I - Introduction

John 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

After Christ had miraculously fed the five thousand out of the five barley loaves and the two small fishes, the Jews who saw the miracle said "Truly this is the Prophet we have been waiting for." But the Lord Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.

John 6:24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

These Jews realizing that our Lord had withdrew Himself, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

John 6:25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 

"Master, when did you get here?"

But the Lord instead of answering their question, He rebukes them for He knows what was in their hearts.

John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27: Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Our Lord rebukes them for they were seeking Him for the wrong things and for the wrong reasons. Their minds were focused on the temporal and material, rather than on the eternal and spiritual. They were not seeking Jesus for eternal life. They were not interested in the person of Jesus Christ. What they were seeking in Jesus is more bread. All they want is physical food. They were seeking Jesus only for what He could do for them materially. 

John 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29: Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 

What was their response?

John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? (What can you do?)

When our Lord demanded that they believe on Him, all of a sudden they wanted more sign. 

John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 

They pointed to the miracle of the manna in the days of Moses, and suggested that, if they were to believe and accept Him, He must do as Moses had done, He must miraculously provide for them.

John 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33: For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34: Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 

Our Lord reminded them that it was not Moses who gave the Israelites bread from heaven. It was the Father. And now He offers them the true bread from heaven.

Then Christ lays hold of the reference that they put into His hands, and He announces ...

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36: But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. 

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Since they brought up the subject of manna our Lord used it to teach the Jews that He is the true Manna. He is the Living Bread. He is the Bread of Life. The manna that God gave to Israel in the wilderness was only a picture of Christ. It was a type of Christ. It was picture of Christ in several ways.

II - How does the manna picture Christ?

How does the manna in the wilderness pictures Christ the Bread of life?

1. The Manna was from Heaven

Exodus 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

The manna was food from heaven sent by the God of heaven.The Manna came directly from the store house of God. It did not come from the earth. It did not grow on trees. Rather it was food that came down from God above.

Like the manna the Lord Jesus Christ was given by God the Father. He descended from heaven to earth.

Christ in this chapter, refers to Himself as coming down from heaven as the bread of life.

John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

So we see the manna was a picture of Christ coming into this world. Our Lord Jesus Christ was sent from heaven to earth by the Father as the bread of life.

2. The Manna was given freely

Exodus 16:14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15: And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16: This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

As it rained abundant bread from heaven, Moses reminded them, that this is the bread which the Lord had promised them. This bread is given to them to have and to eat freely and abundantly.

It is a free gift without any merit, without their labor, diligence and industry. All they need to do is receive and gather them.

They don't need to plow and plant and grow and raise this manna. The Father gives it to them freely. The Lord Jesus Christ like manna, He is given freely. Christ as the bread of heaven is the gift of God to this world. 

John 6:50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

1 John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Christ the bread of life is a free gift from God and free to all who hungry and thirsty souls. That is Christ is for all who is hungry, rich or poor, young or old, male or female.

Are you hungry? Gather it.

Exodus 16:17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

He was sent down from heaven even as this manna was prepared in heaven, sent down from heaven.

3. The Manna was unique

It is one of a kind. It is something that the Israelites have never seen before. 

What was manna? Nobody really knows what manna was. Even the Israelites asked the very same question: 

Exodus 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. 

The Hebrew word translated "manna" literally means "what is it?"

Deuteronomy 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3: And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

There is much we do not know about the manna but this we know, the manna is picture of Christ. Far more important than manna's physical qualities is what manna foreshadowed.

Like Manna, Christ is one of a kind. He is entirely unique. Unique in every way. Unique in His birth, in His person, in His works, in His sufferings, in His death, in His resurrection. He is unique in every thing and in every way.

He is the only bread of life. He is the only living bread. He is the only bread from heaven, which God ever gave to preserve the life of man, as Christ is the true bread that came down from heaven, and was given for the life of the world. 

