A Meal for Sinners

 

Mark 14:23–24“[Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’.

In a short study of Mark 14:17– 25, I read that in many ways, the Last Supper of our Lord was a dark occasion, for Jesus predicted during that Passover meal that one of the disciples would betray Him. In reality, however, all the disciples would betray our Lord before that night was over. Upon His arrest, all of them fled; not one of them would stand with Him before the Sanhedrin. One scholar commented on the significance of the fact that the disciples present at the Last Supper all turned their back on Christ. It shows us, he says, that the sacrament Jesus instituted that night is a matter of grace. The Lord’s Supper is a meal for sinners, for only sinners need the blood of Christ to cover their sin. His table is open to all who repent of sin and trust only in Jesus for salvation.

As we look at what Mark 14:23–24 says about the night on which the sacrament of Communion was instituted, it is important for us to note that Jesus took the liberty to alter the Passover meal and its liturgy. He changed the ceremony so that it clearly pointed to Him, saying that the Passover was fulfilled as He poured out His blood for many. Changing the Passover in such a way is quite remarkable. In Exodus 12, it was God who established the Passover and gave directions for its observance, so only God could rightly change it. For Jesus to do such a thing was a claim to deity, an assertion of His divine identity, for He did something only God could do.

John 10:27-30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

What does the Lord’s Supper tell us about Jesus? Among other things, it is a vivid reminder of our need for the person and work of Christ. Physically, our bodies need to be nourished and supported by meat and drink. Christ, in order to show that he alone is able to discharge perfectly all that is necessary for salvation, says that he supplies the place of meat and drink. Eating the bread and drinking the wine during the Lord’s Supper tangibly remind us that we can have no spiritual life without Him, just as we cannot sustain our physical lives without food. We cannot have life itself if we do not have Christ. Indeed, we need Him more than we need to eat and drink physical food for the sake of our bodies. Communion is a meal for sinners. The Lord’s Supper helps to remind us of our total dependence on the Savior, so let us be cognizant of how much we need Him this day and every day.

Blessings in Christ