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Luke 23-24: Christianity is Not about Eating, But About Christ’s Teaching

Jul 21, 2009
Bible study, Luke, Teaching, The Bible

Today’s reading is Luke 23:1-24:53.

I just can’t help but be drawn to one of the issues about which I think people today make way too big of a deal. In the earnest desire to make eating a major aspect of Christian work, folks have looked for any straw they can grasp to make eating together more important.

Don’t misunderstand, I do believe Christians should spend time together in social settings (cf. Acts 2:46). However, this story about Jesus meeting the men on the road to Emmaus is not about the Lord’s Supper and it is not intended to make eating together the central act of Christianity.

It is true that when Jesus broke the bread and blessed it, their eyes were opened, and they saw Jesus for who He really was. However, that is not trying to make the breaking of bread some significant act. That was merely the moment at which Jesus finally revealed Himself to these two disciples. This was not a re-enactment of the Lord’s Supper for these men. They were not of the 12 who had participated in that feast. In fact, when they realized they had seen Jesus, they went back to find the 11 (Luke 24:33). They had no baseline to remember the moment when Christ broke the bread and instituted the Supper, so this would not be a reminder to them of that. It is just the moment when Jesus finally opened their eyes.

Further, this is not saying that in eating together Christians meet Jesus. How can we forget what Paul said in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” With verses like this, why do we try to elevate eating to the status of some amazing spiritual act?

Having said all this, did you notice the response of the two on the road to Emmaus? “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32). 

There is the key. There response was not, “Oh, look how important eating is.” There response was rather, “Why didn’t we get it while He was explaining the Scriptures?” They saw what was important. They understood that their hearts burned while they heard the truth of God expounded from God’s word. 

We really need to grasp that today. Sure, Christians should spend time together. We should eat together. It is absolutely true that the Lord’s Supper is an important part of our submission. However, we need to know that this passage is not elevating eating as the highest act of Christian work. It is actually elevating hearing, knowing, and teaching the Scriptures accurately. That is were we need to spend our time.

***Question: How have the Scriptures helped you serve God better?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

3 Comments
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  • http://www.gardnerhall.com Gardner

    I understand your desire to acknowledge the great importance of eating physical food together (something often overlooked) while pointing out that eating the bread of life together is an even more fundamental part of our fellowship in Christ.

    Just yesterday, I talked on the phone with a woman in upstate New York who was raised in a church of Christ but who has fallen away. She determined to take her husband to a church of Christ to show him how much importance was given to the scriptures, expecting a congregation like the one in which she was reared. She hoped to encourage him to accompany her there and to help her renew her own focus on God.

    However, she said that in the services the scriptures were scarcely referenced. The sermon was about an upcoming camp. There were several breaks in the proceedings for coffee and snacks. Her husband said, "You want me to leave my church for this?"

    I am going to try to help her find a group that gives more emphasis to the scriptures but it is going to be difficult because her part of upstate is a desert as far as disciples who are careful with the Word. Pray for her and thanks for your thoughts which I always find stimulating.

    • Aveimalithou

      Following the teachings of the apostles and the early Church fathers  we know that the breaking bread is not symbolic but literal.In 1 corin11:23-26, St Paul echoes the words of Jesus over the bread and wine at the first Eucharist (the Last Supper):” This is my body…This is my blood” (mt26:26-28). Nothing in these passages suggests that our Lord was speaking only symbolically.In fact,Jesus stated repeatedly that whoever would eat his flesh and drink his blood would have eternal life (see John 6:51-56). When some of his listeners had objected to this statement and had left him as a result (Jn6:52,60,66), he didn’t call them back, saying “wait a minute! You misunderstood my statement! I was only speaking symbolically.” Instead, he let them go.If they had in fact misunderstood Jesus- if he had been speaking only figuratively- would he have let them go,considering that their eternal destiny was at stake? Wouldn’t he instead have cleared up the confusion(like when explaining the parable of the seed sower,mt13:18-23;the request of John and James mark10:35-39 etc.) to spare them unnecessary scandal?No doubt. But Jesus was in fact speaking literally.Luke’s account of the disciples’ encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus also points to this truth. There our Lord took bread ,blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them-whereupon they recognized him, and he physically vanished from their midst (see lke24:30-31). Later, when they reported to the apostles what they had witnessed , they told “how he was made known to them,in the breaking of the bread” (Lke24:35).If any doubts remain about the intent of Jesus’ words, we need only consult the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch, who learned his faith from and was consecrated as bishop by men who had been at that first Eucharist: Ignatius wrote:” The Eucharist is the flesh of our saviour Jesus Christ, who suffered for our sins and who, in his goodness, the Father raised.”The change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ (called “transubstantiation”) is of course a mystery we will never fully understand. But even though we may find it difficult to imagine how this event takes place, we can be sure that the God who created the universe out of nothing has the power to accomplish this miracle as well.

      Regarding Rom 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Means we are not to live like those who do not know Christ and who work for money alone to be enjoyed eating and drinking;whose primary concern is for only for enjoyment/fun/entertainment while living on earth.

  • Edwin Crozier

    I'll be praying for you both, Gardner.



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