Daily Bread - 05/23/07

Mark 7:27 - Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first: for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

One of the most radical statements of Jesus produced one of the most radical displays of faith in the New Testament. One thing is for certain: this Gentile woman of Syropheonicia had nothing in her theology that dissuaded her from believing in miracles. Her daughter was demon possessed, she was desperate, and Jesus was the man of miracles.

Jesus made a radical statement about who the miracles belong to when He said, "Let the children be fed first; for it is not right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs" (Matthew 15:26). Although this comment at first glance was very insulting, it reveals to us that miracles are first and foremost something very sacred and that they belong to the children of the Kingdom (Matthew 7:6). Miracles are as necessary as bread for us to fulfill the will of the Father, and they are supplied to us by God with the same abundance.

Bread was the common and essential food of the east. In the Bible, bread represents food in general as being foremost in human needs (Matthew 6:11; Psalms 105:16; Genesis 31:54; 2 Thessalonians 3:12; Mark 3:20). It was something that no father would refuse to give to his children (Matthew 7:9; Luke 11:11). The miracle supply of daily bread to the children of Israel was called the bread of heaven (Exodus 16:4; Psalms 77:24; 104:14-15; Neh 9:15). Bread always played a central role in worship through the Mencha Offering (Leviticus 7:13; Exodus 29:2; Leviticus 23:15-20). In the scripture, to eat someone's bread meant that you were supported by them (2 Samuel 9:7, 10). In the Old Testament, there were 12 loaves of bread called the Bread of His Presence (Exodus 25:30; Leviticus 24:5-9). These loaves represented the fellowship that existed between God and Israel and, more specifically, His daily provision of life that was granted to them by His presence (Genesis 14:18; Exodus 12:17).

Bread also represents the divine spiritual nourishment that men receive from heaven through Christ Jesus (John 6:31-58). Jesus is the one who is represented as both the bread of heaven and the bread of life (John 6:31, 35, 41; Mark 14:22). Jesus relates the breaking of His body to the breaking of bread which will provide healing and life to the spirit, soul, and body of all who will believe (Matthew 26:26; 1 Peter 2:24). A common theological understanding of bread in both the Old And New Testament is that it is a gift from God (Isaiah 30:23). What Jesus was expressing as the children's bread may also be understood as the daily bread of Matthew 6:11. Although one may view the statement "the children's bread" as symbolical and "daily bread" as literal, they may both be rightly understood as the essential and daily provision from God given to provide for the needs of His children. Today, Jesus sits as the head of the household; He has taken the bread of His body and broken it to distribute to all who will receive of the miracles of salvation. Therefore, expect a miracle as God's daily provision provided to you in Christ Jesus.

Expect a Miracle!

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen