Looking at the Lord's Supper
6th September 2021
Looking Up
When I was growing up, our family tradition was to go to my Gran and Grandpa’s for rolls and sausage every Sunday afternoon after church. We always did it - in fact, I barely a remember a time growing up when we didn’t do it.
And I remember, at one point, thinking ‘why do we do this?’ and thinking ‘why is it always rolls and sausage?’ (there was an ill-fated attempt to change the tradition to ham salad, which was quickly rejected!) The truth is, gathering every Sunday was a bit of a tradition. It pre-dated me when the family gathered at my great-Gran’s house before it moved to my Gran’s.
But we do well to ask the same thing in church – why do we do this? where did this come from? When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, Paul begins his introduction to the Lord’s Supper by saying,
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you (1 Corinthians 11:23)
In short, we remember that the Lord’s Supper came from the Lord Jesus. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper at His invitation and by His divine authority. And so we remember that He is the one who has invited us to His table and therefore He is the one we find at the very centre of this great act of remembrance.
We do not just look back to the cross and the empty grave, but we look up to heaven where Jesus is now seated
And by looking to the risen, ascended Jesus, we are reminded that He is King enthroned on His heavenly throne. Peter writes,
Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:22)
The Psalmist writes,
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool”. (Psalm 110:1)
And John reveals that Jesus does indeed sit on a throne when he writes that Jesus ‘conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.’ (Revelation 3:22)
When we eat of the loaf and drink of the cup, we can remind ourselves that Jesus is on the throne, King of kings and Lord of lords. The one that we belong to, the one that we worship, is the one who is over all things, the one who holds all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, we eat and declare our allegiance to King Jesus. And we eat with great confidence because there are none more powerful and awesome than He.
We do not just look back to what Jesus did on the cross, but we look up to heaven where Jesus is still working for us
Jesus’ work of salvation was finished on Calvary’s cross. Nothing could be added – it was complete. But Jesus' work was not done. For when we consider Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father, we are reminded that He continues to do a great work for us as he intercedes for us. Think on that for a moment: Jesus prays for you and for me. Jesus pleads for you and for me.
In the excellent book Gentle and Lowly (if you haven’t read it yet, I’d really encourage you to), Dane Ortland writes,
“Christ continues to intercede on our behalf in heaven because we continue to fail here on earth. He does not forgive us through his work on the cross and then hope we make it the rest of the way…He carries us all the way”
Ortland encourages us to imagine a race where the younger brother is running and the older brother is cheering him on from the stand. Even though the younger brother may be out in-front on his way to victory, the older brother doesn’t sit back quietly. No, he’s yelling at the top of his lungs exclamations of encouragement, of affirmation, of celebration, of victory, of solidarity. He cannot be quieted. So it is with our own older brother, the Lord Jesus.
So when we eat of the loaf and drink of the cup, we are comforted and encouraged that Jesus intercedes for us. He is pleading for us in our ongoing battle against sin and the devil. He is praying for us as we continue to run the race. And so we take heart in the words of Hebrews 7:
Jesus holds his priesthood permanently because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:24-25)
Next - Looking Out