[Scripture]
Luke 22:14-22
14) When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15) And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16) For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17) After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.
18) For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19) And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20) In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
I bid you the love of the everlasting Holy Father God and the peace of the Holy Son Jesus.
It was the night Jesus was captured at the hands of the wicked people. It was the night he was captured at the hands of the ruthless Roman soldiers and the Jewish religious people who persecuted him in ignorance before he bore the cross for all mankind as the Holy Son’s body and as the Messiah. That day was the Passover, a holiday the Jews celebrate.At that time, Jesus gathered his disciples and told them that he would walk the path of death. “I want to eat with you before I suffer. I will not eat with you again until the Passover is observed in the Kingdom of God. This is the final meeting I will have with you on earth.” (Luke 22:14-20)
Even though the disciples heard this, none of them clearly knew that their teacher was going to take the path of death.
Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to the disciples. As he did, He said, “This is my body given for you. Eat it. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19).
He was talking about how it would become a profound story for the disciples after Jesus went the way of the cross. He was also telling them to have Jesus’ mind, to work on his behalf, and to fulfill God’s Will as his body.
After that, He handed them the cup, poured wine into it and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Take it.” (Luke 22:20)
He was telling them that he was atoning for not only the sins of people who persecuted him without knowledge but also the sins of the followers through his sacrifice.
Jesus was telling them to know this and to do as he himself did in the world, with his mentality, as his body.
Since he couldn’t feed them his flesh and blood, Jesus fed them bread symbolizing his flesh and fed them wine which symbolized his blood.
The meaning of Jesus giving bread and wine to the disciples was this: “From now on, become my body and save lives by preaching the truth I gave you. Do as I did in the world. People who don’t know will harm you as they harmed me. Despite that, go to the end just as I go to the end. Ultimately, live as if you are giving your lives for them.”
Jesus united the disciples while giving them the final Word of life and finished the supper with the disciples. Then he told them that Judas Iscariot was the person who brought false accusations against him and betrayed him. He said, “The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him. (Luke 22:22)” Judas Iscariot was sitting next to Jesus at that time.
Jesus acted as if He was completely handing over all his heart, mind, and body to the disciples. He then prayed for the final time.
Ultimately, Jesus was handed over to the hands of the sinners that night. Roman soldiers brought steel rods, steel pipes, and whips and beat Jesus as they arrested and dragged him away.
Then the disciples realized, “This is why he acted that way,” and they understood why Jesus did that.
Jesus was whipped brutally and suffered as he walked the path of the cross and stood in Pilate’s court. He was then tried unfairly. He was tried illegally. His trial was a religious trial. He stood in a religious court according to the plans of the Jews who plotted to kill Jesus and ultimately was given the death sentence in which he was crucified on the cross.
The trial was carried out according to the utterly sinful state resulting from the fact that the world was already wicked and the times were wicked. Because the times were wicked, there was no choice but for Jesus to be tried unfairly and given an outrageously unjust sentence. It was a trial in which the sinners were talking confidently as if they were righteous, and they killed the righteous person who was sent for all mankind, in other words, the Messiah.
That generation killed the Savior of all mankind, whom the almighty God sent, because they didn’t know. But Jesus didn’t die for nothing. By sacrificing himself as the Messiah, he bore the sins of all mankind and redeemed all sins. Therefore, if those who believe in Jesus as the Messiah confessed their sins, he redeemed and forgave their sins and saved them. They should have done that when the body of Jesus, who was the Holy Son’s body, was alive, but since his body died, it was done through ‘the spirit.’
The disciples realized the meaning of the Holy Communion only after Jesus died. They realized why Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my flesh. Eat it in remembrance of me.” They realized why he blessed [them] with the cup and said, “This is my blood of the covenant. Drink it in remembrance of me.” They came to clearly know that Jesus was telling them to live with his mentality as his body. They came to know [his] deep distress and grief. They came to know clearly who sold their teacher and who caused their teacher’s death. Only then did they vividly feel that they were indeed the body and mind of Jesus.
Likewise, this is the time to raise your level and run just like the time of the apostles when they had run as a body and heart of the Holy Son Jesus by receiving the flesh and blood of the words.
