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Is
it manna or
unleavened bread?
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Many, many Christians
consider the John 6 discourse on the Bread of Life to be the meaning
for the bread of the Lord’s Supper. I want to point out the
difference between the manna which the Bread of Life message is
based on, and the unleavened bread which is the basis for the bread
of the Lord’s Supper. Not only are these two different kinds of
bread, but they stand for two different aspects of the Christian
experience.
Let’s look at some
scriptures that link the Bread of Life message of the New Testament
to the manna.
31Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written,
"He gave them bread from heaven to eat."'
32Then 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. 33For the bread of God is
He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." John
6:31-33
49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may
eat of it and not die. 51I 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." John
6:49-51
58This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your
fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will
live forever."
John 6:58
The unleavened bread is
a ceremonial bread used to remember a historical event. It is used
and eaten to remember the Hebrew’s deliverance out of Egypt.
3You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall
eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for
you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember
the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of
your life.
Deuteronomy 16:3
3 And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you
went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of
hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall
be eaten.
Exodus 12:3
The unleavened bread was
eaten at specified times to remember that one point in time that God
delivered His people out of Egypt. Of course, the unleavened bread
for the Christians is eaten to remember how Jesus’ body was broken
on the cross to deliver us from our sinful selves; i.e.. we were
crucified with Christ by grace.
The manna, on the other
hand, was given on a daily basis to sustain the Hebrews as they
followed the Lord through the wilderness on their journey towards
the promised land. The manna nourished and sustained them on their
journey. For the Christians, manna stands for how the Lord speaks to
their hearts with vital words (scriptures or scriptural words) that
really minister to their particular needs or circumstances. These
words sustain them on their journey with Him.
3So 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.
Deuteronomy
8:3
The manna is all about
living in the kingdom, while the unleavened bread is all about dying
to or forsaking an old life style.
Just imagine what these
two types of bread meant to the Hebrews and what would have been
their response if the two were mixed up. Imagine them waking one
morning to find unleavened bread scattered on the desert floor
instead of manna. Or, imagine hundreds of years later when they were
observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread; what would they have said
when served manna cakes instead of unleavened bread? Actually, it
would have been impossible for the women to make manna cakes at that
late date since the manna ceased appearing when the Hebrews entered
the Promised Land.
Nevertheless, millions
of Bible believing Christians mix up the meaning of the manna and of
the unleavened bread. Basically, they take the meaning of the manna
and insert it as the meaning of the unleavened bread of the Lord’s
Supper.
How are these two kinds
of bread related to each other? As stated previously, the Hebrews
ate the unleavened bread periodically to remember their deliverance
out of Egypt. The Hebrews ate the manna daily to sustain them on
their journey once they were out of Egypt.
Similarly, Christians
should eat the unleavened bread of the Lord’s Supper to remember
their deliverance out of sin that was accomplished through His
death.
Now, imagine someone
coming out of some sin, say, lying. Lying was a part of this
person’s lifestyle. It was how they survived and even met some of
their needs. We might call lying an example of an "Egyptian"
survival skill. (I don’t mean to pick on Egyptians. All nationalities
are bound by sin)
When the believer comes
out of any part of Egypt (lying in this example), he finds himself
in a desert of sorts. He might say, "OK Lord, I have come out of my
lifestyle of deception. Now what? How do I survive?" Lying met
certain of his needs. How does he get his needs met in this
perceived desert that he finds himself? When a person comes out of
any sinful lifestyle, they usually end up in what they perceive as a
desert-like environment for a while. They perceive it as such
because they are not used to getting their needs met without their
usual sinful survival skills.
God’s answer to their
need for sustenance is manna.
3So 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.
Deuteronomy
8:3
The believer learns to
cry out to and look to God to sustain him. He gets a word from the
Lord promising to meet his need or directing him as to what to do.
The word from the Lord that comes to him is like manna from heaven.
The believer learns to get a word from God and he then sees God come
through on His word. This is the walk of faith that replaces the
"Egyptian" survival skill.
Any time God speaks to
our hearts about some promise, or command, or word of encouragement,
or whatever; this word is like manna to us. It sustains us on our
journey with God. This implies more than just reading the Bible. It
implies that the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to speak to our hearts.
Thus, the New Testament
fulfillment of the unleavened bread is our deliverance out of some
sin. The fulfillment of the manna is seen when we see God’s
provision as we follow Him after leaving that sin. The manna is
experienced after our deliverance from some sin (the sin being like
living in Egypt). The manna is God’s answer to the believer’s cry,
"I gave up that lifestyle for You! Now what? How am I going to
survive without it? How am I going to live?" God’s reply, "Manna!
I’ll feed you in the desert. Through it all, you will learn to rely
upon My word." "...that He might make you know that man shall not
live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from
of the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:3)
To summarize,
the manna is all about receiving God's provision, whereas the unleavened
bread is all about dying to self, or leaving sin and the world. The
ultimate reason Christians confuse these two is because the real
meaning of the bread of the Lord’s Supper, dying to sin, is
uncomfortable. A message about life is much easier to swallow. But,
the ensuing confusion is devastating. The clear picture of the
Christian lifestyle as seen in the Lord’s Supper is ruined. And, the
much needed message that the bread stands for is ignored.
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