As you already know, we are in the middle of Holy Week and today is the day that we remember Jesus and the disciples at the Last Supper. It was the final message that Jesus shared with His disciples – those apostles who had walked with Him for the past three years and were now trying to understand what was about to happen.
It’s the time that we hear about “the first must be last” and serving others. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and shared a meal with them. It is also the evening that Jesus admonished His followers to care for one another and it was during this time together that Jesus broke the bread and passed the cup of wine – asking the apostles to “do this in remembrance of me.”
It is this act that eventually led to the idea of communion in our churches today. It is also one of the things in the Scripture that has, on occasion, caused a divide between the denominations. There are those who believe the wine and the bread are the literal blood and body of Jesus. That the elements divinely change form and we are reminded that Jesus said to His followers, “This is my body, broken for you” and “this is my blood, shed for you.” Many denominations, therefore, believe that the Eucharist is a sacred event with the body and blood of Jesus present in the elements.
Other denominations follow another part of the Last Supper story. They tend to cling to the more final words of Jesus after sharing the cup and the bread when He said, “Do this in remembrance of me…” These believers take the approach that communion is a remembrance ritual and that the literal blood and body of Christ are not present.
Whatever your belief, I think that we can all agree that it was a very special evening – the Supper in the Upper Room that had been secured earlier in the week by those disciples who went into town at the request of Jesus. In addition to the act of communion, as I stated earlier, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. He did this to remind them of the importance of service to others. Jesus was the ultimate authority on earth, here to do the will of His father, yet he took the lowest place in washing the feet of his friends.
Many churches hold services on Thursday of Holy Week – sometimes called Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. Tomorrow is Good Friday, then Holy Saturday followed by the greatest day of them all, Easter. This is the celebration of the triumph of Jesus over death. But more about Easter in another post!
Our verse for tonight comes to us through the writings of Luke. In recounting the events of the Last Supper, we are told the words of Jesus in Luke 22:18-20, “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.” (KJV)
My encouragement this evening is that Jesus loves us so much that He took on the sins of the world so that we could be reconciled with God and spent eternity with Him. My prayer is that we will maintain a posture of expectation as we recall the events of Holy Week leading to the crucifixion and, more importantly, the coming resurrection. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…