Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is, "Wonderful and Abundant Joy." I read from John 16: 16-24 (NLT). All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
16 “In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”
17 Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? 18 And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”
19 Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. 20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. 21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. 23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. 24 You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
I can empathize with the disciples when Jesus said, "Are you asking yourselves what I meant?" There are innumerable times while reading the Scriptures I have asked myself, "What do you mean by that?" In this passage of Scripture, we have the benefit of perfect hindsight. We know that Jesus is talking about His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. Just as death is the opposite of life, He describes these events as contrasts, "not seeing" and "grief" with "seeing" and "joy." These contrasts were the roller coaster ride of life the disciples experienced! Those of us who have lost loved ones are familiar with weeping, mourning, and grief, and we can imagine how they must have felt when Jesus was killed. But only in Jesus can we experience the joy in having the dead return to us alive—that same joy the disciples experienced when Jesus returned to them alive. Jesus tells us this joy is wonderful and no one can steal it from us; it is ours forever! While we did not walk with the disciples before the cross, we do stand with them now on this side of the cross. Like them, we know our Savior is risen from the dead. We share the same joy in knowing that Jesus is alive. Despite the trials and no guarantee of happiness in this life, we know our unparalleled joy is safe and secure. With this joy comes forgiveness of our sins, the certain hope of eternal life in heaven, and direct access to the Father through Jesus. If our wonderful joy was not already enough, Jesus adds abundant joy to it. He tells us we also have abundant joy because the Father hears our prayers and answers them. You mean the King of Kings and Lord of Lords has time for me? Yes! If you make time for His Son, He will make time for you! As we break bread together, we remember His suffering and death on a cross for us. He died that He might bring wonderful and abundant joy to billions of people just like you and me. 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. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for the wonderful joy to know that Jesus is risen from the dead. In Him, all your promises to us are secure. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for the abundant joy we have because we can pray to You through Your Son, Jesus. You hear our prayers and answer them. We confess that our sins are the reason Jesus went to the cross, and we are so grateful that we are forgiven. 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, "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!