72 pages • 2 hours read
AnonymousBible (New Testament): English Standard Version
Nonfiction | Scripture | Adult | Published in 1611A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Bread and Wine
Bread and wine are frequently used as symbols in the New Testament, at times separately but often together, especially in reference to the Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples. In its more general application, bread symbolizes the nourishment necessary to sustain human life, and it is in this symbolic context that Jesus proclaims, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Wine, for its part, can symbolize a broad range of ideas, from joy to judgment.
When bread and wine occur together, as in the accounts of the Last Supper, they represent the elements of a sacrificial offering: bread for the flesh of the sacrifice’s body, and wine for the blood. Jesus himself makes these meanings clear in his words from the Last Supper: “This is my body” in reference to the bread, and “This is my blood of the covenant” for the wine (Mark 14:22-24). These elements, and the meanings behind them, form the foundation for the ritual of communion (also called Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper), one of the central rites of Christian worship.
The Cross
Of all the images that underwent a symbolic transformation in Christianity, none is more prominent than the cross. In its ancient context, a cross was a brutal instrument of torture and death intended for the worst of criminals, and its original symbolic content would have conveyed torment and shame. After its association with the death of Jesus, however, it became a symbol of hope, life, and salvation for Christians. The cross was the place where Jesus offered himself up as a sacrifice for sins, an act that wins forgiveness for those who put their faith in him. As such, the cross became a prominent symbol of the Christian faith and has remained so throughout its history. In the New Testament, the disjunction between the normal symbolic meaning of a cross and its reinterpretation through Christ is evident in some of the references to it, as in Paul’s usage in 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
The Lamb
Lambs were sacrificial animals in ancient Judaism, commonly used in many types of offerings at the temple but particularly associated with the festival of Passover. In the original ritual of Passover (detailed in Exodus 12), each family sacrificed a lamb and anointed their doorposts with its blood, at the sight of which the plague of death would not strike them but would instead pass over. Since Jesus died during the festival of Passover, the symbol of the Passover lamb became associated with his sacrifice on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the blood of the Passover lamb caused the plague of death to pass over instead of striking, the death and resurrection of Jesus was similarly believed to have overcome the power of death.
The symbolic imagery of Jesus as a lamb features prominently in the Book of Revelation, where a vision shows a sacrificial lamb standing at the throne of God. Not only so, but “Lamb” becomes one of Jesus’s titles, used in the praises rendered by the crowds in heaven: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12; compare with John 1:29).
The Temple
The temple in Jerusalem was one of the most prominent features of ancient Judaism, and it remained so throughout most of the New Testament period. The temple was the place where the presence of God dwelt in the midst of his people, and it was thus considered to be the holiest of places. In the teaching of Jesus and in other New Testament texts, however, the symbolism of the temple is applied to a new context: first to Jesus himself, and then to the entire Christian Church.
In giving a prophecy about the destruction of the temple, Jesus refers to his own death and resurrection, and John notes that “he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:21). The New Testament epistles take the analogy a step further, referring to the church as both “the Body of Christ” and as the temple of God. Paul frequently makes use of temple symbolism to describe the identity of the church: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16). This metaphor implies that the immeasurable holiness associated with the temple was now also true of the Christian Church because God was spiritually present in their midst.
Related Titles
By Anonymous
