Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is "What Does This Mean?" I read from Deuteronomy 6: 20-25 (NLT). All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.
20 “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the LORD our God has commanded us to obey?’
21 “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. 22 The LORD did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. 23 He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. 24 And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. 25 For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the LORD our God has given us.’
Does this story sound familiar? I believe so. In this tailor-made story for children, Moses summarizes the history of the Israelites from the time Jacob and his family went down to Egypt to any day in their new life in Promised Land in three verses. In the following two verses, Moses summarizes what God expects of His people and how He promises to bless them. While Moses is the speaker here, God is the author of this answer. God anticipated the question of the child and knew how important it was to give an answer within the attention span of the child. Today, children continue to ask questions, and so do adults! Their first exposure to the Lord's Supper is sure to evoke questions. They might understand people singing, talking about God and to God, but what is going on with the wine and the cracker! Why am I excluded from this part of the service? Once again, I believe God anticipated the questions and provided the answers. This is what we need to say to our children and guests. As recorded in John 3:16, Jesus says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gaveg his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” During His last supper with the apostles, Jesus explains what God meant when He says He gave rather than sent His Son. He asked His Son to die in our place so that our sins might be forgiven—past, present, and future. Jesus was nailed to a cross by the Roman empire after being sentenced to death by the Jewish religious leaders. They rejected Jesus. Today, when we eat this bread, we are reminded of His body that was nailed to the cross. When we drink the wine, we are reminded of Jesus' blood, which He poured out for us. As to who is invited to participate, this simple meal does not belong to us; it is Jesus who invites those who believe in Him to remember Him in this way. Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, these simple truths are so important. Combined with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, they are the cornerstone of our faith. There is certainly no reason for us to get tongue-tied if someone asks us to explain why we have hope in Jesus. Abba, Father, we are grateful for Your love for us and the eternal life we have in Jesus. In His Name I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26 (NLT), "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories. The benefit of creating an account in one of the directory apps, like Apple Podcasts, Spotify or iHeart, is that you can add this podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. I do not receive compensation of any kind when you download and listen to my podcast. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!