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Exodus 12:14
“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance.”
1 Corinthians 11:23b-26
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Have you ever noticed that every major celebration seems to include a shared meal? Or at the very least, good food? Eating together is an important part of the human experience. Today is Maundy Thursday, a day set aside on the church calendar to remember a very special meal. The final Passover meal Jesus shared with his disciples.
The Passover celebration had its beginning in Exodus 12. God gave his people detailed instructions as they prepared for the final plague in Egypt. God was going to pass through Egypt and strike down the firstborn in each family. But He would pass over the houses of anyone who had offered a sacrificial lamb instead. The people were to prepare a meal of these lambs and gather together to eat them, and they were to put blood from the lambs on the tops and sides of their door frames as a sign. God then told the people to commemorate the day with an annual Passover meal so that each generation would know how God had saved them.
Centuries later, on the night before He died, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples. At this meal, we see that Passover not only looked back at what God had done but also pointed forward to what Jesus would do. As they were eating, Jesus tells his disciples that his body will be broken and his blood will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins. He reveals that He is the Passover Lamb, whose sacrifice will wash away the sins of all who believe. No more animal sacrifices are necessary; Jesus is the once-and-for-all sufficient sacrifice.
Just like the ancient Israelites were instructed to commemorate their salvation from Egypt with a meal, Jesus tells his disciples to remember and to proclaim His sacrifice, by eating the broken bread and drinking from the cup until he comes again.
Since that time, the church has obeyed this command with a communion meal. Communion is a tangible experience that assures us of the reality of Jesus’ death on the cross. Our souls are nourished and refreshed as we “eat, drink, remember and believe, that Jesus died for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.”
We do not eat this meal alone. It is a family meal. As we share this meal with our brothers and sisters in Christ, the Holy Spirit unites us into one body. A body of forgiven sinners, saved by grace. And together, we proclaim the good news that Jesus offers salvation for all who believe. We proclaim that the sin and the suffering of this world are not the end. And we look forward, in eager expectation, to that day when Jesus will come again.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!