Matthew 26:26
Thoughts from Pastor Stuart
Dive Deeper
Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Matthew 26:26
Behind the Scenes
Seated at a table, surrounded by people who had lived with Him and traveled with Him and ministered with Him, Jesus gives a powerful and lasting object lesson. This was the meal of Passover. Every year, the Hebrew people would prepare a meal in remembrance of what God did in Egypt, when the blood of the sacrificial lamb marked the doors of God’s people as a sign for the angel of death to pass over that house. It’s a powerful story that you can read in full in Exodus 12.
The symbolism of the Passover was meant to teach the people about what the coming Redeemer would do. See, Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb, and through His blood, we are sealed and marked. By His blood, spiritual death passes over us. So, you can see why this feast would have been especially important and even nostalgic for Jesus. He was literally days from fulfilling this promise and becoming our Passover Lamb.
In one of His final object lessons for His disciples, Jesus picks up the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. He tells them that this bread represents His body which was about to be broken for them. One of the things that stands out to me about this moment is that no one had to tell Jesus to do this. He takes the initiative. He is the one who breaks the bread. And He tells them to eat. The only thing the disciples did was receive what was offered to them.
Do you see it? It’s all on Him. What a beautiful picture for us to see of how Jesus serves and loves us. What a beautiful picture of salvation and redemption. Jesus does it all. He willingly engages in our lives, willingly allows Himself to be broken for our sins, and then offers Himself with arms stretched out.
Make it Real
I picture Jesus still standing before the whole world with His arms stretched out toward us. He is holding in His hand the bread that we need. He is holding life. It’s life that He purchased through the shedding of His blood, through the dying on a cross, and through raising from the dead to defeat sin and death. It’s all His and He willingly holds it out to you and me.
And His words echo throughout all of eternity, “Take, eat.”
The image in my mind brings me to tears. My Savior, meeting me in my hunger, meeting me in my need, offering all He has to me… It’s so incredibly powerful. “Take, eat.”
This offering of Jesus, this powerful gift that comes through Him alone- It’s the only thing in this life or the next that we cannot do without. We need it more than we need air in our lungs. We need it more than we need the next heartbeat.
I don’t know where you are with Jesus. Maybe you are new to this whole Jesus thing and you aren’t sure yet what you think of Him. Maybe you have walked away from Him, frustrated or hurt by something that happened in the past. Maybe you’ve been walking with Jesus for a while. Wherever you land, Jesus’ arms are still outstretched to you. And He still calls to you and to me, “Take, eat.”
He calls us to take from Him salvation.
He calls us to take from Him love.
He calls us to take from Him hope.
He calls us to take from Him acceptance.
He calls us to take from Him peace.
He calls us to take from Him everything we need, because friends, He is the only true source. He is the only sacrificial Lamb that can ever bring life. He is the author of all good things and the antidote for all bad things. He is our sufficiency and our strength. And, praise God, He is more than enough.
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Lord,
I want what You have for me. I want to receive Your gift of salvation and truth. I want You to be my everything. I’m tired of all the other things that have promised satisfaction and sufficiency that have left me feeling empty and alone. I want the real thing. I want You. Lord, teach me what this looks like, to wake up every morning and receive what You offer me. Teach me what it means to be filled by You.
In the Name of Jesus Christ,
Amen