Broken Bread and the Bread of Life
Jesus multiplied a small offering of bread and fish to feed a multitude, then later gave the broken bread of Passover deeper meaning through his own body. Communion reminds believers that they have received the Bread of Life and have been commissioned to share Christ with a spiritually hungry world.
- Jesus used five small loaves and two fish to feed a multitude.
- The broken bread of the Lord’s Supper points to Jesus’ body given for many.
- Christ’s followers are commissioned to carry the message of the Bread of Life to others.
By Doug Redford
Jesus Feeds the Multitude
In the process of miraculously feeding a crowd of five thousand men (who knows how many women and children were present), Jesus broke the five small loaves of bread and two small fish given to him and used that to feed all who were present. John’s Gospel (which records in John 6:9 the smallness of the items with which Jesus had to work) goes on to record the enormity of the impact upon those present. They declared Jesus to be “the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14, New International Version). But Jesus knew they had another office and title in mind; he recognized that “they intended to come and make him king by force” (v. 15). So he withdrew to a mountain to be alone.
Broken Bread and the Lord’s Supper
The night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper with his disciples, he broke the loaf of bread that was part of the Passover meal and distributed the pieces among them, telling them that the bread represented his body “given for you” (Luke 22:19). In truth, the “you” included more than just the men gathered there with Jesus. The “bread” of Jesus’ body was broken at the cross to feed multitudes around the world through the years, giving them life and nourishment that this world cannot provide. Jesus now reigns as King, not because of human desire or by the exercise of sheer force, but by virtue of his death and resurrection. Today he reigns over those who acknowledge that Jesus died for them and that they have determined to live for him. They in turn “reign in life” (Romans 5:19) by virtue of Jesus’ triumph.
The Passover bread given to the disciples was not multiplied like the bread used to feed the crowd. Jesus has commissioned his followers to continue the feeding and multiplying process by declaring the message of the Bread of Life, in words and deeds, to a starving world. Today we observe Communion, aware that we are among the multitudes for whom Jesus’ body was broken and his blood given. We have been commissioned as ambassadors for Christ to let others among the crowds of our time know of our Savior. We anticipate the day when the multitudes throughout history, “from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9) who have received the Bread of Life, gather in Heaven for the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
Author: Doug Redford
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
