Seven!

Seven (7) “S” Words from the Last Supper!!

Introduction

There are 7 “S” words I have singled out in the account of the Lord’s Supper in Luke 22:7-38 to reflect on. I have found them to be very instructive for me in continuing to identify with Christ and moving to a higher level of knowing and doing for Him. One can never exhaust knowing the Master.  When one thinks they know Jesus, they are barely scratching the surface.

Before I address the Luke passage, I want to expand on knowing and doing for Him which will lead into the Lord’s Supper where Christ teaches and models servanthood which becomes the foundation of His ministry. It is a servanthood which is based on the foundation of His power (dunamis) and His compassion (agape). 

 Apostle Paul talks about knowing Him and doing for Him through…..

….. the power of the Cross

(My comment: Greek – dunamis -supernatural power)

(1^st Corinthians 1:18),

…..the Power of Resurrection

 (My comment: dunamis -supernatural power)

 (Philippians 3:10-11),

……the Power of the Gospel

(My comment: dunamis - supernatural power)

 (Romans 1:16)

 Apostle Peter penned under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit about knowing Christ.  Here is a translated of 1^st Peter 3:10-11 by the Amplified Bible reflecting a greater meaning of the Greek who said, 

[For my determined purpose is]

that I may know Him

[that 

I may progressively

become more deeply

and

intimately acquainted with Him,

perceiving and recognizing

 and

 understanding

the wonders of His Person

more strongly and more clearly],

and

that I may in that same

way come to know

 the power outflowing from His resurrection

 [which it exerts over believers],

and

 that I may so

share His sufferings 

as to be continually

 transformed

 [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death,

[in the hope]

that if possible I may attain to the

[spiritual and moral]

 resurrection [that lifts me]

out from among the dead

 [even while in the body].

Philippians 3:10-11 (AMP)

Moving from a basic knowledge of Christ by the leading of the Holy Spirit can lead to a continuing transformation of self to be consumed by His daily presence.

It is not self-effort, self-intellect, self-knowledge, and self-striving but by daily embracing and kneeling at the Cross in prayer and praise and calling out to Him……

“O’ Jesus, this day I need you to help me to hear when you speak and do what you want me to do to further the Gospel and Your Kingdom wherever I go.  There is nothing in me that I have to offer you except that which you impart to me through Your Holy Spirit who works through the Cross of Jesus.

Fill me with Your compassion or love for others so I will be equipped to share You with the unsaved and saved.  I know that it is the agape (love) infused in me which attracts the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the Gospel to those who need to hear the Truth of how You can set them free fro m the bondages of the world, sin, and the devil.

Jesus said to me after my great affliction several years ago that “everything I do with you will come out of the Cross of My Son. So, you are to focus on His Cross and what He accomplished on the Cross for you.”  

As I was reading Luke chapter 22 as mentioned above, Lord drew my attention to the Master’s last supper with His disciples which points to the Cross and has lead me to a greater understanding, knowing, and doing for Him.

         As mentioned in the Introduction, there are 7 descriptions of Christ relationship with His disciples during the Last Supper which I have identified as serving¹, suffering², sharing³, sacrificing⁴, surrendering⁵, and  sin⁶, and salvation⁷ in the account of the Lord’s Supper in Luke 22:7-38 which I have found to be very instructive for me in continuing to identify with Christ and moving to a higher level of knowing and doing for Him.  Permit me to share with you!

Serving¹ Leads to Servanthood and Servanthood Generates Leadership!

The most operative word in the Last Supper is serve¹ which was Christ’s first action where He served His disciples. Christ is the ultimate servant defining what true servanthood represents – serve others before I serve myself.

It is thinking of myself as lowest to the one who is being served.  It is thinking of myself as less important, and the one being serve as more important who is being served.  

It is thinking of myself as a “nothing” compared to the one being served. It is thinking of myself as last and the other person first.  All of this requires the moving of the Holy Spirit in my life because I do not have the power within to accomplish what I just wrote in this paragraph.

Christ demonstrated servanthood by going to His knees to wash the disciples’ feet.  He lowered Himself to teach the disciples that leadership is truly birthed out of servanthood. Leading is serving from a position of lowliness which few are able to do for they have not learned and walked in the humility and brokenness of Christ.

All through Christ’s ministry He preferred others over Himself which was contrary to the religious leadership of His time. They were leaders without servanthood.

 It was a loveless leadership which focused on rules, traditions, and regulations rather than relationships.  It was a leadership which was contrary to the teaching of Christ – “Love others as I have loved you” (John 13:34; 15:9,12). This is not just a suggestion, but a divine command!

Therefore, biblical servanthood – the Christ-kind has the foundation of compassion/love. When Christ served it was out of His heart rapped in divine love or compassion for the people which drew many to His teachings and actions of healing and deliverance from demonic powers.

Matthew would record:

Seeing the people,

He felt compassion for them,

because they were distressed and dispirited

like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 (NASB95)

In other accounts recorded by Matthew and Mark, we read that Christ taught and performed the signs, wonders, and miracles numerous times and before many of them He would say, “I feel compassion for the people.”

 He loved the people and His love for them manifested the signs, wonders, and miracles.  The Gospel of Christ is a double-barrel thrust into secular and spiritual reality – Word plus Wonders.

