Economics in the Gospels Video Course: Feasts, Food & Agriculture, Bread & Wine

Today we are making available the next installment of our new online video series for Economics in the Gospels.

An awful lot of food is found in the Gospels. Lots of bread especially and mention of the raw materials needed to produce it. In fact, we can see a thriving agricultural component that includes the fields, yeast, wheat, eggs, etc. Same for wine with mentions of vineyards, winepresses, etc. We also see big feasts and extravagant weddings where food have been front and center, not unlike today. Throw in fish and figs and we see a pretty good diet with no mention of famine or much hunger, aside from that of followers who traveled to see Jesus preach. Then we see the most poignant instances of food in the Gospels where we see Him feeding thousands from a few fish and loaves of bread.

Most importantly perhaps is the Transubstantiation of Christ’s body and blood into bread and wine that Christians practice to this day - a communion through food that is shared across time from the Last Supper.

The most fundamental factor of a civilization’s economy is arguably its food production and the ability to organize themselves, their land, and other required resources. To produce food in abundance fields, sowers, seed, soil, fertilizer, beasts of burden, etc., are needed.  Taken together with the jobs, and the agricultural related structures mentioned previously, we see that agriculture may well be considered the largest component of the Gospel economy.

Food is probably the most talked about thing in the Gospels, in one way or another.  It is used as a metaphor for the metaphysical; it is used in the parables over and over and over; it is featured in many of the miracle recounts; it is used in the last supper; it is used to demonstrate mercy. 

Fish are probably the most famous foodstuff of the Gospels, after bread.  Many of the disciples were fishermen, fish were the food of choice in the miracle feedings, and even the symbol for Jesus himself was a fish. 

Luke 24:41 And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 24:42 So they gave him a piece of broiled fish,

Bread holds especially significant importance as the preeminent food. It is featured in iconic prayers…

Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread,

And Jesus even refers to himself as bread …

John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Wheat, being the primary raw material for bread receives many mentions in the Gospels.  Wheat is featured in the parables and in the story about Jesus and his disciples as they walk through a field. We find mentions of grain, barley, yeast, and flour.

We also find mint, dill, cumin, olive oil, spices, and salt, and in one of the most famous parables the tiny mustard seed plays a big role.

All this agriculture requires labor as we found in the chapter on labor, and here in the term sower. The word sow and sowing is one of the most often used words in the Gospels and found almost entirely in the parables.  The concept of sowing is analogous to what Jesus and God are apparently trying to do with mankind.  It points to the preferred method of talking to people in terms they can understand, yet again, with an agricultural tie-in.

John 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’

Weeds play the villain in the Gospels, to be uprooted and destroyed – and presumably, never overcome.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one…

The fruit mentioned most in the Gospels is the fig.  Grapes are close, especially if one counts wine and allusions to “fruit of the vine”.

Matthew 21:19 After noticing a fig tree by the road he went to it but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once.

In a specific economic context, there was obviously a great deal of wine production.  As mentioned previously, it must have contributed appreciably to the overall GDP of its day.  We can see references to vineyards throughout the parables and mentions of vines, grapes, wineskins, winepress, etc.  Intriguingly, John the Baptist supposedly never touched the stuff:

A cleared field is vital to agriculture, but in many ways is a blank slate, waiting to be planted, taken care of, and finally harvested.  In the Gospels fields are used sometimes as a metaphor for the world.  But fields are sometimes just fields – something to walk through and grow crops in.

Luke 6:1 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.

Not surprisingly we find instances of  fertilizer and manure piles.

We also see beasts of burden like oxen, donkeys, and various livestock, such as when we see a “Hen gathers her chicks” and roosters mentioned. Pigs seem to hold a particularly curious place in the Gospels as a host demons apparently prefer, if they can’t get a person. 

