How Can Bread Lead to Both Death and Life?
In this article, you will learn how John 6:49 contradicts John 6:50, John 6:51, John 6:58, Hebrews 9:15, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 2 Corinthians 3:6 and Hebrews 3:17-19. Find the translations at the bottom of the page..
In the spiritual journey depicted in the scriptures, there appears an intriguing tension between death and life through the metaphor of bread. John 6:49 presents Jesus addressing a profound truth: while the ancestors ate manna—bread from heaven—they ultimately succumbed to mortality. It poses a challenging contemplation: how can something divine still lead to death?
This reflection leads us into a tapestry of verses with seemingly contradictory messages. John 6:50 and 6:51 introduce a new perspective, describing a different kind of bread from heaven that offers eternal life. This "living bread" is embodied by Jesus himself, a promise far exceeding the physical sustenance of manna. John 6:58 further reinforces that distinction, heralding an eternal nourishment unlike the temporal existence offered by manna.
Parallel to this narrative, Hebrews 9:15 unfolds the concept of a new covenant—a divine promise transitioning us from old to new, earthly death to eternal life. Romans 6:23 complements this by contrasting death, as the wages of sin, with God's gift of eternal life through Jesus.
Analogous to the difference between temporary and permanent solutions, think of aspirin versus a cure for a disease. Manna was the aspirin—a temporary relief. The cure, the eternal solution, is the life offered by Christ.
Continuing the thread, 1 Corinthians 15:22 and 2 Corinthians 3:6 highlight the transformation through resurrection and the life-giving Spirit, as opposed to the death-bound letter of the law. Hebrews 3:17-19 recounts the disbelief of ancestors, sealing their fate with death, demonstrating the fatal consequence of rejecting the divine promise.
These verses together weave a complex pattern, challenging us to discern between temporary satisfaction and eternal fulfillment. Thus, this biblical juxtaposition asks: are we seeking mere sustenance, or do we yearn for everlasting nourishment?
| # | Verse | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | John 6:49 | Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. |
| 2. | John 6:50 | This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. |
| 3. | John 6:51 | 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. |
| 4. | John 6:58 | 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. |
| 5. | Hebrews 9:15 | And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions [that were] under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. |
| 6. | Romans 6:23 | For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. |
| 7. | 1 Corinthians 15:22 | For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. |
| 8. | 2 Corinthians 3:6 | Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [giveth life: or, quickeneth] |
| 9. | Hebrews 3:17-19 | But with whom was he grieved forty years? [was it] not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? |