Body and Blood

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

BODY AND BLOOD

Matt 26:26-29

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."  27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." 

NIV

These are the words that we are reminded of every time we share in communion, although we usually take these words as written by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.

1 Cor 11:23-26

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."  25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."  26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

NIV

However, the point is the same, it is the same words of Jesus, except Paul quotes a few more words than Matthew does. Yet Paul was not there and must have heard about it from one of the disciples that were there. Jesus has established a new covenant and by his blood, we have been redeemed. There was a time when we had been abducted by the evil one and held hostage in sin, but Jesus paid the price, he paid the ramson to get us back so that we would once again be in the family of God. He gave himself for us. No one took his life from him; he gave it up. He was and is in complete control of all things. This is such a powerful truth, and we need to remember that not just when we share in communion, but every day of our lives. There is nothing greater for a man to lay his life down for another and Jesus did that for us so that through faith in him we can inherit eternal life. This is not something we should take lightly. Because Jesus poured out his blood we have the forgiveness of our sin, we are free from any penalty. We do not have to live with the guilt and shame of our failures, our sins, past, present, or future because Jesus sealed them under his blood, and thus God declares us holy and blameless in his sight. Does this mean we should not confess our sin? Of course, we would confess our sin, we did so for our past sin, and we do so in our present sin, and we would so for any of our future sins because that is what we do. Although we do wonder if that is a form of disbelief in the blood of Jesus. Because of his blood, we are forgiven, and he does not take that forgiveness back, or hold it back until we confess every time we fail. Maybe confession is more for us, than for God. We know that if we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us. It is just a thought, but in the meantime, we will remember the blood and body of Jesus given for us, each day we live.