“Yeshua said, “I am the Bread of Life, he who comes to me shall never be hungry…” On hearing it, many of (Yeshua’s) disciples said: “This is a hard word – who can bear to listen to it?” (John 6:35;60)
Crowds of Yeshua’s disciples were facing a crisis of faith at the radical words He spoke forcing them to make a difficult choice. The problem was that Yeshua’s narrative didn’t fit into their paradigm. They expected a Messiah who would free them from the yoke of Roman oppression, but now Yeshua’s claims about Himself went far beyond, backed up by signs, wonders and miracles unprecedented since the dawn of time. Who could dispute such things? Yet, for the majority, Yeshua was confined to being the son of Joseph and Mary from Galilee. His claim of being the ‘Bread of Life’ would raise Him to the level of Divine Messiah, elevated above the many false ‘messiahs’ who had previously been and gone. For them, this was simply too much.
God provided manna from Heaven for the Israelites in the wilderness as a temporary solution for the hunger. However, Yeshua claimed, as the Bread of Life, to be the permanent solution for those dying from spiritual starvation.
There are some believers who constantly chase after the glamour rather than the substance, whose faith ultimately ends in shipwreck. But, God is seeking people who are truly hungry and pursue Him wholeheartedly, taking Him at His word with unreserved love and commitment with no hidden clauses. Here is a beautiful Chassidic story that serves well to illustrate this point.
At the foot of a hill, I looked and saw, on the hillside above a shepherd who was blowing his horn to call his flock. After the sheep gathered to him, he led them to a nearby trough to water them. While they were drinking, he looked up to Heaven and began to call out loudly, “Master of the world, You are so great! You created heaven and earth, and everything else! I’m a simple man; I’m ignorant and unlearned, and I don’t know how to serve You or praise You. I was orphaned as a child and raised among Gentiles, so I never learned any Torah. But I can blow on my shepherd’s horn like a shofar, with all my strength, and call out, ‘The Lord is God!’”
After blowing with all his might on the horn, he collapsed to the ground, without an ounce of energy, and lay there motionless until his strength returned. Then he got up and said, “Master of the world, I’m just a simple shepherd; I don’t know any Torah, and I don’t know how to pray. What can I do for You? The only thing I know is to sing shepherds’ songs!’” He then began to sing loudly and fervently with all his strength until, again, he fell to the earth, exhausted, without an ounce of energy. After recovering, he got up again and began to call out, “Master of the world! What is it worth that I blew on my horn and sang songs for You when You’re so great? What more can I do to serve You?” He paused for a moment and said, “There’s something else I know how to do, and I’ll do it for Your honour and glory!’” He then stood on his head and began to wave his feet wildly in the air. Then he did somersaults one after the other, until he collapsed on the ground, exhausted. I watched this from a distance, in amazement. The shepherd lay there silently until his strength returned. Again, he began to speak and said, “Master of the world, I’ve done what I can, but I know it’s not enough! What more can I do to serve You?” After pausing to reflect, he said, “Yesterday, the nobleman who owns the flock made a feast for his servants, and when it ended, he gave each of us a silver coin. I’m giving that coin to You as a gift, O God, because You created everything and You feed all Your creatures, including me, Moshe the little shepherd!” Saying this, he threw the coin upward and it disappeared into the vast expanse of the sky. At this, I began to understand better how this little shepherd boy had taught me to fulfil the verse, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.”
Raphael ben Levi
www.mekudeshet.co.za
