Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is "The Sign of Jonah." I read from Matthew 12: 38-42. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. 42 The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.
When reading this passage of Scripture in the past, I have always focused my attention on the sign of Jonah and its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, I believe I may have missed out what Jesus was really talking about. Interestingly, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees wanted a sign from Jesus as proof of His authority. I find this request surprising as Jesus's ministry was one miracle after another day after day; nevertheless, they found a way to dismiss these miracles including attributing them to the power of Satan. They were asking for a sign to prove His authority in interpreting the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, and showing how the Scriptures were all about Him and His coming. Jesus was disappointed they did not believe in the power of His words. To their shame, Jesus gave examples of how the message the Jews were rejecting had been embraced by Gentiles in the past, the people of Nineveh to the preaching of Jonah and the response of the queen of Sheba to the wisdom of Solomon, yet He was their long awaited messenger, the Messiah, with a more powerful message, the gospel, from His Father, God! Sadly, the sign of Jonah was given after His people had rejected and killed Jesus, their Messiah, and then it was too late for their generation. The life of our Savior, Jesus, was hard, and then the Son of God was killed by the ones He came to save. He endured such hardship for us because He trusted in God and desired a better future for humankind. As we assemble to partake of the bread and drink from the cup, let us remember our Savior, Jesus, and the price He paid for our redemption. As believers, we have confidence in the sign of Jonah, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; it is our guarantee of the truths we hold dear. 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, we hear and believe in the words of Your Son, Jesus. They are the message of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness of sin, and eternal life through faith in Jesus. We believe in the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus, from the dead. He is the source of our hope. Thank-you, Abba, Father, that You remembered us and sent Jesus to save us. We remember Him just now as we partake of the bread and drink from the cup. 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!
