By Doug Redford
Each of us can probably think of a meal that we have greatly anticipated sitting down to eat. It may be a holiday dinner (perhaps at Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas) at which family is gathered, with all kinds of great food prepared by various family members. Our mouths water just thinking about the items on the menu, especially the sumptuous desserts that provide a tasty conclusion.
When Jesus gathered with his disciples to observe the Passover, he spoke of his eager desire to share that meal with them (Luke 22:15). But the focus of that meal was not on the delicious food they were about to enjoy together. In fact, for Jesus the meal was only a prelude to the “main course” of crucifixion that he was destined to embark upon. He desired to eat that meal with his disciples “before I suffer” (v. 15, New International Version). Jesus knew full well that the cross was only hours away.
We sometimes think of this meal as Jesus’ “Last Supper” because it was his final meal before his crucifixion. But it was also last in another, more significant way. This meal was the last Passover that Jesus observed under the old covenant system. Jesus was instituting a new kind of covenant meal to accompany the establishment of a new covenant through which God, by the sacrifice of Jesus, would provide forgiveness of humanity’s sin and bridge the gap that sin had created between God and humanity. Paul highlights Jesus as “our Passover lamb [that] has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
Communion is a meal that is not really filling to our bodies (we take just a small piece of bread and a small cup of juice). It is, however, ful-filling. As Jesus said that night with his disciples, “I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:16). As part of that kingdom, the church, Christians can take this new covenant meal while aware of Jesus’ presence with us. For us the observance of Communion is never a “last supper.” That is because we anticipate sharing another fulfilling meal with Jesus: “the wedding supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9).
Jesus eagerly desired to eat his last Passover and his first Communion with the disciples before he suffered. We eagerly desire to eat this meal with gratitude because he suffered.
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
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