​There is no more ubiquitous animal in the Gospels than sheep.  Sheep are the ultimate metaphor for people and demonstrates our relative position nicely.  It is also important to remember who the shepherd is in these passages. The most vulnerable of all is the lamb, used by Jesus to refer to the disciples, and is a metaphor for Jesus himself.  John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God”.

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For more information about the course click here.
To view the video click here.
For the study text click here.

Next up: Offering/Gifts/Taxes/Rich & Poor

​Feasts
n the time of the Gospels, as today, there was apparently a lot of big eating going on.  Feasts are some of the most commonly referenced activities, from the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine to the Last Supper. 

Eating and feasts are central to stories throughout the Gospels.  In particular are several miracles and parables that feature feastings.

Feasts (35)
The word feast is mentioned in many contexts and acts as a point of reference in the following well-known instance.
 
Matthew 27:15 During the feast the governor was accustomed to release one prisoner to the crowd, whomever they wanted.

Similarly, the following mention is very familiar.
 
Luke 2:43 But when the feast was over, as they were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,

Feasting as an activity is a sign of wealth, as in the following.
 
Luke 16:19 “There was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
 
Wedding (16)
Weddings are another type of feasting mentioned with some frequency in the Gospels - and are the scene for several parables. 

Wedding Guests (4)
Luke 5:34 So Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 5:35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast.”

Wedding Celebration
Luke 12:36 be like people waiting for their master to come back from the wedding celebration, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

On Seeking Seats of Honor
 Luke 14:7 Then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them, 14:8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. 14:9 So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place. 14:10 But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Banquet (16)
Lastly, the banquet is similarly well represented as another feasting opportunity.
 
Luke 14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 14:13 But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14:14 Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Parable of the Great Banquet
Luke 14:15 When one of those at the meal with Jesus heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God!” 14:16 But Jesus said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests. 14:17 At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 14:18 But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ 14:19 Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’ 14:20 Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’ 14:21 So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 14:22 Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’ 14:23 So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled. 14:24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!’”

 
Food and Agriculture
The most fundamental factor of a civilization’s economy is arguably its food production.  What separates the primitive man, the hunter-gatherers, and the civilized version, is the ability to organize themselves, their land, and the other required resources, to produce food in abundance.

The gospels paint a vivid picture of this segment of the economy at the time.  Vitals include fish, and of course bread, which we save for another chapter all its own.  We see sheep and lambs, herbs, fruit, wine, eggs, etc.

Additionally, we see listed the other factors of production like fields, sowers, seed, soil, fertilizer, beasts of burden, etc.  Taken together with the jobs, and the agricultural related structures mentioned previously, we see that agriculture may well be considered the largest component of the economy.

Certainly in terms of its mention in the Gospels, food production is unsurpassed.  Jesus refers to himself as a shepherd of sheep repeatedly and the parables are often based in such metaphors.

Food (18)
Food is probably the most talked about thing in the Gospels, in one way or another.  It is used as a metaphor for the metaphysical; it is used in the parables over and over and over; it is featured in many of the miracle recounts; it is used in the last supper; it is used to demonstrate mercy.  And while it is shown to be something very dear it is also apparently plentiful in the Gospels’ times.   Especially when Jesus is around.
 
Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry.

Fish (30)
Fish are probably the most famous foodstuff of the Gospels, after bread. 
 
Luke 24:41 And while they still could not believe it (because of their joy) and were amazed, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 24:42 So they gave him a piece of broiled fish,

Many of the disciples were fishermen, fish were the food of choice in the miracle feedings, and even the symbol for Jesus himself was a fish. 
 
Luke 5:6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.

In one particularly bizarre miracle we find a fish with something extra.
 
Matthew 17:27 But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”
 
When there was feeding to be done, fish was the dish.
 
Luke 9:16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
 
Mint (2)
Mint was apparently a dear spice back in the day…
 
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Dill, and Cumin
As were dill and cumin…
 
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Rue/Herb
…and Rue and Herbs.
 
Luke 11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others.

