S: Mark 14:22-25 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”
Mark 14:34-36 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
O: In the Old Testament, there are regular animal sacrifices to atone for sins. An year-old (i.e. young adult) male sheep with no defects would be slaughtered, the blood poured out as an offering to God, and the body burnt on the altar. A part of it would be eaten.
This prefigures the ultimate sacrifice that the Messiah Jesus would make on the cross.
Before he went to the cross, he instituted what we now call Holy Communion or Eucharist. He took the bread and wine at the passover supper and, in some mystical way, it became his body and blood, broken and poured out for us, for our sins. What a great sacrifice he made for us! (For a discussion about this matter in more detail, see http://ianjuliane.blogspot.com/2011/02/and-now-for-something-completely.html and http://ianlifejournal.blogspot.com/2011/07/god-gives-grace_13.html)
It was not easy for Jesus to do this for us, as we read in Mark 14:34-36. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, so his humanity dreaded the horrible death on the cross. But nonetheless, he went ahead with it for our sake.
A: Christ's great sacrifice for us should motivate me to live for him. Yet time and time again I give in to temptation and sin. Yet God's grace through Christ's sacrifice means that there is room for repentance.
So, when I am tempted, I must remind myself what Christ has done for me. And if I do sin, I must repent and turn back to him, because he has provided a sacrifice for my sins.
P: Father in heaven, thank you for your provision. Jesus, thank you for your great sacrifice. Holy Spirit, thank you for quickening my conscience when I am tempted. In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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