One thing that I think is easy to miss when reading about Jesus’ instituting the Lord’s Supper is his divine authority.
In the upstairs room at the home of a man that called Jesus his teacher, Jesus did something that only God has the authority to do. He created a new ceremony and then he gave a commandment to his followers to continually perform that ceremony.
Some might say that Jesus did away with the Passover, but that’s not exactly true. He didn’t do away with the Passover, he fulfilled the Passover. By becoming the true Passover Lamb, He didn’t do away with the Passover, he forever made it obsolete.
Once his blood was shed, any other bloodshed was completely meaningless.
At the Passover, all of Israel looked back to Egypt and remembered how God used his servant Moses to deliver Israel from their slavery to the pharaoh.
After Jesus fulfilled the Passover, he didn’t want Israel looking back to Egypt, he wanted them looking back to the cross. He didn’t want them thinking about being delivered from the physical slavery of Egypt. He wanted them to think about being delivered from their spiritual slavery to sin.
So, in Matthew 26:26-28, we read about Jesus taking action to make this new remembrance possible:
26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
Luke adds that Jesus also said, Luke 22:19, “…do this in remembrance of Me.”
This was not to be a one-time thing. This was a new institution established by Jesus himself.
We read this and accept this and it has become a major part of our corporate worship. But do we consider that none but Jesus had the authority to establish such a ceremony?
I don’t have the authority to institute a new ceremony and then tell the church – ALL of the churches in the whole world – to do as I have commanded. Why? Because only God has that kind of authority.
How was Jesus able to establish what we call today, “The Lord’s Supper” or “Communion?” The answer is obvious. He is the son of God.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we, thousands of years later, continue to keep the Lord’s commandment. And like the church in Corinth, we heed the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians 11:26:
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Don’t miss those three most important little words: until He comes.
He will return. What will he find you doing when that day comes?
Wes LeFlore (918) 607-8489 or huskerwes1@gmail.com
