[Truth & Love] in Word and DeedShembull

The Upper Room Teachings

The last time Jesus had the opportunity to teach His disciples was in the upper room, during the Last Supper. After the meal, He gave them a new commandment and a way to remember Him.

The new commandment forever changed the lives of the disciples. So much so that the Apostle John, in his second letter, defined love as following Christ’s command. He stated that the command of Christ is that we love one another.

This means that people from all walks of life and all backgrounds can come together in Jesus Christ and minister together and love one another in unity, without divisions.

The challenge for us as a church is to be present and ensure the church is a place where anyone who walks in is loved as if they have been loved by Jesus the Messiah Himself.

But just before giving His disciples the commandment to love, Jesus gave a lesson on communion. In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul recounts the upper room story and looks at communion from three different perspectives: the truth that Jesus Christ said, the truth that He did, and our response.

Paul was not present in the upper room, but in the first chapter of Galatians, he says he received a direct revelation from Jesus Christ. This may be where he got the directions on celebrating communion, as Christ in the upper room gave a specific set of instructions for receiving the Lord’s Supper.

The first thing Jesus did was to take the bread and give thanks for it. With this, He was blessing the physical provision they were about to eat, but at the same time, He was secondarily giving thanks for His body.

Jesus invited His disciples to take the bread that represented His body. Through this, He was offering them a share in His body and inviting them to participate in the benefits of His sacrifice—both the atonement for their sins and that He was about to die in their place on the cross, as they deserved.

This invitation was for them but for all believers today as well. We, too, can take our share of the bread representing His body and join Him.

Lord, thank You for what You did for me on the cross. Thank You that You have given me a share in Your body. Help me grasp all the meaning and all the benefits of Your sacrificeso thatI may walk in its truth in my daily life.