SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/24/2024 10:59 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Sharing The
Table”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
26:20-21a
Message of the verses: “Now when evening had come, He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. And as they were eating,”
This is what is called “The Last Supper” and as we have seen in earlier SD’s this would be the last Passover Meal and the beginning of what is called The Lord’s Supper, something that most fundamental observe once a month using unleavened crackers and grape juice. This even found here began sometime after six o’clock on Thursday even ing. The Passover meals became different than when the first one took place in Egypt as they became more formal. In Egypt the first one was eaten with shoes on and ready to leave, but that was not necessary now. Now we see that Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. And as they were eating,”
In his commentary on these verses John MacArthur writes
about how the Passover meal involved a strictly defined sequence and that is
what I want to go over in this SD.
“First, the initial cup of red wine mixed with water was
served. Wine was always mixed with water
before drinking, but during Passover it was diluted with a double amount of
water, lest anyone should desecrate the most sacred occasion by becoming
drunk. Partaking of the first cup was
preceded by the giving of thanks to God (see Luke 22:17).” I would like to make mention that Paul had
harsh words for the Corinthian church as some of them were actually getting
drunk while doing the Lords Supper.
“Second, the ceremonial washing of hands preceded the
main part of the meal, signifying the need for moral and spiritual cleansing
and holiness of heart. Because they were
celebrating God’s deliverance from spiritual bondage to sin as they remembered
His deliverance from physical bondage to Egypt, it was important that
celebrants come to the table cleansed.”
Looking at Luke’s gospel we see that the disciples
actually were arguing and fighting over who was the greatest, so their hearts
were not all that clean. In John’s
gospel we see that Jesus washed the disciple’s feet at this time.
“The third part of the Passover meal was the eating of
bitter herbs, symbolic of the bitter bondage their forefathers had endured in
Egypt. As mentioned above, these herbs
and pieces of unleavened bread were dipped in charoseth, the thick mixture of
ground fruit and nuts.
“The fourth part was the taking of the second cup of
wine. When the head of the household,
the Lord in the present case, took that second cup, he would explain the
meaning of the Passover.
“Following that would be singing from the Hallel, which
means ‘praise’ and is the term from which hallelujah
is derived. The Hallel consisted of
Psalms 113-118, and at this point the first two were normally sung.
“After the singing, the roasted lamb would be brought
out. The head of the household would
again wash his hands and then break pieces of the unleavened bread and hand
them out to be eaten with the lamb.”
4/24/2024 11:32 AM
No comments:
Post a Comment