Passion Week: Thursday - Our Last Time Together... Like This

Scripture Reading: Mark 14:22-24; John 13:12-17, 34-35

For several years Jesus had been with his disciples almost all the time. There was little he did without them.

They walked from town to town together. Met new people together. Jesus taught amongst his disciples. And he healed people in the presence of those twelve he had chosen to follow him. Now, things were getting to change in a big way.

Their time together was drawing to an end. In fact, this would be the last time Jesus and the disciples closest to him would be together like this (that is, until the resurrection and the eventual outpouring of the Holy Spirit). And so, what does Jesus do with his disciples during their last evening together? He shares a meal with them, of course.

Actually three events take place during their last time together. Jesus easts with his disciples. He washes their feet. And, lastly, he gives them a new commandment to live by.

First, the meal. In celebration of the Passover, they share a Passover meal. And, at the end, Jesus gives them what for the next 2,000+ years will be celebrated by the Church as The Lord’s Supper, or Communion. In that act Jesus took bread, which he said represented his body (that would be given for the many), and a cup of wine, which represented the blood of the new covenant (that was poured out for many). He offered it to his disciples and they ate and drank together. In much the same way we continue to do today.

Secondly, after the meal, Jesus took off the outer garments he was wearing, got down on his knees, and washed his disciples feet until they were clean. This, Jesus said, was done on purpose in order to show his disciples how they ought to live amongst one another and in the world. “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.” This was both the way the kingdom of God would be brought into the world and the way the children of God would live in the kingdom of God. Above all, they would serve one another. And, lest there be any objections to this kingdom way of life, Jesus tells them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet.”

Lastly, a new commandment. Jesus already showed the disciples what it looks like to serve one another. He showed them what type of people the kingdom of God contains. Now, he sums it all up in one command: love one another. He tells his disciples, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This is weighty. Love will be the identifying mark of those who follow Jesus. And not just love in a generic sense. This type of love is like the love that Jesus showed for his earliest disciples, and us. This kind of love drove Jesus to the cross both as a king and a sacrifice.

Next is the arrest, the trial, and the crucifixion. Under the cover of darkness, through the cooperation of one close to Jesus, the authorities will come for him in order to make him pay with his life for the life he led.

Meditations for Communion: Jesus is Lord

In the ancient Roman-ruled world, there was a short two-word “confession of faith” that was required to be said by those living under Roman rule…if they wanted to stay in the good graces of Rome.

That short “confession of faith” was: Καῖσαρ κύριος (Kaisar kyrios)—Caesar is Lord. 

By saying Καῖσαρ κύριος, a person was doing at least two things: 1) they were doing what needed to be done to say in line with what Rome (Caesar) demanded from its people, and 2) they were making it clear to whom their allegiance belonged.

To be a good Roman citizen was to be a person who submitted to the authority of the state above all else. Rome was the one in charge. Sure, you could believe what you wanted and do what you wanted (on the side, and within limit), but there was no mistaking who made the rules. And there was certainly no mistaking who held those accountable for breaking those rules.

There was a type person (better, a whole group of people), though, for whom declaring Καῖσαρ κύριος would not do.

Those were the ancient Christians.

For them, there was someone they worshipped as Lord, but Caesar (and, thus, Rome) was not it. The ancient Christians had already settled on their “confession of faith” and it was: Ἰησοῦς κύριος (Iēsous kyrious)—Jesus is Lord.

This might not be clearer anywhere else in the New Testament than Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome where he writes: “…if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ (κύριον Ἰησοῦν) and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9, LEB).

What hope was there for a Roman Christian in ancient early church?

It could be Rome, but Rome wasn’t going to truly save them. No, for the early church, Jesus was the only one who defeated death and, thus, could pass on that victory to those who testified to his death and resurrection.

And, so, they worshipped. And they testified. And they believed.

The ancient Christians did that then, and we can do that now—through communion.

Therefore, let us take of the cup and the bread together, and declare in the Lord’s Supper that, above all else: Ἰησοῦς κύριος—Jesus is Lord.