A Willing Sacrifice
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Are you old enough to remember the Pillsbury Doughboy commercials? I am. Of course, I am also old enough to remember when dinosaurs roamed the earth…
Poppin’ Fresh (that was his name) had a catchphrase that would appear in his commercials, “Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven!” If you have ever smelled fresh bread right out of the oven you might even be convinced!
There is an interesting dynamic in today’s verses. Jesus is sharing his last supper with the disciples, and he breaks the bread and tells them “This is my body, which is given for you…” That broken bread commemorates the suffering Jesus is about to endure for us. Every time we take communion we remember the broken body.
But don’t miss the fact that Jesus took the bread, the symbol for his body, broke it, and gave thanks for it. He gave thanks for his body that was about to be broken.
Jesus was willing to give his all for us, his broken body and his spilled blood. Charles Swindoll said, “Jesus went to the cross out of obedience to his Father, but he gave thanks because of his love for us.”
A willing sacrifice, given in love, all for you and me. He gave thanks because he wanted us to live forever with him in heaven, and this was the price that needed to be paid. This week spend some time contemplating the greatest gift the world has ever known, the gift of Jesus’ willing sacrifice for us.
Today’s Readings: Joshua 23,24; Psalm 44; 1 Corinthians 11