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Hands That Break Bread

The Hands of Christ- Part 7

Maundy Thursday, March 20, 2008

Rev. Libby Boatwright

Pretty much all the major events of my life have happened around a table. I remember all the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, mission send-offs, reunions, family blow-ups and major announcements, such as pregnancies and the children that were not to be. Then there were the graduations, baptisms, and Sunday dinners of barbeque chicken with all the people in our church that just needed a place to hang out.  But nothing quite topped an afternoon in August when, at a friend’s wedding, Frank and I gathered the family together, and with hands joined around a table, announced we would be getting married. There was such a shout of joy that the whole table erupted in applause and laughter. (And they’re still laughing!)  Well Jesus loved to gather around a table too–to celebrate and affirm, to share himself, his wisdom, his future.

With this amazing journey through Lent, we’ve discovered the hands of Jesus at work–hands that are willing, saving, healing, blessing, serving. And this evening, we find hands that break bread.  For this is where the Lord revealed his heart. Tonight’s story centers around a table at the Passover meal, as Christ readies himself for the cross and fulfills the prophecy of the Son of Man–Christ as the Pascal lamb; broken and poured out for the many who will be saved by his body and his blood.

Mark 14:17-25 (TNIV)

17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me."

    19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

    20 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

    22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

    23 Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

    24 "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "Truly I tell you; I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

The Word of the Lord.

The Preparation of Christ

Before we dig into this passage two terms need some explanation–Son of Man and the Passover. Jesus is the only one who uses the term, “the Son of Man,” and in fact he emphasizes it 81 times in the Bible.  1 He’s a heavenly figure who in the end times is entrusted by God with authority, glory, and sovereign power. And he will suffer many earthly things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and be killed; but then we see the Son of God come to life, and after three days, Christ rises again. The drama being played out before this passage chronicles this well.  An unnamed woman breaks an alabaster jar of priceless ointment and lavishly anoints Christ’s head, a final tribute of love and devotion, foretelling his death, which is contrasted by the selfish act of Judas’ betrayal of Christ to the Pharisees. Then the triumphal entry on Sunday, fulfilling the ancient prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 that Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds would sing the Pilgrim hymn, the Hillel of Psalm 118, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Then there is the moment of compassion when the Lord weeps over his beloved city of Jerusalem, for he knows the trial begins soon.  The next day, this same Son of Man returns to the temple and declares the court of the Gentiles corrupt and full of money changers; then a day of controversy and parables follows, when Jesus evades the Pharisees’ threats and predicts the destruction of the great temple and his own return. So, by Thursday of this same week, Jesus introduces the final chapter of his earthly life so that he might fulfill the rest of the story–the trial, death and resurrection of the Son of Man.

The Preparation of the Meal

So when we come to tonight’s passage, the disciples are asked to make preparations for the Passover. They were to find a man carrying a jar of water–easy to spot since women normally handled this task 2–who would lead them to an owner of a house and then show them the guest room on the top floor where the Passover will occur–a room where people could recline near a low table and share a meal.  On this first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a lamb would be slaughtered and roasted 3 and brought to the place where they would meet.  And the room would be prepared with very specific elements, because on this night they would celebrate the Passover meal, and recite the Haggadah, or prayers and blessings that commemorated the release of the Israelites from the Egyptians. And why was it called “Passover?” During the time of the plagues declared by God, God told the Israelites to smear their lintels/doorposts with lamb’s blood that was a sign that they were in covenant with God, “and the destroyer would pass over that door and not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.” (Exodus 12:23)  And certain things were necessary for the Passover meal. There was the lamb to remind them of how their houses had been protected by the badge of blood when the angel of death passed through Egypt; and the bowl of salt water to remind them of the tears they had shed in Egypt and the waters of the Red Sea through which they had miraculously passed to safety. There was a collection of bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt, and a paste called charosheth–a mixture of apples, dates, fruits and nuts–to remind them of the clay which they had made bricks in Egypt.  The four cups of wine represented the four promises of God from Exodus 6:6-7, that God would free us from the Egyptian’s burdens, deliver us from bondage, redeem us with an outstretched arm, and take us to be his people. Two candles on the table represent the fourth commandment; to remember the Sabbath Day and to observe the Sabbath. 4 And at the center of all this ceremony and preparation was the unleavened bread, matzah.  It was bread made in haste, without yeast, representing the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians. All of this preparation and ceremony to reveal something of the host of this meal–that Christ would save us from the bitterness of the past, be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, and calls us His own, his children. How fitting then, that Christ would reveal himself through this extraordinary meal. “A foretaste,” as the song says, “of glory divine.” 5

