The Last Supper
Matthew 26:17-30, The Message - On the first of
the Days of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Where do
you want us to prepare your Passover meal?”
He said, “Enter the city. Go up to a certain man and say,
‘The Teacher says, My time is near. I and my disciples plan to celebrate the
Passover meal at your house.’” The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions to
the letter, and prepared the Passover meal.
After sunset, he and the Twelve were sitting around the
table. During the meal, he said, “I have something hard but important to say to
you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators.”
They were stunned, and then began to ask, one after
another, “It isn’t me, is it, Master?”
Jesus answered, “The one who hands me over is someone I
eat with daily, one who passes me food at the table. In one sense the Son of
Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no
surprises here. In another sense that man who turns him in, turns traitor to
the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
Then Judas, already turned traitor, said, “It isn’t me,
is it, Rabbi?”
Jesus said, “Don’t play games with me, Judas.”
During the meal, Jesus took and blessed the bread, broke
it, and gave it to his disciples:
Take, eat. This is
my body.
Taking the cup and thanking God, he gave it to them:
Drink this, all of you.
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant poured out for many people
for the forgiveness of sins.
“I’ll not be drinking wine from this cup again until that
new day when I’ll drink with you in the kingdom of my Father.”
They sang a hymn and went directly to Mount Olives.
This is a longer scripture reading,
but a shorter reflection. We could have
broken up the exchange between Jesus and disciples about betrayal from the sharing
of bread and wine (which is where the sacrament of communion comes from), but
to do so would miss something very important.
Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. Jesus has some harsh words for that person
(who we and Jesus already know is Judas).
It is revealed that it is Judas even though the betrayer is not
specifically called out. But notice what
happens. Or more accurately, notice what doesn’t happen. Judas is not expelled from the dinner. In fact, Jesus allows him to stay for the
highlight – what we now call the institution of the Lord’s Supper.
At this supper, Jesus declares that
the bread they break is His body that is broken for them and the cup they drink
is His blood shed for their forgiveness.
Judas is included in this. Of
course, this doesn’t negate what Jesus said earlier; it’s going to be very bad
for Judas. We will talk about that when
we get to Matthew 27. But here, in the
same moment as the revelation of Judas’s betrayal, Judas’s forgiveness and
redemption is proclaimed to him. Grace
is offered to all no matter what has happened before.
I need to hear that a lot. I make mistakes; sometimes they’re big
ones. Sometimes, they even feel like
they are unrecoverable. It is in those
times that it is good to hear the words of Jesus:
“This body is broken for you; this
blood is shed for your forgiveness.”
This is why we call it a sacrament. It is a way for the grace of God offered in
Jesus to be offered to us on a regular basis.
That sacramental gift is confirmed as we eat the Bread and drink from
the Cup. We invite the grace of God to
become one with us. We are redeemed in
the moment and throughout our lives.
Question: What does
the sacrament of communion mean to you. Has
it been a way for you receive the grace of God?
Prayer: Loving God,
minister to us in our mistakes and brokenness.
Allow us to experience your grace available to us in every moment. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray for
families you are aware of experiencing brokenness and conflict right now.
Song: Let Us Break
Bread Together – Agnes Choo
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