His Body
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ~ Mark 14:22
Have you ever heard something so many times that you thought you knew everything there was to know about it, only to suddenly see it from a completely different perspective? That’s what happened to me with this passage. Sometimes a familiar Scripture becomes so familiar that we can almost read right past the treasure hiding inside it.
Since I grew up in church, I’ve probably heard and read the communion passages hundreds of times. I knew the words Jesus spoke to His disciples during His last supper with them. I knew the bread represented His body and the cup represented His blood. But as I considered what to write about this passage, I began to see something I hadn’t fully considered before.
Jesus wasn’t simply explaining what the bread and cup represented. He was preparing His disciples to understand the depth of what He was about to do. He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. He told them as they ate, “This is My body, that will be broken for each of you.”
Can you imagine sitting at that table and hearing those words? The disciples didn’t understand what was coming. They didn’t know that Jesus would soon be arrested, beaten, crucified, and separated from them. They didn’t understand the full weight of what He was telling them. But Jesus did. He knew exactly what was ahead and He chose it anyway. Why? Because of love.
We often focus on Jesus’ obedience when we think about the cross, and His obedience was absolutely part of it. Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s plan and willingly gave Himself up for us. But underneath His obedience was something even more personal. Love was His motivation.
One of the first verses many of us learned as children says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8, NKJV
Jesus didn’t go to the cross because we had earned His love. He went because He loved us when we were still sinners.
He wasn’t willing to leave us separated from Him for eternity. His love moved Him to lay down His life so that we could have the opportunity to receive forgiveness, experience His love, and spend eternity with Him and our heavenly Father.
That changes the way we think about sharing the Gospel. When we tell others about Jesus, our motivation shouldn’t simply be that we’re supposed to. We don’t share our testimony because we’ve checked “evangelism” off our Christian responsibility list. We share because we’ve experienced a love that we want others to know too.
Love changes the reason behind what we do. When we serve, we serve because we love. When we encourage, we encourage because we love. When we forgive, we forgive because we’ve experienced forgiveness. When we tell someone about Jesus, we do it because we genuinely want them to know the One who gave everything for them.
We don’t have to hang on a cross to demonstrate love. Thankfully, that job has already been taken. But we can lay down our pride, our preferences, our schedules, and sometimes even our right to be offended.
Here are some ways to begin living this kind of love in your everyday lives?
- Look for one person who needs encouragement. Maybe it’s a coworker who’s having a difficult week, a neighbor who’s struggling, or someone at church who seems to be carrying a heavy load. Send a text, make a phone call, or simply tell them you’re praying for them.
- Let love change how you respond. Before reacting to an irritating comment, take a breath and ask, “What would love look like right now?” This could save you from sending the text you might later wish you could magically retrieve. Unfortunately, there’s no spiritual undo button.
- Share what Jesus has done for you. You don’t need a theological degree or a perfectly prepared speech. Simply tell someone how God has worked in your life. Your story may be exactly what someone needs to hear.
- Serve when nobody is watching. Look for opportunities to help without needing recognition. Love isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s quietly doing something for someone because you know it will make their day a little easier.
- Practice forgiveness. Ask God to help you release offenses instead of carrying them around. Forgiveness doesn’t mean ignoring healthy boundaries or pretending something didn’t happen. It means refusing to let someone else’s actions control your heart.
- Make communion personal. The next time you receive communion, don’t simply remember that Jesus died. Remember why He willingly gave Himself. Remember His love for you. Let the bread remind you that His body was broken because He loved you enough to give everything.
When we truly understand the love demonstrated through the cross, it should change the way we love the people around us. We aren’t simply following a list of Christian rules. We’re responding to a Savior who loved us first.
Jesus didn’t just tell us to love. He showed us what love looks like. He took the bread, He blessed it, He broke it and then He gave it. That same pattern challenges us today. God has given His love to us so freely, and now we have the opportunity to give that love freely to others.
Today I want to encourage you to remember His love the next time you celebrate communion. Yes, we remember His death until He comes again, but don’t stop there. Remember the love that took Him to the cross. Remember that He willingly laid down His life for people who hadn’t earned it and couldn’t repay Him. Then allow that love to become the motivation behind the way you live, serve, forgive, encourage, and share Jesus with others. You don’t have to change the whole world today. Start with one person, one conversation, one act of kindness or one opportunity to show someone the love you’ve received from the Lord Jesus. His body was broken so that we could be made whole, and His love was given so that we could give it away.
Today’s scripture reading: Mark 14:22-26
22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
25Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Journal:
- When I think about communion, do I primarily think about Jesus’ death, or do I also recognize the depth of His love behind His sacrifice?
- How has God’s love personally changed my life?
- Is there someone in my life who needs to experience God’s love through my words or actions?
- What is one practical way I can show Christ’s love to someone this week?
- Is there someone I need to forgive or show grace toward because of the love I’ve received from Jesus?
The Daily Dose 