John Mark Hicks

As the newly formed community of Jesus-followers assembled daily in the temple, they prayed together and listened to the teaching of the apostles. And they also gathered in homes as small groups to break bread together.

When Luke, the author of Acts, says that the disciples of Jesus were devoted to the breaking of bread, and that they broke bread daily in their homes, what does he mean by that language?

This is why it is important to read Luke’s first volume, the Gospel of Luke. In that story, Luke describes how Jesus broke bread with five thousand as he feed the hungry who were following him (Luke 9:16), how Jesus broke bread with his disciples during the Passover (Luke 22:19), and how Jesus broke bread with two disciples at Emmaus on the day of his resurrection (Luke 24:30). In each case, the living Jesus acts as the Messiah of Israel by providing nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Jesus is the living host of these tables, both before and after his death. Particularly, in Luke 24, Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to the two disciples in Emmaus. In that moment, Jesus is revealed to the disciples as the resurrected Messiah, once dead but now eternally alive. Jesus is made known to the disciples in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:35).

When we read that the disciples in Acts 2 continued to break bread, we may take our cue from what Luke has already told us. Jesus, as the living, resurrected Messiah, continues to host a meal for his community. The disciples gathered daily in their homes to eat a meal together in which they gave thanks for what God had done in Jesus, and in the breaking of the bread Jesus was revealed as the living Messiah, and, consequently, disciples shared their food with joy and generosity.

In these early days of the Jesus community in Jerusalem, the disciples broke bread daily, and as the community spread across the Mediterranean basin, we learn that the disciples in Troas apparently gathered weekly in order to break bread. Like on the day of Pentecost, they broke bread on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).

The confluence of breaking bread, the resurrection of a dead person, and the first day of the week in both Luke 24 and Acts 20 bears strong witness to a weekly gathering to sit at the table of the Lord where the resurrected Messiah hosts the meal as a weekly anniversary of his resurrection.

The table of the Lord, or the breaking of bread, is a meeting place.  It is where individual believers encounter the risen Christ in community with other believers.

At that table, we hear a word of grace: “This is my body which is given for you.” Or, “this is my blood which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” At that table, we hear a word of thanksgiving: “We give thanks to God for the gift of the Messiah through the Spirit.”   At that table, we hear a communal word: “We eat the same bread and drink the same cup as the one body of Christ.”

The table, the breaking of bread, is a word of grace, thanksgiving, and community. It is where renewed Israel, as disciples of Jesus, experience the mercy of God and the joy of the Holy Spirit in the presence of the Living Messiah as we hear the invitation of Jesus, “Come to the table!”

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

This is a second edition of a book published in 2001. I have updated it, and now it includes a video course, an audiobook, and a journal to accompany the reading of the chapters. I hope you will take a look.

“Anchors for the Soul” chronicles my story, interweaving a biblical theology of suffering without giving pat answers. It’s intended for sufferers *and for those who are comforting sufferers* on how to process and move forward, yet still be honest about where you’re at along the journey. It helps you make space for the pain… before God.

As a hardback book, I must say: it feels as good to hold as it does to read! Chad Harrington’s design team did a great job on this.

We also did an online course—that’s available right now for free when you buy the book—and a companion journal.

Also, I wanted to mention that it’s perfect for church groups: each chapter has small group questions to help you process suffering together. The online course is perfect for groups. Check it out!

Click here for information on ordering and options.

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

Theodrama 41.

As Jesus taught in the temple courts, his opponents confronted him with a series of questions. Jesus had enraged the temple authorities when he cleansed the Court of the Gentiles from merchandizers. They questioned his actions and authority. The hostile questions intended to subvert his popularity or endanger his life.

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12, one scribe was impressed with how well Jesus handled the succession of questions and consequently wondered how Jesus might answer the question that rabbis discussed among themselves: “Of all the commandments, which is the first of all?” Which commandment is the most important one in the Torah?

Jesus identified two commands in the Torah as the first and second. “Love God” is the “first of all,” and the “second” is “love your neighbor.” The first comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and the second from Leviticus 19:18.

What enabled Jesus to so clearly and succinctly identify these two texts as the first and second commandments? Jesus did not read Scripture as a flat text where every command is as equally important as every other command. Rather, Jesus recognized levels of priority and importance. Some commands are more fundamental than others.

Jesus prioritized these two commands over “burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Loving God and neighbor is more important than the temple and its sacrifices. This does not mean that sacrifices are unimportant but that there are more important commands. The two greatest commands are love God and love neighbor–and we must be careful that we don’t make any other command equal in importance.

What makes one more fundamental than another? How are these two imperatives (“love God” and “love your neighbor”) more important than sacrifices? Perhaps we might see in “love God and love your neighbor” an act of sacrifice itself. We give ourselves to God (our whole body, soul and strength) and, in turn, to others. We are the sacrifices. This is more important than any ritual which expresses that devotion.

This reminds us that God loves mercy more than sacrifice (Hosea 6:6) or that what the Lord requires more than a thousand sacrificed rams is “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). We are the sacrifices that God requires (cf. Psalm 40:6-8).

The context in which this exchange takes place underscores the importance of “love your neighbor.” It appears between the exploitation the money-changers practiced in the temple courts (Mark 11:15-16) and Jesus’ accusation that the wealthy temple authorities exploit widows (Mark 12:38-40). In effect, Jesus identified several practices as examples of economic or social injustice.

Given these temple practices, “love your neighbor” has added significance. It is a further judgment against the temple authorities. The scribe did not ask Jesus for the second commandment. He only inquired about what was “first of all.” Jesus volunteered the second, and the presence of social injustices are a clue as to why. When we love our neighbors, we treat each other fairly, honestly, and with equity, and we oppose all injustices.

The kingdom ethic is to love God and love our neighbor. The kingdom is rooted, grounded, and expressed in love—God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other.

When we love God, we love neighbor, and we love our neighbor, not because we found something worthy of love in our neighbor but because we love God. The love of God and neighbor are the priorities of the kingdom of God, and the driving energy of discipleship. Disciples of Jesus love God first of all, and also love their neighbors because they love God.

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).

This is one meditation from the published book by John Mark Hicks, Around the Bible in 80 Days: The Story of God from Creation to New Creation (Abilene: Leafwood Press, 2022).