It was no coincidence that these events happened on this night, for just as the blood of the Passover lamb was used to protect the firstborn that night in Egypt hundreds of years earlier, the blood of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, saves us from our sins making God’s forgiveness possible.
Read about The Last Supper in Mark 14:12-25:
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
17 In the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve disciples. 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.”
19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?”
20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me.21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.”
23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.
–Mark 14:12-25 (NLT)
Jesus modeled communion for the Disciples and for all Christians from that time forward. Communion offers us a time to pause and reflect on what it cost for Christ Jesus to bring us salvation.
Most of my readers have probably shared in communion many times in their lifetimes. There may be merit in trying to observe it through the Disciples five senses on this first communion experience. Jesus broke the bread and shared it with each of them. This is my body broken for you… eat it in remembrance of me. Imagine what must have gone through the Disciples minds as they perhaps hesitantly put the bread in their mouths. And then he gave them the wine. This is my blood poured out for you… drink it in remembrance of me. That would have been harder for me on that first communion. Would it taste like blood?
Jesus was still in their presence. What did the Disciples understand that night? When would it all come together for them so that it would become a joyful time of remembrance of the time Jesus walked with them?
This post is a little long… It was a long night for Jesus as well. I haven’t even touched on that.
Image credit: carlosphotos / 123RF Stock Photo
The Scripture reading for today from the Uniform Series curriculum is Matthew 6:9-13. You will recognize it as The Lord’s Prayer. If you click on the link you can see how this prayer has been translated by several different translations of the Bible.
