Wednesday, September 7, 2005

The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for may for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)
In the Garden of Eden, Eve thought that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food, so she ate of it. But the fruit was deadly. It could not be otherwise since it was eaten apart from the will of God.

In the Upper Room, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus offered a different food — Himself. He is the bread and drink that sustains us. His body, given to the stripes and the cross, and His blood, brutally shed to pardon and deliver us, are life for us. The bread and the wine are the symbols which minister the reality of these things to us in the Table of the Lord.

The Table of the Lord gives us a tangible answer to some basic concerns Jesus raised in the Sermon on the Mount:
Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)
These questions express legitimate concerns, for the Father agrees that we need all these things. Many people fail to realize that every physical problem is based on a spiritual need, and they try to use material things to solve what is a spiritual problem — that is eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The real answer to these needs, however, is found in the spiritual realm. That is why we must seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, for only then do we discover that all these things have been taken care of.

That is what we are doing when we come to the Table of the Lord — seeking the kingdom of God. Jesus is the righteousness of that kingdom, and He took our sin on Himself so we, too, might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). The blood He shed for us is the very basis for the covenant of God’s kingdom. In that covenant, we find every provision, physical and spiritual.

In the Table of the Lord we discover that Jesus is the answer to our every need — the Tree of Life.
  • What shall we eat? “Take eat; this is My body.”
  • What shall we drink? “This is My blood of the New Covenant. Drink from it.”
  • What shall we wear? “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14)
The Table of the Lord is the Tree of Life.

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