Easter Thoughts-The Last Supper and the Sacrament

I was asked to speak in church today on the Last Supper and the Sacrament. Many of you have asked for a copy of my talk and so I post it here.

Let’s start by setting the scene. We are in Jerusalem during the great season of Passover which celebrates the miracle of the children of Israel being passed over by the angel of darkness simply by placing the blood of an unblemished lamb on their lintels and door posts and, thus, finally being freed from bondage. It is a celebration that the Lord commanded should be celebrated as a reminder of their deliverance from Egypt.

A traditional passover meal is prepared and served in an upper room which has been specially prepared for this meal. It has been cleaned thoroughly to ensure not a crumb of leavened bread could be found. The menu of the meal included an unblemished roasted lamb, which had been sacrificed in the temple by a Priest having the necessary authority; unleavened cakes, to represent the hurry the Israelites were in that they could not wait for the bread to rise; bitter herbs such as horseradish or green onion to symbolize the bitterness of bondage; and a salt water which the participants would dip greens into representing the tears shed during the harsh slavery. Christ, the lamb of God, presided at this meal. Elder Haight stated that this “was significant because as the One who took the place of the family patriarch, He made a last symbolic sacrifice in preparation for the real sacrifice that He later offered. He understood this; the Apostles did not. By celebrating the Passover feast, He gave His endorsement to all those similitudes, signs and tokens of the past millennia that had prefigured his great sacrifice.”

The symbolism continued. Feet were washed as a symbol of cleansing and Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it offering it to his apostles saying, as we read in Matthew and Luke, “Take, Eat. This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.” He then took a cup of wine, blessed it and again offered it to his apostles saying, as we piece together various scriptural accounts, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for the remission of sins. This do in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come again” meaning it would testify of his death.

The spilling of lambs blood for sacrifices and the commandment to offer sacrifices is a beautiful symbol that began with Adam when he and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The Bible Dictionary says that this included “offering the firstlings of their flocks in a similitude of the sacrifice that would be made of the Only Begotten Son of God.” The offering of sacrifices was carried throughout the years until this miraculous night. From this moment in time things changed. No longer was there a need for the sacrifice of animals, for sin offerings, burnt offerings and peace offerings. That night Christ would be found praying for us in Gethsemane and suffering for our sins. He would become our ultimate sacrifice, the perfect, spotless Lamb. He would endure a sadness so intense and so excruciating that he would declare “it caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit and I would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink.” And as he suffered, his friends lay nearby sleeping. Not knowing what Christ was enduring, they slept.

Later, Jesus would be betrayed by Judas, his own apostle, and he would be beaten, spit upon, scourged and then hung on a cross to die to later raise again and live, a sacrifice that guarantees resurrection and triumph over death for every member of humanity.

It is these events that are symbolized in the sacrament we partake of each week. And it is the sacrament that is the main purpose of our weekly gathering. A loving Heavenly Father knew we would need a weekly reminder of the most important events in the history of time as well as an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the covenants we made at baptism. And so he blessed us with the opportunity to partake of the sacrament and turn our thoughts, once again to Christ. Christ said to the Nephites, “Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood, yeah, your sacrifices and your burn offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings, And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”

As we eat the bread each Sunday we remember the body of Christ. We remember Calvary and that through Him we may be resurrected. After breaking and blessing bread when among the Nephites, Jesus said, “this ye shall do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."

As we drink of the water we remember the blood of Christ. We remember the excruciating anguish of His suffering in Gethsemane. And we rejoice that Christ, despite wanting to be relieved of this great burden, said “Glory be to the Father” and he partook. Through His blood both shed at Gethsemane and on Calvary our sins were paid for, upon the condition of repentance and obedience, as was the debt for Adam’s transgression. We were indeed bought with a price as the Apostle Paul said. An expensive price. After Christ invited the Nephites to drink the wine he said, “Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you. And ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you , that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my spirit to be with you.”

And so you see that by partaking of the sacrament we renew the covenants we made at baptism which are that we will love and serve Christ all our days and keep his commandments. And, in turn, he promises to pour out his spirit to us. Each Sunday we are reminded that we have taken Christ’s name upon us and that we have covenanted to obey his commandments. Elder Featherstone states, “If we take of the sacrament with a sincere heart, with real intent forsaking our sins and renewing our commitment to God, the Lord provides a way whereby sins can be forgiven from week to week.” No wonder this meeting where we partake of the sacred emblems has been referred to as the “most sacred, the most holy of all the meetings of the Church.” No wonder we have been urged to prepare ourselves before coming to church that we might have a broken heart and contrite spirit to offer our Heavenly Father.

What an honor it is for young men to have the opportunity to bless and pass this most sacred symbol. What an honor it is for us to partake of it weekly. As I listen to the prayers offered in the blessings over both the bread and water the word “remember” sticks out. In the quiet moments as the sacrament is being passed do we take the time to remember and reflect? What a wonderful time for us to be able to ponder the life and ministry of our Savior and the importance of Christ’s roll. Do we make the partaking of the sacrament the crowning moment in our meeting?

The Lord said “He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." I look forward to the day when Christ will preside in person over the blessing and distribution of the sacrament emblems. I pray that we will come prepared each week ready to offer up God our broken hearts and contrite spirits as we renew our covenants and our commitment to follow His commandments that we might more fully receive the blessing of his Spirit to guide us back to his presence.

Brothers and Sisters, I have been to visit the empty tomb. I have seen for myself that the tomb does indeed lay empty. I testify that Christ lives. That he suffered for us, that he was slain for us but that he lives.