Bread is seen throughout scripture with various meanings. The most important is that Jesus is the bread of life. Various examples as seen in scripture were a type of Jesus as the bread of life.
Bread is a staple throughout the world. Bread is one of those foods that provide enough nutrition that you can survive on it along with water for days. (Some say in theory for three weeks or up to six months, though you would have health problems.) It was common to feed prisoners only bread and water. When people have a meal together, it is often said “let us break bread” meaning let us eat or have a meal together. A great hymn telling of the bread of life of Jesus is “Break Thou the Bread of Life”. Bread was seen in the temple as well as the home. We see bread and water given to Hagar and Ishmael. This was not only for their physical survival, but was a type and symbolic of Jesus as the bread of life and the living water. Abraham gave her the two things she needed for life. (Genesis 21:14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer–sheba.)
We see in Egypt where the people were spiritually dead, they had a famine and no bread. They had a real physical famine and no bread for their physical bodies, but they also had a spiritual famine in their hearts and souls and spiritual bodies as they had rejected the bread of life of Jesus. There was no bread without Jesus. (Genesis 47:30 ¶ And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.) Egypt will end their spiritual famine one day and receive that bread. (Isaiah 19:19-21)
You all remember the story of Lot being captured in Sodom by kings fighting the king of Sodom. After Abraham and his men helped rescue Lot after the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings with him, Melchizedek brought him bread and wine. (Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.) (Hebrews 7:1-3 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.) I believe Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Jesus. He is best described in Hebrews chapter 7. I believe the giving of the bread and wine was Melchizedek (Jesus) showing that you only need the bread and blood of Jesus for eternal life. I also believe it was a type of the future command of Jesus to celebrate communion or the Lord’s Supper of which it represented.
We see the bread of life represented in communion or the Lord’s Supper. The bread was his flesh that he told the people they needed to eat of him, not his literal body. Jesus celebrated communion the first time with his apostles the night before he died in the upper room in Jerusalem during his passover meal. It was at this time that he told his disciples that the bread that he broke was given to them and in remembrance of him. (Luke 22:19-20 ¶ And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.) The bread represented his body that would be broken on the cross for all of mankind and we are to celebrate communion to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross at Calvary. (I Corinthians 10:16-17 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.) We as Christians are all one body and all partake of the same Jesus. Paul explains more about communion in (I Corinthians 11:23-30 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.) Christians are not to partake of communion lightly. It is a serious solemn occasion as we celebrate and remember the Lord’s death for us until he comes back again for us. (I Corinthians 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.) I believe we should use unleavened bread in our partaking of communion as representative of the sinless body of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
We see the Jews celebrated the feast of unleavened bread which remembered the Hebrews quick departure from Egypt after the ten plaques. The Hebrews did not have time to let their bread rise and therefore it had no leaven (yeast) (leaven represents sin). During the feast of unleavened bread, the Jews are to cleanse their house of all leaven which is symbolic of removing sin. The bread could not have leaven since it represents Jesus and Jesus was sinless. (II Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.) (I Peter 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:) The first day of this feast is passover, where Jesus became our passover lamb. (I Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:) This was one of the three mandatory feasts required by God for all Jewish males to come to the temple and make a sacrifice, the others being Pentecost and the feast of tabernacles.
The shewbread in the tabernacle and temple was another type of Jesus. This was to be placed fresh every sabbath on the table of shewbread and was to be done always. (I Chronicles 9:32 And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every sabbath.) One needs to worship Jesus weekly. He should never become stale in our lives. (Exodus 25:30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.) II Chronicles 2;4 tells us it is to be a continual showbread. We are to never forget Jesus and his sacrifice for us. (Numbers 4:7 And upon the table of shewbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put thereon the dishes, and the spoons, and the bowls, and covers to cover withal: and the continual bread shall be thereon:) Notice that the table of shewbread was covered with a blue cloth, with blue again showing separation and how with Jesus we are to be set apart from the world. We remember the story of when David and his men ate the shewbread because they were hungry. It was intended only for the priests, but David knew he needed to not only satisfy his physical hunger, but only Jesus represented by the shewbread could satisfy his spiritual hunger. David knew where he needed to go to satisfy his hunger. We need to as well.
