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.” Luke 22:19
God made a covenant with Abraham. His descendants would number as the sands on the shores, the stars in the sky, and they would inherit the land of Canaan. These people were now in slavery to an Egyptian Pharaoh. God heard the cries of His people and called Moses to return to the Pharaoh’s household and demand that God’s chosen people be set free. Calamity upon calamity occurred but Pharaoh would not set the people free, until a final plague, the death of the first born son.
God provided a way for the Hebrew families to be spared. Their thresholds were covered in the blood of a sacrificed lamb. Families gathered on that night, shared their food and waited for deliverance to come. It did. Passover is the season for celebrating this wonderful deliverance and salvation.
Jesus gathered with His friends to share in the intimate, sacred remembrance. Not only was this a time to remember God’s covenant with Israel, but a time to teach the young of God’s faithful provision and hope. At the conclusion of the meal Jesus took bread and broke it. He knew that he would not see another sunset as a man. He would face agony and humiliation. He would die. Thanking God for what He alone knew, He introduced the New Covenant in which His blood would separate life and death.
The Lamb of God gave His body, His life, for yours.
Love,
Gretchen