TODAY’S VERSES:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
Imagine you are walking down your street. It is a beautiful day. You can hear the birds singing and feel the sunshine on your face. All of a sudden, you hear someone shout, “Watch out, car!” Then, you are violently shoved to the ground. The air is filled with loud noises, screeching brakes, and yelling, then you lose consciousness. When you wake up, you are in the hospital. Your parents look relieved, but a little sad too. They tell you that the driver of the car lost control and it was heading straight towards you, but a stranger pushed you out of the way. This stranger saved your life! However, this selfless person lost their life while saving yours.
We ask you, would you think of this person often throughout the years? Absolutely. Would you always be grateful for their sacrifice? Of course. Would you ever forget them? Definitely not. This story illustrates a very important reason we celebrate communion- remembrance.
Like the stranger in our story, the Lord Jesus Christ saved your life at the cost of His own. However, there is so much more to His sacrifice than that sentence. First of all, Jesus is God and He willingly became a human being and lived on Earth.
John 1:1,14a “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
He was tempted to sin, but stayed sinless.
Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
Though He performed many miracles and preached of both love and forgiveness, the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Him. They arrested Him, made false accusations, and even beat Him.
Matthew 26:67-68 “Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped himand said, ‘Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?’”
He was betrayed by one disciple, Judas, and then Peter, another disciple, denied even knowing Him, just as Jesus had predicted.
Matthew 26:75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
He was also beaten and mocked by the Roman soldiers.
Matthew 27:28-30 “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.”
Then, He was crucified, nailed to a cross, and cruelly taunted while on the cross.
Matthew 27:39-44 “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.’He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”
Finally, He endured the worst of His suffering, He bore the judgement for the sins of God’s children.
Matthew 27:45-46 “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).”
He could have stopped this suffering at any time. He could have come down from the cross and zipped all of their mouths shut! Instead, He endured it all, for us. Why?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
As you can see, when we say that the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for us, there is so much more to His sacrifice than physical pain and death. He suffered more than any person ever has or ever will when He did not have to. So, we partake in communion to remember and honor the One who endured unspeakable pain, in obedience to God and love for us, and considered it joy.
Hebrews 12:2b “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”