For most of us the word communion brings to mind the Lord's
Supper. The pictures of Jesus and His disciples, sitting around a table
sharing a last meal before His crucifixion, are common sights in churches
around the world. Yet as tender and touching as that last meal was, it
was symbolic of something much more significant than friends sayi
ng goodbye. As you study the Scriptures, you will find that often God
uses physical events to deliver a much stronger spiritual message. Such
is the case with the Last Supper which Jesus shared with His followers.
Remember that when Jesus took time to participate in an event, there was a
reason. Jesus' life was a lesson for us from His birth to His
death. When He and the disciples shared that last meal, Jesus was living
out the fulfillment of prophecy. In order to understand how this event
was intended to speak to us today, let's briefly look at just what this meal
was.
"Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover
must be killed.
And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that
we may eat.
And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there
shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house
where he entereth in.
And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto
thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my
disciples?
And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make
ready.
And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready
the passover.
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with
him.
And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover
with you before I suffer:
For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be
fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it
among yourselves:
For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the
kingdom of God shall come.
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,
saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament
in my blood, which is shed for you."
Luke 22:7-20
During the meal, Jesus took some of the unleavened bread and broke it to
distribute it to His disciples. After that He took a cup of wine (or
grape juice) and gave it to them to drink. These events at another meal
wouldn't have been that unusual. But this was not just another meal.
This meal that they shared was the celebration of the feast of Passover.
The feast originally began when the children of Israel were in captivity in
Egypt and God was about to deliver them from their 430 years of
captivity. The night before they left Egypt, God instructed Moses to have
every family sacrifice a lamb. The blood of the lamb was to be spread on
the doorposts of the house, and they were to cook and eat the lamb as a last
meal before their deliverance. Later that night, when the death angel
passed through Egypt, he was instructed to pass over or bypass every house that
had obeyed the instructions to sacrifice the lamb and place the blood on the
doorposts. In the households which had not obeyed, the first born of the
house died.
That was a night like none other. While the Israelites obeyed God and
feasted together, God's judgment was on the nation of Egypt. Tens of
thousands of the first born of Egypt died that night. The next day, the
grief was so overwhelming in Egypt that Pharaoh let the Israelites leave to go
to the Promised Land. That Passover feast had been the last supper before
the Israelite's deliverance.
When Jesus and His disciples prepared their last supper together, it was no
coincidence that it was on the Passover feast. Read what the Bible says
before Jesus distributed the bread to his disciples:
"And when
he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body,
which is broken for you.."
1 Corinthians 11:24
He knew full well that His body was about to be broken in His sacrifice for the
sins of the world. In the same way He took the cup and said,
"This
cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you."
Luke 22:20
Make no mistake, Jesus was completely aware of the fact that He was there to
become the sacrificial lamb. He was to offer His own blood and broken
body to fulfill the requirements in the payment for the sins of the
world. He became the Passover lamb so that when the judgment of God fell
on a sinful world, that judgment would pass over all who had received Him, just
like the angel of death passed over the houses of the obedient in Egypt.
Jesus knew in advance that He was the payment, and yet, He chose to share that
last meal with His disciples, committing Himself to be that sacrifice.
The disciples had no idea that this was indeed their last supper together
before their deliverance from the captivity of sin. When Jesus died on
the cross and shed His blood, the Scriptures say that the handwriting of
ordinances against us was blotted out and nailed to His cross (Colossians
2:14).
By becoming our Passover lamb, Jesus spiritually applies His own blood to the
doorposts of our lives. When Satan or others try to judge us, that
judgment must pass over us. We have been wonderfully delivered from the
cruel taskmaster of sin.
If the disciples had been aware of what was about to happen, they might have
responded differently when they went to the garden to pray with Jesus after
dinner. The significance of those moments just before Jesus' arrest
brought the presence of ministering angels. They encouraged Jesus to be
faithful to the end. While this was going on, the disciples slept.
Let me help you be fully awake to the meaning of this event in your life.
When Jesus died for your sins, God accepted His sacrifice to redeem you from
the captivity of sin. The curse that came to all mankind through Adam's
disobedience brought fear, sickness, rebellion, sexual impurity, separation
from God and all manner of problems to the human race.
I would like for you to read the full account of the communion message.
It's a wonderful passage of Scripture.
"For I have received of
the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same
night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat:
this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying,
This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,
in remembrance of me.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the
Lord's death till he come.
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord,
unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation
to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."
1 Corinthians 11:23-31
Why are people weak, sick and dead from not properly discerning the Lord's
body? God reached down to man through Jesus and offered the provision for
lifting the curse. Although the provision is paid for, if it is not accepted,
it is of no benefit. You must understand that salvation includes more
than the forgiveness of your sins. It also includes the cancellation of
the consequences of sin. If the wages of sin is death, then the
acceptance of the forgiveness of sin brings life. That life isn't just
eternal life. It also includes blessing in this life. To understand
what Jesus bought for us is to properly discern the payment made on Calvary by
the sacrifice of the Lord's body.
When faith is mixed with understanding about this event, you can then accept
all that God intended to give you. Peace, joy, forgiveness, healing,
finances and everything else which is offered by God can be accepted.
This wonderful provision of Calvary is celebrated in communion.
By first looking inside yourself to make sure there is nothing offensive to the
Lord, you can then eat the bread and drink of the cup of remembrance of the
Lord's death with a clear conscience. Taking communion with a clean heart
allows you to express your gratitude for all that you have been given and for
all that you have been forgiven. The opportunity to judge yourself allows
you to avoid being judged with the world. Such self-examination and
grateful worship during the communion experience allow you to stand clean and
humble before God each time you participate. What a blessing!
Discussion
Points:
1. How did the Passover begin?
2. How did Jesus become our Passover Lamb?
3. What do the bread and wine of communion represent?
4. How do we properly discern the Lord's body?
Memory Verse:
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup.
1 Corinthians 11:28
