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7. The First Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29)
MATTHEW 26:26-29
26 As 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.” 27 He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, “All of you drink it, 28 for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” (Exodus 24:8, Jeremiah 31:31, 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25, Hebrews 9:15-16)
During the Passover celebration in an isolated room, Jesus took bread, gave thanks to His heavenly Father for it, and blessed it as the sacrament of the Lord’s supper which backs our whole salvation. Early Christians called it “the sacrament of thankfulness.” Would that our thankfulness grows alongside with our love for Christ. The more we love Him, the more we thank Him.
Jesus declared the meaning of the bread in the Lord’s Supper as if He said to His disciples, “As this bread enters you, so I wish to dwell and reside in you. This is the aim of the new covenant. As natural bread strengthens you to live and work, so I reside and work in you for eternal life and daily service that you shall not weary or weaken but serve with joy. I am your strength in you.”
Next Jesus took the cup and explained to them the meaning of the wine. It resembles His blood that cleanses us from all of our sins. His atoning death has reconciled us to God. Our righteousness is not based on the shedding the blood of a bull by which the Old Testament was confirmed, but the Son of God became incarnate and died for us, shedding His own precious blood to enter us legally into the New Covenant with His Father. Therefore His powerful Spirit can dwell in us, and we receive eternal life.
The blood of the Old Testament was shed only for a few. It confirmed a covenant, which (says Moses) the Lord has “made with you” (Exodus 24:8). The Old Testament sacrifices were made only for the children of Israel (Leviticus 16:34). But Jesus Christ is “a propitiation for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
Christ’s death on the cross is the legal basis of the New Testament. In His unique sacrifice, Jesus summarized and completed all the laws of sacrifices in the Old Testament. He, Himself, is the Lamb of God who keeps us from the Holy God’s wrath and judgment. He alone is the sacrifice of the New Testament for His followers throughout history. In His death, Christ made a perfect redemption for our eternal salvation and said that his redemption would be fully revealed at His Second Coming. He will sit down with us as He did with His disciples in the upper room. Then the kingdom of his Father will appear with His glory and power. The thankfulness of our worship will never end for He will be with us, and in us, and will not separate from us forever.
Will you join in with praise when He comes? Does Christ dwell in you today that you may welcome Him tomorrow? Study deeply the words of Jesus when instituting the New Covenant in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for they include all the richness of our faith and salvation.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, We glorify You and praise You with all our hearts for the death of Your only Son because he reconciled us with You by sacrificing himself. He dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us that we became, by Your grace, members of Your family. Keep us in Your communion that we will abide in Your Son and He may reside in us forever.
QUESTION:
- What are the principle meanings of the Lord’s Supper?