Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Lord, I Want to See." I read from Luke 18:35-43. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Blindness or the inability to see is a significant disability. It was so in the first century and remains so to this day. In medicine, we measure visual acuity to assess your ability to see. To see also describes when a person gains new understanding. To be blind, then, can describe a person who is either devoid of vision or understanding. Jesus makes this clear when He said (Matthew 13:16), "But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear." Sadly, the resulting state of both disabilities is to live in darkness. Our audacious beggar, Bartimaeus, received two blessings from Jesus that day. First, he was miraculously healed by Jesus, he could now see, and second, he could now see Jesus, the object, or person, of his faith. For both reasons, he praises God—both his world and his understanding are filled with light. He no longer walkness in darkness. It is no surprise then when the Apostle John says of Jesus (John 1:4), “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Today, as we assemble to partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice of His life on the cross for us. Through His sacrifice, we can receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. This person, Jesus, and these immutable facts transform our world. They shine a light on what is and is not important in this life. To all who are tired of living in darkness and desire to see, our prayer is that they, too, can see Jesus and live in the light. Draw near to Jesus because He is near to you. 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 sending Jesus to save us. He is our life and our light. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Thank-you that our sins are forgiven and we have the hope of eternal life when we die. As we partake, we proclaim Him until He returns to take us home. May He be found by all who seek Him this day. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28.
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, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you 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!
