REMEMBER
Mark 14:12-25
Introduction
Powerful Words from the Last Week of the Life of Jesus: Rejection, Love, and today Remember.
Mark 14:12-25, ESV
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
We are swiftly coming to the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel. In typical fashion, Mark is brief, but informative. We are entering into the last events of the earthly life of Jesus.
-It is his last visit to Jerusalem.
-It is his last Passover meal with his disciples.
-It is his last reminder of the painful sacrifice ahead.
-It is his last time to sit at a table and look at each of his disciples
-It is time to reveal that there is a betrayer among them.
-It is the beginning of sorrows.
The institution of the Lord’s Supper is a mystery to the disciples. Jesus has not yet died, and the talk of body and blood make no sense to them. But it will. Passover was celebration of God’s people being set free. On this particular Passover, Jesus assigned some new meaning to a few of the elements: The bread, he said, was his body. The wine, he said, was his blood.
We partake of the Lord’s Supper weekly. In my recollection the lessons I heard about communion were all about the rules - who could, who couldn’t, who could serve and who couldn’t, when it had to happen and what the elements have to be. Beyond all of these rules is the meaning that is assigned to this moment.
“…What Christians do today when they meet to break bread and drink wine together is the central Christian action, which links us in an unbroken line … ultimately… to Jesus and his friends in the Upper Room on the night he was about to be betrayed (and denied, forsaken, arrested, tried, mocked, and executed).” - N. T. Wright
There are four institution narratives in the New Testament (Matthew 26:19-30; Mark 14:16-26; Luke 22:13-20; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26).
To help us expand our meditations and thoughts during the Lord’s Supper, we recognize seven words that identify the meaning and significance of communion.
1. REMEMBER
The present experience of communion with Christ and fellow believers is based on a past event. Paul recalls the words of Jesus, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:24, 26). Paul further says that performing this memorial of Jesus “proclaims his death” (1 Cor 11:26). We remember…
-What Jesus has done and suffered for us.
-To receive the benefits of Jesus Christ
-We remember not just someone who died, but who was buried and rose again. Barclay: “We are remembering someone who is gloriously alive.”
-We remember that he is coming again.
2. FELLOWSHIP / Communion (koinonia)
1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Communion is fellowship with Christ. In the Lord’s Supper we sit at the table with Christ. We sit at the table with one another.
Communion is Fellowship with one another. 1 Corinthians 10:17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
This brings to mind themes of unity, peace, grace from Christ and with one another, thanksgiving for Christ and one another, forgiveness from Christ and for one another.
This calls attention to the mutual sharing, with the Lord and with one another, that characterizes the church. One will make every effort to come to the communion in harmony with the brothers and sisters of the community.
3. FORGIVENESS
Matthew 26:28 “ For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins..”
It is common for people not to partake because they feel there is unresolved sin in their lives. But we all come to this table as sinners in need of grace. This is a table for sinners; this is a table of mercy. We come as repentant sinners eager to know that we are forgiven because of the faithfulness of the living Christ.
4. RENEWAL / COVENANT
All four narratives speak of a “new covenant” in reference to the blood of Jesus. (Mark 14:24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”)
This new covenant is based on the forgiveness of sins. To drink from the cup is to share in this covenant of blood.
For Christians, the eating of the bread and drinking from the cup is an act of renewing covenant allegiance to the Lord. This is a relationship that excludes all other religious loyalties.
The church is the people of the new covenant, who have a new meal as its expression. The covenant language marks the participants as being especially the Lord’s possession.
5. NOURISHMENT (John 6:48-58)
John 6:48-58
I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
Not everyone accepts this text as speaking of the Lord’s Supper, it is hard to know what else it might be speaking of. It is a reminder of Manna — bread from heaven. God provided for the children of Israel. God provides for us what we need to have eternal life in the sacrifice of Jesus, which we acknowledge in communion.
What sustains the soul is Christ Jesus, his body, his blood, his every life. Christ is the focus of our attention as we celebrate this event.
6. ANTICIPATION
Mark 14:25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Paul taught that the Lord’s Supper proclaims the Lord’s death in the memorial is “until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26) Smith “The hope of the church and the world is symbolized and realized by a meal - the marriage supper of the lamb (Rev 19), a glorious feast hosted by Jesus himself.
Ferguson: “Indeed, the predominant note in the early Christian observance was not sorrowful remembrance as at a funeral but joyful expectation. The crucified Christ is also a living Lord, and the present fellowship is a guarantee and anticipation of a fuller fellowship yet to be enjoyed.”
We anticipate a new world where all that is wrong will be made right and all things made new. Revelation 21:5 …“Behold, I am making all things new.” …
7. EUCHARIST / Thanksgiving (eucharisto)
The prayer for the bread and cup is the great moment of the church’s thanksgiving for salvation brought by the the death and resurrection of Jesus. Eucharist was the most common term in the early church for the breaking of bread in the assembly. “Give thanks” is used in all four of the institution narratives. The basis of thanksgiving is the salvation that brought the church into existence. The act of thanksgiving calls attention to what the congregation gives to God.
Conclusion:
Remember, Fellowship, Forgiveness, Covenant, Nourishment, Anticipation, Thanksgiving
These are the themes we consider as we commune together.
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Discussion Questions
1. Today we focused on seven words that indicate the kinds of things we should be considering during our communion time: Remember, Fellowship, Forgiveness, Covenant, Nourishment, Anticipation, Thanksgiving.
- Which one was something you hadn’t thought of before?
- Which one is the hardest one to really think through?
- What are the challenges of having such a list in front of you?
- How can we navigate revisiting those in the future?
2. Our text begins with Jesus expressing that someone at the table would betray him (Mark 14:17-21).
- What emotions do you think Jesus felt as He shared this final meal with His disciples, knowing that betrayal was imminent?
- Why do you think Judas chose to betray Jesus? What might have motivated him?
3. The Institution of the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:22-24)
- What significance does Jesus attach to the bread and wine during this meal?
- Why would hearing instructions to eat flesh and drink blood be repulsive to the Jews at the table (all of them)?
- In what ways does partaking in the Lord's Supper deepen your relationship with Christ?
4. Jesus at the Last Supper spoke of eating and drinking in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:25). What do you think he was communicating in this statement?
5. Church of Christ historian Everett Ferguson wrote, “The Lord’s Supper is expressive of the central realities of the Christian faith and of what the church is all about.” What does it mean to you that Christians around the world are taking the Lord’s Supper on any given Sunday?
6. What is your biggest challenge when it comes to the Lord’s Supper? Let’s talk about those challenges and what we might do to overcome them.
Resources
Barclay, William. The Lord’s Supper. Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.
Ferguson, Everett. The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today. Eerdmans, 1996.
Smith, Gordon T. A Holy Meal: The Lord’s Supper in the Life of the Church. Baker, 2005
Wright, N. T. The Meal Jesus Gave Us (revised ed.) Westminster John Knox Press, 2015.
