Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is "Today, Tomorrow, and the Next Day." I read from Luke 13: 31-35. All quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.
31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”
32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
In this account from the Scriptures, Jesus sends a message to Herod Antipas after learning from some Pharisees that he wanted to kill Him. Herod Antipas was the Roman appointed tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and the same Herod Antipas who executed John the Baptist. Jesus and Herod Antipas were contemporaries of each other. In essence, Jesus' stern message to Herod Antipas is that he will not interfere with His work; however, the answer was framed in such a way that His words were likely to plague Herod Antipas' thoughts for the rest of his life. First, Jesus said He would continue His work "today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose." He followed by saying, "Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way." At that moment, Herod must have thought, "Great! In three days, Jesus will be out of my hair! He will have finish what He has to do and then leave." Lastly, Jesus said, "For it wouldn't do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!" Maybe Herod thought, "That's right! You'll be next if I have anything to do about it!" Jesus words came true. On the third day, Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He died that the sins of many could be forgiven. Beginning on the third day, He appeared to the apostles and taught them over a period of forty days before returning to the Father. He was condemned by the Jewish religious leaders and crucified by the Romans in Jerusalem, along with all the other prophets. If Herod Antipas thought Jesus was done in three days, he was sadly mistaken. Then Jesus, perhaps looking towards Jerusalem and being filled with sadness, He tells His audience how He longs for their repentance and restoration. He knew they had filled their cup of suffering to the brim, and they would drink it! As we assemble to partake of the bread and drink from the cup, Jesus wants you to know that He endured these things because He thought we were worth saving. He was condemned that we might go free! It is only fitting that we assemble and remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, just now, in the manner in which He desired. 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. We pause and consider just now the opposition Jesus faced during His ministry, including opposition from the civil authorities; nevertheless, He persevered to complete His purpose all because He loved us. Just like Jesus, He even loved those who opposed Him. As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we remember His death on the cross that we might have the forgiveness of our sins and the guarantee of eternal life with Him. In the name of Jesus, 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, "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, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. 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!