The book “Songs of the Deliverer” tells the story of Christ re-cast in modern day. The book is a work of fiction but the stories and characters are based on the Gospels of the New Testament. These Reflections are written to highlight the Biblical pericopes.
Referenced in Chapter Nine
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus feeding the multitude. A crowd of five thousand people following Jesus gathers with him at a mountainside. Among then, they possess five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus tells his disciples to settle the crowd. Then, he takes the small amount of food and shares it with the crowd—all five thousand of them. When he is finished, the disciples collect the leftovers, twelve baskets full of bread. The people, amazed, think Jesus to be a prophet.
The next day the crowd goes in search of Jesus who had crossed the lake the evening before. When they find Jesus, he chastises them for seeking him out not because of the sign he had given of his divinity, but only for the purpose of being fed. He tells them:
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.” (John 6:27)
Although they don’t understand what he is telling them, they ask Jesus how he can fill them with this bounty. Jesus says:
“The bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)
The people recall that the Scriptures tell of receiving manna from heaven. They wonder if this is what Jesus has in store for them. They plead for Jesus to give them this heavenly bread. Jesus states:
“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
Now they are confused for Jesus is just a man. How can he claim to be sent from heaven? In response, Jesus declares:
“I am the living bread come down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51)
Many cannot understand Jesus’ teachings as they are too difficult to comprehend. Some even walk away from him. To those who listen and remain, he opens his arms in embrace of everlasting salvation:
“This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate bread and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:58)
The message is clear if only we listen: Jesus Christ is the food which yields life everlasting. He is the one to whom we give thanks.
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