Scripture Reading : Mark 14:22-42
Theme : The Last Supper
- Jesus’ Promise. As Jesus ate the Passover meal with the disciples, He instituted the Lord’s Supper. The bread represented Jesus’ body, and the wine represented His blood, and both symbolized His impending death on the cross. Jesus was still physically alive and eating and drinking with the disciples, so it is not possible that the bread turned into His flesh and the wine turned into real blood, which is the erroneous doctrine of “transubstantiation” taught by the Roman Catholic church. During this time, Jesus promised He will return and establish His kingdom on earth (“drink it new in the kingdom”).
- Jesus’ Prediction. Jesus predicted that all His disciples would fall away and deny Him after His arrest. Peter displayed his pride by comparing himself with the rest of the disciples, emphasizing that he will not deny Jesus even when faced with death. Note that the other disciples actually did the same thing, a fact often glossed over because of Peter’s prominence.
- Jesus’ Prayer. Jesus was not asking if God had the power to let this cup pass from Him (God certainly has the power to do anything). Jesus was asking if it were possible in God’s plan to forgive sins without the Son dying on the cross. It is necessary for the Son to die on the cross as a sacrifice to God, because God is just and will “by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7).
Praying the Scripture
- When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we should not be mourning over the death of our Savior. This is because He is risen, and He promised to come again and drink new wine in the kingdom. Paul wrote that we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Let us pray that we will truly celebrate the Lord’s Supper with thanksgiving, and be fervent in proclaiming the Gospel.
- Peter was proud to think that he will not fall, and so did the other disciples. 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Let us pray that we will be on guard at all times, and learn from the disciples’ failure, rather than judge them.
- We should not be mourning Jesus’ death. On the other hand, we ought to mourn over our own sin, which made it necessary for the Son of God to die and offer His life as a sacrifice. There is no other way that God will forgive sins, except through the sacrifice of His own perfect Son. 1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Let us thank God for sacrificing His Son for us, and truly repent from our sins and obey the Lord.
经文：马可福音14:22-42
主题：最后晚餐
- 耶稣的应许。当耶稣与门徒共享逾越节的筵席时，祂也设立了主的圣餐。饼代表耶稣的身体，而杯代表主的血；两者象征祂即将在十字架上面临的死。当耶稣与众门徒吃喝的时候，祂在肉身上还是活着的，所以饼不可能真变成主的身体，或杯真变成祂的血；这是罗马天主教所教导的“变质”教义，是有误的。耶稣这时承诺祂会回来，并在地上建立祂的国（“直到我在神的国里喝新的那日子”）。
- 耶稣的预言。耶稣预言祂所有的门徒都将跌倒，并在祂被逮捕后不认祂。彼得显出了他的骄傲，尝试与其他门徒作比较，强调自己即便面临死亡也不会不认耶稣。要留意到别的门徒也做了同样的事，只是彼得的突出性盖过了这一点。
- 耶稣的祷告。耶稣不是在问神是否有能力将那杯撤去（神肯定有能力行任何事）。耶稣问的是在神的计划中，祂是否能赦免罪，却无需圣子死在十字架上。圣子必须死在十字架上，作献于神的赎罪祭，因为神是公义的，“万不以有罪的为无罪”（出34:7）。
用经文祷告
- 当我们领受主的圣餐时，我们不应该为我们救主的死哀悼。这是因为祂已经复活了，并且承诺会再来，在神的国里喝新的。保罗写道，我们是“表明主的死，直等到他来”（林前11:26）。让我们祷告我们会真实以感恩的心庆祝主的圣餐，并在宣扬福音方面是火热的。
- 彼得很骄傲，以为自己不会跌倒；其他的门徒也一样。哥林多前书10:12说：“所以，自己以为站得稳的须要谨慎，免得跌倒。”让我们祷告我们会时刻保持警惕，并从门徒的失败中学习，而不是审判他们。
- 我们不应该为耶稣的死悲悼。反之，我们要为自己的罪哀恸，以为这是让神之子受死，献上自己为祭的原因。神不会以其他方式赦罪的，唯独藉着祂自己完美之子所献上的祭。约翰一书4:10说：“不是我们爱神，乃是神爱我们，差他的儿子为我们的罪做了挽回祭，这就是爱了。”让我们感谢神为我们舍了自己的儿子，也让我们从罪中真实悔改，顺服主。