Sow (35)/Sower (5)
The word sow and sowing is one of the most often used words in the Gospel, and found almost entirely in the parables.  The concept of sowing is analogous to what Jesus and God are apparently trying to do with mankind.  It points to the preferred method of talking to people in terms they can understand, yet again, with an agricultural tie-in.

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than the birds!

John 4:36 The one who reaps receives pay and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps can rejoice together. 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’

The Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 13:2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. 13:3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 13:5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 13:6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 13:7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 13:8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 13:9 The one who has ears had better listen!”

13:18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path. 13:20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 13:22 The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing. 13:23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”

Harvest (18)
Harvest is used throughout the Gospels and is particularly represented in the parables as in the Parable of the Weeds.
 
Matthew 9:37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
 
John 4:35 Don’t you say, ‘There are four more months and then comes the harvest?’ I tell you, look up and see that the fields are already white for harvest!

Weeds (8)
On the downside of agriculture, and perfectly suited for the continued use of agricultural metaphors, are weeds.  Weeds play the villain in the Gospels, to be uprooted and destroyed – and presumably, never overcome.

Matthew 13:38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one…

The Parable of the Weeds
Matthew 13:24 He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 13:25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 13:26 When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. 13:27 So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 13:28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’ 13:29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
 
Reap (7)
Again, the Gospels use a metaphor most can relate to – a lesson in fairness.
 
John 4:37 For in this instance the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 4:38 I sent you to reap what you did not work for; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”

Seed (33)
Like the word Sow, Seed is mentioned often in the Gospel, but almost always in a parable.

Luke 8:11 “Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God.

The Parable of the Growing Seed
Mark 4:26 He also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. 4:27 He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 4:28 By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 4:29 And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.”

Mustard Seed
In one of the most famous parables the tiny mustard seed plays a big role.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13:31 He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 13:32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches.”

Fruit (40)
Fruit is found often in the Gospels, and, again, almost always in the parables.  It refers to what comes from a good tree, or a bad tree, an apparent analogy to good and evil.
 
Matthew 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? 7:17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 7:18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Figs (3)
The fruit mentioned most in the Gospels is the fig.  Grapes are close, especially if one counts wine and allusions to “fruit of the vine”.
 
Mark 11:13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

Fig Trees (14)
Not surprisingly, given the fig’s preeminence, the fig tree is the most oft mentioned tree.  It even has a parable of its own.
 
Matthew 21:19 After noticing a fig tree by the road he went to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. He said to it, “Never again will there be fruit from you!” And the fig tree withered at once.

The Parable of the Fig Tree
Luke 21:29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. 21:30 When they sprout leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near. 21:31 So also you, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 21:32 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Pigs (13)
Pigs seem to hold a particularly curious place in the Gospels as a host demons apparently prefer, if they can’t get a person. 
 
Matthew 8:28 When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were extremely violent, so that no one was able to pass by that way. 8:29 They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 8:30 A large herd of pigs was feeding some distance from them. 8:31 Then the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 8:32 And he said, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and drowned in the water. 8:33 The herdsmen ran off, went into the town, and told everything that had happened to the demon-possessed men. 8:34 Then the entire town came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Fields (29)
A good cleared field is vital to agriculture, but in many ways is a blank slate, waiting to be planted, taken care of, and finally harvested. 
 
Matthew 13:24 He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.
In the Gospels fields are used sometimes in the parables as a metaphor for the world. 
 
Matthew 13:38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,
But fields are often used not as metaphors, but literally as fields – something to walk through and grow crops in.
 
Luke 2:8 Now there were shepherds nearby living out in the field, keeping guard over their flock at night.
 
Luke 6:1 Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.
 
The field is also used in a depiction of the end times.
 
Matthew 24:18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
There is also a fascinating economic transaction where the money paid to Judas by the chief priests, upon being returned to them, use the money to buy Potter’s Field.  A term we all remember from Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life”.
 
