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22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. 25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." ~ Mark 14:22-26
Today, we return to Mark 14 where the Lord Jesus was with His disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem. It was Thursday evening and they were enjoying the final Passover meal the Lord would eat with His disciples before He would be crucified and buried.
In v.22-24 of today's passage we read, "22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take it; this is my body.' 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 'This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,' he said to them."
At the Passover meal, the head of the family would typically explain the meal as it related to the Exodus story. On this occasion, the Lord Jesus, shockingly, explained the meal, in relation to Himself. He explained the Exodus story in light of His death on the cross and how all sacrifices point us to that momentous occasion when He took sin and death head on and rendered them null and void.
The Lord Jesus, when He offered up the bread, likened it to His sacrifice made for sin. He said, "This is my body.” The wine, He said, represented His "blood." With that, the Lord Jesus referenced the covenant God made with His people after the Exodus. On that night, the Lord Jesus pulled back the curtain revealing the point and the culmination of all of those Passover lambs down through the centuries: they all pointed to Him and the work that He was about to accomplish on His cross.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 the Apostle Paul tells us when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we remember the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross to pay the penalty created by our sin. The Apostle Paul also said that when we do this, we proclaim the death of the Lord Jesus until He returns to take us home to be with Him in heaven.
The Passover was a meal that centered around four glasses of wine. The first glass was the opening glass. It was the cup of blessing where the host blessed the Lord and welcomed the people who had been invited. The second cup was called the cup of judgment. It spoke about the plagues that God brought upon Egypt and delivering His people out of Egypt. It was, at that point, that the Lord Jesus dipped His finger in the wine and sprinkle the cloth and the meal in front of Him to speak about the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice.
The unleavened bread was broken and then dipped into bitter herbs. Holding up the bread, the Lord Jesus said, "Blessed art thou, Lord God, King of the universe." Then, He passed to His disciples the dipped bread. After that, they enjoyed the meal together. After the meal there were two other glasses of wine. The third glass of wine was the cup of redemption. With it, the Lord Jesus spoke of the death of the firstborn and the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. Before He gave the cup to the disciples, He said, "Blessed art thou, Lord God, King of the universe, who gives us the fruit of the vine."
The fourth and final cup was a cup of praise. and with that cup the Lord Jesus said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
This is why the Lord Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, which is designed to be led by His Spirit who focuses us on His death, burial and resurrection. He knows well the tendency of the human heart to drift from the reminder of His intense love for us. It is His undying love that keeps our hearts close to Him. During the Lord's Supper, believers enjoy interaction with the Lord in our hearts and through His word, while focusing on His work on the cross.
In Revelation 3:20 we read, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." This was a verse written to believers, to those who had trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
The word "sup" is used four times in the New Testament. In that culture, this word referred to the main meal of the day. And, in Middle Eastern fashion, it was a significant occasion for having intimate fellowship with the closest of friends. The Lord Supper is meant to be such: to sup or to experience intimate fellowship with our closest friend.
In v.25-26 of today's passage we read, "25 “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
After the Lord shared the fourth cup with the disciples, He said these words indicating this was the last Passover He would share with them on this earth. And, with these words, the Lord Jesus promised we will celebrate the Passover with Him during the Millennium. At that time, we will celebrate like we never have before because we will understand it all most clearly.
