Probably my favorite time of worship is the time I share with God's saints around the communion table. Nothing stirs my heart more than to think of the Lamb that was slain for me – and then to lift my heart in worship and adoration to Him. You probably have similar memories and joys. But for all that we share – can you imagine what it would be like to have Jesus Himself leading that communion? To have His Hands break the bread and hand it to you? To have His Hands pass the cup into yours?
That is where we start with Peter tonight. Peter is just coming down from the greatest celebration of Communion of all time at the Last Supper. And then it happened.
Join me tonight on the darkest night of Peter's life. The night he would never forget – though he was forgiven. It is a night that started with the most unusual celebration of the Passover that had ever been in the nearly 1,500 years of continuous celebrations.
Tonight Jesus had taken the Passover meal that He had shared with His disciples three times already – and He changed the ancient prescribed manner it was to be celebrated. This night Jesus after the traditional third of the four cups of the Jewish Passover - Jesus took a piece of unleavened bread and said "Take eat, this is my Body which is broken for you. Do this remembering Me."
For us that bread or the afikomen (as it is called today) is a beautiful and strikingly clear picture of Jesus.
Unleavened -- it represents His perfect, sinless life. Striped and pierced – it portrays what the Scripture say that "with His stripes we are healed" (lsaiah 53:5), and also that Jesus was pierced (Ps. 22:16; Isaiah 53:15).
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Pastor John Barnett has been devouring the Word of God for over 30 years. John, now the teaching pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan has served congregations in Oklahoma, New England, Georgia and California. He also served on the Faculty of the Master's College...