4. The Manna sustained life

During the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel were fed by the manna which came down from heaven. God rained bread from heaven every day of their lives in the wilderness. This manna from heaven sustained the children of Israel and kept them alive until they reached the Promised land flowing with milk and honey. Without the manna from heaven the children of Israel would have died as they made their journey through the wilderness. But because of the manna their lives were sustained.

Just as God provided manna to the Israelites to save them from starvation, He has provided Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls. The literal manna temporarily saved the Israelites from physical death. The spiritual manna saves us from eternal death. 

The Saviour came down from heaven to give life, to sustain life. He came to give eternal life to those who were dying in their sins.

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

5. The Manna was sweet to the taste

The Bible nowhere discusses the chemical composition of manna. All we are told is that ...

Numbers 11:7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium (resin).

Psalm 78:24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. 25: Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

Based on these descriptions, manna appears to be round in form, beautiful color and it is pleasant to look at.

But there is another quality that is unique about the manna:

Exodus 16:31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Not only is the manna pleasant to look at, it is has a pleasant taste. It is sweet to the taste.

Oh, like the manna in the wilderness that is sweet as honey, Christ is to those who have tasted Him, taste like wafer made with honey.

Song of Solomon 5:16 His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

The doctrines and the words, the exceeding and precious promises that proceed from His mouth are sweet. They are sweeter than the honey and the honeycomb.

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

6. The Manna had to be prepared

Numbers 11:7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium. 8: And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.

Before the manna can be eaten it had to be prepared. It had to go through a grounding and beating and a baking process. The manna had to be prepared by being grounded and beaten and baked with fire.

What a clear picture of the cross and the suffering that Christ went though before He could provide eternal salvation for sinners. As the manna had to be grounded and beaten and baked in the fire before sustaining life so Christ before salvation could be provided for sinners had to suffer on the cross of Calvary for man's sins. The Lord Jesus Christ came to die.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

He took my sins and my sorrows,

He made them His very own;

He bore the burden to Calvary,

And suffered and died alone.

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!

And my song shall ever be:

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!

Is my Savior's love for me!.

.

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 

To give His flesh is to offer Himself a sacrifice for sins. Our Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross in the flesh bore our sins in His body, took them upon Himself and died on the cross. And He, through His death gave us life and it is the crucified Christ that is the bread of life.

7. The Manna must be partaken

Before the manna can do any good to the children of Israel they have to partake of it. The manna had to be received and eaten to nourish and sustain them. The Israelites had to go and partake of the manna if it was going to do them any good. 

Now every morning, the LORD rain down bread from heaven for the for the children of Israel. But the children of Israel have a decision to make every morning whether to stay home or go out and gather and partake of the manna.

Exodus 16:16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.

Left in the field, or even left in the storage in the tent the manna would absolutely have been useless. It had to be partaken of.

As the manna have to be partaken of, so is Christ must be partaken of. Listen to the words of Jesus Christ ...

John 6:48 I am that bread of life. 49: Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50: This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52: The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53: Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54: Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55: For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57: As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58: This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Christ is not speaking of literally eating His flesh and drinking His blood. He is speaking in metaphor. He is speaking of spiritual partaking of His flesh and blood.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

And when we eat His flesh and when we drink His blood, He speaks of believing in Him and receiving Him by faith into our hearts and into our souls as Saviour and Redeemer. Even as these Jews received the bread and lived. 

You must eat, you must drink, you must come, you must receive, you must believe by faith and receive Him as your Bread of Life.

III - Closing Thoughts

Have you partaken of Christ? Have you by faith trusted Him and received Him as your Living Bread? Have you believed Him as the Bread of Life?

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The food on your table or on your plate or in your hand, no matter how well prepared and well presented it is, will not nourish you and sustain you unless you eat and partake of it. Christ preached and offered will do no good  for the sinner if He is not personally received by faith.

How many times a person hears the gospel? But it doesn't do them any good because they have not partaken of Christ.

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

The Lord Jesus came down from heaven to give everlasting life, to give eternal redemption, to save men and women from the depths of their sin and give unto them eternal salvation.

Have you ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own and personal Saviour?

Come and believe and receive the Bread of Life!

Amen!