Plain Talk

Welcome to the Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast. The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, John 12: 44-50. All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Plain Talk." I read from John 12: 44-50. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.

44 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. 45 For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. 47 I will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. 48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. 49 I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.”

Jesus must have been disappointed at the response of the people to His message. The Apostle John writes earlier (John 12: 37), "But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in him." Even though the prophet Isaiah predicted their response, it must have still been very disappointing to Jesus and His Father see it come to pass. Even so, He did not judge or condemn those who rejected Him. He explained that now was the time to save humankind; later would be the time for judgment. What a remarkable thing to say! As Jesus has not returned, His game plan is unchanged. Clearly, as His followers, we should have the same message; Jesus has come to save the world. Our measure of success then is in making disciples of Jesus. There is no more clear demonstration of the veracity of His words than offering His life on the cross to save humankind. He could have uttered epithets and threats from the cross, but instead, He asked His Father to forgive His Roman executioners because they were ignorant of what they were doing. To Jesus, as long as there is life, there is a chance that a sinner will repent and live. The cross then teaches us to love rather than judge; both as individuals and the church! At last, when His work was done, Jesus went to the cross voluntarily to save us. His death was not quick but unmerciful and slow so His foes could exact their maximum vengeance upon Him; nevertheless, He looked beyond the cross and saw our names and faces. In His eyes, we were worth it. 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, Your Son is just amazing. And despite the fact that He is the Son of Man, fully human in every respect, He shows us how contrary we are to His nature in that we often let the flesh rule over us and choose judgement rather than love. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for His example in how to live this life to the fullest, putting Your kingdom ahead of our own desires. We are grateful, Abba, Father, that He died to save us from our sins, and we remember Him just now as we partake of the bread and drink 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!