The Bread of Life

38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” 39 One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. 40 And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. 41 He said, “Then bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot and said, “Pour some out for the men, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the LORD. – 2 Kings 4:38-44 ESV

Once again, the author presents his readers with two stories intended to convey a message about the spiritual state of apostate Israel and her faithful, all-powerful God. God’s prophet, Elisha, becomes the primary means by which God reveals His power and authority among the people. In this case, Elisha will have to deal with the effects of yet another famine in the land. During the days of Elijah, God brought a devastating famine on the land of Israel because of the sins of King Ahab and his wicked queen, Jezebel. Elijah had been forced to deliver God’s message of judgment against the apostate king and his pagan, idol-worshiping wife.

“As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” – 1 Kings 17:1 ESV

That first famine remained on the land until God determined to lift it, and its end came only after Elijah had defeated the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Through His prophet, God delivered a devastating and decisive blow to the false god of Ahab and Jezebel. And only after a demonstrative display of His power and authority did God relent and restore fruitfulness to the land of Israel.

And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. – 1 Kings 18:45 ESV

Yet, despite God’s gracious act of undeserved kindness, the people remained just as committed to their false gods. King Ahab eventually died, but his two sons carried on his legacy of unfaithfulness, continuing to lead the people of Israel in apostasy and idolatry. As a result, God brought another famine on the land. In doing so, He purposefully transformed a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 33:3) into a wasteland. The people of Israel had decided to forsake Yahweh and worship the false gods of Canaan, so He withheld the rain and allowed their physical conditions to mirror the state of their hearts. Fruitfulness would be replaced with drought.

It would appear that the blessing of rain brought upon the land during the days of Elijah had made little impact on the people. They continued to reject Yahweh as the one true God. So, at some point, God cursed the land with yet another famine. This time, it was Elisha who had to deal with the effects of this divine judgment.

The scene described in these verses involves the prophets of God who have gathered at a place called Gilgal. The identity of the characters and the location are essential to understanding the story. Elijah had gathered together with other men who served as the spiritual spokesmen for God among the people of Israel. This was a conclave of committed Yahweh followers who gathered at the sacred site of Gilgal. This location is significant because it was there that Joshua erected a stone memorial to commemorate the Israelites’ crossing of the Jordan River.

The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.” – Joshua 4:19-24 ESV

We have no way of knowing whether the stones were still standing during the days of Elisha, but all the prophets of God would have been aware of the significance of their surroundings; they were standing on sacred ground.

Elisha ordered his servant, Gehazi, to prepare a stew for the prophets. Keep in mind that there was a famine in the land, and food would have been scarce. Even these men of God would have been experiencing the impact of Yahweh’s judgment on the land. But Elisha, as Yahweh’s primary representative, took it upon himself to care for his fellow prophets. But one of the men made an innocent, yet potentially deadly mistake. In an effort to assist Gehazi, this unidentified prophet gathered some wild gourds and added them to the stew, but the gourds he picked proved to be poisonous. This young man had tried to help but had made things worse. His ignorance proved to be potentially deadly. His inability to recognize a toxic gourd could have ended in a tragedy. But fortunately, his mistake was caught, preventing any of his fellow prophets from dying as a result of his error.

The lesson here is clear. As prophets of God, these men were to know the difference between the true and the false. They were God’s spokesmen, commissioned by Him to deliver His message of repentance to the people of Israel. They were to point the people back to God. But if they failed to recognize and revere Yahweh as the one true God, they would run the risk of bringing judgment upon the nation. In a sense, the wild gourd is intended to represent the worship of false gods. The young prophet had been fooled by the apparent similarities between a good gourd and one that contained deadly poison. He had not been equipped to spot the differences, and his mistake almost cost his friends their lives.

The false gods the people of Israel worshipped were particularly deceptive because they often resembled the real thing. They were promoted as powerful deities who shared traits similar to those of Yahweh. These gods had altars and temples, and were said to possess supernatural powers that the Israelites would attempt to tap into by offering sacrifices. However, the entire point of the story is that these false gods were ultimately deadly and entirely unable to nourish or sustain the people. They were a poison that brought nothing but death and destruction.

