I would venture to say that most, if not all, cultures, have
a sense that food is not just for the body.
It is also for the meeting of souls:
for companionship, for camaraderie and for conversation. How tragic, then, is the betrayal of a
friend, at a commemorative meal.
There they were, 12 disciples and Jesus, celebrating the
Passover; celebrating the exodus of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, king of
Egypt. It had been over 1,400 years since that exodus. Think of that. A special meal, observed yearly, for 1,400
years. This third Passover meal with
Jesus and His disciples would be markedly different than their first two.
Little did they know it would be their last; little did they
know that Jesus, Himself, would soon become the Passover Lamb, (1 Corinthians 5:7).
It was a troubling meal, with Jesus stating: “But behold, the hand of the one betraying me is with me on the table”
(Luke 22:21). As is often the case, God
juxtapositions an unfolding of opposite events to deepen the contrast between
darkness and light. On that fateful
night, over 2,000 years ago, the most ignominious of treacheries took place, at
a meal; at the table.
After Jesus had given Judas a morsel of the bread, pointing
to him as the betrayer, it tells us: “…and
it was night” (John 14:30). How
dark was the soul of Judas, as he slipped away to betray Jesus for the price of
a slave; the negotiated price of 30 pieces of silver. But that night, Jesus changed the meaning of
this special meal, redeeming it from the ashes of betrayal.
As Paul writes:
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the
Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 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.’ In the same
way He took the cup also, after supper, saying:’ This cup is the new covenant
in my blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink
the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:
23-26).
Judas partook of both the bread and the cup, even though he
knew that Jesus was aware of his deception.
You think it would have stopped him; stymied him, troubled him. After
all, Jesus was making this meal about His body and His blood; His imminent
death. But Judas carried on, and the cross was waiting.
As our church regularly celebrates “The Lord’s Supper,” “The
Breaking of Bread,” Communion,” I am reminded of this betrayal. I am reminded that the meal of friendship and
joy had become one of false pretenses and jarring lies. I am reminded of my own sin; the very sin
that brought about the death of Jesus. I
am reminded that I, too, have betrayed Him.
But I am also grateful that this ‘meal’ can be a time of confession,
leading to joy; a time of repentance and a time to be renewed in my relationship
with Jesus, the One who died for my sins and rose from the dead three days
later.
Easter was just around the corner; the impossible was about
to happen, and no amount of betrayal was going to stop Jesus from rising from
the dead, not even a betrayal that took place at a meal; at the table among friends.
Joyeuse Pรขques
Happy Easter
