Thanks so much for being there. This program is produced by Heralds of Hope, where our goal is to use media to make disciples. We want to see everyone walk with Jesus and become more like Him, and we believe studying the Bible is one way to learn directly from Him.

Today we are learning from Jesus as He teaches the disciples at the last supper. This has become a very important memorial for Christians everywhere. I love how Jesus made this service so memorable; it’s amazing that we eat and drink as we think about Him. I look forward to the time when we can talk about His sacrifice with Him, in His presence.

Our last lesson covered the first part of our teaching from Mark 14, and today we will finish the last two points. J Mark will read the passage first, then teach the rest of the lesson, and he is here now to start teaching. 

In our previous episode, we talked about memorials and how they remind us of important events in our past. However, we began learning about a memorial Jesus designed to help us look forward and remember, rather than look back. Today, we continue our study of Mark 14:17-26, where Jesus inaugurates what we call the “Communion Service” or “The Lord’s Table.” I’ve titled my teaching, “Let Us Keep the Feast.”

¹⁷ In the evening He came with the twelve.

¹⁸ Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”

¹⁹ And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”

²⁰ He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.

²¹ The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

²² And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

²³ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

²⁴ And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. ²⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

In this text, Jesus highlights several critical ELEMENTS that are essential for us as we keep the feast as He commanded. The first two elements we looked at were self-examination and then Jesus’ explanation of the one who would betray Him.

The Next ELEMENT (essential in keeping the feast) is,

Initiation

Immediately after Jesus reveals His betrayer, He initiates the Last Supper. As they ate, Jesus took one of the thin cakes of unleavened bread placed before him as the host and gave thanks. Then, He broke the bread and distributed it to them. “Take, eat: this is My body.” Luke adds, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” This bread identified Him as the spiritual nourishment upon which a sinner may feed and have eternal life.

Following the distribution of the bread, Jesus “took the cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is being (present tense, with lasting results) shed for many.” The third cup of the Passover meal is traditionally called “the cup of blessing.” Perhaps this is what Paul is referencing in 1 Corinthians 10:16.

However, we must ask, “What is the significance of this initiation of the Feast? What does it mean to us today?” Surely, it is more than a simple act of remembrance. It is an ordinance or sacrament. I use the word sacrament in the sense of a religious rite observed by those who follow Christ, not that participation secures salvation.

Interestingly, the word sacrament comes to us from the Latin sacramentum, which in turn originates from the Greek mysterion. Historically, the church recognized that something mysterious was involved in the liturgy and the administration of sacraments. In its most rudimentary form, the idea of the sacrament is an experience of something sacred—something we regard as extraordinary or uncommon, with special meaning or significance attached to it.

Notice that Jesus did NOT say of the bread, “This represents My body,” nor of the cup, “This represents My blood.” He said of both things, “This IS…” This is not to teach transubstantiation, the belief that the bread and the wine or juice become the body and blood of Christ. Nor is it an endorsement of consubstantiation, the belief that Jesus Christ is present in, with, and under the bread and the cup whenever the Lord’s Supper is celebrated.

We must confess there is a mystery here we cannot fully explain. Just as mysteries were revealed at the coming of Christ in human flesh, so too will mysteries be revealed in His coming again. Until that time, our limited understanding is bolstered by our unwavering faith in Him and His promises.

Here is a statement that helps clarify the importance of this ordinance. The [bread and cup] received in the Holy Communion conveys to the soul, as regards the Body and Blood of the Lord, the same effect as the Bread and the Wine to the body. Receiving the Bread and the Cup in the Holy Communion is spiritually, to the Soul, what the outward elements are to the Body: they are both the symbol and the instrument of true, inward, spiritual feeding on the very Body and Blood of Christ. So is this Cup, which we bless, the fellowship of His Blood, and the Bread we break, of His Body. We fellowship with Him who died for us, and in His dying; we also fellowship with one another, joined together in this, that for us this Body was given, and for the remission of our sins this precious Blood was shed.

We do well to spend time meditating on the tremendous truths contained in this simple service. The old Passover observance had fulfilled its purpose. It no longer would hold a place of prominence among the people of God. The old wineskins of the law were dried out and brittle; the new wine of the Gospel was being poured into new wineskins.

The Final ELEMENT (essential in keeping the feast) is,

Affirmation

An affirmation is a solemn declaration of the truth or existence of something. Jesus closes this section of the text with such a statement. It is a solemn promise we still embrace today.

In the observance of the Passover meal, there was this saying, “This is the bread of misery which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. All that are hungry, come and eat; all that are needy, come, keep the [Passover].” It was a time of looking back. But Jesus was looking ahead. He told the Twelve, “I will [positively NOT] drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” New is kainos, not new in terms of time, but rather in terms of quality. All the elements of festivity in the heavenly kingdom will be of a new and higher quality. This will be fulfilled, as I understand Scripture, in the Millennial Kingdom, the 1,000 year reign of Christ described in Revelation 20. 

We have no record that Jesus partook of the bread and cup He offered to the Eleven; perhaps He did. However, according to Luke 12:35-37, a time is coming in the fullness of the kingdom when He will be both the Host and a participant. “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat and will come and serve them.”

In contrast to the Passover observance, with its bitter herbs and bitter memories, this new meal is a blessing, as stated in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” Communion equals koinonia, participation, fellowship, and community. This blessing is beyond our ability to fully understand.

Are you ready for the fullness of the coming kingdom? Are you “keeping the feast,” the Lord’s Supper, in sincerity and truth? Are you willing to examine yourself to see whether you can participate worthily, as 1 Corinthians 11:29 requires? Failure to do so brings judgment and leads to spiritual weakness and even death.

Do you accept Jesus’ explanation of the necessity of His sacrifice and the realization that we humans are responsible for our choices? Have you experienced the results of Jesus’ initiation of the New Covenant, memorialized in the Communion service? Can you, by faith, affirm your place at that future meal when the kingdom comes in its fullness? I hope and pray you can answer each of those questions with a resounding, “Yes.”

Ever since that first communion meal, this blessed Institution has shone as golden morning light, even in the Church’s darkest night. It is not only the seal of His Presence and its pledge, but also the promise of the bright Day at His Coming. “For as often as we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we do show forth the Death of the Lord till He come. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!”

Thanks, J Mark, for teaching this lesson and for the nice review of both lessons, along with your questions at the end. He mentioned the Passover as a time of looking back, but Jesus was looking ahead. I am always impressed with all the directions we can look as we do this service. For example, we look back at His sacrifice and remember, but we also look forward and anticipate His coming. We also look at the present and know that our lives are different now because of Him. When we reflect on what Jesus said and did, there are so many good things to think about and apply to our lives. It’s like a diamond in the sun. There are so many ways light is reflected, and a new aspect of this is always catching our attention.    

If you have any questions or if there was some aspect that stuck out to you in a new way, please share it with us. Here is how you can reach us. Our email address is [email protected]. Or you can contact us via our website. Go to Heraldsofhope.org. There, you will find “Contact Us” under the Partner tab at the top right. Click on that to message us directly. We would love to hear from you

Thanks again for being with us today. The title for this lesson was, “Let us keep the feast,” and we encourage you to do exactly that. Imitate Jesus and do what he said we should do; if possible, meet with other Christians and spend time thinking about what Jesus did for us in the past, what He is doing for us now, and what He will do for us in the future. It has been a blessing in our lives, and we are sure you will find it a blessing, too.