It All Points to Jesusનમૂનો

Sunday, April 13

Palm Sunday

Bread

By Sarah Wolf

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you,
it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven,
but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. John 6:32 (NIV)

On Palm Sunday, Jesus enters Jerusalem for the Passover, knowing it will be his last on earth. The crowds are filled with praise for him, but he knows within days they will be calling for his death. So, during this Passover celebration, Jesus prepares his disciples for what is to come and uses the traditions of the Passover meal—namely bread and wine—to convey something of great significance: his coming sacrifice.

Jesus’ disciples knew the Passover commemorated God freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt after 430 years of captivity. Through Moses and Aaron, God gave specific directions on what the first Passover meal was to include, how to prepare it, and even what clothes should be worn during the meal. He prepared them to leave in a hurry because God knew Pharaoh would change his mind. As soon as Pharaoh released them, the Israelites took their bread dough that did not contain any yeast (leaven) and wrapped their kneading boards in their cloaks or carried them on their shoulders as they left Egypt (Exodus 12:34).

He Who Is Without Sin

God knew the bread wouldn’t have time to rise, due to their hasty exit. He may have also wanted all yeast removed from the Israelites' homes to symbolize his desire for his people to be set apart from the cultural influences of Egypt. God then declared a law. “Celebrate this Festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day” (Exodus 12:17).

Jesus used the Festival of Unleavened Bread to share his final Passover meal with his disciples and to explain his sacrifice. Jesus took some bread, broke it into pieces, and said “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19).

The unleavened bread that he shared at his final Passover meal meant that Jesus, who is without sin, was offering his body for all—to lead us out of sin and into a life of truth. He is the “new bread” that the apostle Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul uses “old bread” as a metaphor for sin, encouraging the Corinthians to get rid of it before it spreads throughout the church. “So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

The Living Bread

God’s mercy and provision are still with us today. He provides not only physical but spiritual nourishment that we can only get from Jesus, the “bread of life.” Symbolically, during the Passover meal, Jesus shared his “body,” the unleavened bread, and his “blood,” the wine they drank. But soon after, he fulfilled it on the cross, with his actual broken body and blood to lead us into a new kingdom. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.” (John 6:51).

Every time we share in the bread and wine through Communion, we can remember the day Jesus took on our sins to remove the “old bread” from our lives so that we could spend eternity with him. Jesus is the true bread from heaven.

Reflect

What “old bread” (sin) do you need to get rid of that is holding you back from communion with Jesus?

*All Bible references are ESV