Imagine the disciples at the Last Supper. All their lives, as good sons of Abraham, they’d heard the prophecies, partaken of the feasts, prayed the Psalms, and hoped for the Messiah to come. Here He was, at last. He’d come. He sat in their midst, telling them that His body would be broken like the bread He passed to them, His blood would be poured out like the wine in the cup.
God’s people had cried for deliverance. Deliverance from the wicked sons of Cain. Deliverance from Pharaohs, giant, Canaanite Kings, Philistine champions, demon-gods, Assyrian, Babylonian, Grecian, and Roman empires. “Avenge us, oh Lord,” they had prayed. And God had done so. Repeatedly.
But now, in the carpenter from Nazareth, this Deliverance had a face. This Deliverance had a human body. This Deliverance shared with them a meal of bread & wine. Hope had come.
It’s been keenly observed that, “Hope is certainty of outcome, uncertainty of timing.” So, when you look upon these signs, you see the certain outcome of all things: Christ once crucified, now ruling evermore. With certainty we know that the Christ who shed His blood for the remission of our sins, now sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; thrones, angels and powers all made subject unto His majesty. He must reign until all enemies are subdued, then He shall come to judge the living & the dead, and offer up the Kingdom to His Father, that Christ may be all in all.
While the timing is uncertain, we rest assured that this is how it will all play out. This certainty is held out to us here in this meal. Christ is our head, we’re His body; He dwells in us, and we in Him. We are bound with Him who rules the world. This is our certain hope.
So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ
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