In a little town called Bethlehem, a baby was born over 2,000 years ago that would change the world forever.  This baby, the Bread of Heaven, descended to earth and was placed in a feed box in a stable.   

Bethlehem’s name actually means ‘house of bread’.  The twelve loaves of bread for the table of showbread were taken from the fields surrounding Bethlehem.  These loaves, one for every tribe of Israel, were also referred to as the healing bread. 

When Jesus broke bread with his disciples at Passover, saying “Take eat; this is My body”, He was comparing His body to a loaf of bread (Matthew 26:26).  After His resurrection, Jesus again broke bread with His disciples and gave it to them.  After Jesus ascended to heaven, the early church broke bread daily with one another in each others’ houses.   

The act of daily breaking bread is a picture of daily receiving words from God.  Jesus is the Word made flesh.  His body was broken for us, so we might receive all the benefits of His Word.  As we eat bread in Communion services, we should remember all His benefits.

Jesus called Himself the True Bread, comparing Himself to manna, which fell from heaven and fed the Israelites while they were in the wilderness.  The Israelites gathered their manna early in the morning, after it covered the ground like hoar frost. 

An unusual phrase, the root word in Hebrew for hoar frost is kippur, the same word found in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement feast.  The word kippur means to cover or purge. 

On the Day of Atonement, a blood sacrifice covered the sins of the people.  This mirrored how the True Bread from heaven would come down and be sacrificed, spilling His blood on the ground to atone for the sins of humanity.

Like the Israelites, we should gather Manna daily.  Just as Jesus was placed in a feed box, we should become like a feed box, dispensing food from the Bread of Heaven, who resides in us.

When Jesus broke five loaves of bread, it became food for the multitudes with many baskets of bread left over.  The number five refers to grace.  By grace, we can receive Bread from Heaven and feed multitudes.