27:33 And as day was
about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the
fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.
34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival,
since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” 35 And when he had
said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them
all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. 36 Then they were all
encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred
and seventy-six persons on the ship. 38 So when they had eaten enough, they
lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
Fascinating. You don't have to dig deep to see some
symbolism. The description of Paul taking bread and giving thanks and breaking
it is very familiar is it not? The question is why? What are we to learn from
it? What was God through Paul trying to convey to them and now to we who read
the story?
There is a common misconception about God and forgiveness
that unfortunately isn't just found in false religions. The belief is that
forgiveness is given by God to us based on our asking for it and/or deserving
it. This is not true. It could never be true.
When John the Baptist first saw Jesus he declared "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world!" When Jesus was dying on the cross He prayed "Forgive them Father for they know not what they do..."
Never will the whole world seek forgiveness. Never will every
person be deserving of God's forgiveness. It is not offered based on us. It is
simply offered.
Still not convinced? When the sanctuary was built in the
wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land the people were instructed about
how it all was to work. When they sinned they were to bring a spotless Lamb as
a sacrifice, they were to confess their sins on it in front of the priest and
then kill it. The priest then took the blood etc... The Lamb represented Jesus.
Killing it symbolized us putting Him on the cross. The blood represented His
life becoming ours. This part is fairly well known and understood. What is
often not known and understood is that every morning and evening the priests
offered a lamb for the forgiveness of sins on behalf of all the people whether
they ever came to the sanctuary or acknowledged the offering at all.
God is the initiator of forgiveness. He always has been. It
was He that went after Adam and Eve when they were hiding in the garden.
The men on that ship had done nothing to deserve God's
intervention to save them from the storm and from the consequences of their own
decision. Yet God extended to them His mercy and made a way of escape. The
breaking of the bread was symbolic of what God was literally doing on that
ship. He was offering Himself to them. That's the kind of God He is.
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