Day 6

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

 Matthew 26:30

Communion is worship.

We must never allow the enemy to make us feel unworthy in the presence of God. 

I have certainly made communion a time of drumming up all of my past mistakes, going through them, asking forgiveness for each one, trying not to leave anything out. Such a sense of unworthiness discounts the gift of God.

If I’ve made a mistake, I confess it then and there, receive forgiveness as the grace gift it is, and move on. (1 John 1:9) 

But communion is not intended to be a time of self scrutiny. 

The Lord Jesus sat with His disciples at the table, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…” Luke 22:15

Why did He desire to share this moment with them? So that He could tell them all what they’ve done wrong? To go through a list of grievances he had with each of them? 

Of course not! Sometimes our ways of thinking about these things are truly ridiculous. 

His fervent desire was to show them the scale - the greatness - of the love He had for them! To demonstrate just how far He was going with it… blood covenant, the purest most holy form of guarantee… the very guarantee God gave to Abram when He promised him a Seed (Genesis 15). God He gave us this covenant meal as a reminder in perpetuity of what He has done for us. 

You are worthy! Not because of something you’ve done or haven’t done, but because of what Jesus has done for you! You’re worthy because He’s worthy and He’s given you His very own life! It is all about our trust in the The Lord Jesus. His sinlessness, His willingness, His sacrifice, His triumph. He gives us Himself in covenant because He loves us. 

His body and His blood, broken and spilled out not so that I could hunker down in a state of condemnation, but so that I could stand tall, praising Him joyfully for the fact that “I am a new creation! It is no longer I who live but Christ Who lives in me!” 

Communion is a time of worship! A time to magnify Him and what He’s done.

What a powerful and wonderful opportunity it is! Don’t waste it magnifying sin. The covenant meal was a time to consider and celebrate the covenant with bread and wine shared between the covenant partners. Use communion as it was intended: an opportunity to celebrate with the Lord the covenant that the two of you have together. You have a new identity and a new life. 

Jesus entered into covenant with everyone who would receive it, but I know when He passed around the bread and the cup that night before He was betrayed, He took the time to look each of His disciples in the eyes.

Make sure that you understand covenant is a personal thing, and though we can and do celebrate it together as the body of Christ, you will never truly walk in the fullness of it until you understand what it means for YOU. Until you realize that Jesus is looking you in the eyes and trading His life for yours.

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Take another look at communion. For the past several weeks, I’ve had communion with the Lord every day on my own and I want to encourage you to think about doing the same. There are no hard and fast rules about it… you don’t have to wait for Sunday, you don’t have to use those neatly packaged communion cups. You don’t even have to use grape juice and wafers! I’ve taken communion with water and a saltine… It’s a representation, so the important thing is to understand what each element signifies. 

It might help to read back through this study, if there’s something that stood out to you, go back and re-read it before you take communion. Whether on your own or with the corporate body, communion is a time for you to participate in the covenant you have with God. Remember and thank God for His covenant with you.

Recommendations for Further Study:

“The Blood Covenant: A Primitive Rite and Its Bearing on Scripture” H. Clay Trumbull

“The Miracle of The Scarlet Thread” Dr. Richard Booker