To give his followers (both then and now) a way of understanding and remembering what was about to happen to him, Jesus doesn’t teach a theory; he uses a meal – the bread symbolising his broken body, the wine his shed blood and the call to ‘remember’, the Passover (Exodus 12) as Israel looked back at the Exodus. Now however, God would act to save his people not simply from Egyptian slavery but from slavery to all evil and even death itself. Jesus’ own death would enable Israel and the whole world to ‘escape’. And notice here how the blend of celebration and betrayal mirrors the triumph and tragedy displayed in the cross.
• What difference does it make to your life today to know that the powers of evil and death have been defeated?
• What do you think is happening when we remember Jesus in this way?
• What does re-enacting this meal mean to you?
• In what ways might you be able to ‘serve’ others today?
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