Words from the Rock
Jesus . . . blessed the bread and broke it . . . and said, “Take this and eat it. This is my body.”
Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God . . . and said, “Take this and drink it. This is my blood, and with it God makes his agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven. From now on I am not going to drink any wine, until I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:26–29 CEV
Some call this event the Last Supper, and it’s the final meal that Jesus ate before his death. What he says to his disciples during that meal is not only surprisingly graphic but also slightly disturbing on some levels. He tells them that they are eating his body and drinking his blood. But what does that mean? Certainly he’s not endorsing cannibalism or vampirism.
The point Jesus is making is that he wants his followers to be so much a part of him, so connected to him, that it’s as if his being (his flesh and blood) is actually inside each one of them—like his blood is flowing through their veins. That is real oneness. It’s not easy to grasp, but Jesus knows it will take this kind of oneness for his followers to stick with him through all the trials and challenges that will soon be hurled at them. As graphic as the idea of eating his body and drinking his blood is, he wants to drive this concept home.
Jesus wants everyone to understand that his body will be beaten and broken and his blood will be spilled—in other words, he will die—in order to give us this kind of oneness with him. If we’re repulsed by this truth, if we try to shove this gift away, we will miss out. As abhorrent as it might seem, it’s only when we embrace Jesus’s torturous death that we get to enjoy his forgiveness.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for dying on the cross, for being broken, and for spilling your blood so I can be one with you and receive your forgiveness and eternal life.
Amen.
Final Word
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Romans 5:9 NIV
Stone for the Journey
Jesus’s blood buys my forgiveness.