Passover part 2 or Take, eat; this is my body

 

Take, eat; this is my body

This is how I concluded my last post, Passover (first post in The Scarlet Thread series):

At that first Passover a male lamb without blemish was chosen, they sacrificed it, applied the blood to the door, then ate it. Christ is our Passover lamb: we trust in the blood, then we eat the lamb. What? How?

Ha! An unresolved, ambiguous ending! Well, let me clear things up. 

I believe we eat the lamb through the Lord’s Supper or Communion. In John 6:53-56 we read: Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Am I being literal? Was Jesus? Of course not! This is spiritual. Nevertheless, he spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. I believe Jesus had the Lord’s Supper in mind, as did John who wrote the gospel, and the early Christians who first read this.

I realize there are those who object to this interpretation. Among the other things they say is, The Lord’s Supper had not been instituted yet. Well, that’s true; but what’s the first thing everybody says who comments on this passage? “This does not refer to the Lord’s Supper…” Why is that necessary? Because everything about it sounds like the Supper. I believe one of the reasons Jesus said these things was in anticipation of the Supper he was soon to introduce. We have a deeply personal relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, one that is pictured in and sustained by the Supper.

At the last supper, when the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, we read: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)

Is it a mere coincidence that Jesus spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood and then established a memorial meal in which we eat bread and drink wine, saying it was his body and blood? I don’t think so.

Ah, now we come to the heart of the matter – am I saying that the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ? That if done correctly they literally change into, are transformed into, the literal body and blood of Jesus Christ? No. But I am declaring that the Lord is present in the Supper, in the elements of the Supper. By the promise of his Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, through faith we partake of the body and blood of Christ.

I used to believe that the Supper was merely a memorial meal, in which we simply remembered Christ and his death on the cross for us. Then I read something in the Bible that caused me to change my mind. Something the apostle Paul wrote:

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16)

What got me was that word communion. The Greek word is koinonia. Yes, same word that is sometimes translated fellowship. Koinonia means participation in, partaking of. I have fellowship with another believer because we share the same faith, we participate in the same life of Christ, we partake of the same joys, victories, trials, and sufferings.

In the same way we have communion with the body and blood of Christ. We eat the break and drink the cup and participate in the body and blood of Christ, the grace and blessings secured by them. We partake of the body and blood of Christ. Again, how? By the Word, the Spirit, and our faith.

Here's the prayer that is prayed before the Eucharist in Anglican churches (Anglican Church of North America; Book of Common Prayer): 

"We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and we offer you these gifts [bread and wine].

Sanctify them by your Word and Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Sanctify us also, that we may worthily receive this holy Sacrament, and be made one body with him, that he may dwell in us and we in him."

Amen!

And the elements are served with these words:

"The Body of Christ, the bread of heaven. 

The Blood of Christ, the cup of salvation."

How powerful and personal this is!

The lamb was sacrificed. The Blood was applied to the door. They ate the lamb.

Amen!