Peace

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 14: 27-31. This passage of Scripture is part of a larger conversation Jesus has with His apostles, His last words, in the upper room following the Passover meal. Later that evening, He would be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. 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 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 "Peace." I read from John 14: 27-31. All quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.

30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.”

The Apostle John records the conversation between Jesus and His apostles as they assembled in the upper room following the Passover meal and events we now refer to as the Last Supper (John 13-16). As Jesus prepares to leave, He promises to give them a parting gift—peace. This peace would sustain them through the events of His arrest, trial, condemnation, and crucifixion until He meets them again following His resurrection from the dead. Later, they would depend on this peace as they are His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Jesus calmly assures them that God is in control, even in the most difficult and seemingly hopeless situations, the darkest hour, and there was no need to be troubled or afraid. Jesus goes on to amplify this message as He promises He would never leave them alone; He would send the Holy Spirit to live within them and return one day to take them home with Him. These blessings would come because of their belief in Him and obedience to His commandments. Jesus, Son of Man and Son of God, has this same calm assurance. He says, “I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.” As we read these Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is telling us that Jesus is having this conversation with us today, now, and He gives to us this same parting gift—peace. What reassuring words from our Savior, our Captain, as we journey through life. Jesus could make this bold claim to His apostles as He was about to finish God’s work of redemption by offering His life on the cross. Today, we partake of the bread and drink from the cup to remember His completed work of redemption. We should never take for granted the wounds Jesus took for us that we might have peace, the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 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, thank-you for this wonderful gift, the peace of Christ. The world has nothing to offer that can compare with this peace, and I pray that we will never be seduced by the ruler of this world into believing that it could. Abba, Father, I also pray that we never take for granted the wounds of Christ that He took for us that we might have this peace. 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!