Reflecting on Jesus’s Sacrifice through Communion
“I am the living bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” —John 6:51 (ESV)
The only way to eternal life is through believing that Jesus was the Messiah, sent to Earth to save people from the results of sin, which is death and therefore, eternal separation from our Creator. Throughout the Bible, there are references to the Plan of Salvation, which essentially was Jesus’s coming to Earth to die for our sins so that we would not have to live apart from God eternally.
Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
His great act highlights God’s love for us and that He wants to offer Salvation to everyone.
However, the Bible is clear that this gift of eternal life can only be obtained through believing whole-heartedly that Jesus is the Messiah, which is where many of the religious leaders fell short in Jesus’s time.
John 5:39-40 highlights the importance of this: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to Me so that you may have life.”
Communion is an act in which bread and wine are taken to remember Jesus’s sacrifice at Calvary. In Matthew 26:26-28, Jesus explains the symbolism behind the bread and wine, it reads as follows: “26Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Communion includes the beautiful symbolism of Jesus sacrificing His life to save us. Partaking in the act of eating the bread and drinking the wine allows one to actively reflect on the vastness of God’s love for His people and what Jesus’ death meant for us. Jesus sets the example which is still followed during communion today. It is beneficial to do communion with fellow believers, just as is seen with Jesus and His disciples, so that we can reflect upon the Crucifixion, and God’s love together.
When participating in communion, our minds should be set on Jesus above and have the opportunity to submit fully to Him. It is a special opportunity to examine our lives and allow us to strengthen our relationship with God. The true gift that was bought by Jesus at Calvary was peace and freedom for us as people, to which we should show gratitude.
Isaiah 53:5 reads, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
Invitation:
As the year starts drawing to a close, let us use the last few weeks of 2024 to really reflect on how we have seen God’s hand in our lives this year. As we have spoken of, He has been good to us and loves us undoubtedly, so much so that Jesus came to die in our place. Try to think of the top experiences where you felt God working in your life.