THE HOUSE OF
THE BREAD FROM HEAVEN -- BETHLEHEM

Luke 2:4-7  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.  And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.   And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:12  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

The Hebrew town name BETHLEHEM literally means HOUSE OF BREAD.

This little town housed the true bread of life for all mankind.
 
Jesus was laid in a manger when He was born.

•  A Manger is a crib or stall (Luke 13:15).
•  Its from a Greek word that means TO EAT.

The angel said that it would be a sign to the shepherds (Luke 2:12)

•  In other words, the baby laying in an actual manger would be sign.
•  Signs teach a lesson.
•  The term SIGN used by the angel literally means a token.
• A symbol of something spiritually understood.

•  What was the lesson?
•  What is indicated by Jesus being laid in a place where food was laid to be eaten?
•  It is a picture of Jesus as the food to be eaten.
•  A manger is where food is put for feeding.
•  He is the bread of life.
•  He is the manna from heaven.
• LAID IN A FEEDING TROUGH!

The Greek word for MANGER speaks of the thought of “TO EAT.”

•  The sign is then made clear.
•  Here is He whom we must eat.

Christ came into this world to be food for humanity.

• In what way?
• Let us look to the Bible.


John 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

•  Jesus is the bread.
•  And this bread is to give life to the entire world.

Jesus spoke of how people followed Him in order to obtain more of the bread He miraculously multiplied.

John 6:26-29  Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

•  There is a work and a labour that they should rather exert, instead of labouring for bread that perishes.
•  He told me them, when asked, that this labour is believing.
•  If they would believe, then they would obtain food and meat that brings one to experience eternal life.


John 6:30-31  They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

•  They said that their fathers ate manna in the wilderness that was actually bread from heaven.


John 6:32-33  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

•  He seemed to say this because they always compared him to Moses.
•  God did the giving of the manna.
•  And the same God also gives the true bread.
•  Jesus is not to be compared to Moses, but to the manna that God gave.
•  Jesus reference to “TRUE BREAD” implies that the bread of manna that their fathers ate was simply a representation of something original.
•  The true.

Verse 33 says what the real bread is.

•  Its he that came down from heaven.
•  He gives life to the world.


John 6:34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

Sounds like the cry from the woman at the well:

John 4:15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

•  They asked for it but it was right there in front of them.
•  I other words, go ahead and eat.
•  I am that bread.
•  But he told them they did not believe.
•  There is no way for them to eat if they do not believe in Him.
•  The only way is through faith.
•  It was right there in front of them but they were not eating.

•  Jesus is the true manna.
•  And the goal that God has for us is to eat this truth and get it into us until we come to a place where God wants us to be.
•  Where we manifest Christ to the world.
•  We need to come to this fullness of Christ.


Ephesians 4:11-13  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

He came to this world first and foremost as the bread of heaven.

•  We would partake of Him.
•  Eat of Him.
•  Feed from Him.

•  He said that he is the true manna.
•  And then he became more specific in His words to the people...


John 6:53  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

•  And the peak reference that the blood and flesh refers to is the last supper references made to the breaking of His body as bread, and the  shedding of his blood as wine.


Matthew 26:26-28  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

We find that Jesus was provided to the world as bread and wine.

•  He would die on the cross and provide the bread and wine.
•  That feeding on the body of Christ is what brings us eternal life

•  However, Bethlehem means HOUSE OF BREAD.
•  And He is the Bread of Heaven that was laid in a feeding trough.
•  And the only reference to feeding on Him is given regarding the cross.
•  So everything points to the cross.
•  Even His birth!

1Corinthians 10:1-4  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:19-21  For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. {heresies: or, sects} When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26  For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

•  We require this bread and wine in order to get to the place where God wants us to be.
•  Many amongst Israel did not get to the place where God wanted them.
•  He wanted them to be a nation where God is glorified.
•  A nation of people whose very lives and lifestyles bring glory to God
•  They had the food and drink, but they did not get to where the food and drink was provided for them to live and reach.


John 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

• So many do want to get into the real concentration-points to which  God is pointing.
• They want miracles or blessings.
• Like these people wanted the supernatural alone.
• They do not want the true bread of what God is stressing in the Word.
• They want to play around and not feast on true meat and drink.
• And they will never get to the place God wants them.

•  But God is concerned that we come to a place in the Spirit where we are in the Canaan land.
•  Where we come into the fulness of Christ.

And 1 Corinthians 11 says that the church was eating and drinking too, but were living lives that were sinful, and they were forming divisions, not conducive to what the partaking of the one BODY of Christ was all about..

