Why Bread? | Matthew 2:1-2

What irony that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.  Bethlehem means “house of bread”.  Jesus is the bread of life, “ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).  On the night when was betrayed Jesus instituted His Supper, that the bread He blessed and gave to His disciples, and us is His body. The cup (wine), that He blesses and gave to them, and us is His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. This is the New Testament!  

What did Jesus mean when he said, we must eat His flesh and drink His blood?  Jesus’ graphic imagery about eating His flesh and drinking His blood is indeed puzzling at first. 

Those who misunderstood Jesus and were offended by His talk about eating His flesh and drinking His blood were stuck in a physical mindset, ignoring the things of the Spirit. They were concerned with getting another physical meal, so Jesus uses the realm of the physical to teach a vital spiritual truth. Those who couldn’t make the jump from the physical to the spiritual turned their backs on Jesus and walked away (John 6:66).  We will take a deeper dive into this whole topic if you will listen to the podcast today.