Thursday in Holy Week is also known as Maundy Thursday. This name comes from the account of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). “A new command, a new mandate,” or in Latin, “mandatum novum.” [“34 mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos ut et vos diligatis invicem 35 in hoc cognoscent omnes quia mei discipuli estis si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem ”]

In the Gospel of John, the Last Supper goes from Chapter 13 to 17. Jesus rose from the dinner table and washed his disciples feet, he gave them the new commandment to love one another, he promised to send the Holy Spirit, he taught the disciples, he prayed for the disciples, and he prayed for all believers. In the book of John, the Last Supper is 5 chapters long, but in the book of Mark, it is only about 10 verses long. The main thing that is important in the Gospel of Mark is the institution of Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

The Last Supper took place a couple days before the official Passover Festival, but Jesus knew that he would die on the cross and would not rise from the dead until after the official Passover date, so he wanted to celebrate the feast early with his disciples. The Passover festival was a celebration of how God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt at the time of Moses. On that night of the Exodus, the Israelites painted the blood of a sacrificed lamb over their doors and on the door posts. Then when the Angel of Death came to their door, it did not go in; it passed by or passed over their house, but killed the first born of the Egyptians. So the Passover was a celebration of salvation. It was done in remembrance that the Lord God was their God and that they were his people. They remembered the promise, the covenant that God had made with his People.

At the Jewish Passover, the important menu items included the sacrificed lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. It is interesting that at the Last Supper with Jesus and the Disciples, there is no mention of the lamb. Theologically speaking, Jesus was the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Jesus would be sacrificed the next day on the cross on which his blood would be spilt.

Jesus took the cup and said, ²⁴ “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” A covenant is a promise or a contact. Jesus is making the promise that his blood will be the salvation for many people. That salvation will be for people who join the contract. That is, people who believe the promise of Jesus will be saved. They believe that their sins are forgiven through the blood of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Jesus said “This is my body” and “this is my blood.” In other words, Jesus gave his all, body and blood, 100% for us. He gave his life for us. That is why his death on the cross can give us salvation.

Now, many people wonder how bread can be flesh and how wine can be blood. It seems physically impossible. The bread and wine on our altar during Holy Communion do not disappear, and they still taste like bread and wine. It is not logical, but it is the work of God. If God is god, and if Christ is god, then it is possible. If Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Almighty God, can take the form of the Baby of Bethlehem, he can take the form of bread and wine. If the Holy Spirit can come as a dove, or as a mighty wind and as flames of fire at Pentecost, Jesus can come to us in the form of bread and wine. Our tongues taste only bread and wine, but our hearts accept the words of Jesus, “This is my body” and “this is my blood.”

But it is not our faith that makes the Lord’s Supper a Sacrament. It is the Word of God spoken and proclaimed that make this a salvation meal. And this is very important. The Word of God is stronger than my faith. And when our faith is weak, we must total rely on the Word of God’s Promise. “This is my body” and “this is my blood” “shed for you and all people for the forgiveness of sin” (1 Cor. 12:25). When my faith is weak, I need to hear those words. When I am troubled because of my sin, I need a clear sign that my sin is forgiven. When there is trouble in my life and I doubt the love of God, I need to see how much Jesus loves me. He loves me and you so much that not only did he die on the cross a long time ago in far away Jerusalem, but he comes to me and to you where we are in this Church today.

The Word of God is so powerful that I receive the Body and Blood of Christ even if I am a sinner. The Word of God is so powerful, that even if a minister is a sinner or has doubts about God, it is still the Body and Blood of Christ. Even if an unbeliever partakes of this Holy Food, that person receives the Body and Blood of Christ, but since it is not magic, a person must have faith to receive the forgiveness of sins. A person who does not want to change their sinful life, who thinks they have no need of forgiveness, or who have no desire to accept Jesus as their Savior should not receive the sacrament. If they do they are making liars of themselves because this is a contract and the people who partake of the sacrament proclaim their faith in God. Ministers cannot look into a person’s heart and see whether they have faith or not, so we ministers have to accept the public confession of faith of a person. This is done at the time of baptism or confirmation or the rite of first communion. But all people are welcome to come to the Altar to receive a blessing before being baptized or confirmed.

Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper at Lord’s Last Supper. It was a historical event, “in the night in which he was betrayed.” On Sunday mornings when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we remember that Jesus’ death and resurrection was a historical event and we rejoice that He comes to us again at this time in history today to us. We cannot have a full Passover supper, but to help us participate with the Disciples we often use unleavened bread. Yeast bread is also acceptable for Christians to use because we are also celebrating the resurrection: Jesus rose from the dead and yeast makes the bread rise! It is fine to use one large loaf of bread and then cut it or break it into small pieces for everyone to eat. At Okinawa Lutheran Church we use unleavened bread called wafers, or sometimes the bread is called the “host.” Until last year I thought it meant that Jesus was the host who gave us this meal, but then I looked it up and learned that calling the bread “host” came from the word “hostage,” a victim who would be sacrificed! Jesus, the Lamb of God is giving his body as a sacrifice for us! The wine cup is called a “chalice,” or sometimes a “grail,” as in the “search for the Holy Grail.” In this church we use grape wine. This is what Jesus used. Grape juice is acceptable, but never do we use apple juice or lemonade or coffee. Those are fine for fellowship time, but they distract from the historical action of Jesus at the Last Supper and the historical suffering and death of Christ. Some churches use a common cup, a large chalice from which everyone drinks. Some churches use pre-filled individual cups. We use a pouring chalice which I think is an excellent compromise because we still share the same cup which shows that we are united in faith to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Next week we will read how Jesus suffered and died on the cross to make the promise of the forgiveness of sins a reality.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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