The FIRST Supper... The LAST Passover+

HOLY WEEK

in commemoration of

The Great --- and Final --- Passover

CHRIST our Passover+

is sacrificed for us;

therefore, let us keep the feast.

not with old leaven,

neither with the leaven

of malice and wickedness;

but with the unleavened bread

of purity (Gk) and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7,8

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The FIRST Supper

The disciples made ready the Passover for The LORD and His+ disciples to eat.  It was indeed the LAST Passover The LORD JESUS would eat.

However, for the disciples, it was their FIRST Supper, their first Communion with the Body and Blood of The LORD CHRIST. 

At this time, The LORD instituted His+ Holy Communion, or as the Early Christians called it, the GREAT THANKSGIVING , the Eucharist ( GK ). 

From Matthew's account, chapter 26:

And as they were eating, JESUS took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said,

Take, eat; 

this is My+ body.

And HE+ took the Cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,

Drink ye all of it;

For this is My+ Blood

of the New Covenant,

Which is shed for many

for the remission of sins.

.

From Mark 14:

Take, eat: 

this is My+ Body.

And HE+ took the Cup, and when HE+ had given thanks, HE+ gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

This is My+ Blood

of the New Covenant,

Which is shed for many.

And from Luke 22:

.

And HE+ took the Cup, and gave thanks, and said,

Take this, 

and divide it 

among yourselves:

For I+ say unto you, I+ will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of GOD shall come.

 And HE+ took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying,

This is My+ Body 

which is given for you:

this do in remembrance of ME+.

Likewise also 

the cup after supper, 

saying,

This Cup is the New Covenant

in My+ Blood,

Which is shed for you.

But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth ME+ is with ME+ on the table.

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Thus, HE+ gave them their FIRST Communion at the LAST and Final Passover.

This Final Passover was no mere "remembrance."  No. It was the actual thing which GOD had prepared for His+ people all along.

During any ACTUAL Passover which is NOT a mere remembrance, there must be blood shed to cover us so that we are not destroyed with the unbelievers. The blood COVERS the sinner who has repented before GOD.  

( Heb. = kippor = covering, or, Gk = hilasterion, a Divine lid covering the Ark of the Covenant )

In one sense, GOD performed a precursor to the first Passover when HE slew animals to COVER Adam and Eve's nakedness, Genesis 3:21.

Did HE also cover their sin that day, so that the satan could not destroy them? The satan was certainly upon earth at that time because through his wiles, Adam and Eve brought sin into the entire Adamic race of men.  

Some say the animals slain for their coverings were Lambs. It could have been, but Scripture is silent on this. No blood had been shed on planet earth before that time. 

No blood at all,

of either animal or man. 

Would that HE+ would return

and restore planet earth

to that pristine state !

Thus, as our LORD prepared to enter into GETHSEMANE's garden after eating the Passover Meal, HE+ prepared His+ disciples with His+ Body and Blood to face their battle of great fear, horrifying doubt, and immense sorrow that would soon follow. 

Gethsemane, a word from the Chaldean / Aramaic language, was the place for pressing out oil by crushing the olives. Somehow, the "gath" root of this word also means a treading of grapes to produce wine.

Both meanings show us Whose+ Life was being crushed, treaded down, and wrung out  during this Final Passover night in the garden of "Gethsemane."

From Luke 22:

Saying, FATHER, if THOU be willing,

remove this cup from ME+:

nevertheless not My+ will,

but Thine, be done.

And there appeared

an angel unto HIM+ from Heaven,

strengthening HIM+.***

And being in an Agony

HE+ prayed more earnestly:

and His+ sweat was

as it were great drops of blood

falling down to the ground.***

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For even

CHRIST our Passover+

is sacrificed for us:

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*** Modern versions have removed those last two verses from their Bibles, which is totally unjustified editing. Those Bibles are faulty and not to be trusted as the ACCURATE Word of GOD.

BIND The SACRIFICE with CORDS ...

