Rev. Johnson V.
2nd January 2011

Churches around the world celebrate the Lord’s Table or Communion. It is one of the two rituals that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted for us to practice. Taking part in communion has immense spiritual significance for us. Read on to know more.

Mathew 26: 20-30 (KJV) “When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve….And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Whether we like it or not, the truth is that from the day that we are born, we begin moving towards the day that we die. Soon after we are born, we begin to progress towards the end of our lives on this earth. Our Lord Jesus too knew that He was to die soon. He refers to His death many times, especially as His time drew near. The night before the cross, He sat with His disciples to celebrate the Passover with them.

Many aspects of the Old Testament are types and shadows of God’s plan that was unveiled in the New Testament. The Passover was one such shadow of the New Testament.

• The Passover is described in the Old Testament as the time when the mighty hand of God struck every firstborn in Egypt except those in houses where the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the doorposts. In the same way, it is only when we accept the blood that our Lord shed for us on the cross, that we can be saved.
• In the Old Testament, the sacrificial lamb was supposed to be the best of the flock and without blemish. The Lord Jesus was condemned to die as an innocent man (John 19:6), without spot or blemish.
• Moses and the Israelites were directed to wear sandals as they ate the Passover meal in the Old Testament as they would undertake a long journey that very night. In the New Testament, as the disciples partook of the Passover feast with our Lord on the night before He was betrayed, the disciples, though unknown to them, would begin a journey that would change their lives and the rest of humanity. When we partake of communion in remembrance of what Christ did for us on the cross, it can have a significant impact on our lives.
• The Passover in the Old Testament was the covenant that God made with the Jewish people, to protect them and not destroy them. The cross was the new covenant that God made with the Church, each of us who choose to accept it, for our forgiveness and justification as sons and daughters of the Living Eternal God.

When we celebrate communion, we celebrate the blood-covenant that our Lord obtained for us on the cross. Blood carries life, which is why with very covenant God made with man, blood was shed.

In Ephesians 5:31-32, the Bible compares the new covenant (between Christ and the church) with the covenant made between a husband and wife in marriage. A husband and wife are physically and legally bound to each other, they become one.  Just as a husband and wife are united as one, Christ and the church are one. Just as the husband and wife share all things, the church and our Lord Jesus Christ share all things. He shares our pain, shame, problems and church has a share in His love, mercy and grace. When we take communion, we become one with Christ, heavenly inheritance is ours. We become one with Christ.

As we celebrate communion, the work of the cross at Calvary, we celebrate our heavenly inheritance, we celebrate our oneness with Christ.