Lessons from the Lord's Supper -- Part II

Part II is really lesson number 1: Jesus is eager to share the supper with his disciples.

Luke writes in Luke 22:15, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." Why? In this last few hours of time with his disciples, before an evening of intense prayer, ears being cut off, and an arrest, why does he eagerly desire this night? Let's look at two possible motives ...

1. Jesus wants to show his friends what it means to sacrificially serve
In the Apostle John's account of this evening, we see that Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his outer robe, and washes the disciples feet. A dirty job, this footwashing business. A good host would provide water and a basin for his guest to wash their feet. A well-to-do host might volunteer a slave for footwashing duty. But the host getting his hands dirty? And not just any host, but the Savior of the world?

This is a teachable moment. Jesus says, "Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

God has a role for the disciples -- they will become the leaders of His church. Serve each other, he says. Get dirty. Remember this, do it, and you will be blessed.

2. Jesus wants to tell His friends of His love and plans for them
John's account of the upper room provides teachings from Jesus that the other accounts do not (John ch 13-16). Jesus was God, but also fully human. He had feelings, you know? These men were his best friends. He spent nearly every morning, noon and night with this band of brothers. And now, he is about to physically abandon them, like the mother bird kicking the babies out of the nest and forcing them to fly away. Jesus loves these men. Jesus wants these men to have long-term confidence despite the upcoming short-term events. Again, God has plans for these men. Here are a few things Jesus wants them to know:

• "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
• "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
• "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
• "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
• "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
• "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit -- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

So, again, here's lesson number 1 from the Lord's Supper: Jesus is eager to share this meal with us, just as he was with the 12. Jesus wants Communion to be a teachable moment -- remember, church, serve one another. Whatever you do for others in my name, you do for me. You are not above your master. And Jesus wants to remind us of how much he loves us. He has plans for us. We were created to return to the Father, through the acceptance of the Son. He wants us to know that He is building our heavenly mansion, that He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide us, and that we are his friends. In him, we have peace. In him, we bear fruit.

The upper room must have been an incredible place to be. It can be the same for us today, as we assemble in our house church living rooms and large church sanctuaries. Jesus is eager to meet us at the table.