Lesson 283: "What's On The Table"
When we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are cleansed (symbolically) by the Blood of Christ. Baptism signifies that we died and were resurrected and received by faith into God’s Covenant of life and fellowship. Water baptism is only the beginning of this life God gives us in Christ. He has also given us a second sacrament, one which serves to establish us as consciously partaking of Christ’s death on the Cross. The Lord’s Supper is offered to all believers as the sign of being fed and nourished within God’s Covenant and an expression of our unity with Christ’s Body. The Old Testament Passover Celebration and the Lord’s Supper is connected in Mark 14. God told Moses He was going to walk through the land of Egypt with judgment in hand. All who were His were to kill a lamb (without blemish) and spread the blood on the posts and doors of their houses. Then they were to eat of that lamb with unleavened bread. This blood of the lamb would be a sign of distinction that separated God’s people from the ungodly and would protect them from His fierce judgment. The distinction between Israel and Egypt lay only in the blood (Ex. 12:13); “and this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever” (Ex. 12:14 KJV).
The deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt’s bondage was a picture of our own deliverance out of sin and death and our entrance into the heavenly Canaan. We now have the Lord’s Supper which fulfilled that to which the Passover pointed. In the upper room, Jesus partook of the elements on the table; bread and wine. “Jesus took the bread and blessed and brake it and gave to them and said; ‘take, eat; this is my Body’. And He took the cup and when He had given thanks He gave it to them and they drank of it. And He said unto them; ‘this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for many’” (Mark 14:22-24 KJV). This Table of Covenant was set for you and me by Jesus Christ Himself! We no longer have the symbol of the lamb; we have The Lamb.
There were two other items on Jesus’ Table that should never be omitted from ours. Mark 14:25 is a mini-sermon from Jesus speaking of the Kingdom of God and the Word of God should be included in the Christian Communion. Notice after the Supper they sang a hymn and went out. Praise songs too, should be included in the believers’ feast. There is one more element to the Supper; the Table. A table with a meal on it signifies that more than one will be in attendance. “For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we are all partakers of that one Bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). The Bread is Jesus Christ, the life-come-down-from-Heaven that we might live (John 6:51-56).
At the Table there are hungry guests. Neither the Church Body nor an individual person can instill this hunger. Hunger comes from seeing our own sinfulness and through God’s grace recognize our need for spiritual food which only He can provide. This is why we are told to examine ourselves (1 Cor. 12:28-29) before we partake. Never forget that we are guests of Jesus Christ at the Lord’s Table. Do not forget your manners, remembering to say please (cleanse me) and thank you (for all your blessings). Physical life needs food and drink but we have to do more than look at the food; we must take action! What happens in our physical life is a mirror of what is necessary in the spiritual sense of the word. The food is there but we must take action! “Except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53 KJV).
Sin is not something that clings to our skin that water baptism washes away but rather baptism is a public display of our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Lord’s Supper is not merely a feast of remembrance but a meal of faith and thanksgiving. Faith delights in the Word; hungers and thirst for Christ and is called into active service through which the Christian grows. During the Lord’s Supper, do you find fullness? Do you acknowledge Him as “The Bread of Life”? Is your longing and delight found in Him? Do you cling to your righteousness or lean on His? Do you understand that His ALL is on the Table? “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him” (Ps. 34:8 KJV).
“THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME” (Luke 22:19 KJV)!
prayers from Texas