Cursed in the Sight of God

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Cursed in the Sight of God," and is based on a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 21: 22-23. All quotations of Scripture are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.

My hope is that you will benefit from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Cursed in the Sight of God." I read from Deuteronomy 21: 22-23. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.

22 “If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree, 23 the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

I have never paused to think about this passage of Scripture from the Old Testament except to recall that the Apostle Paul quoted from these verses when He wrote to the church in Galatia about Jesus' death on the cross. At the expense of being morbid, when we reread these verses carefully, we understand that the person was first executed and then hung on a tree. Under Old Testament law, the penalty of death was reserved for the most heinous deeds like false prophets, idolaters, sorcerers, and adulterers. If the body was hung on a tree, it was a reminder to the living about the penalty for these sins. After the penalty was imposed, Moses writes (Deuteronomy 19: 20), "Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing." Even though Israel did not have mass communication, the story and its spectacle would spread throughout the land. These verses also tell us that the hanging body of the cursed person defiled the land and had to be buried the same day; God did not want to look at it any longer than necessary! To the church in Galatia, Paul writes (Galatians 3: 10-13), "10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” From the Apostle Paul, we learn that no one can be made righteous by following the Law as breaking the Law is inevitable. This is especially true as there is a remedy for sin, faith in Jesus. Not only do we deserve to die for our sins, but we are also cursed by God and our bodies should be hung on a tree as a warning to others about the seriousness of and the penalty for sin. Paul tells us Jesus took this curse and the shame of being hung on a tree in our place! When Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus so he could bury it, he was following the Law of God. Jesus rescued us from the penalty of death and the spectacle of being hung from a tree for all to see. Even though He was the Son of God, He loved us so much that He did that for us. Let us join together to partake of the bread and drink from the cup to remember Jesus. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, these passages of Scripture from the Old and New Testaments really underscore the seriousness of our sins and the perils we escaped because Jesus died in our place. What happened to Jesus is what each of us deserved! Today we can remember Jesus and how He suffered for us by partaking of the bread and drinking from the cup. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28 (NLT).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!