Thursday – (The Lord’s Supper)
We trust that you will find these devotions helpful on your spiritual walk with Christ. Please meditate on the Scripture passages, understand the story in context, then reflect on how this story relates to your life today. May God bless you this Easter season.
SCRIPTURE: Read Luke 22:14-23
SUMMARY: Jesus and his disciples gather to celebrate the Passover meal. During the meal, Jesus takes bread, gives thanks, breaks it, and gives it to his disciples, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Then, he takes a cup, gives thanks, and shares it with them, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
Jesus then indicates that one of his disciples will betray him. This news distresses the disciples, and they begin to question among themselves who among them could do such a thing. Despite the betrayal looming, Jesus emphasizes that the betrayal was prophesied and that it is necessary for the fulfillment of Scripture. He also foretells his imminent suffering and death, expressing his resolve to fulfill God’s plan.
This passage marks the institution of the Lord’s Supper, a central ritual in Christian worship, commemorating Jesus’ sacrificial death and the establishment of the new covenant.
STORY: Jesus desires to celebrate with his faith community (Luke 22:15).
SELF-EXAMINATION: Do you ever feel like Jesus just tolerates us? After all, we are sinful creatures and God cannot look upon sin (Psalm 5:5, Isaiah 59:2, Habakkuk 1:13, Romans 8:7-8). Seems like that fact alone causes a problem. How can anyone be saved?
The Bible repeatedly calls for a separation of light from darkness (Luke 11:35, John 8:12, Acts 26:18, Romans 13:12, 2 Corinthians 6:14, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:5, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5). So, Jesus pleads our case before the Father, that we are truly one of his disciples, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us. We are not MADE righteous, but we are DECLARED righteous.
Our holy and sinless Father looks upon us through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. Instead of seeing “a sinner saved by grace,” he sees us as saints, looking at us through the sacrifice of his Son. He then declares us righteous because He sees Jesus! Let’s wrestle with a few questions…
- Do you see yourself as a saint or still as a sinner saved by grace? How does this affect our identity in Christ?
- What’s the difference between a saint and a sinner saved by grace?
- Why is this issue of identity important for us to consider?
- In what ways have you left the domain of darkness? Where are you still lurking in the shadows?
- How are you able to walk in the light as HE is in the light? (1 John 1:7)
- What two things are the results of walking in the light? (1 John 1:7)
- How important is having fellowship with God?
- How important is having fellowship with one another?
SOUL-SEARCHING: So, this passage reminds us that Jesus desires to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. The next pertinent question for us is, “Do we desire to worship the Lord and celebrate our deliverance and redemption with HIM?”
- Is church attendance and worship an obligation to you? Why is that true or untrue?
- Do you earnestly desire to gather with the community of faith? If yes, why?
- If not, why not?
- Do you look forward to participating in worship or do you just sit there and tolerate it?
- Do you attend services out of some sense of duty? Out of guilt? Or maybe for “fire insurance” (I certainly don’t want to go to hell at the end of this life)? Or perhaps due to pressure from someone else?
May God transform our hearts and minds so that we will respond to him in joy rather than out of a sense of duty. Those who are redeemed by Christ look forward to being in his presence, and also desire to be in the presence of other disciples on the same faith journey.