The Set Up

It is evening. Jesus arrives for the Passover and the candles are lit and the wine poured and the ceremony of remembrance begins around a table such as we are celebrating this night. And although he longs to tarry with his disciples, he hastens to the point of the gathering and drops the bomb. “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” And the disciples put down their food. There is a hush in the room, followed by their response, “Surely not me, Lord.”  But then Jesus makes it crystal clear who it is, “It is one of the twelve.” “The one who dips bread into the bowl with me.” Psalm 41:9 would remind us there was hardly a more heinous sin than betraying a friend after sharing a meal. 6  And he continues, “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man!  It would be better for him if he had not been born. Jesus could see straight into the heart of Judas. Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, Take it; this is my body.” Freely given, freely received.  He would give up his life as a gift to us.

Jesus takes the cup, presumably the cup of redemption, and he gives thanks and offers it to them and they all drink from it.  But he waits until after they have partaken and his words are profound; “This is my blood of the new covenant which is poured out for many.” Blood was the source of life, and he was giving all of his away to redeem them, remembering the words of Exodus, 7 “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” For a covenant is a promise, and unlike the old covenant between God and Israel, dependent on law and obedience to law, this was a new covenant between God and his people, dependent on the blood Jesus would shed, on the love that would conquer sin. 8 Eating flesh and drinking blood? I don’t think this is what the disciples were expecting. The room fell silent. As Philip Yancey said, “When it became clear that Jesus’ kind of kingdom led to a cross, not a throne, each one of them slunk away into the darkness. 9 And haven’t we all?

Bread is Basic

But the host was not about to leave the table. Even in the knowledge that they will all leave him, Jesus offers the Lord’s Supper as a gift, a sacrament, not a sacrifice. He guides his disciples through the Passover as a symbol of his life, washes their feet as a lowly servant, and fulfills his role as a Savior by granting them forgiveness of sins. So Jesus as bread fills their souls. He is the staff of life, daily food.  People gathered around food and bread during the Passover because it represented God’s provision throughout the history of the Jewish people, and Jesus would continue to be the bridge into the new kingdom.   256 verses emphasize the focus of bread in the Bible. 11  It’s no wonder that Jesus was born in Bait-lechem, or Bethlehem, the house of bread, declaring, “I am the bread of life.” To take of this bread, this Savior, means we will never go hungry.  More than food or matzah, Christ will sustain us, welcoming us to his fellowship around a table to offer courage and wisdom for the life ahead.

Times of Blessing, Intimacy, Revelation

For when Christ is the host, we remember the times of blessing and intimacy and revelation. When the hungry Israelites wander the desert with Moses, God provides soft bread that falls on the ground, called manna. And when the crowd of 5000 gathers to hear Jesus on the shores of the river, the miracle of the two fish and five loaves of bread occurs, with provision left over for the disciples to take back to the boat.  As bread is a sign of God’s provision, his grace, his blessing, so Christ provides in the most difficult of circumstances.

