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.”
King James Version (KJV)
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After feeding the five thousand, Jesus is pursued by crowds seeking more bread. He responds with the first of his 'I am' sayings, identifying himself as the true bread that came down from heaven.
What Does John 6:35 Mean?
John 6:35 records the first of Jesus' great "I am" declarations in this Gospel: "I am the bread of life." The day before, he had fed a multitude with loaves and fish, and now the crowd wants more bread. Jesus lifts their gaze from food that perishes to himself, the food that truly sustains.
By calling himself "the bread of life," Jesus claims to meet humanity's most basic and constant need -- not the body's hunger only, but the soul's. Bread is daily, essential, life-sustaining; Jesus says he is all of that for the inner person. He then makes two parallel promises. "He that cometh to me shall never hunger" and "he that believeth on me shall never thirst." Coming and believing describe the same response from two angles: to come to Jesus is to believe on him, and to believe is to come. The result is deep, lasting satisfaction -- the restless hunger and thirst of the soul finally met. This does not mean a believer never feels need again, but that the deepest hunger finds its answer in Christ himself. He does not merely supply what we need; he is what we need. To feed on him by coming and trusting is to be satisfied at the deepest level.
In the Original Language
The Greek "ego eimi" (I am) opens the saying with emphatic self-identification. "Artos tes zoes" means "the bread of life," the bread that gives and sustains life.
Cross References
“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 6:51
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
- Matthew 5:6
“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.”
- John 4:14
Application
When your soul feels empty, do not settle for what cannot satisfy. Come to Jesus and believe on him, for he is the bread that meets your deepest hunger.