Monday March 22, 2010
Luke 22:14, 19-20 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him ... And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."
MOMENTOUS WORDS TO THE DISCIPLES
"Freeze. Put your hands on your head. You are under arrest!"
Those words only mean something if spoken to you personally. It also matters who speaks them. If not spoken by an authorized officer of the law, they don't mean much.
The words you read above are momentous because they are words spoken by our Savior Jesus, the Son of the Living God. While these words were first spoken to the Disciples in the upper room, they have application to us.
It was after the Passover meal was over, that Jesus established His Supper. In fact, that's what is meant when we are told, "... after He had supped"--after the supper, Jesus took bread. He presided over this second meal, but He did not eat. This was an eating and drinking for His disciples: "And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.'"
Who was to eat this meal? Did Jesus institute it in public, and invite everyone to partake? No. It was private, intimate. He gave it to them, namely to His disciples.
What did He give to them? He gave the bread to them, but said to them: "This is my body." The word "this" is emphatic--this bread, that I've just given you, this is My body. What they were eating was not merely bread, but miraculously they were also receiving His body. It's the same today. How this is possible, we leave to the Son of God. He knows the mystery of the giving, we do not. We simply take Him at His Word.
Jesus told them to do this again, in remembrance of Him. They were to remember that He gave His body into death. Even as the Israelites remembered how God delivered them from slavery to the Egyptians, Jesus disciples are to remember that His death delivers from bondage to sin and eternal death. But let's not think that this is just a memorial meal. That's only one feature of it. Yes, we are to remember his death--that He died that we should be forgiven. But the Lord's Supper is sacramental, for in it we receive something from God. It is not just bread and wine. It is not like the Passover meal that consisted merely of unleavened bread, bitter herbs and roasted lamb. Those who receive the Lord's Supper also receive the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Son of God. After all, this isn't just any supper, it's His Supper.
