Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6

As a great multitude followed the Savior all day long in a desert place, his disciples came to him concerned that the multitude should be sent away to find something to eat. The Savior answered -

"...They need not depart; give ye them to eat." (New Testament Matthew 14:16)

Upon learning that they had -

"...but five loaves, and two fishes." (New Testament Matthew 14:17)

The Savior then took the opportunity, telling his disciples -

"...Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children." (New Testament Matthew 14:18 - 21)

Shortly after performing such a great miracle, the Savior taught one of his greatest lessons. After arriving in Capernaum, the word must have traveled quickly for many gathered again to witness some great miracle and to be physically fed, to which the Savior tells them -

"...Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." (New Testament John 6:26)

A little disappointed they respond -

"...What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?" (New Testament John 6:30)

It is here that that the Savior provides this great doctrine -

"...Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." (New Testament John 6:32 - 33)

It appears they are still thinking they may be physically fed as they follow -

"...Lord, evermore give us this bread." (New Testament John 6:34)

The Savior testifies -

"...I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (New Testament John 6:35)

"For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." (New Testament John 6:38 - 40)

As they murmured, the Savior continued -

"...He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 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." (New Testament John 6:47 - 51)

Not making any effort to hear with spiritual ears, they sarcastically respond -

"...How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (New Testament John 6:52)

The Savior then provided even greater doctrine for those that would ponder and hear -

"..Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." (New Testament John 6:53 - 58)

There is no question that what we eat and drink is what we take in us and is what we are then made of. Helping his disciples to understand the meaning of his teachings, he teaches -

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (New Testament John 6:63)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught -

“This querulous, unbelieving attitude on the part of the Jews was, not only wholly unwarranted, but from Jewish lips it bordered on absurdity. Probably no people in all history understood better or had made more extensive use of symbolical and figurative language than they had. Further, Jesus had just taught them the doctrine of the Bread of Life. For them to pretend not to know that eating the flesh of Jesus meant accepting him as the Son of God and obeying his words could only mean that they were wilfully closing their eyes to the truth.” (McConkie, DNTC, 1:359.)

I found this story to end this blog -

THE BREAD OF LIFE

"I had never thought much about sacrament meetings prior to attending college. To me they were an opportunity to meet my friends and to discuss our plans for the week. I felt no particular spiritual uplift from them.

When I came to school, I took a class in New Testament. One day we were discussing the great sermon by Jesus called the Bread of Life, and I found myself unable to understand what the teacher was saying. After class I went to his office and asked for an interview. I said that I hoped he could enlighten me some. Specifically, I wished to know how Jesus could become the bread of life to me.

My teacher began patiently. He said that there were many ways to partake of the bread of life. He referred to the great mission of our Savior, and spoke of the great gift which the Father offered us all in the person of the Son and of the offering of the Son in giving his life for men’s sins. I had heard it all before, and it didn’t stir my soul at all.

Finally my teacher asked, “Do you understand the atonement of Christ?” I replied that I knew he had taken upon himself the sins of men and had died for us. “Do you know what it cost him to make such an atonement?” I replied that I did not. He then began rehearsing for me the terrible suffering of our Savior, the suffering of both body and spirit to the extent that it caused him, even God, to bleed at every pore—a suffering which he willingly took upon himself, a suffering so intense that it covered the punishment due for the sins of all men. And to think that at any time our Savior could have withdrawn—he had the power; at any time he could have said, “Be gone,” and all of his accusers and tormentors would have withered as dried reeds. He could have saved himself but he did not.

I was impressed; who wouldn’t be? But when the teacher said that my own sins and his were among those which gave the Savior pain, I looked within and did not like what I saw. And I began to weep—at my angry thoughts, my unholy thoughts, my backbiting, my greed. I wept because of them, not only because I was sorry—for I had been sorry before—but because I knew for the first time that I had been partly to blame for the Savior’s terrible suffering. Before this time I had put all the blame upon those wicked Jews. “How could they have been so blind?” I had wondered. “Couldn’t they see that this was the Son of God?” Now for the first time I saw the suffering of the Savior in relation to myself. The Jews were not alone responsible for the Savior’s suffering. I was also to blame. It was I, and all of us, who had been the cause of his death.

My heart was sincerely touched with my new realization, and I cried. I found myself wishing that some great suffering might come upon me so that I could, in some way, rid myself of the torment and guilt I felt. For I did feel guilty—guilty of the blood of him who had died. I had been evil at times—happy to do wrong; yes, even glorified in my wickedness at times. Afterwards I had felt a little twinge of conscience and vowed that I would do better; then I pushed the wrong deed into the back of my mind. At no time did I realize that I was adding to the incomprehensible suffering of my Savior.

As I thought on these things, however, a flood of memories came rushing back to me, and I remembered my many wrongs. Not that I was evil as regards our civil or moral laws, for in these I knew that I had not erred. But in the light of this new thing I was painfully aware of my greatest sins—my carelessness; yes, even my blasphemy. I now realized how irreverent I had been in remembering the emblems of his death. I had gone my merry way, basking in his love; I had sinned and was flippantly sorry, and then I sinned again. And at none of these times did I realize that I, even in my slightest evils, was helping to crucify my Lord. How many times had I looked at his picture during the administration of the sacrament and said under my breath, “Yes, Lord, I do love thee.” Then I had taken the sacred emblems into my mouth and immediately begun wishing for a new hat like the one I saw in front of me. How many times had I prayed during the sacrament and said, “Dear Lord, I thank thee for all that I have, and now please give me this and give me that.” And never once did I truly thank him for his gift to me nor ask his forgiveness for my sins. Or how many times had I come to the sacrament table and asked forgiveness for my own transgressions, still holding a grudge against those who had transgressed against me.

All these things and many, many others stood bright and clear before me, and I was weak and sick with shame. How sad he must be for my hypocrisy! But even in my darkest moment I knew that he still loved me. Even then—in fact, then more than ever—I could feel the warmth and peace of his love. Then suddenly, the light flashed on bright and perfect and clear as crystal. “This is it!” I exulted. “This is the love of God—the love of God which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men. This is that bread of life, that living water which, if a man will eat or drink of it, he shall never hunger or thirst again.”

My heart leaped with joy, and I wept again. This time it was not with sorrow or shame, but with joy, for I had tasted of his love and forgiveness, and I knew what it was. It was the same thing I had felt on many occasions before but could not recognize. This time I knew that I knew. I had indeed felt of his Spirit and of the strength that comes through seeking a personal relationship with him."