After
Jesus fed the 5,000, many came to him because they wanted to follow someone who
could meet their physical needs. Jesus
responds by telling them that God has given them so much more because He has given them Him. In John 6:51 he tells his audience,
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If
anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give
for the life of the world is my flesh.
Jesus is using this imagery here to point the Jewish people back
to the time when God provided manna for them from heaven. Jesus is using this imagery to say, “I am your
provision—I am your manna. I am the
bread of life that God has sent for you.”
