As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave to them.
- KJV And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
- BSB While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
- NKJV Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
- NASB And it came about, when He had reclined at the table with them, that He took the bread and blessed it, and He broke it and began giving it to them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
At the table Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and distributes it. The familiar actions echo his earlier ministry and become the moment of revelation.
Overview
The guest assumes the role of host, taking, blessing, breaking, and giving the bread, the same fourfold pattern seen at the feeding of the multitude and the Last Supper. These distinctive gestures stir recognition. Luke highlights how Christ is made known in the breaking of bread, a phrase rich with both ordinary fellowship and eucharistic resonance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 14:19He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes.
- Luke 24:35They related the things that happened along the way, and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
- Luke 9:16He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.
- Matt 15:36and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
- John 6:11Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down; likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.
- Mark 14:22As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.”
- Luke 22:19He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
- Acts 27:35When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it, and began to eat.
- Mark 8:6He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to his disciples to serve, and they served the multitude.
- Mark 6:41He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his disciples to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all.
- Matt 26:26As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 24:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.