His Body, His Blood

By Ray Vander Laan

In our culture it’s easy to read the story of Christ’s passion, crucifixion and resurrection, and miss the deeper meaning of the events of that four-day period. But to the Jews in first century Israel, Jesus’ words and deeds during those few days fulfilled millennia-old promises God had made to His people.

The Bread of Life

That Passover Friday afternoon, as the sun was going down and Joseph of Arimathea was taking the body of Jesus to the tomb, was also the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

That Feast, first described in Exodus 12:15, was, in one way, the Israelites’ way of thanking God for giving life out of the earth -- for the wheat and the barley that produced the bread. It was also a way of praying, “God, send us life out of the earth, give us the grain, give us the harvest that we need in order to live.”

And God answered the Israelites’ prayer that first Good Friday in an unexpected way. The Rabbi who had said, “I am the bread from heaven; I am the bread of life,” the Rabbi who had said, “Unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and dies, it cannot come back to life and produce many seeds,” that same Rabbi was buried -- planted, so to speak -- during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Wine for the Bride

In the first century, when a young Jewish man reached marrying age and his family selected an appropriate wife for him, the young man and his father would meet the young woman and her father to negotiate the ‘bride price,’ the figurative cost of replacing a daughter. The price was usually very high.

With negotiations complete, the custom was for the young man’s father to pour a cup of wine and hand it to his son. His son would turn to the young woman, lift the cup and hold it out to her, saying, “This cup is a new covenant in my blood, which I offer to you.” In other words, “I love you, and I’ll give you my life. Will you marry me?”

The young woman had a choice. She could take the cup and return it and say no. Or she could answer without saying a word—by drinking the cup, her way of saying, “I accept your offer, and I give you my life in response.”

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus and His disciples sat together celebrating Passover. The disciples knew the liturgy very well; they had celebrated Passover all their lives. When it came time to drink the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption, Jesus lifted the cup as the disciples would expect and offered traditional Seder thanks, which are used to this day: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, for giving us the fruit of the vine.” And then He offered it to them but said something they probably didn’t expect: “This cup is a new covenant in My blood, which I offer to you.” There are many meanings to that statement, but one of them, in common, ordinary language, was, “I love you, and the only picture I can think of that will describe the power of My love for you is the pure love of a husband for his wife.” It’s hard to know what those disciples thought that night. Maybe a few chuckled a bit at the picture of Jesus making a marriage proposal, which must have seemed totally out of place in a Passover Seder. And yet, they may have understood Jesus’ willingness to die, be buried, and eventually raised to say, “I love you, and as My Father promised your fathers, I’ll pay the price for you.”

Whenever Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we must be mindful of Jesus’ offer. He still says, “I love you.” He still says, “I offer you My life. Will you be My bride?” The taking of the cup is a solemn moment, for it is in that moment that one looks to the Heavenly Father and says, “Yes, I accept Your love, and I give You my life in response.”

The Firstfruits of God’s Harvest

It was on the Feast of the Harvest that Jesus rose from the dead. On this day the Jewish people brought to God the very beginning of their spring harvest, the firstfruits, as a way of saying, “God, this is all I have, but I give it to You because I know You’ll provide the rest.”

As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” His resurrection is the proof, the evidence of the commitment God has made that all of us, His followers, will be raised one day as well.

The events of that Passover Friday, of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of the Harvest are profound. But the most amazing thing is not just the power of the events themselves. The most amazing thing is the love of God displayed in the life and the death of His Son.

Ray Vander Laan, founder of That the World May Know Ministries, is the author of Focus on the Family’s award-winning video series That the World May Know. For more information visit his web site at www.followtherabbi.org.