A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

     On the eve before the crucifixion of Jesus, the Lord met with his disciples in a place we call the Upper Room and for an event we call the Last Supper.
     The Upper Room was not a plush suite in Hotel Jerusalem, with servants dashing to and fro with beverages and hors d'oeuvres, and no chamber music.  Instead, the evening was a quiet time for Jesus to be alone with his disciples and to introduce a final instruction.  Everything was simple, including the supper.  It was not a full course meal, nor a lavish feast. 
     Everything about Jesus, in fact, was simple.  He lived a simple life, his words were simple, but the events on the day to follow would not be a simple matter.  The Son of God would do something that no other person could ever do.
     He began by washing the feet of the disciples, which reveals the servant attitude of the Lord---leadership by example:  that the disciples were to follow his lead and become servants, instead of being served. 
     Jesus had some bread, symbolic of his sacrificial body, and some wine, symbolic of the blood he would shed for the sins of the world. Jesus understood the magnitude of his death and he wanted his disciples to remember that event as well as for future believers throughout their generations to also remember.  As he said, "this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).
     The Passover Feast, of course, had its beginning in Egypt where the nation of Israel had been slaves to Pharoah for over four hundred years.  On the eve of Israel's departure from Egypt, God instructed Moses in the way of the Passover, and the next day Israel headed for the land of milk and honey.  The Passover became an annual event, for God wanted Israel, throughout their generations, to remember the day of their deliverance from the bondage of slavery.
     When we, therefore, participate in communion services, we should remember that this memorial is not about us, but it is about him; not about what we do, but about what he did.  As the Lord said, "this do in remembrance of me", for Jesus came to deliver us from the bondage of sin.
     The night was not over, however, and Jesus led his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane, a place where he frequently went to in order to be alone with the Father and pray.  The night, moreover, was a time of agony for Jesus and he was awake all night.  In the early morning, before daylight, they came and arrested the Lord, led there by the traitor, Judas Iscariot. 
     On Wednesday morning, on the fourteenth day of the first Hebrew month, Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem.  The Bible number 14 means "salvation".  And Christ, the Passover Lamb, died for our salvation.
     His death was merely the beginning of something truly wonderful, but for now, too, the little lambs at the tower of Edar would no longer be necessary for temple sacrifices.
     In a simple way, what Jesus did on the cross was to restore our relationship with God; and all we have to do is simply believe.  It is, therefore, not what we do, but about what he did.
     Three days later, the Son of God did something that no person could ever do:  he arose from the dead.