Fortunately, the rest of the prophets of God recognized the presence of the poison, warning one another of the invisible danger before any lives were lost. Then Elisha stepped in and remedied the problem. He took flour and mixed it into the poisoned stew. Just as the wild gourd represents that deadly influence of idolatry, the flour stands for the purifying influence of God’s Word. The truth concerning Yahweh and His commands to worship Him as the one true God was the answer to the deadly influence of Baalism. This entire scene was intended to be a powerful reminder to the prophets of God of their indispensable role as God’s messengers. If they didn’t speak the truth, the people were doomed. If they failed to recognize the deceptive and deadly nature of idolatry, the nation had no hope of survival.

However, through the actions of Elisha, God purified the pot of stew, rendering the poisonous contents not only edible but also beneficial. There are obvious similarities between this miracle and one that Elisha performed earlier. Chapter two contains the story of Elisha transforming the brackish waters outside the city of Jericho. He had been told by the residents, “…the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful” (2 Kings 2:19 ESV). The city had a water source, but it was non-potable. As a result, the land was unfruitful. But Elisha quickly resolved the problem, providing yet another decisive demonstration of God’s power and holiness.

“Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the LORD says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.” And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said. – 2 Kings 2:20-22 NLT

God used Elisha to make the water drinkable and the poisoned stew safe for consumption. The lesson? God’s presence and power were meant to be tangible and beneficial. He wanted to bless the lives of His people, and only He could bring sustenance and salvation. He was the great provider who could meet all their needs if only they would turn to Him.

God gave His prophets one further demonstration of His incomparable power to provide for all their needs. An unidentified man showed up who hailed from the town of Baal-shalishah. The name of the city is significant because it means “thrice great lord.” It was a town named after the false god, Baal, yet a resident of the city was bringing an offering dedicated to Yahweh. He brought 20 loaves of bread as a sacrifice of the first-fruits of his harvest, and he gave them to Elisha. The people of Israel had no access to the Temple in Jerusalem, so the man had no other way to present his offering to God. When Elisha received the gift, he ordered that it be distributed among his fellow prophets. But Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, informed him that the bread was insufficient to feed the 100 prophets.

Once again, God used Elisha to demonstrate His power to provide. Elisha ordered Gehazi to distribute the bread, telling him, “Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the Lord says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!” (2 Kings 4:43 NLT). When Gehazi followed his master’s instructions, a miracle occurred. All 100 prophets had more than enough bread to eat, and there were even leftovers. This story foreshadows another miracle that took place centuries later when Jesus fed the 5000 with nothing but three loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus, the final and consummate prophet of God, also demonstrated Yahweh’s power through a miracle of multiplication. Matthew records that when Jesus had broken the loaves and the fishes, “they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over” ( Matthew 14:20 ESV). 

In the midst of a famine, God miraculously fed His prophets with stew that He had purified and bread that He had multiplied. Hundreds of years later, when the nation of Israel found itself in another season of self-induced spiritual famine, God sent His Son as the Bread of Life to feed all those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness.

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.” – John 6:35 NLT

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” – Matthew 5:6 BSB

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give Us That Bread!

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” – John 6:22-34 ESV

After having blown the minds of His disciples by walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a storm, Jesus returned with His astonished followers to Capernaum. What happened next is only recorded by John. Matthew and Mark both describe Jesus as traveling to a place called Gennesaret where He performed additional miracles. But only John provides the details concerning Jesus’ discourse on the bread of life. As has been stated before, John is less interested in providing an accurate moment-by-moment timeline than he is in linking together those key events in the life of Jesus that demonstrate His deity. 

As we will see, John’s inclusion of this particular event provides a unifying link for all that John as described in the last five chapters. In chapter two, John recounted the story of Jesus turning ordinary water into extraordinary wine. He went on to describe Jesus cleansing the temple and referring to His own body as the temple that will be destroyed and raised up three days later. In chapter three, John provided a first-hand account of Jesus’ late-night conversation with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. The theme was the need for belief in the one “who descended from heaven, the Son of Man” (John 3:13, but who would also “be lifted up be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15 ESV).

In that same chapter, John provided the testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus. He too described Jesus as “He who comes from heaven” and “is above all” (John 3:31 ESV). John the Baptist assured his disciples that Jesus was the one whom God and who “utters the words of God” (John 3:34 ESV).

In chapter four, John told the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. In that story, Jesus offered to give His unlikely conversation partner the gift of “living water,” assuring her that “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (John 4:14 ESV). He went on to describe this water as the source of eternal life.

“The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life…” – John 4:14 ESV

John went on to record the exchange between Jesus and His disciples when they returned to the well with food and were surprised to see their teacher talking to a Samaritan woman. When the offered Jesus food, He responded, “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (John 4:32 ESV). And Jesus went on to clarify what He had said. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34 ESV).