But then there were times of intimacy, when bread was shared in the home of Lazarus and Mary and Martha in Bethany, an intimate, personal ministry away from the crowds.  When he shares breakfast and fellowships with the disciples by the sea, it meant they could come and partake of who He is, enjoy his company and be nurtured by his presence. 12

But breaking bread with the Lord was also a time of revelation. The men on the road to Emmaus had no idea who Christ was until Jesus “took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” All that time on the road, pouring their hearts out to this stranger, and it was only after he broke bread that they remembered who he was.  In the book of Revelation, Jesus invites the lukewarm Christians to break bread with him and allow their hearts to be rekindled by the fire of his love-that he might reveal his compassion. Jesus longs for us to know him, but we have to listen, to allow him to break our hearts that he might pour himself into our souls.  But perhaps one of the best illustrations of his revelation is through the eyes of war prisoners who had lost everything and who, by breaking bread with Jesus, found their hands were full. Listen to the story as told by Thomas G. Pettepiece 13

Communion in the Prison Camp

“There is not a single cup. But a score of Christian prisoners experienced the joy of celebrating communion–without bread or wine. The communion of empty hands. The non-Christians said: We will help you. We will talk quietly so that you can meet. Too dense a silence would have drawn the guard’s attention as surely as the one voice of the preacher. We have no bread, nor water to use instead of wine, I told them, but we will act as though we had. This meal in which we take part, I said, reminds us of the prison, the torture, the death, and final victory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bread is the body which he gave for humanity. The fact that we have none represents very well the lack of bread in the hunger of so many millions of human beings. The wine, which we don’t have today, is his blood and represents our dream of united humanity, of a just society, without difference of race or class: I held out my empty hand to the first person on my right, and placed it over his open hand, and the same with others: take eat, this is my body which is give for you; do this in remembrance of me. Afterward, all of us raised our hands to our mouths, receiving the body of Christ in silence. Take drink, this is the blood of Christ which was shed to seal the new covenant of God with us. Let us give thanks sure that Christ is here with us, strengthening us. We gave thanks to God, and finally stood up and embraced each other. A while later another non-Christian prisoner said to me, “You people have something special, which I would like to have.” The father of the dead girl came up to me and said: Pastor, this was a real experience!  I believe that today I discovered what faith is. Now I believe that I am on the road.”

And so the challenge this night is to realize that the host of this Passover is Christ, and the gift of his life is something to be received, humbly, thankfully, joyfully. The men in the prison camp understood that and instead of empty hands, their hands were filled with faith.  Unless we first receive this gift of love, our giving will be thin and unsustained; we will not have much to pour out. Isaac Watts says it so well, “Love so amazing so divine, demands my soul, my life my all.” 14 Jesus gave all that he had, broke bread, emptied himself, and not to just a few disciples, but to the whole human family.  The Lord is reminding us that He will never invite us to an empty table. He invites you this night to come and dine with Him when his hands will break bread for a dress rehearsal of a greater banquet where Jesus will be host of the new covenant and the eternal table in his presence—one where we will share in the presence of all the saints in glory.  Come, taste, and see that the Lord is good!  In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, AMEN.

Lord, It is your hands we will remember this night. For they lifted the bread and broke it; they lifted the cup and asked us all to drink of it. Thank you for the new commandment that we should love one another, for you laid down your life as a gift, and we receive this sacrament with open hands.

And it’s in your name we pray. AMEN.

1. NIV Study Bible, (Colorado Springs, Colorado, International Bible Society, 1983) p 1507
2. Barclay, William. The Gospel of Mark, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975) p.331
3. Ibid, p. 331
4. Barclay, William. Op cit. p. 333
5. Song: “This is My Story”
6. Ibid, p. 875
7. Exodus 6:6
8. Barclay, op cit. p. 340
9. Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew, (Grand Rapids, Michigan:Zondervan, 1995) p. 193
10. www.biblegateway.com
11.   Lessin, Roy.  Dayspring.com, “Daily Bread,” 1/27/05, p.1
12.   Job, Rueben P.and Shawchuck, Norman, ed. A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, (Nashville, Tenn.: The Upper Room, 1983) p. 143-144
14. Isaac Watts- “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”