The manna and The Passover

The manna in the history of the Old Testament is the food that God rained down upon the Israelites in the desert 3,500 years ago. God rained down bread, the manna, for all of Israelites every day for 40 years, and led them to the land of Canaan.

The manna is a copy and shadow to testify of Christ—the spiritual bread of life. Jesus Himself taught us that He is the “bread of life from heaven,” the reality of the manna.

 

“Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.”    Jn 6:49–57

The New Covenant Passover is the truth that enables us to eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood, the reality of the manna of life.

. . . So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover . . . While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”      Mt 26:17–19, 26–28

We are walking through the desert of faith toward Heaven—the spiritual Canaan. Seeing what happened to the Israelites, we can guess that they would have hardly been able to survive in the desert without the manna. During the 40-year desert journey, they satisfied their hunger with food from heaven, and they were able to enter the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey. Likewise, we must receive Christ who is the reality of the bread of eternal life, so that our souls will never go hungry or be thirsty again and we will be able to finish the desert journey of faith and enter the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.