 When wonders are missing, only half the Gospel is being demonstrated. Christ said in Mark chapter 16,

“Go into all the world…….

…..attesting signs will accompany those who believe….

…..they will drive out demons…..

…..they will lay hand on the sick and they will get well.”

And they went out and preached everywhere,

 while the Lord kept working with them

 and confirming the message by the

attesting signs and miracles

 that closely accompanied [it].

Amen (so be it).

Suffer², share³, sacrifice⁴, and surrender⁵

Christ told His disciples,

I have earnestly desired to eat the 

Passover with you before I

Suffer². 

 (Luke 22:15)

And when He had taken the cup and given thanks,

He said,

“Take this and

Share³ 

it among yourselves.”

 (Luke 22:17)

And when He had taken some bread 

and

 given thanks, He

broke it 

(sacrifice)⁴ 

 and

 gave it to them, saying, 

“This is My body which is given for you…..

 “(Luke 22:19)

And in the same way He took the 

cup after they had eaten, saying,

“This cup which is poured out 

(surrender)⁵

for you is the new covenant in

My blood.”  

(Luke 22:20)

It was important for Christ to first serve¹ His disciples before He was to suffer² the abuse of the Roman soldiers before He was nailed to the Cross.  So before suffering comes serving and Christ served before the Cross.

         But Christ also suffered durning and after He served to the point that He sacrificed⁴ and surrendered⁵ His all while hanging on the Cross with the three six-inch Roman nails through His wrist and feet. So, before suffer-ing comes serving and Christ served before He suffered and also suffered during and after serving. 

In our surrendering to Christ will come our serving Christ by our

 witnessing and testifying of and for Him.  Let us realize that through our surrendering, sharing, and serving Christ and others, we can invite suffering for Him if we remain consecrated or committed to Him which will eventually invite the sufferings of abuse, affliction, insults, misunderstandings, and mistreatment.  Apostle Peter penned for us,

For you have been granted

 [the privilege] for Christ’s sake

not only to believe in

 (adhere to, rely on, and trust in) Him,

but also to suffer in His behalf. 

Philippians 1:29 (AMP)

The cost of truly submitting and yielding to Christ and His Cross will be costly as it was for the 1^st century disciples.  The world hates Christ and it also hates on “fire,” “faith-filled,” “sold out” soldiers for Christ (John 15:18-19) presenting the Gospel of Christ by their lifestyles and demonstrations of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). They become a threat to the world system, false religions, and the powers of darkness.

The Bread, Cup of Wine, and the Cross

When Christ served the disciples, we can understand that the bread he

broke to serve each disciple representing His body which was broken by the Cross.  The cup (wine) represented His cup of suffering and His blood poured out for the sins of man.  All of this points to the Cross for…...

…..without the Cross (suffering)

there would be no sacrifice;

 …..without the beatings (suffering),

 nails in the wrists and feet, spear in the side, there would be no blood. 

…..without the whippings (suffering)

and scourging’s there would be no broken body.

Thus, the Cross represents His sharing of Himself, His sufferings, His sacrifice, His surrender, and His serving us salvation. 

Sin⁶ and Salvation⁷!

Therefore, to bring salvation⁷ for the sin⁶ of man required Christ, and I repeat - to serve, suffer, share, sacrifice, surrender, and forgive sin in order to bring salvation or deliverance from the Old Man to the New Man in Christ.

 He was broken by the whipping of the Roman soldiers before He ever got to the Cross and when He got to the Cross, the suffering continued and He finally surrendered all to His Father by saying….. 

 It is finished…..

John 19:30, (NASB)

Father,

into Your hands I commit

My Spirit…..

Luke 23:46. (NASB)

 What have I learned through the Last Supper?

This brings me to the point of saying that all which has been penned above shakes me to the core for to lay down my life for the Master and truly follow the Master, I need to separate myself as much as I am able from the world and its ways of ungodliness, lasciviousness, corruption debauchery, pride, hate, and striving after mammon, self-importance or self elevation and world achievement.

I must be prepared to witness, testify, and be prepared to suffer for the Master if that means possibility of losing everything, losing one’s job, or losing one’s life.  Apostle Peter penned:

“…..for you have been called for this purpose, 

since Christ also suffered for you,

 leaving you an example 

for

 you to follow in His steps.” 

 (1 Peter 2:21)

Thus, the ministry unto Christ and others is through this path of following in His footsteps which can includes my understanding of the seven (7) identified things noted in this oracle. 

How does all of this instruct me in following in the footsteps of the Master?  Brother and sister, the seven things below constantly challenge me mentally and physically every day that I walk with Him. I cannot do these things through my own flesh for I am a weak and unworthy servant of the Master.  There is not a day that goes by that I continually ask of myself:

How much have I surrendered to Jesus?

How much am I willing to suffer for Jesus?

How much am I willing to sacrifice for Jesus?

How much am I willing to forgive those who have sinned against me?

How much am I willing to share my resources and possessions with others?

How much am I willing to serve Christ forgetting my own needs and desires?

How much am I willing to work out my salvation no matter what the costs? 

These are critical questions that need to be continually addressed by all born-again Christians if we are truly to be Ambassadors for Christ and His Kingdom..

Rich Arnold

Servant of the Lord

311 Adelaide Ave SW

Hartville, Ohio 44632

330-704-9306

richarnold3@gmail.com