Significance of “breaking bread” in the NT ― a question

[BartholomewB]

Acts 27:35 seems to me to be merely eating together because they had been fasting for two weeks. It does not seem to be a Christian assembly. Likewise the loaves and fishes seems to be merely feeding hungry people. One could draw out parables from these three incidents of apostles sharing out physical bread to physically hungry men, as mirroring saints sharing God’s inexhaustible word to spiritually hungry men.

I don’t think the disciples feeding the 5000 and 4000 were consciously perceiving the crowds and themselves as people for whom Christ was going to die. I think Paul was probably seeing the ships passengers and crew that way though.

Acts 27:35 (Paul, shipwreck). Yes, I definitely think you’re right there. In my eagerness to compile my list I completely overlooked the two weeks without food. Thank you for calling my attention to that!

In the case of the 5000 and the 4000, I fully agree, of course, that the disciples were not making that connection themselves. However, the evangelists may have been. The very close similarity of the wording in all four gospels suggests to me that (1) all four were drawing on a common source and (2) by the time they were writing their Gospels, the Church had already incorporated this miracle into its stock of episodes in Jesus’ ministry that were habitually quoted in its preaching and teaching. In that case I think it would have been perfectly natural to give it an added theological slant of this kind.

Anyway, thanks again for taking the trouble to give such a perceptive and sensible answer to my rather complicated question!

 

[BartholomewB]

While there can clearly be deep meaning behind scripture, and in many cases, especially Paul's, words and word ordering seem to be important. But i think the concept of breaking of break in memory of "who and what" Jesus is is just that; something done in memory and reflection upon Jesus and his works. I don't even think that bread is important beyond the symbolism. Jesus is saying "do not forget me" after what have done. "When you meet do this in memory of me":

Thank you, @legion. Yes, I deliberately avoided giving any sectarian interpretation of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. My purpose in asking this question was to learn from other posters’ thoughts on the subject of what Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul were trying to tell us about the events they have recorded in their books.

Each of those authors was living and working at a particular place at a particular time. In other words, it’s a question about those five men, it’s not about eternal truths. You might say I’m looking for information about history, not about theology.