The bread of life, broken
Luke 22:14-23
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
The Passover was (and still is) one of the very significant rituals kept by Jews. The Passover meal contained many symbolic elements that were to remind the participants of the way that God set the Jews apart and drew them out of Egypt. The meal is one of the great reminders of what it means to be Jewish.
Jesus here gives his disciples a new ritual, one that will remind his followers what it means to live in God’s grace.
Jesus has already offered himself as the bread of life (John 6:35), the very word of God that we should feast on. In addition to this, Jesus broke bread to facilitate the feeding of the 5000 (Luke 9:10-17).
In Luke 22 we see that soon the bread of life will himself be broken and just as in the feeding of the 5000, this one broken loaf will lead to the feeding of many. This time it is not just bellies that will be filled. People will be filled with forgiveness, all their sins being brought to judgment upon Jesus, breaking his body.
Lord, the breaking of bread reminds me to ‘eat’ your grace to me, the wine or juice reminds me to ‘drink’ your promise to wash me clean of sin. The breaking and the pouring out show me what love I have been shown. Because I have been so loved, I can love others.
Written by Andrew Mellor