“Give Us Our Daily Bread”

St. John 6: 1After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as muchas they wanted. 12And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.

14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” 15Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. (Concordia Publishing House. Treasury of Daily Prayer (Kindle Locations 37432-37436). Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.)

Jesus told Pilate, My Kingdom is not of this world, and He was quite adamant about it (see St. John 18: 36), as He stood before Pilate beaten and bound, about to be flogged. His reign does not derive from the world and the world of men and fallen flesh. Jesus will not rule in this world in a political sense. Only St. John tells us that the people wanted to make Him king, after the feeding of the 5,000 but per what He said to Pilate much later, He would have nothing to do with being a king in this world, or even for a thousand years. The Kingdom of God is coming into the world, as in, “Thy Kingdom come”. It comes as He rules in the grace of His forgiveness in the lives and hearts/wills of His people, His Church awaiting the Day (not 365,000 days) of His coming again in glory to judge the quick and the dead. He is not a worldly bread-king like the Caesars who gave the mobs “bread and circuses”, and their equivalent today. He gives us His bread for the life of the world. HIs flesh true bread. His blood true drink (see John 6).

VII: The Church Our churches teach that one holy Church is to remain forever. The Church is the congregation of saints [Psalm 149:1] in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments….

X: The Lord’s Supper Our churches teach that the body and blood of Christ are truly present and distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper [1 Corinthians 10:16]. They reject those who teach otherwise.

The Augsburg Confession, The Book of Concord, Concordia Publishing House. Treasury of Daily Prayer (Kindle Locations 37455-37457). Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.

To pastures green, Lord, safely guide, To restful waters lead me; Your table well for me provide, Your wounded hand now feed me. Though weary, sinful, sick, and weak, Refuge in You alone I seek, To share Your cup of healing. —Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread (LSB 625:2)

Concordia Publishing House. Treasury of Daily Prayer (Kindle Locations 37462-37464). Concordia Publishing House. Kindle Edition.