Pão
O pão é símbolo central na Bíblia: do maná no deserto ao pão da vida — Jesus. A Escritura usa o pão para ensinar sobre provisão divina, comunhão e dependência espiritual.
O maná do céu
Deus alimentou Israel no deserto com pão do céu. O maná era diário, fiel e suficiente — retrato da provisão constante de Deus.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’"
That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
So Moses told them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
The Jar of Manna
Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
Yet He commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of the heavens.
He rained down manna for them to eat;
He gave them grain from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels;
He sent them food in abundance.
He makes the grass grow for the livestock
and provides crops for man to cultivate,
bringing forth food from the earth:
wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil that makes his face to shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.
O pão da vida
Jesus declarou: 'Eu sou o pão da vida.' Quem vem a Ele nunca terá fome, e quem nele crê jamais terá sede. Ele é o sustento eterno.
Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"Sir," they said, "give us this bread at all times."
Jesus answered, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst.
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh."
He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
But Jesus answered, "It is written:
‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’Deuteronomy 8:3"
Partilha e comunhão
O partir do pão une o corpo de Cristo. Na Ceia, na generosidade e na partilha, expressamos a comunhão com Deus e uns com os outros.
And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break 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 one loaf.
So then, this is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
A generous man will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
But Jesus told them, "You give them something to eat."
They asked Him, "Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?"
"Go and see how many loaves you have," He told them.
And after checking, they said, "Five — and two fish."
Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.
Provisão divina
O justo não é desamparado e seus descendentes não mendigam pão. Deus provê com fidelidade o alimento de cada dia.
I once was young and now am old,
yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned
or their children begging for bread.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread. "Watch out!" Jesus told them. "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
They discussed this among themselves and concluded, "It is because we did not bring any bread."
Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, "You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Cast Your Bread upon the Waters
Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it again.
Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,
for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.