Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest : Part 4

Nourished by meals with the Messiah

Joel S. Heckendorf

The last supper (John 13:1-15) 

Ding-dong. It’s Mike and Maggie. Handing you a bottle of wine, Mike says, “Here. It’s for you.”  

Ding-dong. It’s Mike and Maggie. Handing you a bottle of hand soap, Maggie says, “Here. This is for you.”  

Mike and Maggie never show up at our door empty-handed. There is always a “for you.” 

Can’t the same be said of Jesus? Every time he showed up as a guest, he came bearing gifts. But there is no bigger “for you” than the gifts we see him bring to the upper room.  

His first “for you” comes wrapped in a towel. Nobody expected this gift. Peter almost refused it because he was so offended by it. But what a gift it was! After Jesus bent down to wash his disciples’ feet, he asked, “Do you understand what I have done for you?” (John 13:12, emphasis added). He showed them—and he shows us—what serving love looks like. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15, emphasis added). 

Consider how valuable it is to be shown how to do something. A coach is a good coach if he shows you how to shoot a lay-up. Parents learn from their parents how to parent. The old adage, “More is caught than taught,” rings true. So when God in his Word says, “Love one another,” how valuable it is to have this picture of a towel-wielding Savior in our mind. Our world and even our churches talk much about love, but they know so little about it. But Jesus does know. Jesus shows us that to love means to put others first.  

But Jesus gives us another gift in the upper room. We open Jesus’ second “for you” gift as we get to see and taste his saving love wrapped in a wafer and wine. Many of you have heard “for you” hundreds of times as an observer from the pew or as a participant at the communion rail. “Take and eat, this is my body for you. Take and drink, this is the blood of the new covenant poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” 

John’s gospel doesn’t record the Words of Institution. But cherish how this inspired writer captures the extent of Jesus’ for you gift that he brought to the upper room: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). When John wrote those words, no doubt his mind went past the serving love he saw on display in the upper room. His mind went to the Garden where he saw Jesus’ soul overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. His mind went to the court, where he saw Jesus mocked and beaten. John’s mind went to the cross where the words still echoed, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” knowing that he was the one who deserved to be separated. 

This month, many of you will have the opportunity to attend Maundy Thursday worship. As you prepare for that meal, Jesus is the host. But might your prayer still be, “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts of your serving and saving love to us be blessed. Amen.” 

Food for thought 

1. What is the most special “for you” gift you have received?

Answers will vary. Readers may want to consider some of the most personal gifts they have received. Perhaps someone went way out of their way for you, devoting hours of time and research to come up with something that was extremely meaningful to you.   Apply that to Jesus’ gifts that he gives in the upper room. His service and his sacrifice and the lengths he went to give them to us enrich the “for you” we hear in Holy Communion.  

2. Do we have a tendency to look past the gift of Jesus’ example of serving love? If so, why?

We are blessed to know all that Christ has done for us. That continues rightly to be the emphasis of our teaching. But sometimes, perhaps, in fear of swinging the pendulum too far, we don’t spend much time considering how Christ works in us and through us.  We maybe also choose not to dwell on the example of Christ’s serving love because we see how often we fail to get down on our hands and knees with a towel. The more we look at Christ’s saving love, the more we will be compelled to also demonstrate his serving love. 

3. How does Holy Communion bring Jesus’ “for you” home for you personally?

When one worshiper was recently asked, “How would you depict peace,” he said, “Standing at the communion rail and hearing the words, ‘All is forgiven.’ ” Our God knows us. He knows that he made some of us visual learners, others audible, and others action. In Communion, he simply employs other senses to bring home the truth of his forgiveness. Each communicant receives the wafer and wine; each one personally receives the assurance of the forgiveness of sins “for you.” 

Contributing editor Joel Heckendorf is pastor at Immanuel, Greenville, Wisconsin.

This is the fourth article in a 11-part series that looks at Jesus as a mealtime guest and how he blessed his fellow diners—and us—with his living presence. Find the article and answers online after Mar. 5 at wels.net/forwardinchrist. 

Author: Joel S. Heckendorf
Volume 105, Number 03
Issue: March 2018

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