Matthew 27:5 So Judas threw the silver coins into the temple and left. Then he went out and hanged himself. 27:6 The chief priests took the silver and said, “It is not lawful to put this into the temple treasury, since it is blood money.” 27:7 After consulting together they bought the Potter’s Field with it, as a burial place for foreigners. 27:8 For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day. 27:9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price of the one whose price had been set by the people of Israel, 27:10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

Plot of Land
Hard to tell how large this plot is, but it doesn’t take much imagination to think of it as another field.
 
John 4:5 Now he came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Charcoal (2)
The image painted in the following passage seems not far removed from scenes one might see today.
 
John 21:9 When they got out on the beach, they saw a charcoal fire ready with a fish placed on it, and bread.

Fertilizer
Fertilizer is mentioned but once in the Gospels in this parable…
 
Warning to Israel to Bear Fruit
Luke 13:6 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 13:7 So he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue to deplete the soil?’ 13:8 But the worker answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. 13:9 Then if it bears fruit next year, very well, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Egg
Not the most popular of dishes apparently, the egg is mentioned only once in the Gospels.
 
Luke 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

Ox (en) (6)
Oxen were prized and featured in parables, key stories, and lessons.
 
John 2:15 So he made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple courts, with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.

Donkey (7)
The lowly donkey is elevated to great status as the ride for Jesus into Jerusalem.
 
Matthew 21:2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you. Right away you will find a donkey tied there, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.

Garden (5)
A garden is mentioned mostly in the Mustard Seed parable where the tiny seed becomes a huge plant.  But garden is also mentioned in John as the site of Jesus’ tomb.
 
John 19:41 Now at the place where Jesus was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried.

“Hen gathers her chicks” (2)
This passage uses the metaphor of a hen for God.  Again, the agricultural metaphor for the relationship between God and people is used.  Many animals, plants and farming images are used in the Gospels.
 
Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it!

Rooster (13)
The rooster has a very special place in Christian lore as Jesus predicts his number one disciple Peter will deny even knowing him three times – at which point a rooster will crow. 
 
John 18:27 Then Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Salt (6)
The mention of salt in the Gospels is in the context of losing its flavor.
 
Luke 14:34 “Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored?

Soil (13) / Manure Pile
Soil is used almost exclusively in the parables, aside from the passage coupling it with manure, immediately following the passage on salt used above.
 
Luke 14:35 It is of no value for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. The one who has ears to hear had better listen!”

Sheep (37)
There is no more ubiquitous animal in the Gospels than sheep.  Sheep are the ultimate metaphor for people and demonstrates our relative position nicely.  It is also important to remember who the shepherd is in these passages.
 
Mark 6:34 As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.
 
John 10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.
But the images go further and show that, like sheep, we are quite vulnerable – and very much in need of shepherding.
 
Mark 14:27 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written,
‘I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.’

Sheep are also used in the parables and lessons to make point after point including the following that demonstrates that working on the Sabbath is sometimes OK.
 
Matthew 12:11 He said to them, “Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out? 12:12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

The metaphor also takes a decidedly ominous turn in the following passage which shows that not all sheep get the favor of the same shepherd…
 
John 10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep. 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Matthew 18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 18:12 What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? 18:13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 18:14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Lamb (6)
The most vulnerable of all is the lamb, used by Jesus to refer to the disciples, and is a metaphor for Jesus himself.  John the Baptist refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God”.
 
Luke 10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs surrounded by wolves.

Passover Lamb 
Luke 22:7 Then the day for the feast of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

Pasture (2)
And where do the sheep and lambs hang out?
 
Luke 15:4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it?

Sheepfold (2)
A somewhat obscure mention, the sheepfold is a pen used to shelter the sheep.
 
John 10:16 I have other sheep that do not come from this sheepfold. I must bring them too, and they will listen to my voice, so that there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Livestock
Obviously there was a great deal of livestock in Jesus’ age.
 
