As Jesus' ministry progressed, he began to attract a huge multitude of followers. At one point he found himself preaching to a crowd of over 5,000 men (and likely triple that number in women and children). Jesus' message was thrilling...his presence electrifying...and one evening when the large crowd had nowhere to go to eat for the night, Jesus performed one of only two miracles recorded in all four Gospels: He miraculously fed the huge crowd from a small amount of bread and fish.

Later, Jesus makes one of the most significant and remarkable statements of his entire ministry: He claimed that many people casually followed him simply for short-sighted, short-term, material reasons: They wanted more miracles, they wanted more messages, and they wanted more bread to fill their bellies...all because they continued to rely on worldly things to satisfy their physical nature...they continued to crave perishable things that only satisfy for a short time before needing replenishment.

Jesus then told his disciples “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty...for my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day...I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” In other words, Jesus can satisfy us in ways no earthly pleasures can, and this "good news" is a type of bread that will last for eternity!