To those in first-century Palestine Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” Their culture’s cuisine centered around a common, easily-made, filling carbohydrate. Something that was almost impossible to exclude from a meal.
What he’s getting at is, “You know how when your stomach feels hungry, you fill it with bread? Well, when your soul feels hungry, fill it with me.”
If Jesus had arrived on the scene in a different culture, maybe he would have used a different metaphor.
“I am the rice of life.”
“I am the pasta of life.”
“I am the tortilla of life.”
“I am the naan of life.”
“I am the potato of life.”
“I am the french fry of life.”
(Yes, that’s also a potato. But arguably the highest elevation of the potato. Thanks be to God).
Jesus isn’t saying that more or better religious practice would satisfy one’s spiritual hunger and thirst. He isn’t even saying that a new religion, (called, let’s say, “Christianity”), would satisfy one’s deepest desires. Yes, a new religion and new practices would eventually evolve, but that wasn’t the real point.
Jesus himself—his person, his being, his essence, his spirit, his very self—is the staple of the soul’s diet.