The miracles of the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000 shows not only Jesus is God, but that bread represented Jesus. Jesus can take a little and feed all those who hunger for him. In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus took five loaves and fed many. In the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus took seven loaves and fed 4,000. (Matthew 14:19-21 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.) (Matthew 15:33-38 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.) Notice that Jesus actually fed more than the 5,000 and 4,000 as the women and children were not counted, so there was probably as least double the number in each instance. Also note that Jesus blessed the food and gave thanks for it before distributing it. Let this be a lesson and example for us to always ask God to bless our food and give thanks for it before we eat. Jesus also broke the bread into pieces representing his future brokenness on the cross for our sins. In both feedings, they were in a desert place. Jesus will not only feed us in a desert, but if our spiritual life is a desert, he will feed those who seek him and hunger for him and ask to be fed.
The manna that the people ate daily in the wilderness for forty years, is a type of Jesus. (Exodus 16:35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.) This was food given to the people from heaven. (Exodus 16:15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.) Manna is what angels eat. (Psalm 78:25 Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.) Just as the manna came from heaven, Jesus also came from heaven to feed us. Unlike with the manna, where the people ate of it and still died, when one eats of the bread of life of Jesus, they will never die. (John 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.) (John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.) Manna as a type of Jesus was one of three things along with the ten commandments and Aaron’s budding rod that was placed in the ark of the covenant. (Hebrews 9:4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;) Manna as seen above was intended to be food for angels given to them by Jesus and they too have eternal life.
In Jesus’s sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus teaches the people how to pray. This prayer is often called the Lord’s Prayer, but I believe the pray of Jesus seen in all of John chapter 17 when he prayed for himself, the apostles, and all future Christians should better be referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. In the Lord ’s Prayer in Matthew, Jesus mentions pray for God to give us our daily bread. This is more than for the physical bread we need to eat to survive everyday, we also need the bread of life of Jesus daily in our lives. We should pray to God everyday and read the word of God daily. (Mathew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.) Jesus was telling the people to pray for him in their lives.
Paul gave thanks and broke bread and ate it after his ship was wrecked while he was a prisoner being taken to Rome. (Acts 27:35) Paul broke the bread symbolic of communion. Paul knew he needed bread for this life and his spiritual life.
Satan always tries to take what Jesus gives us and make it evil. Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness by trying to get him to turn the stones into bread to satisfy his physical hunger. Satan tried to entice Jesus with the lust of the flesh. We need to always reject what Satan has to offer. It will only bring temporary satisfaction, but will always bring death. (See Hebrews 11:25) (Matthew 4:2-4 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.) When tempted of Satan, use the example of Jesus and quote scripture back to him. The devil will flee. One irony in this tempting of Jesus is that even Satan knows Jesus can and does bring forth life and always will. Jesus warned his disciples and us not to partake of the bread of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.) The Pharisees represented sin and tradition as do the false teachers of today. Satan always presents the false doctrine and offers the false bread. The bread of Satan always leads to eternal death.
Jesus is the bread of life that we all need. Without it, one cannot have eternal life. Jesus told the people he was the bread from heaven and with his bread, one would never hunger again unlike the manna he was compared to. (John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.) (John 6:48 I am that bread of life.) (John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.) Jesus is all we need to supply both our spiritual thirst and our spiritual hunger. He is there for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus is the bread of life and living water people hunger and thirst for. (Mathew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.)
Jesus was born in Bethlehem Ephratah in Judaea (Micah 5:2 But thou, Beth–lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.) (Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,). Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” Jesus is the bread of life. (John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.) (John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.) It is no coincidence that Jesus as the bread of life would be born in the house of bread in order to satisfy our spiritual hunger. Just as physical bread satisfies us and gives us physical energy, Jesus as the bread of life satisfies, gratifies, and strengthens us spiritually. Jesus is the only bread we need for spiritual life and spiritual satisfaction. Jesus was born in the house of bread and died during the feast of unleavened bread (bread without leaven [sin]).
Just as we need the living water of Jesus for spiritual eternal life, we also need the bread of life of Jesus for eternal life. Let us be like the people who searched and followed him to the other side of the sea at Capernaum after the miracles of the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on the water when they said (John 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.) Let us not be like them after Jesus told them he was that bread and to eat of it, when they walked no more with him. (John 6:66 ¶ From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.) Let us believe and have eternal life.
