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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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February, 1941
works to serve the living God. But the reader must be careful not to confuse the Passover with the fellowship meal which is described in this chapter, and to think that the "Lord’s Supper, as we have come to call this service, is the same as the Jewish Passover observ ance. n . T he F irst L ord ’ s S upper (19, 20) The Lord’s Supper was and is a most simple service—one that can be cele brated and understood in any part of the world. No splendid equipment is necessary for it. The chief meaning of the Supper for the disciples would be the Lord’s re quest: "This do in remembrance of me.” Hence, it is a memorial service, held with the one purpose of remembering the blessed Lord. It might be thought that there would be no need of a me morial for One who was as much beloved as was the Lord Jesus. But the Lord understood the human heart, and He therefore knew His disciples would need constantly to be reminded pf Him. ' The bread, representing His body, and the wine, representing His blood, would ever remind His own of the foundation of their salvation ancTof their standing before God, Whatever modem theories may suggest, it is beyond question that the first partakers of the Lord’s Sup per understood that the elements were used in a symbolic sense. Because He Himself asked that He be remembered in this manner, it is piti ful that some of. His own are kept from the Lord’s Table because they insist upon remembering themselves instead of Him. They dwell upon whether they are worthy or not, and become fearful of partaking. ■ They should remember Him—His glorious perfections, His suf ficient sacrifice, His full acceptance with God, and above all, His blessed person. At the same time, there is need that we guard, against familiarity with holy things, and partake of this blessed me morial in a spirit unbecoming in the child of God (cf. 1 Cor. 11:25-30). m . T he P a r t ic ip a n t s (21-30) That, these disciples did not think of themselves as being worthy is revealed when they questioned among themselves whether Or not* any of them would be guilty of betraying their Lord,' saying, each one, "Is it I ? ” (cf. Matt. 26:22). None was sure of himself in that hour; each one thought himself capable of doing that dark deed. Moreover, unholy ambition was ever present with them, and even in such a solemn hour as the one preceding thè crucifixion, they could strive among themselves concern ing who should be the greatest. Thus, against the black background of the strife and selfishness of the Lord’s followers, is set forth the institu tion of the Lord’s Supper. To partake of the bread and the wine in utter for-
getfulness of self, and to allow theheart and mind to be fully occupied with the Lord and His glories; to remember the ,One who never sinned, and never made a mistake; to recall Him, not because of His fame, but because of His death; and to remember the One whose pre cious blood is the only ground on which any one may approach God—to do this is to please Him who said: “This do in remembrance of me.” The Lord’s Supper is for believers only, who come to worship—not for sinners who would hope to find therein salvation. Points and Problems 1. “And when the hour was come” (Lk. 22:14). Reading the accounts of the last few days before our Lord’s passion, you cannot help marveling at the calmness with which He goes about the ordinary things of life. Tomorrow He will die for the salvation of the world, but today He attends to common duties of life, joining His disciples in the evening meal at the regular “hour.” It is only the little men who strive after drama in meeting the crises of life. 2. “The twelve apostles with him” (v. 14). One of these was Judas, and the Word of God calls him an “apostle.” Yet an -earlier account speaks of the same man as a “devil” (John 6:70). From this we may learn that salvation and ecclesiastical office are two differ ent things, with no necessary connec tion. If a man could be an "apostle” in office and a “devil” in spiritual nature, among our Lord’s first disciples, it should not surprise us too greatly to find a few of the same kind among our modern “deacons” and "elders.” 3. “With desire I have desired to eat THIS passover” (v. 15). The words “ this passover” do not refer to the meal before them that night, and cannot, be cause the Passover could not be eaten until it was killed, and the killing of the lambs did not take place until the following afternoon when our Lord was dyiiu; on the cross. To explain the ap parent problem by saying that Christ ate the Passover twenty-four hours ear lier, as some have said, is to make Him a breaker of the law. The Passover was to be kept at its appointed season (Num. 9:10-13), and our Lord was not one who tampered with the divine law. 4. “I will not any more eat thereof” (v. 16). The words "any more” are mis leading, and do not occur in the best manuscripts. See the American Revis ion, “I shall not eat.” But we know that He did eat that evening meal with His disciples (Mk. 14:20). But just as He said, He did not eat “ this passover,” that is, the one immediately ahead for which they had already prepared an upper room. 5. "There was also a strife among them” (v. 24). There is something in finitely sad about this. Think of it! Striving for personal advantage in the
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