Over the course of the series on Jesus’ “I am” statements, I will be digging a bit deeper and providing some extra thoughts for us to consider and dig into. Bread and God’s provision for his people is a consistent theme throughout Scripture. Marc’s message specifically focused on how spiritual fulfillment can only be found in Jesus, who calls himself the bread of life. Spiritual food is important to talk about because not even the Bible itself is sufficient for life, as Jesus, just one chapter earlier tells the religious scholars of his day, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. (John 5:39)”
Scripture testifies of Jesus and Jesus is specifically referencing the Old Testament. This should lead us to come to Scripture without trying to develop or defend sophisticated doctrines or pick specific passages to obey and enact. Rather, this should lead us to come to Scripture to be taught about Jesus, to receive the Bread of Life; to receive the sustenance of God’s very person. In Marc’s message, we talked about fulfillment and I wanted to draw this out further with a couple of touchpoints in the Old Testament.
In Exodus 16, the people of Israel are travelling through the wilderness on their way to the promised land and they complain to Moses and Aaron that they would have rather died in Egypt than suffer the hardship of travelling the wilderness. This complaint is triggered by the Israelites reminiscing on their time in Egypt, where they experienced the privilege that being a slave in a dominant society brings.
In this complaint, we see one of the very first points of tension in the relationship between Israel and the Lord, where Israel is tempted to return to the ways of idolatrous nations. There is a consistent stream of tension in the Old Testament between Israel trusting in God while seeking to be like the rest of the nations that surround them. There are a number of different nations that provide this temptation: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and then in the New Testament, Rome gets tied into this image.
Despite this faithless complaint, God continues to care for Israel by providing the manna in the morning along with quail in the evening. In 16:4, what the Israelites call manna, the Lord called “bread from heaven.” That would be the link to Jesus, who calls himself the bread of life sent from God. What is daily provision for sustenance in the wilderness becomes a metaphor for how God will provide us, his church, in the spiritual wilderness of our day.
It is important for us to consider how the wealth of our world might delude us into fulfillment. There is no shortage of activities to distract us from our spiritual barrenness. This might be some heavy language, but life is pretty good in Canada. In fact, many of us are probably living out some form of the “Canadian Dream.” God’s provision and care for us is to be celebrated and yet, we should consider the number of non-believers that share in that Canadian Dream. We should consider how our lives are set-apart and how they are also very similar to the ways of the nations of the world.
If we move back to Deuteronomy 15, we get a little more detailed discussion of God’s favour for the nation of Israel and how that is to affect their relationship with other nations.
There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today. When the Lord your God has blessed you, as he promised you, you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
Deuteronomy 15:4–6
In this passage, God promises to bless Israel to the degree that the blessings, if managed in obedience to him, will provide for everyone in the nation. However, it is not only that everyone in their nation will be cared for, but also that there will be enough left over for the nation to provide support to the nations around them, “you will lend to many nations,” but then the final point notes that Israel will not rely on these nations because the Lord will provide for them.
So, we need to ask, how much of our lives are maintained by the Lord and how much of our lives are maintained by the ways of the world? Through the next couple “I am” statements, we will be addressing the actions involved in engaging in a relationship with Jesus. This week, we must eat of him, and he promises that when we eat of him, we will not grow hungry or become thirsty. Consuming Jesus means staring at the desires of the world and turning away to some extent.
In order to grow further, we might ask, “Where do I find fulfillment?” Maybe make this a prayer you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you. The answers may surprise us in that they are not always or even often inherently evil or detrimental things. It is very possible that we find fulfillment in something incredibly good and necessary for us to follow Jesus, and yet, seeking fulfillment there may cause an imbalanced relationship to Jesus, where Jesus is not acting as our fulfillment. This is spiritual work for our souls and I would suggest that in finding our fulfillment in Jesus, the beauty of these good things in your life will expand, giving you an abundance of life for the world to behold, taste, and see that God is good in this world.
The song “Without Jesus” by Shane and Shane might help us think about the kinds of really good things, even religious things that might take precedence in our fulfillment. We may not intend this and yet, it can cause us to struggle in experiencing the fullness of life that God would have us enjoy.
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