Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
The purpose of my podcast is to help individuals, groups and churches observe the Lord's Supper. The podcast includes a relevant portion of Scripture, brief commentary, prayer, and participation in partaking of the bread and drinking from the cup.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Eat This Bread Drink This Cup
The Lord Is Our Righteousness - Jeremiah 23:5-6
Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup.
The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, Jeremiah 23:5-6. In this passage of Scripture, the name of God, "The Lord Is Our Righteousness," foreshadows the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and why we remember Him around the Lord's Table. All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.
Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "The Lord Is Our Righteousness." I read from Jeremiah 23:5-6. All Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation (NLT) and are used with permission.
5 “For the time is coming,”
says the LORD,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
6 And this will be his name:
‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Israel will live in safety.
Fortunately for us, our God has many names. If we were asked to describe God, where would we begin. I believe the authors and translators of the Scriptures have the same challenge to describe our God to their audiences. In verse 5, the NLT translators chose "righteous descendant" to refer to the coming heir to King David's throne. Here they departed from the traditional rendering, "righteous Branch," a preferred translation we associate with the Messiah. The King will also be called, "The LORD Is Our Righteousness." When "LORD" is written in this style, we know the author is referring to YHWH, the name by which God calls Himself. But what I love about this name of God is that it is not, "The LORD Is Righteous," which is true, but this name is "The LORD Is Our Righteousness." In this name, we understand that "our righteousness" does not come from our good behavior but from God. As Isaiah writes (Isaiah 64:6), "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags." Jeremiah the prophet is looking ahead to the time when Jesus would offer His life on the cross, when His shed blood would be God's means of forgiving our sins. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, His righteousness becomes our righteousness; it is how we are able to stand before God. If we were at a loss for words when asked to describe God, we could say with all confidence, "The Lord is Our Righteousness." What a segue to tell the good news that is the gospel! If asked to explain the meaning of the Lord's Supper, we could begin by saying, "The LORD Is Our Righteousness." As we partake of the break and drink from the cup, we remember Jesus' sacrifice for our sins. Only in Jesus can we appear righteous before God. To quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name?" said Juliet to herself. A lot, I would say! 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, I love to read Your names and hear them spoken. Each one is unique and describes a special part of Your nature. Today we have reflected on Your name, "The Lord Is Our Righteousness." Thank-you for loving us so much that You sent Your only Son to die for our sins that He might become our righteousness. As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we remember Jesus and His personal cost to redeem us. 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!