Dr. Barclay with Someting to Think About - BREAD AND WINE

BREAD and WINE

Most people understand the meaning of the bread and wine in the Christian religion. Paul stated it well in Corinthians:

…the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 

“Take, eat, this is My body which is broken for you; 

do this in remembrance of Me.” 

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 

"This cup is the new covenant in My blood. 

This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 

(1 Corinthians 11:23-25) 

Understanding this in the Christian context is one thing but we must also remember that Jesus was Jewish, as were His followers, and a Jewish context should also be considered.

At the time of Christ’s crucifixion, the main staples for food in the area of Palestine were some form of bread and often wine (since water was frequently in short supply). Bread, in the form of manna, was what God had given to the Hebrews during their sojourn in the desert. 

One of the first mentions of bread and wine in the Bible is in Genesis, when Abram, returning from rescuing Lot and his goods from the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, is met by Melchizedek. This king of Salem, who was also a priest, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram:

…Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth… 

(Genesis 14:19)

This gave Abram humanitarian aid as well as a covenantal meal. In so far as Melchizedek is a typology of the later Christ, this was in effect a type of communion. 

In Genesis 27:28, Issac is blessing Jacob although he believes him to be Esau. And at this time, he said:

Therefore may God give you 

Of the dew of heaven,

Of the fatness of the earth,

And plenty of grain and wine. 

(Genesis 27:28)

In this blessing, Issac is asking God to bless his son with the riches of the earth. Compare this to the warning in Leviticus when God threatens the Hebrew nation with retribution if they fail to keep His commandments.

When I have cut off your supply of bread, 

ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, 

and they shall bring back your bread by weight, 

and you shall eat and not be satisfied. 

(Leviticus 26:26)

When Ruth was meeting Boaz, she said:

…“Let me find favour in your sight, my lord…”
Boaz said to her…

“Come here, and eat of the bread, 

and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar [wine]…” 

(Ruth 2:13,14)

Finally, in Psalm 104, the reference is to the bounties that God has given to man…

…wine that makes glad the heart of man.

Oil to make his face shine,

And bread which strengthens man’s heart. 

(Psalm 104:15)

The use of bread and wine was well known to the Israelites long before the institution of communion in the New Testament. It was the main food source for many people and the bread had been recognized as the manna which sustained the Hebrews during their sojourn in the desert. The bread and wine was given in a humanitarian sense as well as in a sense of covenant to Abram on his return from rescuing Lot. It was a symbol of blessing between father and son when Issac blessed Jacob; and of relationship between Boaz and Ruth. It is symbolic of God’s bounty to man as mentioned in Psalm 104 and also, in Leviticus, a warning of God’s potential retribution toward man if they fail to heed His warnings.

And it was also a symbol of the freedom of the Hebrew people after their rescue from the evil of their enslavement in Egypt. Thus, it now becomes a symbol of our freedom from all the evils of this world through the recognition of how it represents the blood and body of Jesus. Bread and wine meant really everything to the Hebrew nation and in its present connotation so it should as well be equally meaningful to us.

Certainly something to think about.