Sabbath Meal

This morning we’ve seen that Jesus came to usher in an age of unending Sabbath consisting in peace and rest with God in His presence. In the sermon I made the point that this is why He performed so many healings on the Sabbath – He was enacting the peace and rest for which the Sabbath stood. I think it’s also why he spent so much time feasting. Nothing better communicates peace and rest than a meal. Remember that peace in the Bible doesn’t refer to the absence of conflict, but rather the presence of blessing. The former is shallow, even empty, but the latter is deep and full. Peace in the Bible, shalom, refers to wholeness and restoration of relationships between God and man and among mankind. When Jesus ate and drank with outcasts, He was offering them restoration, peace with God through Him. And rest in the Bible is most often connected to God’s presence. The Sabbath was the day when God drew near to His people and summoned them to rest. In the tabernacle and temple He assumed His resting place in the midst of His people. When Jesus ate and drank with His disciples at the Last Supper, they reclined and rested in the presence of God in the flesh. And this peace and rest for which the Sabbath stood and which Jesus enacted is yours in this meal. In eating and drinking this bread and wine you experience peace, wholeness and restoration both with God and with one another. Likewise in receiving this bread and wine you experience true rest with God in the presence of His Son by His Spirit. It is to this Table that your Savior beckons you to come and find rest for your souls. For here we hold up the emblems of our peace with God, the body and blood of Christ, and He remembers and renews His covenant with us. What could be more restful than knowing that you are at peace with God? So come and let us eat and drink in peace and at rest with our God! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!