John 4:12 Surely you’re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you? For he gave us this well and drank from it himself, along with his sons and his livestock.”

Orchard (3)
And orchards aplenty.
 
John 18:1 When he had said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there, and he and his disciples went into it.

Myrrh (3)
The enigmatic Myrrh is offered to Jesus at the beginning of his life, and, as this passage shows, at the end.
 
John 15:23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.

Aloe
Aloe is much used today but mentioned only once in the Gospels.  Apparently it was good enough to be used on Jesus.
 
John 19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds.

Oil (8)
Oil is mentioned frequently in the Gospels in several variations.  Olive oil is mentioned as a fuel for lamps; perfumed oil is mentioned as a luxury; oil is mentioned for its healing properties.  In general oil has great value.  Lastly, it is mentioned as something used in the burial process for Jesus.
 
Matthew 26:12 When she poured this oil on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
 
Mark 6:13 They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
 
Luke 10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

Olive Oil (3)
Luke 16:5 So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 16:6 The man replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’

Perfumed Oil (6)
Luke 7:37 Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil.
7:38 As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.
 
John 11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

Aromatic Oil (2)
Mark 14:3 Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of costly aromatic oil from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head. 14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ointment?t14:5 It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!” So they spoke angrily to her.

Aromatic Spices (4)
Another version of aromatic oil are aromatic spices.
 
Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him.
 
Luke 23:56 Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes.

Hunger (3) / Hungry (15)
Though hunger is often mentioned in the Gospels famine is not mentioned or even implied.  Hunger is mentioned mostly like we use it today if we miss a meal.  For the most part people seem pretty well fed.
 
Matthew 21:18 Now early in the morning, as he returned to the city, he was hungry.

In fact, there was a tremendous amount of feeding going on, especially in the feeding miracles of the bread and fish. 
 
Mark 8:1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples and said to them, 8:2 “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. 8:3 If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come from a great distance.” 8:4 His disciples answered him, “Where can someone get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” 8:5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.” 8:6 Then he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. After he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples to serve. So they served the crowd. 8:7 They also had a few small fish. After giving thanks for these, he told them to serve these as well. 8:8 Everyone ate and was satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 8:9 There were about four thousand who ate. Then he dismissed them. 8:10 Immediately he got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

One would have to conclude that the economy of the Gospels did a good job of generating enough food for most.  So much so that hunger is used primarily in the metaphysical context. 
 
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
 
Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
 
Luke 6:25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food now, for you will be hungry.

Plant (11)
Used almost exclusively in the parables “plant” is used both as a noun and verb in the Gospels.  In the following passage it is used both ways in one verse.
 
Matthew 15:13 And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.
 
Mark 4:31 It is like a mustard seed that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground – 4:32 when it is sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds can nest in its shade.”

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Bread and Wine
Bread and Wine hold especially significant importance in the Gospels as the preeminent food and drink, and given their preponderance, their production presumably accounted for significant portions of the economic output of the time.

Story after story, parable after parable, and mention after mention discuss bread and wine, and the factors of production that go into their manufacture.  This includes discussions of wheat, grain, yeast, grapes, vines, vineyards, etc.  The two products are ubiquitous in the texts.

A review of prior chapters will also show that storerooms were built; fields were planted; labor managed; and capital was allocated to the production of these two foodstuffs.

Of course, this is no real surprise to most Christians as the two foods are sacred and discussed over and over again in churches throughout the world as the body and blood of Jesus – capable of saving souls and an everlasting gift to God’s people.
 
Luke 22:19 Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 22:20 And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

On the other hand, John the Baptist apparently did not eat or drink either.
 
Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

Bread (58)
It’s obvious from the Gospels that there was A LOT of bread being baked.  Bread is featured in the retellings of miracles…
 
Matthew 15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?” 15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.” ... 15:36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds. 15:37 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full

Featured in iconic prayers…
 
Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread,

In tales of talks with the devil himself…
 
Matthew 4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.” 4:4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Bread is also featured at a meal after the resurrection…
 
Luke 24:30 When he had taken his place at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 24:35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.

