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Jesus the Living Bread Placed in a Prophetic Food Receptacle
Jesus the Living Bread Placed in a Prophetic Food Receptacle
David W Palmer
(Luke 2:16 NLT) They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
If the manger is indeed a feeding trough for animals, then this is an amazing place for Jesus—the Bread of Life—to be placed when he came to birth on the earth. Not to mention that this took place in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Why? Because part of his mission here is to nourish us:
(John 6:35 NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Jesus clearly says that he is the “bread of life”—who completely satiates spiritual hunger. What’s more, he says that he can also entirely quench spiritual thirst—if we believe in him. In other words, only those with true and living faith in Jesus—not the kind that has no actions—shall “never thirst.”
The true faith that God is looking for can only come from the living word (See: Rom. 10:17). Jesus’s words are containers and carriers of God’s life (See: Prov. 4:20–22, John 6:63). A constant flow of his living words ingested into your heart is akin to the water of life that originates at God’s throne, and that truly satisfies spiritual thirst:
(Revelation 22:1 NKJV) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
It washes the church to purity:
(Ephesians 5:26 NKJV) That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.
Imbibing Jesus’s living water is the only way to satisfy the deep gnawing thirst for life and significance:
(John 4:13–14 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, {14} but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
When Jesus spoke to the Jews at Capernaum about being the bread of life, and that they should eat his flesh and drink his blood; they had difficulty swallowing what he said. Let’s look at it in context:
(John 6:31–35 NLT) “After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” {32} Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. {33} The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” {34} “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” {35} Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
We fully understand why they asked Jesus: “Give us that bread every day.” These people understood the fall of man and the ensuing curse: “By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground” (Gen. 3:19 GWT). They rightly perceived that if Jesus gave them living bread every day, the curse would lose its power over them; they would live completely under the blessing, and they wouldn’t have to exert painful toil to receive provision.
The men of Capernaum may have been motivated by laziness at that time, but they were right; we who have already surrendered to Jesus certainly can enjoy God’s provision through his blessing. However, Jesus had to explain to these wrongly motivated Jews what it would take for them to receive that living bread and water into their hearts. [1]
Today, as you contemplate baby Jesus placed in a manger in Bethlehem; I encourage you to think not only of a cute baby, but of God’s way of providing for you the only nourishment that can truly and completely satisfy the spiritual thirst and hunger that deeply troubles and drives those who are deprived of it:
(Philippians 3:18–19 NKJV)
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By DAVID W. PALMERJesus the Living Bread Placed in a Prophetic Food Receptacle
David W Palmer
(Luke 2:16 NLT) They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
If the manger is indeed a feeding trough for animals, then this is an amazing place for Jesus—the Bread of Life—to be placed when he came to birth on the earth. Not to mention that this took place in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. Why? Because part of his mission here is to nourish us:
(John 6:35 NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Jesus clearly says that he is the “bread of life”—who completely satiates spiritual hunger. What’s more, he says that he can also entirely quench spiritual thirst—if we believe in him. In other words, only those with true and living faith in Jesus—not the kind that has no actions—shall “never thirst.”
The true faith that God is looking for can only come from the living word (See: Rom. 10:17). Jesus’s words are containers and carriers of God’s life (See: Prov. 4:20–22, John 6:63). A constant flow of his living words ingested into your heart is akin to the water of life that originates at God’s throne, and that truly satisfies spiritual thirst:
(Revelation 22:1 NKJV) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
It washes the church to purity:
(Ephesians 5:26 NKJV) That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word.
Imbibing Jesus’s living water is the only way to satisfy the deep gnawing thirst for life and significance:
(John 4:13–14 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, {14} but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
When Jesus spoke to the Jews at Capernaum about being the bread of life, and that they should eat his flesh and drink his blood; they had difficulty swallowing what he said. Let’s look at it in context:
(John 6:31–35 NLT) “After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” {32} Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. {33} The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” {34} “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.” {35} Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
We fully understand why they asked Jesus: “Give us that bread every day.” These people understood the fall of man and the ensuing curse: “By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground” (Gen. 3:19 GWT). They rightly perceived that if Jesus gave them living bread every day, the curse would lose its power over them; they would live completely under the blessing, and they wouldn’t have to exert painful toil to receive provision.
The men of Capernaum may have been motivated by laziness at that time, but they were right; we who have already surrendered to Jesus certainly can enjoy God’s provision through his blessing. However, Jesus had to explain to these wrongly motivated Jews what it would take for them to receive that living bread and water into their hearts. [1]
Today, as you contemplate baby Jesus placed in a manger in Bethlehem; I encourage you to think not only of a cute baby, but of God’s way of providing for you the only nourishment that can truly and completely satisfy the spiritual thirst and hunger that deeply troubles and drives those who are deprived of it:
(Philippians 3:18–19 NKJV)