the floor, the kids are eating it. That’s the first thing. You don’t eat off the floor. You tell your children not to eat off the floor. Blow it off, clean it, or throw it away. Don’t eat it. God didn’t throw their food on the ground. He put it on a layer of dew.

You say, big deal. What’s the deal? If the manna coming in the wilderness laying on dew from God, is a picture of Christ, what is it picturing? Jesus came into this world unstained by sin. We call that the virgin birth of Christ. Jesus came down to the Earth as it were, in a little layer of dew that cushioned Him from the fallenness of this world. He was supernaturally conceived. He was not a recipient of the fallen sin nature of Adam. So, there’s a real picture of how Jesus came here. As the manna sat separated from the sin-cursed Earth and rested there, so Jesus came to the Earth, but unfallen and unsinful and virgin born. So, there’s a real picture of the supernatural birth, just like manna came on the dew. As the manna will lie atop the pure dew, so Jesus, through the virgin birth, through the Holy Spirit, came to Earth unstained by sin.

Finally, I like this, the last part of verse 13. It came in the morning, so that means it fell at night. It came in the dew, which means it supernaturally came unstained by the Earth. Look at this. It says it lies all around the camp. Now, think about this. Jesus came where we are, and just like manna fell right where those people were. They didn’t have to go climbing the mountains to find it. They didn’t have to cross the raging rivers if there had been any in the desert. They did not have to go down to the bottom of these precipices and deep wadi’s; they didn’t have to go down there and risk their lives. It fell right where they were. It came right to where they were. All they had to do was just step outside the camp and get the manna. Jesus did not appear in Ursa Major, M309, the Stella Nebular cluster out there. He came to Earth. There’s a picture of His coming. He comes right where we are. He comes as the supernatural son of God. He comes down on the night of our sin. He comes to rebellious people and meets them and offers Himself.

Finally, let me apply all this. When Jesus called Himself in John 6, and you know what? You can’t understand Exodus 16 until you get to John 6. Exodus 16 was the picture, but John 6 is the person. When Jesus fed the 5,000, it was a sign, and the sign had to do with the manna, but the sign always points to something greater. The sign was pointing to God offering, not just round little seeds on the ground to eat, but God providing Himself to eat, Himself to give life, Himself to be wherever we are, to be whatever we need. He says, I’m not going to dispatch a bunch of dew-encrusted manna seeds. I’m going to come Myself.

So, how do we respond to that? Let me just share five ideas. Jesus saying He was the manna from Heaven illustrates what we must do with Him. Now, remember the whole book of John that we’re studying calls Christians believers. A believer, according to Jesus, being the Bread of Life, has to first of all, feel the need to receive Christ. What do I mean by that? There has to be spiritual hunger. Those people who were in that nine-mile by nine-mile, 81 square mile campground, didn’t just sit in their tent and say where’s the manna? They had to say, man, I’m hungry. They would start looking outside the camp and seeking in their hunger to find food.

Now, I don’t know about you, but don’t get all caught up because I firmly believe that you haven’t chosen Me, I’ve chosen you, and God draws us to salvation. But that happens to be on the backside, to use programming terms. It’s the part we don’t see. It’s up here in Heaven. On the earthly level, God operates with people realizing their need. When we go out and witness, we say, will you admit and acknowledge your lostness? Are you spiritually hungry? Do you realize that everything you’ve done all of your life will never satisfy you, never will in the future, and you need something else? We call that admitting you’re a sinner. Admitting you’re lost. Admitting you’re hopeless. Admitting you’re destined for eternal destruction. As our good friend Paul Dixon preaches, God wants to take the hell out of your future. We all have hell in our future, apart from the intervention of Christ. How do we get it out? By admitting that we’re lost and believing Christ is the only way and embracing Him and calling out to Him. So, what does manna show us? That believers feel the need to receive Christ. They want to go out and get the bread.

I think about myself. In 1962, during all of our atomic bomb practices when I was in grade school at Haslett Elementary, we’d all crawl under our desks, get ready for the atomic bomb. Finally, I was smart enough to realize it would blow me up and the desk. So, I went to my mom, and I said, am I going to go to Heaven? She says, you’re absolutely not going to Heaven. Why? Admit the need. Why? She said, you’re a sinner. I said, I know that. Doesn’t God know that? She said, yes, but you have to tell Him you are so I am. What else? She said, you have to believe Jesus died for you. I said, I do. She said, but you’re not saved until you call out to Him and ask for His salvation. It’s such a picture.

Secondly, believers receive Christ by stooping. Now, I want you guys think about this. Think about living in this camp. If you walked out of the camp and saw manna on the ground, how would you get it? Would you go, come to me, manna, come. There’s only one way to get it. You have to stoop down for yourself and pick it up. Isn’t that a picture of the humbling stooping to receive Christ? The humble crying out to Him as the only hope. Think about it with me. The manna did not fall on their tables. It didn’t fall up on the trees, it fell on the ground. The people had to stoop down. They had to pick it up. So many sinners will never humble themself before Christ. They will never stoop, they will not bend. They will not repent. They will not return to Jesus. They go, no. Frank Sinatra, my way, not Your way.

You know what God says? You’ll seek Me when you seek with all your heart, when you are humbly contrite. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Those who acknowledge they are poor in spirit, those who say that they’re spiritual paupers, have no righteousness in themselves, that they’re just like a leper covered with filthy rags. They come before Christ, and they say, I have no hope, but You. In the wilderness, that was portrayed by getting down on your hands and knees and picking up this food. In the New Testament, it’s Thomas bowing on his knees, looking up at Christ and saying, my Lord, and my God, and believing in Him. Manna is a picture of the humble, contrite, stooping to receive it.

Another picture. Believers must feel the need to go out looking for the food. Believers must stoop to receive Christ, but believers personally take Christ for themselves. The hungry Jews were not fed by looking at the manna. They could have gotten binoculars, and they could have said, oh, nice crop today. Oh, look, it’s over on the rocks, and they viewed it. They got fed by going and getting some and eating it. There’s something about that today that you can’t watch someone eat the manna of God. You can’t admire how great the perfection of Christ is. You have to pick Him up and eat Him for yourself. Christ must be received inwardly by faith if the sinner is to be saved. That’s why Jesus, in the same passage, John 6:51, says, except you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you don’t have eternal life. Was He talking about cannibalism? No. He’s talking about the fact that it is a personal transaction. Bonnie cannot get saved for me. I can’t get saved for my family. You can’t get your husband saved. Your children can’t get you saved. You must personally eat of Jesus Christ.

How do you do that? You admit that you have a need. You need to eat Him. You believe He’s the only source of food, and then you call out to Him, and you receive Him. So, believers personally take Christ for themselves. It’s interesting what it says here, if you look in verse 21 of chapter 16. So, they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need, every individual. It seems that God made them all go out. The whole camp had to go out, and I’m sure that the babies that couldn’t feed themselves got to have some collected for them. But all the people who were old enough to know what was going on went out, and they gathered their bunch that they needed for that day. But look what happens in verse 21, and when the sun became hot, this stuff was gone.

What’s all that about? Well, a believer, fourthly, takes Jesus while they can. The Scriptures say in Isaiah 55, seek the Lord while He may be found. It says in the book of Hebrews, today, if you’ll hear His voice, harden not your heart. The manna disappearing in the sun reminds us of the gracious offer of salvation in God that His judgment will someday take away if someone refuses to respond to Him one too many times. You know, there is a point where you’re beyond hope. That point is when you have heard the knocking of the Spirit of God, as it says in the book of Hebrews. Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your hearts. Why? Because in the Bible, there is person after person after person who heard God’s voice knocking at their heart, and they hardened themselves and would not listen.

I’ve seen that. I’ve been a pastor for 24, soon to be 25 years, and 25 years I’ve watched people. I’ve seen them hold on during invitations. I’ve seen them sweat. I’ve seen them during evangelistic meetings look like the temperatures have been like it’s been this past week, and they’re outside. I’ve seen that. You go to them, they say, oh, I know. I know it’s true. I know I need Christ, but not yet. Not yet. A month later, cool as a cube. They don’t need Christ. A lot of them never come to that point again. They got right up there. They saw their lostness, they saw Christ was the answer, but their human will said, I will not bow and stoop before Him. As it says in the book of Hebrews, they hardened their hearts too many times. Jesus Christ must be taken while we can.

As believers, we who know Christ must get our spiritual nourishment from the Word early, and we must meditate on it all day long. Every one of us must gather for ourselves. We must gather up the morning of our opportunities, and if we let it slip, it might melt away. This is a dual picture. It’s a picture of receiving Christ. It’s also a picture of time in God’s Word. You know the test of your spiritual life as we’ll see tonight, and I don’t want to get into tonight’s message, but the test of our spiritual life is, do you love Jesus enough in the morning to go out and gather some up for your day to eat Him? Why read the Bible when you’re half dead at night falling asleep and go to sleep? Why not do it where you do the most important part of your day? For most people, the most important part of their day is when they get ready and when they have their little peak of the news or their little glimpse of whatever. Why not include Jesus at the front, where He’s most important, where you put the critical parts of your life? That’s what He’s saying, and He wants us to feed upon Him.

That’s the message of manna. I wonder this morning, have you felt the need to receive Christ? Have you stooped to receive Him? Have you personally received Him? Have you taken Him while you can? And if so, He is the sweetness, the Bread of Life. Wherever you are, whatever you need, Jesus wants to provide.