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.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ "
So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
And opened the doors of heaven,
Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the bread of heaven.
Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to the full.
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth,
And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s 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.
Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father 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."
Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
I am the bread of life.Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
But He answered and said, "It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ "
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 bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is 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 till He comes.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
In this manner, therefore, 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.
He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."
And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"
But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."
Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.
Provisão divina
O justo não é desamparado e seus descendentes não mendigam pão. Deus provê com fidelidade o alimento de cada dia.
I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "Itis because we have taken no bread."
But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Value of Diligence
Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.