In chapter five, Jesus continued to assert that He was working in conjunction with and under the full authority of His Heavenly Father.

“My Father is working until now, and I am working.” – John 5:17 ESV

Everything Jesus did was a demonstration of His divine mandate as the Son of God. But He wasn’t just a man sent by God, He was God in human flesh, and He shared the same power and authority over life and death as His Heavenly Father.

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.” – John 5:21 ESV

And Jesus boldly proclaimed to the religious leaders, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24 ESV).

Of course, chapter six contains the story of Jesus feeding the multitude with nothing more than five loaves and two fish. And it had all begun with an innocent but revealing question from Philip: “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (John 6:5 ESV). Like the other disciples, Philip saw a physical need that was beyond their capacity to meet. But Jesus saw an opportunity to demonstrate His power over the physical realm so that they might believe in His authority to offer spiritual sustenance to all those in need.

Which brings us to today’s passage. Jesus had returned to Capernaum, but before long, He found Himself surrounded by a crowd of people who have traveled all the way from Bethsaida just to find Him. These were the very same people who had benefited from His miracle the day before by having eaten their fill of the loaves and fishes He had multiplied in their sight. Now, they had come seeking to find the one who had met their needs so dramatically and completely.

But Jesus saw through their motives and accused them of having purely selfish and physical motives.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” – John 6:26 ESV

They saw Jesus as little more than an unlimited source of food. They had traveled all the way from Bethsaida to Capernaum in hopes of finding Jesus and receiving a second free meal. But Jesus revealed that they had expended a lot of effort in search of the wrong thing.

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” – John 6:27 ESV

They were driven by temporal desires that were purely physical in nature. They were hoping to get a free meal but failed to understand that Jesus had come to provide freedom from sin. When Jesus had offered the Samaritan woman a source of water that would allow her to never thirst again, she had responded, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (John 4:15 ESV). Like the crowd from Bethsaida, she had missed the point. Her mind was fixed on the physical world.

When Jesus told His eager audience, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life,” they misunderstood His meaning. He was speaking in spiritual terms, but their growling stomachs made it impossible for them focus. They wanted to know what they needed to do to get their hands on bread that never would never get stale or grow moldy.

“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” – John 6:28 ESV

All they wanted to know was what they needed to do to get their needs met. What was God going to require of them? What rules or regulations would they have to keep in order to get what they wanted from Him? And Jesus took advantage of their eager desire to do something by outlining the only “work” God required of them.

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” – John 6:29 ESV

And this is where John provides a less-than-flattering glimpse into their hearts. Jesus has told them that they must believe in Him. So, they demand that He provide Him with a sign worthy of their belief. And, just in case Jesus might not have something in mind, they give Him a suggestion.

“Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” – John 6:3-31 NLT

They had already seen Jesus perform a sign worthy of their belief. In fact, after Jesus had fed them the day before, they had exclaimed, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (John 6:14 ESV). But now, they were demanding more of the same. And they weren’t interested in a miracle to encourage their belief. They were looking for a miracle to fill their stomachs. Moses had provided the Israelites an endless supply of manna, so couldn’t Jesus do the same? 

These people had seen Jesus feed more than 10,000 people with nothing more than a few loaves of bread and a couple of fishes. So, it should be no problem for Him to conjure up a daily supply of endless bread to meet their physical needs. And, should He be willing to do so, that will guarantee their belief in Him.

But Jesus pointed out the flaw in their thinking. First of all, Moses had not been the one to provide the Israelites with manna. It had been God. And now, God was offering them a completely different kind of bread that would result in eternal life.

“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.” – John 6:32 NLT

The manna, while divinely provided, was temporary in nature. It was meant to meet the needs of that day. They were forbidden to hoard it or to store it. If they did, it would rot (Exodus 16:19-20). And each day, when their hunger returned, they were required to gather more to meet their need. But Jesus reveals that He came to offer them something far more satisfying than earthly bread to meet physical needs.

“The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” – John 6:33 NLT

These very same people had eaten their fill the day before. They had been fed by the hand of the Son of God, but the food they received was temporary in nature. It could only satisfy for the moment. When they woke the next morning, their hunger had returned. Their previously filled stomachs were once again empty. And they had gone in search of more. And when Jesus offered them true bread from heaven, they had quickly begged, “Sir…give us that bread every day” (John 6:34 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson