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Kingdom Bread

Give us this day our daily bread. ( Matthew 6:11)

HERE'S an interesting thing about the word "Lord." It is a contraction of the Old English word hlafweard — from hlaf, meaning "loaf" (i.e. bread) and weard, meaning "ward" (i.e. keeper). It referred to the master of the house, the one who was the source of supply for the entire household, providing sustenance for every member of the family. If you needed bread, you looked to the Master. He was the Breadkeeper. The Loafward. The Lord.

Today, bread is little more than a way to accessorize our meals. But in Bible times, it was a basic necessity, as important as water. To be without bread was a matter of great concern. Not only was it a staple for the home, but travelers were careful to pack sufficient quantities of it for their journeys. To eat bread was synonymous with having a meal.

Of course, in those days, bread grains were not highly processed and bleached out, as they are today, so they retained much more of their nutritional goodness. For example, in Ezekiel 4, the Lord gave the prophet a recipe consisting of wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt. This made a pretty stout bread, hearty enough to sustain Ezekiel as his only food for 390 days.

But as important as bread was as a commodity, in the Bible it is even more powerful as a metaphor. Moses said, "Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 8.3). Jesus lived out that reality and quoted this verse when the devil tried to get him to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:4). There is a bread beyond bread — a bread that satisfies much more than our physical need. Isaiah referred to this when he asked, "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:2). God promises a better bread — the very word of the Loafward Himself. A word of redemption and restoration. A word of abundance and satisfaction.

In the wilderness, God gave manna to the Children of Israel — bread to sustain them on their journey between Egypt and the Promised Land. This was a type of Christ, an analogy that points us to Jesus. In John 6, Jesus took up this analogy, saying, "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (vv. 32-33). Then He declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (v. 35).

In Leviticus, God gave instructions for the display of "showbread." Twelve loaves of bread, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, were set before the Lord on a table in the Tabernacle. It was known as the "bread of the Presence," and was a sign of God's sustenance for His people and the blessing of His Presence.

Then there was the time the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them what we traditionally call "The Lord's Prayer." It contains the line, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). It is often prayed, and much quoted. And yet, we have little understood, I think, the full weight of what Jesus invites us to ask of the Father.

What is this daily bread for which we are to pray? It hinges on the word "daily." We usually think of it as "today's bread," or "the bread for today." That is, "Give us today's bread today. We'll not be concerned about tomorrow's bread until tomorrow arrives." After all, didn't Jesus say, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" (Matthew 6:34)?

Certainly, we should go about our days in the order assigned to us by God, living each day one at a time, without anxiety for the next. And surely, He will daily provide for all our needs. But I believe there is a greater dynamic at work in this prayer. The Greek word for "daily" here is epiousios. It is found only twice in the Bible: in Matthew's and Luke's versions of this prayer. Many Bible commentators believe that it actually means "for the morrow" (this is supported by the translation of a related word, epiouse, as "the next day" in Acts 7:26 and 16:11). In other words, "daily bread" does not refer to the bread that is for today, as we have usually thought it to mean. It is the bread that is for tomorrow!

But why would Jesus teach us to ask for the bread that is for tomorrow? The answer lies in the nature of the Lord's Prayer itself. It is a Kingdom prayer. When we pray it, we are inviting God to break into this present world with His rule and reign — His kingdom. "Thy kingdom come." That is where His name is hallowed, or honored. That is where His will is done on earth "as it is in heaven." That is where His power and glory reside forever.

Ever since Jesus began His ministry and declared, "The kingdom of God is at hand," God's rule and reign have been breaking in. Jesus taught that, from the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God has been "forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it" (Matthew 11:12). It has already begun — but it has not yet fully come. It has not yet shone in all its glory. Theologians refer to this double reality as the kingdom "already, not yet." When we pray the Lord's Prayer, although God's kingdom reign has already begun, we continue to ask for it to come.

One day that kingdom will be fully manifest, but for now we must deal with this present world system. And though we live in it, God does not want us to live out of it, that is, with this world as our source and supply. He calls us to be kingdom people, with His own kingdom as our source. So Jesus teaches us to ask for the bread of the kingdom. It is "tomorrow's bread," not from the next 24-hour period, but from that day when God's kingdom arrives in all its fullness. It is the bread of Tomorrow (big "T"), but we are taught to ask for it today.

"Give us today the bread of that Kingdom day" is our petition. We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), so we need heavenly food. We are new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), so the old diet will not suffice. And if we are to live out kingdom life in this world, doing what Jesus did, we need kingdom substance, kingdom power — kingdom bread! It is the Word of God, which is bread beyond bread. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the bread of heaven. It is the Spirit of God, "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). It is the bread of His Presence, that blesses and sustains us.

Dear Lord,

Give us today the bread of Your Kingdom. Feed us on the Word of Your promise. Strenghten us with the life of Your Son. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Sustain us with Your Presence. Supply us with the substance of heaven — today and every day.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

© 2001 Jeff Doles.
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