“…and they prepared the Passover. And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, ‘Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’
“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!’ And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.” (Luke 22:13-23 ESV)
Jesus Christ knew that the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death. And he knew, as well, that one of his twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, had gone to the chief priests and officers with the full intent to betray Jesus to them. So, he knew his time had come and now he was going to be put to death on a cross in order to put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we might die to sin and live to his righteousness.
So, he knew that this was his last meal with his disciples before his arrest and his trial and his death on that cross. And what he did next was symbolic of what he was about to suffer. But it was also symbolic of the suffering that we must endure if we are genuine followers of Jesus Christ. For the cup was a cup of suffering, and the fruit of the grape they drank was symbolic of his blood that was shed for us on that cross, and the bread symbolized his body which was put to death for us on that cross for our freedom from sin.
And Jesus said that if we are going to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. And Paul wrote that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And Peter wrote that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. So this is about us putting sin to death in our own lives, too, by the Spirit.
[Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, when we go through the motions of taking communion, however often we take it, we should remember that this isn’t just a remembrance of Jesus’ physical death on that cross, but it is for us to call to remembrance why he died on that cross, which was to deliver us out of our slavery to sin so that we can now honor him with our lives. And it is a time for us to reflect on what that means for us which has to do with us dying daily to sin and us daily walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, by his grace.
But it isn’t just that. For Jesus said that if we follow him with our lives that we are going to be hated and persecuted and mistreated just like he was. We will be falsely accused of wrongs we did not commit, or we will be judged falsely on the basis of what other humans do, i.e. by themselves. And we will have people who will come against us and attack us and fight against us who will try to trip us up with our words, just like they did to Jesus. And some of us will literally be put to death for our walks of faith in our Lord.
Thus, we are going to have friends and family and others who profess faith in Jesus Christ who will betray us, who may tell lies about us to get others to not like us, and who will speak evil against us. And some of them may come against us fiercely with hate and with venom because they so strongly disagree with what we are teaching, even though what we are teaching is what the Scriptures teach, in context, but just because it doesn’t fit with what they want to believe or with their traditions, like what Jesus faced.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]
So, if you truly believe in Jesus Christ, you will be one of his followers. And as one of his followers you will walk with him in obedience to his commands, in practice, and you will walk in righteousness and holiness and no longer in sin. And as his followers we are to be those who are living the life Christ has for us to live before others and who are teaching others the kind of life that followers of Christ are to be living. And we will be refuting the lies of the enemy, too, for the lies are sending many to hell on the promise of heaven.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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