Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:53-54).
The Jews had no insight into the figurative nature of the Lord’s statement and were grossly offended. Even his followers were baffled and murmured amongst themselves.
Through God’s word we are blessed with understanding. Each week we meet to partake of the bread which represents his body given for us, and drink the wine, the symbol of his blood shed for the remission of sins. We have done this many times, some more than others. But there is not a prize for length of commitment, or should it engender in any of us a sense of pride. Since we are prone to forgetfulness, the weekly repetition serves as an ongoing reminder of all that has been accomplished. This in turn should have a positive impact upon our lives by affecting the way we live and influencing our thoughts and actions.
Two parts of a whole
Why do we need two emblems to represent Christ’s sacrifice, both the bread and the wine? The answer is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also bath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour” (Eph. 5:1-2). According to the Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words by W.E. Vine, the meaning of the Greek word prosphora used here for offering is: “a bringing to, or presentation to God.”
Under the law, as a way of demonstrating their gratitude and esteem, the people offered a meal offering to the Lord consisting of fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense, elements free from impurity and produced only by many hours of labor (Lev. 2). Here in type is the body of Christ offered up to God, untainted by sin after years of working in his Father’s vineyard.
The word for sacrifice — thusiaia, means “the sacrificial act in which the blood of an animal was poured out as atonement for sin.”
Accordingly, Christ accomplished two things. He offered himself to the work of God on a daily basis, and after 33 years toiling against the wiles of the devil, he willingly presented his body as an offering to God. It is this aspect that is represented by the bread. In accordance with the sacrificial requirement that blood must be shed for the expiation of sin. he died on the cross. The shedding of his blood as the ultimate in service is forever memorialized in the wine.
Jesus, our template
When Jesus said that we must eat of his body and drink of his blood, he meant that we must partake of his life. Our daily challenge is to be like him. Looking at the life of Jesus, what do we see as its thrust? One of the outstanding objectives was surely to be of service: “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). In order to emulate his life, we must strive to follow his example: “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant” (Matt. 20:27). Concentrating upon the needs of others and devoting a large proportion of our time to the service of our brothers and sisters, is pleasing to our Lord. We serve him by serving others: “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Paul tells us that it is why we are part of the new creation in Christ: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10 NI V).
The world in which we live is increasingly chaotic and the demands upon us are great. As a consequence, there are two common reasons we frequently use to exonerate ourselves from our duty: “I’m too tired” or “I don’t have the time.” Of all people, surely the Lord Jesus had reason to use these same excuses. He served to the point of exhaustion, as can be seen from the incident in the gospel of Mark. “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship. so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mk. 4:37-38). For a passenger to sleep in a small boat buffeted to the point of nearly sinking during a violent storm must be indicative of extreme exhaustion. Jesus had totally drained himself attending to the needs of those who came to him. He had no time for himself, no personal privacy; he had to rise extremely early in the morning in order to devote time for prayer to his heavenly Father.
Throughout each day, crowds beset him as he went about preaching and healing. Another example is found in the request by the ruler of the synagogue to heal his twelve-year-old daughter: “But as he went the people thronged him” (Mk. 5:24). The word thronged means “to crowd, to figuratively drown or to choke.” Those of us who have had small children are aware of how demanding they can be. When one is tired, it is easy to lose patience with them as they tug at our arm, vying for attention. Jesus frequently faced that same kind of situation during his ministry and yet he remained attentive and patient.
An example of compassion
Added to this harassment were the repeated attempts of the Pharisees and the Sadducees to entrap him. Jesus was under constant pressure; he was belittled, insulted and repeatedly threatened. They pointed out that he ate with publicans and sinners; he was accused of blasphemy, of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub, and refuting the Law of Moses. Wherever he turned, he was always under the scrutiny of mean-spirited men who tried in every way they could to discredit him and his ministry. Even his family thought he was out of his mind. Yet, in spite of this ongoing provocation, the Son of God did not sin and reached out with compassion.
The Greek word for compassion is splanchnizomai, meaning to be moved inwardly, to yearn, to feel sympathy, to pity. There are numerous incidents where the Lord manifested this lovely characteristic. For example, when the multitudes came to be healed: “He was moved with compassion on them because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). In both the feeding of the 5000 and 4000, the record mentions the compassion shown by Jesus (Matt. 14:14, 15:32). When the blind men called to him, “Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight” (Matt. 20:34). The widow of Nain mourned her son, “…and when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not” (Lk. 7:13). The leper cried, “If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean” (Mk. 1:4041). It is difficult to understand the depth of this love and compassion that compelled Jesus to serve sinners and culminated in the giving of his life for them. Nevertheless we are instructed to follow his example: “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (Jn. 13:34).
The love of the Father
These things are hard to achieve and we constantly fail, but we are assured that God is a God of love and mercy: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities, for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust” (Psa. 103:8-14). How blessed we are.
Now we are about to partake of the two emblems that we have considered, the bread and the wine, in memory of our Savior, who offered his body and shed his blood. Let us pray for the strength to manifest the life of Jesus and determine to live more as he lived, always being available to serve whenever the occasion arises to minister with compassion.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One