The Best Object Lesson

By Trevor Tolley

A good teacher likes to use an object to help his or her students remember the lesson. A good teacher knows that a good object lesson engages a student”s senses. The more a student”s senses are engaged, the greater the likelihood the student will remember the lesson.

Jesus understands this about us. And through the Lord”s Supper, Jesus demonstrates his mastery as a teacher. He cares enough to provide a physical reminder, an object lesson, of what he has done for us and what we believe.

And what a reminder! Have you ever stopped to ponder the fact that the Lord”s Supper is a physical object lesson that engages all five of our senses? We see before us the emblems of the bread and fruit of the vine representing Christ”s body and blood””the sense of sight. We transfer with our hands the bread and the cup to our mouths””the sense of touch. We eat these emblems””taste. When the bread is passed, we either break off a piece or choose a small wafer and crush it with our teeth; in the process, we hear the bread being broken. Then the fruit of the vine is passed. The very distinct odor of the grape juice often reaches the nose even before the tray””the sense of smell.

Jesus could have simply commanded his followers to remember his death and resurrection whenever they got together. Our Lord, instead, chose a more effective and loving method by providing for us a physical reminder of his physical life on this earth, of his physical death on the cross, and of his physical resurrection from the dead. As Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is our time to properly remember and give thanks for those physical events, and to look forward to our physical resurrection to come.

Trevor Tolley serves as Bible department head and science teacher with Tree of Life Christian High School in Columbus, Ohio.