THE LAST SUPPER

Taking Communion With Christ IN REMEMBERANCE of HIM Matthew 26:20-30 This is my blood of theb covenant,f which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with youh in my Father’s kingdom.”(Matthew 26:28-29) Jesus commanded His believers to remember His death through which forgiveness has been secured (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). In the observance of Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, believers take the bread and the cup as visible symbols of His death. Here in Matthew, is the last time Jesus had communion with His disciples, before His death and resurrection. And He tells them, do this in rememberance of me and the forgiveness I gave, until I come back again. Then over in (1 Corinthians 11:24-25), Paul teaches the believers on how Communion should be taken. The Corinthians’were out of order in the way they were taking it, and Paul here sets them straight. Paul had been recieving reports of “divisions in the church (v. 18). They were inconsiderate of one another and were indulging, they were eating like it was supper time rather than personal relationship in rememberance of what Jesus had done for them on the cross. (vv. 19-22). The apostle highlighted the gravity of how they observed this remembrance (vv. 23-34). Today, as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we can thank Him for His sacrifice of His broken body and shed blood on the cross for the forgiveess of sins. In this observance of His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus invites His disciples and us through giving a command, “Take, eat", this is My body.” Friends, as we take time to remember Jesus death and resurrection, we take the Lord’s Supper together,in this rememberance, we receive and eat a piece of bread, a symbol of our Lord’s body broken and beaten. Please, remember it is just bread, it does not turn into His body as it touches your lips, it is just bread, and as we take it in rememberance, it reminds us , of Christs love for us. And because of that love Jesus Christ came to us in a real physical body of flesh and blood, which He sacrificed for us, that day.As you study 1st John you will see it is about the coming of Christ. He starts off, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life– 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us– 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." (1 John 1:1-3). John is saying, I myself and all of His disciples have both seen and touched Jesus, we have met Him and spoke to Him and He has shock our hands, we know He is real. The Lord’s body was not a figment of our emagination. He actually came and walked among us in a physical body. It was that physical body that suffered and was beaten, abused, and nailed to a cross. The “fellowship” John speaks of here, that we have with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3) means and is the same word for communion. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 10 to describe the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper. He says this, in verse 16-17 "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (fellowship) of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion (fellowship) of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. (who is Jesus) (1 Cor. 10:16-17). When we take and remember together, we do it because we are in communion,(fellowship) with Christ. In doing so, we are saying we believe, saying “Lord Jesus, I believe in what you did for me on the cross, and I will do it until you come again, as to remember and to share with others your great love. Saying, I fully receive the sacrifice You made in Your body on the cross in my place ,that day!”Thank you Some may think this makes for a fantastic story, but the truth is clear, it was an act of love that was truely was done for you and for me and for the whole world which would bring us back into communion with the Father God. Matthew describes the scene in the upper room the night before Jesus went to the cross: “Then [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’ ” (26:27-28). The cup is a picture of the blood that Jesus would shed on our behalf. John the Baptist introduced Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” And Paul wrote that Christ himself is “our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. How thankful we are for the shed blood of our Savior, the Lamb! So, I want to say here, that the fequincy that we take it, is not the issue.. It becoming a ritual is not the issue. But rather that we continue to do it in rememberance of him in our meetings together until He returns. That is the command. Do this in rememberance of me until I come. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Jesus, your love is everlasting and it is complete as you gave it all on the cross for me. Thank you... It is in Jesus name I pray AMEN