BIBLE STUDY LESSON 14

SERIES R --- THE GOOD SHEPHERD

THE BREAD OF LIFE

From John 6:22-71

On the morning after Yeshua had fed the five thousand, the crowds were puzzled to see that He had gone. They knew that the disciples had left without Him, and all the other boats which had come from Tiberias were still there. But when these people realized that Yeshua was definitely not there, they got into their boats and went across to Capernaum to find Him. [How did you get over here?] they asked Yeshua when they had found Him. [Why are you looking for Me?] Yeshua said. [Is it because I can work miracles in your life? Or is it because I fed you until you were full? You must be careful not to work so hard for the bread that can spoil. Instead, work harder for the bread that stays fresh forever, the kind I can give you because the Father has put His seal on Me.] [What kind of work does YHVH want us to do?] the people asked. [Believe in Me,] Yeshua answered. [That is what YHVH wants you to do.] [We will believe in You when You do more miracles for us,] they answered. [Why don’t You do what Moses did in the wilderness and give us bread every day?] [It was YHVH, not Moses, Who gave the people bread in the wilderness,] Yeshua answered. [It is the same YHVH Who now provides a new kind of bread for you. He offers you a lifegiving bread that has come from heaven.] [Give it to us!] the people cried. [Give us this bread every day of our lives.] [I am the Bread of Life,] Yeshua said. [Whoever comes to Me will never hunger again. Whoever believes in Me will never thirst again. I have already told you that you have seen Me, but you don’t recognize Who I am. But some will recognize Me and come to Me, Who was sent by YHVH, and I will never turn them away. My purpose in coming down from heaven is to do what YHVH wants -- to keep safely every person He sends to Me, and to raise them up to everlasting life on the last day.] Then the people began to murmur among themselves about Yeshua. [How can Joseph’s son say that He came down from heaven,] they complained. [We know both of His parents so we know that He was born on earth.] [Stop murmuring among yourselves,] Yeshua told them. [People will come to Me only when YHVH draws them to Me. But in the last day I will raise those who do come. The prophets wrote that men will be taught by YHVH, so those who listen and learn from Him will come to Me. They will do this even though they have not seen Him, for only I have seen YHVH. Let Me assure you that anyone who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and in time they all died. But whoever eats the Bread of Life from heaven will never die. I am that Living Bread. If anyone eats this Bread, he will live forever. This Bread is My flesh, which I give so that the world may live.] The people became very angry when Yeshua said this, and they began to argue. [How can Yeshua give us His flesh to eat?] they complained. [Let Me tell you with absolute sureness,] Yeshua answered, [that if you do not eat My flesh and drink My blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has life that never ends, and I will raise him up on the last day. My flesh is food and My blood is drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood is in Me and I in him. The living Father sent Me and because He lives, I live also. In the same way, whoever feeds on Me will also live because of Me. This is the Bread that came from heaven. It is not like the bread which your ancestors ate before they died. Whoever eats this Bread will live forever.] Yeshua spoke these words while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Many who had followed Him there, who had become His disciples, were offended by this teaching. [This teaching goes against what we believe,] they complained. [How can we accept it?] Yeshua realized what these disciples were thinking, even before they said it. [Does this teaching offend you?] He asked them. [What if you saw Me go back up into heaven? The Spirit is the source of life, not the flesh. The Words I speak are Spirit and life, but some of you find them hard to believe.] Yeshua knew from the beginning who the unbelievers would be, as well as those who would betray Him. Then He added, [This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father first makes it possible.] From that time on some of the disciples left Yeshua and followed Him no more. Then Yeshua asked The Twelve, [Would you like to leave Me also?] [Where could we go, Adonai?] Simon Peter asked. [You are the One Who has the Words of everlasting life. We know that You are the Moshiach, YHVH’s Son.] [Did I not choose you?] Yeshua asked The Twelve. [But one of you is a devil.] Yeshua was talking about Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Although Judas was one of the chosen Twelve, he would later betray Yeshua.

COMMENTARY

LIFE-GIVING LAND

During the time of Yeshua, life was tied to the land and its production, as it had been for many generations. As far back as the time of Moses, it was called a land flowing with milk and honey, a fruitful land, a life-giving land. Prosperity was tied mostly to agriculture and fishing. Boats moved freely along the Mediterranean coast and on the Sea of Galilee. In addition to fish, which was dried or salted and shipped to various cities within the land, murex shells were gathered for their precious purple dye. Towns such as Bethsaida, which means {House of Fishing,} suggested the importance of this industry. Wheat farming prospered along the coastal plains, in the broad valleys such as the Valley of Esdraelon, and in small family plots in the Judean Mountains. Barley was also grown, especially farther south. Pasture lands for sheep and cattle stretched across the land, providing milk, cheese, wool, and leather. Animals offered some meat, although meat was more common in sacrifices than in daily food. The mountainous lands were rich with olive groves and vineyards, providing olives for food, olive oil for lamps, and grapes, wine, and raisins in abundance. Galilee was known for its flax, the valley near Jericho for dates and balsam, and the Plains of Sharon for oak trees. Pottery making, weaving, spinning, and metalworking were all tied to the land. In fact, almost every facet of Israel’s economy at the time of Yeshua depended upon the life-giving land.