Bread of life

grows out of · I am

John's 'I am' sayings echo the name given at the bush, each attaching it to something the people needed in the wilderness.

grows out of · bread before God

Twelve loaves sat perpetually in God's presence for the twelve tribes; the bread of life is offered to whoever comes.

grows out of · the true bread

In John 6 the crowd asks for manna again, and Jesus answers that the bread from heaven was never ultimately about food: 'I am the bread of life.'

grows out of · sign and explanation

John gives the miracle and then the discourse: the bread that fed thousands points to the one who gives himself.