Acts: The Beginning of the Church

From naan in India to tortillas in Mexico to baguettes in France, bread has been a staple food for thousands of years all around the world. Bread plays a central role in the food of almost every culture, and it’s even an important part of the Bible.

In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were traveling in the desert after God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. They didn’t trust God though, and they complained and worried about the lack of food in the wilderness. But God showed them grace and mercy, and He provided them with a miraculous bread called manna. Every morning, He would send down manna from the sky with special instructions for the people to gather only enough for each day. When some people tried to save extra manna for the next day, it would go moldy (except on Friday, when they were to gather twice as much because there would be no new manna on Saturday, the Sabbath). By instructing the people to collect just enough every day, God was inviting them to rely on His provision for each day and to trust Him with the future.

Just like God provided His people with bread in the Old Testament, He provides for us today—and it’s even better than bread raining from the sky. In the New Testament, after Jesus multiplies bread to feed a hungry crowd, He reminds the people of the story of the manna in the wilderness, then adds to it. Jesus calls Himself the bread of life. Just as God provided His people with manna from heaven to save them from hunger, so Jesus came from heaven to save us from our sins. Before Jesus went to the cross, He foretold His death by breaking bread and giving it to His disciples, saying, “This is my body.†When we take communion, we remember how Jesus died for us (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). And Jesus rose from the dead, providing for our ultimate need: forgiveness of sin. As His followers, we can look forward to the day He will also raise us from the dead! Bread may take away our hunger for a while, but when we put our trust in Jesus, the bread of life, we have something far greater: eternal life with the One who loves us. • Abby Ciona

• Why did Jesus compare Himself to bread? Why do you think God uses everyday things to help us understand what He is like?

• If you want to know more about eternal life with Jesus, check out our “Know Jesus” page.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.†John 6:35 (WEB)

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