HOLY WEEK

in commemoration of

The Great --- and Final --- Passover

CHRIST our Passover+

is sacrificed for us;

therefore, let us keep the feast.

not with old leaven,

neither with the leaven

of malice and wickedness;

but with the unleavened bread

of purity (Gk) and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7,8

+  +  +

The LORD JESUS CHRIST'S triumphal entry into Jerusalem --- the first one --- was over.  The Temple of GOD was cleansed. Now laid before HIM+ was the bleak business of Binding the Sacrifice unto the horns of the altar, the task for which HE+ had been preparing HIMSELF+ since HE+ had been born among men.

GOD is the LORD,

Which hath shewed us light:

bind the sacrifice with cords,

even unto the horns of the altar.

Psalm 118:27

BIND:  from Strong's Concordance {631}; — 'acar, aw-sar'; a primitive root; to yoke or hitch; by analogy, to fasten in any sense, to join battle: — bind, fast, gird, harness, hold, keep, make ready, order, prepare, prison(-er), put in bonds, set in array, tie.

And they came to the place

which GOD had told him of;

and Abraham built an altar there,

and laid the wood in order,

and bound Isaac his son,

and laid him on the altar

upon the wood.

Genesis 22:9

BOUND:  from Strong's Concordance {6123}— `aqad, aw-kad'; a primitive root; to tie with thongs: — bind.

Here we see the prophetic fore-runner of the Sacrifice of the LAMB+ of GOD.  Abraham's obedient preparations to sacrifice Isaac, his son, his only-beloved son, shows us that.

We are thankful that The LORD GOD did not require this sacrifice from Abraham's hand... and that HE does not require this of us.  HE provided Abraham a ram in the thicket and an angel to tell him the obedience in his heart was received as "acceptable" to GOD.  

 How was this prophetic Scripture

fulfilled in CHRIST ?

Were there ropes which tied

and bound our LORD to The Altar

... the altar of the Cross ?

While walking the mile or so to Golgotha, our LORD was made to carry the crossbeam of His+ Cross. HE+ may have been tied to that crossbeam at this point for HE+ was very depleted of strength. How could HE+ hold His+ lacerated arms up to balance about an 100-pound,  rough-hewn, beam of wood?

Indeed, so depleted and weak from the cruel treatment of the soldiers and His+ scourging , Our LORD was unable to carry the crossbeam plus continue His+ walking to Golgotha. So, the expedient soldiers snatched a traveler to carry it. Simon of Cyrene was plucked from the crowded way as Simon was simply travelling through Jerusalem from the country.

The Ropes of the Cross of JESUS

It is not so written in Scripture that there were any actual ropes or leather thongs used when they crucified Our LORD, although some Christian art would have us "see" ropes in a variety of ways in pictures of the crucifixion.

This, however, we do know for certain: His+ binding came from within His+ heart. HE+ always did the Will of His+ Heavenly FATHER. 

 JESUS saith unto them,

My meat is to do the will

of HIM that sent ME+,

and to finish HIS work.

John 4:34

Saying, FATHER,

if THOU be willing,

remove this cup from ME+:

nevertheless not My+ will,

but Thine, be done.

Luke 22:42

The Ropes of the Cross of JESUS

Are our hearts bound to that Cross of JESUS , the cross HE+ has chosen for us to bear, following HIM+ ?

Do we have cords of love that bind us closely to His+ Will, no matter what the cost ?

Do we stand for the Truth of The LORD, as a true Servant of CHRIST?  Are we really His+ Servant, doing the Will of GOD from our hearts ?

Servants, be obedient to them

that are your masters

according to the flesh,

with fear and trembling,

in singleness of your heart,

as unto CHRIST;

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers

but as the Servants of CHRIST,

doing the Will of GOD

from the heart;

Ephesians 6:5-6

Let us pray:

Dear LORD JESUS, I acknowledge my guilt: I have sought to squirm out of doing Your+ Will.

So many times, I have taken the easy way out, not speaking Your+ Truth from the Scriptures in love, but just smiling and going on. I was not willing to pay the price. 

I have avoided the uncomfortable, the rejection and anger, which follows.

How shall I ever stand during persecution ?

Cleanse me from protecting Self. Cleanse me from hiding Your+ Truth.

I repent. Bind my heart to Yours+, O LORD. Bind my heart to do Your+ Will at all times.

Bind me to YOU+ ; I give You+ the cords of my heart, O LORD.

I offer this, my imperfect prayer, to YOU+, O CHRIST.

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