On the first day of each week, Christians have the awesome privilege, as the focal point of our worship assemblies, to spend time reflecting on what our Savior did on our behalf. When He instituted the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gave these instructions—“Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19).
Christians have used various “methods” over the years to help them focus their hearts and minds during the Lord’s Supper. Some read various Bible passages, others read lyrics of well-written hymns, or imagine the events of those last hours in their minds, or envision the battered and dying body of Jesus hanging on the cross, or reflect on their lives compared to the Savior, or fervently pray and meditate in silence. To these ideas (and many more), let me add another easy way to keep one’s mind focused and meditating during those quiet, yet sacred moments. Take time during the Lord’s Supper to consider these four words.
JESUS. He is the way! He is the truth! He is the life! There is no other way unto the Father! He is Son of God, who gave up the glories of heaven to come down to a sin-filled earth and experience in every degree the human life. JESUS!
JESUS DIED. So much of the life of Jesus deserves our attention and appreciation—His birth, baptism, ministry, teaching, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection, etc. However, during the Lord’s Supper, it is His death which demands our undivided focus. Jesus told us to concentrate on the emblems—“This is My body…This is My blood” (Matt. 26:26, 28). And, it is not just that He died, but that He endured “even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8), “despising the shame” that came with it (Heb. 12:2; cf. Gal. 3:13). Jesus DIED!
JESUS DIED FOR. There was a reason that Jesus died. It was not just “His time to die,” nor did He die for some selfish reason or some personal gain. He gave “His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28), “to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17). Jesus died FOR!
JESUS DIED FOR ME. He tasted death for everyone (Heb. 2:9), which means He tasted death for me. He suffered for us (1 Pet. 2:21), which means He suffered for me. He died in order to bring us to God (1 Pet. 3:18), which means He died to bring me to God. He loved us and gave Himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God (Eph. 5:2), which means He loved me and gave Himself for me.
JESUS DIED FOR ME! What a thought! Whatever “method” you use to meditate on the sacrifice of Jesus during the Lord’s Supper, may these four words keep you focused.