The Israelites asked, “What is this?” when they found an unknown substance on the ground one morning at the beginning of their journey through the desert. In Hebrew, their question was: Man hu? This is how the new food that Moses presented to them got its name: “manna.” It was what God had already announced: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Ex. 16:4). It was food that was perfectly adapted to the conditions of the desert. There, where the ground yielded nothing, God sent bread from heaven, which lay on the ground in the morning and had to be gathered up.

It points us to Christ, who came to earth as the living bread from heaven. As such, He was the first and the only One whose life conformed to God’s standards in every respect. Every action, every word, every thought, everything was in absolute conformity with the will of God, for His pleasure and for His glory. He is “the bread of God” (Jn. 6:33).

In this perfection, Christ is the theme of the four Gospels that describe His life to us. If we follow His path on the earth, get to know His actions, and internalize His words, Christ becomes our nourishment. His perfect example will transform us and the more we feed on Him, the more we will become like Him. Let us ask again and again with sincere interest, “Man hu—what is this?” in order to get to know Christ better.