JESUS IS THE BREAD OF LIFE
Jn. 6/29-- 51 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
32 So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
Jesus is the Life-Giving Water
Jn. 4/10 -- 25Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water
25 The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking with you."
The water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life (John 4:14).
"Let anyone who believes in me come and drink! As scripture says, ``From his heart shall flow streams of living water'' (John 7:38).
"The Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:17).
"Yahweh, hope of Israel, all who abandon you will be put to shame, those who turn from you will be registered in the underworld, since they have abandoned Yahweh, the fountain of living water" (Jeremiah 17:13) .
Jesus is the Light of the World
As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world" (John 9:5).
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path" (Psalms 119:105).
"Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?" (Psalms 27:1).
". . .in you is the source of life, by your light we see the light" (Psalms 36:9).
"...for you have saved my life from death to walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living" (Psalms 56:13).
"What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men" (John 1:4).
OT Promises and Prophecy -- NT Covenant Fulfilled
In the Old Testament God as Light is revealed through the mouths of the prophets by words and images. The lamp gives light; the path for ones feet is lit by God's light. Light is life; one is with the living when in the presence of those who keep God's word.
In the New Testament the Word comes into the world in the person of Jesus. The image becomes Reality; the metaphor becomes the Master. The Word Incarnate, is the Light of the world. He is the Light of life. To be in his presence is to be in the light. The light of God's actions in Jesus contrasts with the darkness of men's actions. Men preferred the dark to the light --in this is judgment. In the Light we see light; we, ourselves, will know where our judgment lies. To be in God's Light is to be in Glory. That glory is meant to begin here on earth. To be in "glory" on earth means to be at peace with oneself --despite agitation, anger, or depression. God lives within the person.
"And the judgment is this: though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
"I have come into the world as light, to prevent anyone who believes in me from staying in the dark any more" (John 12:46).
"...for you have saved my life from death to walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living" (Psalms 56:13).
"But if we live in light, as he is in light, we have a share in another's life, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
"...the unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world, so that they cannot see shining the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
"When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said: I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
**The photograph above is of the sun shining through the window box and along the passage way leading into the burial chamber of the Neolithic monument at Newgrange in Co Meath, Ireland. The phenomenon takes place every December during the winter solstice. Photograph: Alan Betson for The Irish Times.
JESUS
