“And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you.’ … And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.”‘ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.'”
(Exodus 16:2-4a, 11-15 ESV)
God is a lot more patient than I am. If I had just saved a whole lot of people from slavery and got grumbling, I’d march them right back. God doesn’t appreciate it either. But He is a lot more careful in how He responds to the people. First, He feeds them. Only then does He start redirecting their behavior.
When God came into our world to be our Savior, He did much the same thing. First He fed a hungry crowd of thousands by miracle; and then, when they wanted more, Jesus redirected them to something better than just bread. He said, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you … This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent. … I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. … For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. … No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. … Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. … 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” (John 6:27, 29b, 35b, 40, 44, 47, 51 ESV).
Jesus did give Himself up for the life of the world, when He died on the cross; and now that He is alive again forever, He gives us the real life that will last forever. What greater love is there than that?
We Pray: Lord Jesus, let me live on You forever. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on July 30, 2024
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. Why does Jesus feed people before giving them hard stuff to think about?
2. What does Jesus mean when He says we need to eat Him?
3. How do we do that?