Behold The Lamb (Communion Hymn)

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,
Slain for us – and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross.
So we share in this bread of life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King.

The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
Torn for you – eat and remember
The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life
Paid the price to make us one.
So we share in this bread of life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King.

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you – drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this bread of life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
To respond, – and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering
We proclaim Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King

Written by husband and wife duo Keith and Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend, I wanted to start this Passion week with the a reminder of the Last Supper.  This Communion Hymn is a wonderful reminder of what happened that night, but also provides us an opportunity to remember Him until He comes.  To remember His body broken for you and to remember His blood shed for you.  To be reminded of the purpose of communion – to share in His sacrifice and remember, and to be grateful that we are partakers of His body and blood because of His grace.  Jesus, thank you!

I love the story of the Last Supper.  Jesus had gathered with His disciples for Passover.  Similar to what He had done a few days earlier by commandeering a donkey for His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus sent His disciples into Jerusalem and told a man that He and the disciples would be sharing Passover at His house.  He didn’t really ask permission.  He just told the disciples to tell the man what they were doing.  I have wondered about how that actually happened.  Was this a follower of Jesus, and Jesus knew the man well enough that He could just show up with 12 of His friends with no notice?  Was this someone God or an angel had spoken to in a dream or vision giving him an idea of what was about to happen?  Or was this just a common man who was sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and was willing to do whatever the Teacher asked?  I would love to think that my response to an unusual request like this from the Lord would be the same. Not a “I’m not prepared” response, or a “what time will you be here?” kind of response.  But a “Yes, Lord” obedient reaction.  A reaction that says “Hear I am Lord, use me.”

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Torn for you” – I don’t know about you, but most of the time I have celebrated communion at church, it has been with a cracker of some sort.  Sometimes round wafers, sometimes small crackers, and even broken matzo crackers.  But I have, on occasion, taken communion with real baked bread.  Yes, I realize that the bread at Passover would have been unleavened bread.  That was the Jewish way.  But the time I participated in communion with real bread, it was impactful to me.  You see the bread was the kind that you had to “tear apart.”  You had to use both hands.  You had to pull it and tear it to get it apart.  When Jesus took the punishment for our sin, His body was not only broken for me and for you, but it was torn for me and for you.  The scourging process would have left His flesh ripped and shredded.  He was as “one who from men hide their faces.”  Communion should be a reminder of His shed blood, His broken body, and His torn flesh.

• “He drained death’s cup” – I have a fond memory of Tyler as a little boy.  I would “break the rules” every once in awhile and let him have a Coke or a Sprite (in spite of his mother’s wishes).  I remember one time he had a can of coke or sprite, and he pulled his head back, held the can up the air, and shook it til he got every last drop.  There was no half-full cans left around the house if Tyler got a coke.  Tyler was going to get his money’s worth.  The phrase in this hymns reminds me that Jesus’ drank it all.  He drained death’s cup.  He took all every last drop of punishment for sin.  Not a cup that was left undone.  But He finished it all.  I can picture in my mind Jesus holding the cup up, shaking it, and drinking every last drop.  What a picture of the completeness of Jesus’ work on the Cross.  It is finished!

Finally, I would like to encourage you to observe what Jesus did with His disciples the last few moments He was with them.  First, they shared the Passover meal together.  Yes, it had a religious purpose.  The Jews had been celebrating this remembrance for thousands of years.  But He broke bread with them.  He had dinner with them.  They eat both physical bread and spiritual bread.  Bread for the body, and bread for the soul.  He then sang with them.  The Bible says after they eat the bread and drank the wine, they sang a hymn.  Now I realize it wasn’t Amazing Grace that they sang.  I recognize they didn’t sing “There is a fountain filled with blood.”  But I do think it is awesome that they sang together, and not just any old song, but a hymn.  A song of deep, theological truth.  Finally, they were together and Jesus prayed.  The disciples apparently didn’t do the greatest job of praying, but did some sleeping. Jesus, as always, did the heavy lifting.  He is the one that is praying and is exceedingly sorrowful unto death.  But the disciples are there with together with Him.

As brothers and sister in Christ, we ought to imitate Jesus’ actions His last week on earth, and do the same with one another.  We ought to regularly break bread together.  We ought to be the kind of people that share with one another in our homes, and in our churches, and in restaurants, but our meals ought to have a spiritual purpose to them.  Not just the sharing of physical food, but the breaking of spiritual bread as well.  We ought to sing hymns together (and maybe a few choruses every once in awhile).  In our homes. In our churches.  In the highways and hedges.  We ought to sing songs that lift up the Lord’s name, and that teach us the truths of the Bible. And we ought to pray together.  In our homes.  In our churches.  These actions should be a natural part of the the lives of those that share in communion with our Lord.  Because we are brothers and sisters and have shared in Christ’s blood and body, we ought to commune with one another in our daily actions.  May God bless you this Passion week.