What does food symbolize in Christianity?

Answer 1

You shouldn't glutton. There's not a thing about "unclean animals" either (when Jesus comes into the picture, that is). In fact, Jesus goes into the temple and eats the desicrated food, sharing it with the 12! He cooly explains to the preists that He is the Son of God.

Later in the New Testament, Paul declares unclean animals clean to eat.

Fasting is meaningless if there is no prayer, no meaning, involved. Luke 5:33 mentions that the Pharisees disciples fast (gathering as much attention as possible.. not for the glory of God), while Jesus' 12 disciples eat and drink.

Acts 14:23 says that Paul and Barnabas commited themselves to God while deciding church elders. If you're not commited to your Lord, Savior, during the fasting period, then you're just starving yourself. God doesn't want you to starve.. He wants your ever-longing devotion

Hope this helps!

-Your Bro in Christ,

Curtis

Answer 2

Food is of course fundamental to life, but also plays an important symbolic role in the gospels. We see this best in Mark's Gospel, the first New Testament gospel to be written and the primary source for the other gospels. Verses 6:33-8:21 contain the story of Jesus feeding 5000 and a surprisingly similar story of him feeding 4000, as well as other miracles and discourses with a repeated theme related to food and a minor theme of not understanding:

• Jesus and the disciples had no leisure so much as to eat, so they went into a desert place

• Feeding the 5000
• When Jesus walked on water the disciples were amazed, for they considered not the miracle of the loaves
• Pharisees complain about the disciples eating with unwashed hands
• Discourse - what goes into a man goes into his belly and does not defile
• Greek woman metaphorically begs for crumbs from the table
• Feeding the 4000
• Disciples are hungry and have only one loaf of bread
• Jesus warns the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and they reason, "It is because we have no bread," showing they do not understand
• Summary by Jesus of the two feasts, asking, "How is it that ye do not understand?"

Here the role of food is to provide a theme that unifies an important series of events. For example, the miracle in which Jesus walks on water and the disciples were amazed for they considered not the miracle of the loaves, looks back to the feeding of the five thousand and forward to the summary by Jesus of the two feasts, asking, "How is it that ye do not understand?" This sequence is then linked as event R through the framework parallel structure of Mark's Gospel to the Last Supper (event R'). A parallel structure is a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is compared to a second, parallel set, and was used in ancient times to create emphasis and develop themes that were otherwise hidden:

A . John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)

B .The baptism of Jesus (1:9)

C . The voice of God from heaven, "Thou art my beloved son" (1:11)

D . The forty days in the wilderness as an allusion to Elijah and Moses (1:13)

E . The people were astonished at what Jesus taught (1:22)

F . Jesus casts out an unclean spirit (1:23-26)

G . Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (3:6)

H . Demons, whenever they see Jesus, fall down and say that he is the Son of God.

-- Jesus commands that they tell no one of this (3:11-12)

I .. Jesus calls the 12 disciples (3:13-19)

J .. Jesus rejects his own family: he has a new family, his followers (3:31-35)

K . Jesus rebukes the wind (4:36-41)

L . The demoniac, wearing no clothes (5:15), cries out that Jesus not torment him and Jesus sends out the demons (5:1-20)

M . Jesus comes into his own country (6:1)
-- Where he was brought up

N . The people misunderstand Jesus and he can do no mighty work (6:2-6)

O . Jesus sends out the disciples and curses those who will not receive them (6:7-11)
-- in sending the disciples with authority and expecting all to receive them, Jesus is asserting his own authority

P . Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead (6:14)

Q . Herodias and her daughter conspire to kill John the Baptist (6:16-29)

R . Feeding the thousands, and related miracles and discourses (6:33-8:21)

S . Who do people say that I am (8:27)

T . Peter affirms faith in Jesus as the Christ (8:29)

U . Whosoever shall be ashamed of me: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed (8:38)

V . The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes (8:31a)

W . Be killed and after three days rise again (8:31b)

X . Prophecy of second coming (9:1)- Jesus tells the disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God coming with power.

B' .The Transfiguration of Jesus (9:2-3)

C' .The voice of God from heaven, "This is my beloved son" (9:7)

D' . Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses then to the disciples about Elijah (9:4-13)

E' .A great multitude was amazed at Jesus (9:15)

F' .Jesus cast out a dumb spirit (9:17-27)

G' .They shall kill the Son of man and he shall rise on the third day (9:31)

H' .Jesus clarifies his divine status, saying that he is not God: "Why call me good? There is none good but God" (10:18)

I' . Peter says the disciples have left all and followed Jesus (10:28)

J' . Those who have left their family for Jesus have a new family: all Jesus' followers (10:29-30)

K'. Jesus rebukes the 'sons of thunder', James and John (10:35-45 - cf 3:17)

L' .Blind Bartimaeus cries out for mercy and casts off his clothes, then Jesus heals him (10:46-52)

M' .Jesus comes into Jerusalem (11:1-10)
-- Where he will die

N' .Jesus misunderstands the fig tree that can provide no fruit (11:13-14)

O' .Jesus casts out them that sold and bought in the Temple and curses them for making the Temple a den of thieves (11:15-17)
-- Jesus is asserting his authority

P' .Jesus asks whether the baptism of John is from heaven or of men, and the priests, scribes and elders can not answer (11:30-33)

Q' .Parable of husbandmen who conspire to kill the vineyard owner's son (12:1-9)

X' .Prophecy of second coming (chapter 13)

-- on clouds of glory, within the lifetimes of some of those to whom he was speaking

R' .The Last Supper (14:17-25)

S' .Art thou the Christ, Son of God (14:61)

T' .Peter denies Jesus three times (14:66-72a)

U' .And when he thought thereon, Peter wept (14:72b)

V' .The chief priests, elders and scribes delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (15:1)

-- Delivering Jesus is a similar concept to rejecting him.
-- Both parts of the pair involve chief priests, elders and scribes

W' .Jesus dies and on the third day rises again (15:37, 16:6)

A' .The young man explains the departure of Jesus(16:6-8)

The symbolism of the Last Supper, in which Jesus compared the bread and wine to his body and blood, is taken up in the sacrament of the Holy Communion.

Answer 3

it symbolizes food