 They ate and drank as a form of simply having supper, and they lost all concept of the Body of Christ that was being portrayed to them, of  which they were all a part.

They missed the entire point of the supper.

They could not discern the Lord’s body in all of this.

They missed the all-important message in it all.

The body was broken for them, as they all ate bread that was broken.

They were dividing from one another.

They were losing love for one another.

•  We share the single death of Christ.
•  That is what the eating of the bread represents.

Psalm 22:1  My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

•  And this is the event that Jesus said would provide the bread and wine, flesh and blood, that would give eternal life.
•  The cross.
•  His death accomplished as our deaths.

We see reference to the Exodus.

Psalm 22:4-5  Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

Psalm 22:7-8  All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Mark 15:30-32  Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

Psalm 22:16  For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Psalm 22:18  They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. (see Matthew 27:35)

Psalm 22:26-27  The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

•  That is eating and not being hungry any longer.
•  Hunger speaks of a lack.
•  You lack that which strengthens you.
•  We need not to lack anything.
• WHy would it speak of eating after speaking of the cross of Christ?
• It refers to the same thing Jesus referred to the night before His crucifixion, when He took bread and broke it, indicating His broken body for them, and the wine representing His shed blood for them.

• Nothing different is going to happen that men might be saved than what already happened.
• Nothing other than what happened long ago will take people to glory.
• So everyone must look back to the cross.
• REMEMBER.
• It will satisfy you.
• You will hunger no more neither thirst anymore

Psalm 23:1-3  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. {Never hunger nor thirst... how?--- Because....}  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

•  I shall not want.
•  I shall not lack.
•  I receive the food and the drink.
•  Still waters and green pastures.
•  Food and drink.
•  He is the shepherd who leads me to the food and drink, and He is the Lamb who provides the food and drink.. Both the Flesh and blood.

• Our old lives died and we were raised with Him.
• We are one with Him.
• Do you need restoration and some strength?
• Go to the food of life and the drink of life.

•  It’s the next Psalm.
•  After the cross of Psalm 22:1, we read of the leading by the Shepherd,  we sheep, to the feeding grounds and the waters.
•  After reading of the world remembering and eating and being satisfied,  we read this Psalm 23!

•  When Jesus referred to eating and drinking, He referred to His blood  and flesh.
•  And that was His death with which we identify.
•  The aspect of eating and drinking refers to our identification with Christ’s death, where His broken body and shed blood provide a  picture of spiritual bread and wine.
•  Eating and drinking his flesh and blood represents living from the truths which we have believed that concern His death as us.
•  Realizing that we received resurrection eternal life when we believed His death was our deaths that freed us from this backslidden race of  Adam’s..

•  That is the entire basis of salvation from sin.

Our shepherd leads us to food and drink as though we were sheep.

•  And sheep identify with the lamb of God’s sacrifice, as lambs were slain in Egypt to free Israel from the slavery of Pharaoh.
•  As a lamb’s death can identify with the other lambs, we are led like sheep to the meat and drink of this lamb of God who takes away the  sins of the world.
•  As a lamb, he was like us who had to be led by our great Shepherd to still waters and green pastures..

•  Sheep being led to feed upon the lamb, represents us identifying with Christ’s death.

•  The Exodus story shows the blood of the lamb around their doorways  – at the place of their addresses — where the people lived.
•  Having lamb’s blood put on the doors of the Hebrews’ homes signifies  that our lives, the places where each of us live, are identified with the  lamb’s death!
•  He meets you where you live.
•  Where you really are in life.
•  No matter what problem you exist in.
•  And the flesh of the lamb was eaten in those houses, with nothing left  over.
•  They had to eat it all.


Exodus 12:5  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

Exodus 12:8-10  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

•  And the food and drink is the flesh and blood of the lamb.

Psalm 22:26  The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
 
• This is the eternal life that Jesus said would be provided in the bread  and wine of the flesh and blood.
• The cross provided us with the bread and wine of Christ's body and blood.
• Literal bread and wine is not the body and blood of Jesus in Communion.
• They represent the body and the blood.


John 6:50  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

Then we hear of the WORLD REMEMBERING in Psalm 22:27.

Psalm 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
 
• Eating and being satisfied is connected with the world remembering,  because we eat the bread and wine, and are satisfied to find strength in  our Christian lives.
• And we do so in remembrance of Christ’s death.


1 Corinthians 11:24-25  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

•  Remembering this truth is what is so crucial to our lives.
•  All the world will remember the Lord’s death.
•  This alone is the key to being satisfied.

•  When Jesus was crucified, God was crucifying our old lives.
•  God was destroying my body of sin, so that I might not serve sin any  more.