The Last Supper

The Good News (Gospel) According to Matthew
Today’s Focus: Fulfillment of the Assignment of Jesus: The Last Supper
Scripture: Matthew 26:1-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

Greetings Kingdom Citizens
I know many of us take communion and attend communion services in our various churches. The Last Supper is what it is naturally, the last supper of Jesus with the disciples but the spiritual meaning is the understanding of the communion of the Spirit of Christ with the believer. Now at the last supper, Christ informs his disciples that He will be betrayed by one of them. Now you know everyone is questioning Jesus whether it is them. Now you know if it was you, then your conscience will eat at you and can you imagine the conscience of Judas knowing it was him? Please keep in mind, if Judas who was a disciple of Christ, is willing to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver then do you think that some of the people who call themselves your friends will betray you? Amazing, Jesus knew from the beginning that the very ones who he would appoint to be his students, one of them would betray Him. Word to the wise, do not put all your trust in man and those who claim to be your friends because when they betray you or let you down then you are left hurt and wondering what happened.

Now let’s look at the significance of the Lord’s Last supper with the disciples.

The Bread
Starting at verse 26, we see Jesus blessing the bread, braking it and giving it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body”. What this symbolized is the communion of the Spirit of Christ with the believers. Now watch this beautiful scriptural picture. Jesus calls Himself:
1. The Bread of Life – Jesus said this in John 6:35 and when He was tempted of satan in Matthew 4:4, He told satan that Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. So the food for our spirit is the Word of God and the Word of God is the Bread of Life.

2. The Light of the World – In Hebrew light means knowledge. So Jesus then is the Knowledge the World needs. John 1:1 says “In the Beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. The key here is The Word was with God. Now move to John 1:14 where it says “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. Now that was a lot but Jesus is all of that. He is the Word of God that we need to ingest in our spirit to feed our souls so that we can stay spiritually healthy.

So when Jesus gave them the bread to eat it was the symbolic meaning of the communion of Christ with the believer and providing the believer with the Word of God to feed them. Now some of you have the Word of God in you but yet you are still spiritually hungry and malnourished. See the old saying is “You can take a thirsty horse to a well, but you can’t make him drink” (I think J) . So even though you have the Word in you, it is on you to partake of the knowledge of God and hear His voice and execute His Will.

The Cup
Now upon my study, I did not see what Jesus drank that night in the cup. The only reference I see is that he says He will not drink the fruit of this vine. Could it be grape juice? I do not know, nor is it important. But whatever he drank it symbolized the blood that He will shed for the remission of our sins. Remember the blood is what cleanses us so that we can receive the Holy Ghost.

Now here is where it can get dicey but you have to read the scripture to truly understand it. Now, the Lord’s supper should only be taken by the believer. Ok! Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 11:26-29, the Holy Spirit reveals to Paul that “anyone who shall eat this bread or drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord”. Now if you read further he uses the word damnation. Now, I am not the one saying this but based off of the scriptures no one who is not saved should take the Lord’s supper, this is not Calvin saying it, but this is the words of the Holy Spirit given to Paul to write to the church at Corinth.

Pastors, Bishops and called Leaders of the Church it is our responsibility to ensure the appropriate people are taking the Lord’s Supper. We are called to be watchmen and we need to make sure we are watching out for the souls of our flock and those inquiring to join the family. Let’s be aware and ensure that the appropriate people are participating in the Lord’s supper!

At Our Father’s Service, Min. Calvin Calhoun, Jr.