By Guest Writer
Scripture Reading: Mark 14:12-72, John 16:16-24, John 16:32-33, Psalm 41:7-13
At the Last Supper, Jesus broke bread and served it to His disciples as a symbol of how His body would soon be broken—not just for their salvation—but for whoever would believe in Him. Likewise, Jesus took wine and told them to drink, and in doing so foreshadowed that His blood would be shed on the cross to bring redemption and restoration to the world.
At the time, the disciples could not fully comprehend what Jesus was revealing to them. Only after Jesus’s death and resurrection could they truly understand the significance and sacredness of this Passover meal. And even though we read passages like Mark 14 and John 16 with the knowledge of the events that follow this unforgettable dinner (spoiler alert: Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday lie ahead!), much like the disciples, we, too, may miss the weightiness and magnitude of the Last Supper.
In 1 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul provided instructions on receiving communion to the church of Corinth. He called on the church to remember the holiness of the Last Supper and to treat communion with reverence. Even then, believers were prone to misinterpret or underestimate just how remarkable the events of the Last Supper were, and are, for followers of Jesus.
Where does that leave us? How can we ensure we are not just readers of the events of the Last Supper but people deeply and irrevocably marked by them? Today, as we reflect on Jesus’s words and actions at the Last Supper and what they signify Jesus has done for us—for all—we choose to remember. We pause and ponder the full weight of Jesus’s death and resurrection. We meditate on the sacredness of His body and His blood shed for us. We turn our hearts toward God in repentance and thanksgiving, confident Jesus’s death on the cross brings us into right standing with a merciful God. We worship the Lord in awe of all He has given to make things right for us, to redeem us, and bring restoration to our lives. We marvel at a God who fulfills His promises to His people and, even in our greatest sins and transgressions, makes a way for our atonement.
May the Last Supper remind us that Jesus’s death and resurrection are not meant to be glossed over, simply read through in Scripture, or memorialized during Lent. They are meant to be partaken. Jesus’s sacrifice must not just be believed; it must also be received. With each new day, we have a fresh opportunity to remember and feast on what the Lord has done for us—to be nourished and sustained by Jesus and transformed into a people whose hearts are set on Him.
Written by Nicole Smithee
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