Exodus 12:7–8 (ESV): 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.”

The central celebration of the Jewish people is the Passover. This is logical because without this historical event the Jewish people would not exist. The celebration annually commemorates how God delivered the Israelites from the tenth plague through the blood of a spotless lamb. It was this very celebration that Jesus transformed on the night of His Last Supper with the disciples into a meal of remembrance that we all celebrate to this day.

John 1:29- “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Here we find John the Baptizer pronouncing a special designation over Jesus which would have been peculiar to the Jewish audience that was present. Up to this point the regular sacrifices of bulls, goats, doves, and lambs at the Temple would only temporarily cover sin, but did not have the power to take sin away. Jesus as “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” gives us unique insight into how Jesus initiates a new covenant that functions differently than the old, with the primary difference being that God Himself bears all of our sins in a way that is sufficient to usher us into newness of life both now and into eternity.

Luke 22:19–20- “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

We all know that sacrifice is a common theme throughout the Bible but Jesus takes this theme to it’s culmination in Himself. Where we find the Passover Lamb in the Exodus story providing a temporary protection from the “angel of death” Jesus takes the concept of sacrifice from temporary to Total in His death on the cross. When we celebrate the Lord’s supper we are ultimately celebrating this fact: that the physical, temporary Exodus from slavery commemorated in the Passover celebration has now become a celebration of the spiritual and eternal Exodus from slavery to sin through the Person of Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1 (NIV): 12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

God is calling us from living a life of making sacrifices here and there, to a life of total sacrifice for His name’s sake. This is what the Apostle Paul is aiming for when he says “live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus,” it means emulating Jesus with our life. Jesus offered His body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God and we have the same call upon our lives! When we think of the Lord’s Supper and how it represents the Total Sacrifice of Jesus, let us also think of the call we have to fully surrender our lives to His will each and every day.

Prayer for Today: Lord Jesus I thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to enable me to fully surrender to your will. I thank you for taking away my sin and bearing it upon yourself on the cross. I pray for the transforming work of Your Spirit to empower me to see the wonder of Your provision in the Lord’s Supper but also how you want us to be those who represent You rightly in the world. As I take this journey of what it means to live a life worthy of the gospel I pray that You would open my eyes to the truth of Your Word so that I will never be the same. In Jesus name, amen.