Jesus even refers to himself as bread …
 
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.
 
John 6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Bread is also used as a vehicle for Old Testament scripture to be fulfilled…
 
John 13:18 “What I am saying does not refer to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture, ‘The one who eats my bread has turned against me.’
 
John 13:26 Jesus replied, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.” Then he dipped the piece of bread in the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son.

Unleavened Bread (5)
Passover was the time when Jesus came to Jerusalem.  The Passover meal, featuring Unleavened Bread, was the setting for the drama that ensued in Jesus’ final days. 
 
Mark 14:1 Two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the chief priests and the experts in the law were trying to find a way to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.
 
Mark 14:12 Now on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

Sacred bread (3)
In the following passage Jesus feeds himself and his disciples a bread reserved for the priests.
 
Mark 2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?”

Loaves (23)
Loaves are mentioned almost exclusively in the recounts of the miracle feedings of the multitudes.
 
Matthew 14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 14:16 But he replied, “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.” 14:17 They said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 14:19 Then he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.

Wheat (11)
Wheat, being the primary raw material for bread receives many mentions in the Gospels.  Wheat is featured in the parables, and in the story about Jesus and his disciples as they walk through a field…
 
Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat and eat them.
…and about how wheat grains will be separated from its chaff.
 
Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire.”

Grain (14)
Presumably grain refers to wheat in the Gospels, though it is not always specified as such.  Like wheat, grain is used throughout in the parables, in stories, and in the following passage about the end times.

Luke 17:34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 17:35 There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”

Barley (2)
In John barley loaves are specifically mentioned.
 
John 6:9 “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what good are these for so many people?”

Yeast (8)
Another raw material of bread, yeast is also used as a metaphor and figures prominently in His warnings about the Pharisees and Sadducees, as well as King Herod.
 
Mark 8:14 Now they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 8:15 And Jesus ordered them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”

The Parable of the Yeast
Matthew 13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”

Flour (2)
And once again in Luke flour is mentioned in the same parable.
 
Luke 13:21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”

Manna (2)
Manna is also referred to…
 
John 6:49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 6:50 This is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person may eat from it and not die.

Wine (29)
Wine is most definitely the preferred drink of the Gospels, the subject of many people’s favorite miracle in all the Bible, the story of Jesus turning water into wine. 
 
John 2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2:2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. 2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.” 2:6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 2:7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 2:8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,” and they did. 2:9 When the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom 2:10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper wine when the guests are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

In a specific economic context, there was obviously a great deal of wine production.  As mentioned previously, it must have contributed appreciably to the overall GDP of its day.  We can see references to vineyards throughout the parables and mentions of vines, grapes, wineskins, winepress, etc.  Intriguingly, John the Baptist is supposed to never drink the stuff:
 
Luke 1:15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
In the story of the good Samaritan wine is used as a medicine.
 
Luke 10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

References in the Gospels are also fascinating as they show a discernment of wine’s quality as in the wedding story when the steward comments about the wine’s high quality.  On the other hand, the next passage discusses how sour wine was given to Jesus as his last taste in life (before the resurrection that is)…
 
John 19:29 A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. 19:30 When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Curiously, wine is not specifically mentioned as being made sacred as the blood of Jesus in the Gospels, as celebrated in the Eucharist.

Vine (6)In the Gospels, vine is used as a reference to wine, as in “fruit of the vine” or as a reference to Jesus himself.
 
John 15:4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

Grapes (2)
Of course, you can’t make wine without some grapes.
 
Luke 6:43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 6:44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles.

Wineskins (6)
Nowadays “wineskin” refers to a piece of software used to run Windows on a Mac.  A bota bag is perhaps the closest analogy to what is referred to in the Gospels.  Apparently one would have to be quite foolish to put new wine into an old wineskin... 
 
Mark:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins.”