The Final Fellowship

One of the Church’s rich traditions at Easter is retracing the journey of Jesus from the Last Supper to his resurrection. This is called the stations of the cross, and even though there are a different number of stations according to one’s traditions, the goal is the same: we are preparing our hearts to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. When you stop and think about the stations of the cross, what we are really doing is thinking through what Jesus did in the last day, hours, and minutes of his life. There is a familiar movie trope where someone discovers that they only have a short time left to live and must decide how to spend it. As we retrace the steps of Jesus to the cross, it shows us what was a priority to him and how we can pick up our cross and follow him.

Our journey to the cross will begin with the Last Supper. Jesus chose to spend some of his last hours in fellowship with his disciples. When we think about the circumstances of Jesus’ life at this time and what he knew he was about to face, how many of us would have felt like having dinner with our friends? Jesus and the disciples had entered the city of Jerusalem only one week earlier for the huge celebration of the Passover. However, Jesus knew that it was time to give his life and that he would soon be arrested and killed. Jesus gave his disciples instructions of where they were going to eat and prepare the meal, in an upper room in the city. After all the conflict and crowds, Jesus spent some of his final hours in fellowship with his closest friends.

However, Jesus did more than spend some time with them in fellowship. What Jesus did at the Last Supper would communicate the cost that he was willing to pay in order to restore true fellowship with God. As Jesus took up the bread and the wine, he revealed that he would have to give his very life and blood upon the cross for this fellowship to be possible. What Jesus did just before this though provided a stark contrast to his loving sacrifice: he predicted that one of them at the table would betray him. Not only would one of them betray him, but the rest would run away when persecution came. When the disciples would later celebrate the Lord’s Supper as the early church, they would probably remember this Passover meal with Jesus. They would remember the huge contrast of their faithlessness with Jesus’ great sacrifice.

As we prepare for Easter, we also need to remember the Last Supper. Jesus desires to have fellowship with us as well. Like the disciples, we don't deserve the mercy and sacrifice of Jesus. Yet, Jesus loves us and was willing to pay the cost.

Let us pick up our cross and follow him.