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THE
NEW LIFE by
John Marshall
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Chapter
4 • THE BREAKING
OF BREAD
THE one body, which is the ecclesia of Christ, depends on
its head for its food: he is its bread of life, and no member
of the body can live without it. Jesus made this quite clear
when he said: "Labour not for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which
the Son of man shall give unto you." Without this regular
food one would wither and die spiritually.
In trying to get across his teaching to the Jews, Jesus contrasted
the bread of life which God had provided in him with the manna
which the children of Israel ate in the wilderness. Although
the manna was miraculously provided it had no lasting value;
its benefits were but temporary. But the Christ-bread is a
life-giving food of lasting benefit: "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."
Jesus gave substance and permanence to this spiritual teaching
of himself as the bread of life by his institution of the
bread and wine as emblems to represent his body and his blood.
Thus he could say: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except
ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my
blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day."
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References
John 6v27, John 6v58, John 6v53-54
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Chapter
4 • THE BREAKING
OF BREAD
There could hardly be a more important teaching than this nor a
stronger exhortation to every member of the body to make certain
that the flesh and blood of Jesus are a regular part of one's spiritual
diet, in addition to the Spirit Word. It is difficult for us to
realize today that some of the disciples who listened to Jesus were
dumbfounded at this teaching. They found it such a hard saying that
many of them "went back, and walked no more with him".
There was some excuse for them, as Jesus had not yet died as the
Lamb of God so that they could understand the significance of his
words.
Even the twelve found it a hard saying, but they were made of more
trusting stuff than the many who turned away because when Jesus
sadly asked: "Will ye also go away? Simon Peter answered him,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life". Jesus is still the only one to whom the members of the
body can turn, and through whom they have access to the Father.
The Memorial Service
We do right to describe each occasion of our feeding on the flesh
and blood of Jesus as a Memorial Service, because it is rooted in
another Memorial Service-the Passover feast; but one must not lose
sight of the deeper significance which was pointed out by the apostle
Paul: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation
in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation
in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many
are one body, for we all partake of the same loaf of Participation,
fellowship, partnership, are all translated from the Greek word
koinonia. So important is this participation that we must never
miss a meal!
Like the first disciples who "upon the first day of the week
. . . came together to break bread" we come together to participate
in "the fellowship of his sufferings", to meditate upon
the love of God, to seek comfort and strength, and to see our individual
lives in their proper spiritual perspectives. Unless we do this
regularly our spiritual strength can ebb away.
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References
John 6v60,66, John 6v67-68, 1 Cor 10v16-17 RSV, Acts 20v7, Phil
3v10
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