(Chapter 68) God so Loved the World that He Gave His Son:

God so Loved the World that He Gave His Son: The greatest Spiritual battle ever fought – part sixty-two

Here are a few thoughts as we transition from Passover to the Lords Supper or Holy Communion:

• All four Gospels agree within a day that the crucifixion was at the time of Passover.
• That connection between Passover and Easter, commemorating Christ’s resurrection, is why Easter often coincides with Passover.
• There were approximately 500 years between the first Passover in Egypt to when Jesus and the Disciples observed Passover at The Last Supper.

Jesus and the Disciples observing Passover

Luke 22:8–20 (NLT) (Some verses intentionally not shown to conserve space. You may read them later on your own.)

⁸Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”

¹³They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there. ¹⁴When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. ¹⁵Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.

¹⁹He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁰After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the New Covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

The Body and the Blood of Jesus

Is the Bread and the Wine/Juice a representation of the body and blood of Jesus or does it actually became His body and blood as we partake. This is the passage in John that causes some difference of opinion:

John 6:53–57 (NLT)

⁵³So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. ⁵⁴But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. ⁵⁵For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. ⁵⁷I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me.

You may be out of a background that believes the elements actually become His physical body and blood as we partake. Or, that it is a metaphor much like the passage in John 10:7 where Jesus refers to Himself as the Door, meaning the way in. The Assembly of God position is that it is a serious representation of the body and blood of Jesus. Either way, the receiving of Communion is Holy and should not be taken lightly! The Apostle Paul writes this to the Corinthian church:

1 Corinthians 11:23–27 (NLT)

²³For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people – an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” ²⁶For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. ²⁷So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

As we partake of the emblems symbolizing the Lord’s broken body and His shed blood, I would encourage each of us to remember this fact; He was carrying the sins of the world on His shoulders! Can you imagine how he felt when the Father turned away from Him because of our sins He was carrying? Could that be why he sweat drops of blood in the garden as he prayed? Yes, the physical pain was real, however, the emotional/spiritual pain must have been excruciating for Him. But He loved us so much that He endured the momentary separation from His Father for you and for me!!!!!