The tired, but excited band of friends sat down for the biggest meal of the year. It had been a crazy week. The city was filled with visitors from all over the country, and not a few of them were talking about Jesus. People had been wondering if Jesus might be the Messiah, and now he was teaching plainly. He was even debating the priests and scribes at the temple. They wanted to arrest Jesus, but it might be too late. At any moment it seemed like Jesus was ready to reveal himself as the King of the Jews. What would this mean for the priests and scribes? Would Jesus fire them all? What about King Herod or Pilate, the Roman governor. Was an uprising on the horizon? If anyone could overthrow the government and drive out the Romans, it would be Jesus. Perhaps Jesus was planning to reveal himself as King of the Jews on the Passover.
So these twelve disciples were excited. They had gotten in on the ground floor with Jesus, and now they were going to ride his coat tails to the top.
As they gathered in the upper room for the Passover meal, Jesus led the liturgy. He explained what all the parts of the meal meant. But then he did something strange. He picked up the loaf of bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body” (Matt. 26:26). Then he took a cup of wine and said, “This is my blood” (Matt. 26:28).
Was Jesus losing his mind? What was he talking about? Maybe the twelve disciples were fools to pin their hopes on Jesus. Maybe Jesus was just crazy. Maybe the excitement was driving him nuts. How could he say that this bread is his body? How could he say that this cup is his blood?
Well, sometimes things are more than they appear to be. Those who expected Jesus to reveal himself as King of the Jews that Friday were right, even though Jesus didn’t look very kingly. His crown was a bit thornier than most. His robes were a bit on the naked side. His throne looked a bit too much like a cross. And his coronation was just a little too fatal for most people’s taste. Anyone who looked at this sight would not easily accept the veracity of the sign atop the cross: “The King of the Jews.” But this was more than meets the eye.
And the same was true the night before, when Jesus identified the bread and wine as his body and blood. The bread and wine are still bread and wine, but there is more here than meets the eye, simply because Jesus says there is.
For this reason, when we eat and drink these simple elements, we believe that we are actually receiving the body and blood of Jesus. We believe this because that’s what Jesus says it is. Period.
Furthermore, we believe these elements give what Jesus says they give, namely, the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28). When we approach the altar, kneel reverently, and eat and drink these simple elements, we don’t just do it because Jesus tells us to. We do it because there is a real gift here. We do it because Jesus attaches the forgiveness of sins to these elements. And where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also eternal life and everlasting salvation.
The peace of Christ be with you all,
Dan