Jesus told the Jews to pray for daily bread in the prayer in Matthew 6.

Matthew 6 “Give us today our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

But this was the prayer of the Old Covenant, reminding the Jews of the daily bread, the manna in the wilderness. Jesus showed that this is not a new covenant prayer, because He told the Jews that they would be only forgiven if they forgave others. It was righteousness by works before the cross because Jesus had not yet died on the cross to end the law.

Matthew 6 “¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

He said this to show Israel that they cannot be forgiven by keeping the law, as symbolized by the daily bread of manna. Just like the Israelites needed daily bread to survive, they needed daily forgiveness by obeying the law !!

Later on, Jesus clarified that nobody can be saved by the works of the ten commandments or doing good works. Nobody can be forgiven by forgiving others, nobody can live by the “daily bread” of the old covenant.

John 6 “⁴⁷ Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. “

Jesus is the true bread of life that gives eternal life in the New Covenant of GRACE.

Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins and rose from the dead bringing eternal life.

Everyone who believes in Jesus is forgiven apart from forgiving others (apart from keeping the law)

Everyone who believes in Jesus receives eternal life once and for all. We cannot lose it.

Once we believe in Jesus, we have eaten the bread of life (spiritually) and will not hunger or thirst anymore! It is because we are forgiven all sins eternally!

John 6 “³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

The daily bread was the old covenant where they were commanded to receive forgiveness daily by forgiving others – and this was impossible!

But Jesus is the eternal bread….we believe and receive eternal forgiveness of sins once and for all by His death on the cross. His body was the bread that was broken to give us life!

Eternal salvation. Believers are once saved, always saved.