Jesus Gives us a Gift of his Presence
Matthew 26:17–75 / Mark 14:12–72 / Luke 22:7–71 / John 13:1–18:27
A lot happened on Thursday. Of the greatest significance, our Lord demonstrated his humility by washing the filthy feet of his disciples. He then commanded us to do likewise for one another. How are we doing at that?
He then gave us the gift of the memorial meal we call the Lord’s Supper. It is the gospel enacted in a morsel of bread and a sip of wine and it brings us into true communion with God and one another through the death of Jesus. If we only did this because Jesus told us to, it would be enough. And yet, how much better is it when we do it from a desire to receive his gifts for us by faith?
And then he went to the garden to pray. It was there they found him, the mob bristling with swords and spears and their sharp daggers of anger and hate. May we be as trusting of the Father at the hour of our disaster as our Lord was that night.
In Remembrance of Me
“As Christians, when we observe the Lord’s Supper we commemorate Christ; we remember and honor His name and His sacrifice for sin. The supper is a remembering of a specific event in the life of Christ. We preserve the memory of Christ and honor his name by remembering and reflecting upon what the bread and the fruit of the vine signify. Michael Green reminds us that every time we observe the Lord’s Supper we do so in remembrance of Him in . . ."
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away [Communion hymn]
Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you: drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice,
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.
Almighty Father,
whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood:
Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life;
and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.