Instead of Stones - John 8:48-59

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the New Testament, John 8:48-59. In this passage of Scripture, Jesus is engaged in debate with the Pharisees at temple courts. He defends His claim of being "I AM" by recounting His relationship with Abraham, who rejoiced to see His day. While the Jews rejected His claim and picked up stones to stone Jesus to death, we welcome His words and believe His testimony. While we could be there on that day to affirm our Savior, we can affirm Him this day by partaking of the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine from the cup. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Instead of Stones." I read from John 8:48-59 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

The Scriptures tell us that this debate between Jesus and the Pharisees took place in the temple courts where the offerings were put; it was a strategic location if you wanted many people to hear your message. The crowds were larger than usual as it was during the time of the Festival of Tabernacles, and all adult males were required by the Law to travel to Jerusalem. The crowd was listening to Jesus, the debate, and talking among themselves. Who Jesus was and the truth of His words were being decided then and there in the court of public opinion. These were contentious moments, and His teaching was concluded by the Jews picking up stones to stone Him. Why did this war of words accelerate into a lynch party? Abraham was a venerated hero of the Jews; he was their father. For Jesus to say, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad," meant Jesus appeared to have information not recorded in the Scriptures. As this information is more personal in nature, it could have been known only through dialogue between Jesus and Abraham. The Jews correctly surmise that Jesus is claiming to know Abraham. To affirm their conclusion, He commits the sin of sins in their eyes, He says the name of God in public and then ascribes this name to Himself. He says, "Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!" If they had had guns instead of stones, they would have pointed at Him and fired! For those of us who know Jesus, this conversation has an entirely different effect. We, too, share the joy of our father Abraham in seeing Jesus' day! We have complete confidence in Jesus and His promises because we know Jesus is "I AM," He is God. If we could imagine being there, we would want to shower Him with hugs and kisses instead of stones and bullets; nevertheless, we are here now, and we can show Him how much we love Him by partaking of the bread and drinking from the cup. Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father. We believe Jesus is the Son of God, and His guarantee that whoever obeys His words will never see death. We rejoice with Abraham as we have seen Your day and are glad. Now we patiently wait for Your return. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember Your sacrifice to save us from our sins. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV).

26 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 this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!