Mark 14:12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
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Mark 14:22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
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It was the night when Jesus was later to be betrayed. The disciples and Jesus shared the Passover meal together. The Passover meal was established by God's instruction for generation after generation of Jews to remember their miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery about 1500 years earlier. During this 'last supper' that Jesus had...his last meal on earth, He initiated another meal to remember Him. The Communion of bread and wine was to continue the tradition of remembering God's deliverance (Luke adds Jesus' instruction: "Do this in remembrance of me"). It is no accident that Communion was initiated at Passover. The deliverance from Egypt was a picture of the salvation made available through Christ's death and resurrection. Just as the Jews had been liberated and needed to remember that amazing truth, so we who have trusted in Christ for our deliverance, must never forget His sacrifice for us. This we have in common and celebrate together with all who have put their trust in Him.
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Jesus didn't share in the distribution of bread and wine that he gave the disciples that night!
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Mark 14:16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
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So, Communion is a meal we share as believers in the present time that looks back as well as looking ahead: it remembers Jesus' body and blood that were broken and shed for our salvation and it points to a future meal when Jesus takes of the cup to celebrate the fulfillment of God's kingdom when it has fully come.
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As we find ourselves looking back and looking ahead, we find our purpose for looking at Him and living for Him now.
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blessings,
Rob Smith
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"Death is inevitable. Life is a choice!"
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live."
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