Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:1-2).
Every week we sit down at this table, and we share bread and wine with Christ and one another. In this way, we are companions. A “companion” literally means “with bread.” A companion is someone you eat with. It’s a little easier to see how that works with everyone you see around you – God is knitting us into a body. But it’s a little harder to explain or think about how we have fellowship with Jesus here at this table. We are eating bread and drinking wine, but what about Jesus? Is He eating with us? It’s harder to think about being friends with someone you can’t see.
But the answer is, yes, we are sharing this meal with Jesus. We are sharing this meal with Jesus because He started this meal in the upper room before His crucifixion, and He said to keep doing this as His memorial. Of course, if you sit down to dinner with someone and they get up and leave in the middle of the meal, you wouldn’t usually call that a really great time of fellowship. It would seem to be interrupted. But a great deal depends on what they got up to do, and what they bring with them when they return.
Right after Jesus gave us this meal, He was betrayed, falsely condemned, beaten, spit on, mocked, and nailed to a cross – for the sins of the world. He needed to be excused from this table in order to pay for all of our sins. He needed to go because He is the friend of sinners. Three days later He came back from the dead. And after sharing this meal again with His disciples, He said He was going away to prepare a place for us so that we might live with Him forever.
In other words, we do have fellowship with Jesus here because everything about this meal is His friendship toward us. He died in our place, rose again for us, and now He is in Heaven and He ever lives to intercede for us. Jesus is praying for you right now. He is preparing everything so that we might live with Him forever. He is the good friend, the faithful friend, the friend of sinners. Are you a sinner? Then come. Come and welcome, to Jesus Christ.
Elizabeth Hutchinson says
Hello Toby,
I’m a sinner. I need to grow. However it’s by fits and spurts…which trouble me.
I often lack assurance of my salvation because I waver between wanted to be a do gooder…only in my own strength..not really understanding grace…and the need for it when faced with temptations. Also, I think that I’m not doing enough and if I check off boxes Jesus will be pleased. I’m listening to Spurgeon talk/coomentary on psalm 119…and the standard is discouraging me….so my prayer is the Lord would pity me and help me in my weak desire to honor the Lord..that it would not be this shallow bravado, but sincere love for Jesus…my legs are like a shaky fawn…still uncertain and mistrusting.
Praying for you at Crosspolitic and the Wilson’s in Moscow…may the Lord help and bless you.
Elizabeth Hutchinson says
Encouraging crosspolitic today.