The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1942-05-21

The last day! How quickly it
comes, and how fleeing yet mean
ingful its moments.
We do not know what our Lord
did on Wednesday of Passion Week.
In all probability He remained in
Bethany to rest in fellowship with
His friends. Surely He needed that
day of quiet, for that which had gone
before, difficult and strenuous as it
had been, was as nothing to that
which lay before Him.
Late on Thursday He and His dis
ciples came to the upper room
where Peter and John had already
made preparation for the observ-
ance of the Passover duke 22:8).
This feast had (since that great and
awful night of IsraePs redemption
out of Egypt's bondage) pointed for
ward to the Christ and to His cross
as the fulfllment of the type of re-
demption by the shedding of blood.
But now the hour had come for Him
to give Himself in that death, and so
He set aside the Passover because
it has been fulflled) to establish the
great Christian feast of remem-
brance-the Lords table, which now
shows forth His death till He come.
l. The Final Passover wv. 14-18).
Our Lord looked forward with iR-
tense desire to the Passover which
He now observed with His disciples,
for it was the last celebration of
that feast recognized by God. All
that it had foreShadoWed Of deliV-
erance and hope was fulfilled in Him
who now sat at the table. He had
moved forward with resolute pur-
pose to this day when His mission
on earth was to be accomplished,
and He was to become the Chris
tian's Passover lamb q Cor. SD.
The fact that He had looked for
ward to it with desire does not mini
mize the deep darkness of either
Gethsemane or Calvary. Remem-
Der that, when in the garden He
faced that hour and thought of the
possibility of the cup being taken
from Him, He said to the Father,
mot what l will, but what thou
wilt" Praying concerning the same
matter Gin John 12:2D, He said,
CHOW is my soul troubled; and what
shall / say? Father, save me from
this hour: but for this cause came l
unto this hour"
ii. The First Communion wv. 10,
2O).
Taking the unleavened bread and
the unfermented wine of the Pass
over which had just been observed,
Jesus established a new feast, the
Christian feast of remembrance,
which we call communion or the
Lords table.
His words are significant, For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, we do show the Lords
death till he come" q Cor. 11:26).
At the Lords table His followers
find spiritual strength in recalling
His death for them, but they also
find JOY as they remember that He
is to come again. They thus testify
to the world that they believe and
cherish these truths.
This feast is rightly called Conn
munion," for down through the ages
and until He does come the saints of
God have at His table sweet COM
munion with Him and with one an
other. Let US not neglect it!
Our Lord also spoke of the cup
as my blood of the new tesla
ment. The word testament"
means covenant. The Lords table
therefore speaks of our allegiance
to Him, of our loyalty to our Lord,
and our devotion to His service.
That is why the Christian Church
speaks of communion as a sacra-
ment, word from the Latin sacra-
mentum, meaning oath, and essen
TALLY an oath of allegiance.
iii. The Folly of the Disciples wv.
21-30).
Someone may say, That point
does not belong with the other two.
Both the Passover and the Lord S
Supper are for the joyful remem-
brance of deliverance and redemp-
ton" The objection is well taken
except for one thing-We are deal
ing with human beings as they are,
not as they should be and could be
by the grace of God.
Here in the inner circle of the
twelve there was one traitor. 1t
seems impossible, but apparently
Judas had maintained such outward
conduct as to turn no suspicion in
his direction, even though all along
he had in his heart the blacklist of
treachery against his Lord. A sad
and soul-searching fact is here re-
vealed, that it is possible for one to
make a high profession of faith in
Christ and even so to live as to give
no cause for criticism, and yet to
be unregenerate and in fact the enc
my of Christ.
What about the strife regarding
position? Shameful as we agree that
it was, it still goes on in the church.
Not even the remembrance of our
Lords death and the reminder that
He is coming again is enough to
keep men from wanting to be great
est.
A gallup poll revealed that a third