Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1914-10-08

this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim
the Lords death till He come. l Cor
ll:26 r. v.
!. Tho Preparation, w. 1915. The de
tails Of the preparation here reminG
n Of tho like detailed preparation Al
tn outse: Of this week when the two
disciplec were sent for and procured
tho colt "whereon no man had sat.
Tho Teacher" had need Of the colt
He al. had need Of this guest cham
Der and some unnamed one was ready
to answer his call. to supply his need
What a host Of such unheralded ant
unknown, but loving friends he has
Passover has now come, the time ap
pointed and predicted, Matt. 26:2
Jesus directs the disciples to the room
of his own choosing; they were to FIND
1t following q man bearing a pitcher
This is suggestive Of our following
the leading Of the Holy Spirit.
Remarkable Occasion.
n. The Passover, w. 1921. Here al
eventide Jesus and the twelve ga,
about the Passover board. AS we
look back over the pages Of history II
Is truly a remarkable occasion. The
Passover vas a perpetual memorial Of
the Exodus. Now. In the dispensations
of Divine economy, this 10 to be Its
last observance. Jesus had been look
ing forward to this occasion, John
$40. II, yet In the midst Of the feast
his soul Is filed with anguish, John
1921.
The perfidy of Judas was the bitter
ness of the cup. but Jesus only let him
go when he must and then only with
great sorrow. Judas was disappointed
in his dream of a material kingdom
and his desire for the possession OF
carnal pleasures Greed had grown
because given food. Hate. stified con.
science, spurned love, a thief. q muir
derer. Judas was guilty that moment
as he was the next night.
~. The Parable, w. 22-25. From all
the records we believe that Judas left
the company as soon as he was identi-
fed, and before the feast was insti.
tuted. Jesus aver taught by symbol.
We hear much about objective teach
Ing, Jesus anticipated us all. From
the Passover board Jesus took bread.
and after offering thanks, he brake It,
saying as he did SO, Take ye. this Is
my body" This does not mean the
breaking of his body on the cross, for
not a bone was then broken. John
49,: SO; | Cor. 11:24 R. V. 1t does sig
nifty the distribution Of his body among
all who shall feed upon him. This
does not mean the actual physical
transformation of the bread into his
body. The bread represents his body,
and like as bread becomes q part of
the physical body, SO to eat thus in
symbol, he becomes a part OF US.
There Is no question. however, OF the
actual spiritual presence Of Christ In
the elements. Discerning the Lords
body there Is q real feeding upon
Christ, John $3.50. 81. SO, IS. To par.
take unwortbily Is to be guilty Of the
body and blood of Christ" and We eat
and drink Judgment" to ourselves. l
Cor. 11:24-26. Jesus commands that
the observance Of this rite shall be
continued. 1t ia q covenant which
his disciples are to ~perpetuate It'll
he come" | Cor. 1924. The ground Of
this covenant between q holy God and
sinful men, is the shed blood. v. "a,
see Heb. 9:l8-23. As the blood Is the
life poured out, so he poured out his
life that where sin Ii. there may be
forgiveness and remission, Lev. l7:l1.
Only One Recourse.
The first Passover was the prelude
of the exodus; this is the prelude Of
that of which Jesus spoke In convers-
ing with Moses and Elijah on the
Mount of Transflguration. The blood
Of Christ was shed unto the remission
of sin, Matt. 1928. 1t Is the ground
Of Gods forgiveness, see Matt. 20:28.
Rom. 1925 r. w., l John 2:2, Eph. TT,
and many other passages. There 10
none other ground for our forgiveness
than the shed blood. 1t may be old
fashioned but 1t 10 scripturat and
leaves US no other recourse.
The symbolism Of this holy ordi-
nance is simple. yet sublime. 1t is to
be q perpetual proclamation Of his
resurrection. His death is the central
fact of redemption, the way Of liberty
for the captives Of sin. The supper is
meaningless apart from this element.
It is true that in its Observance we
remember his grace and glory, the
beauty OF his person and the wonder
and wisdom Of his teaching. yet the
supreme Significance Of the act is his
death.
In that upper room vas the Messiah
and a Remnant. There the true pur.
pose of God was fulfilled and the He
brew nation, as Gods instrument,
came to an end. Jesus had told the
rulers in the temple that "the king.
dom Of God shall be taken from you
and given to q nation bringing forth
the fruits thereof" BY the old Pass
over Israel passed from Egypt. BY
this feast q new t~ransference takes
place, a new dispsnsation 10 ushered
In which shall abide "till he come"
The lesson committee has elected to