Jesus Longs to Break Bread with Us

There are two instances in the Gospels where we read of Jesus breaking bread with his disciples. The first is on the night before he went to the cross and I like to read from Luke chapter 22. You see something of the heart of Jesus there as he came to the Lord's table and it's a type of heart that we should have when we come to the Lord's table.

There are some lessons we can learn here. Luke 22 15 says in verse 14 he sat with his disciples at the table and he said I've earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. Now I was reading that in the message translation or paraphrase and it said you have no idea how much I longed to be with you this evening to break bread with you and I thought of that you know.

I said Lord do I have that type of longing when I come to the Lord's table that I can say you guys have no idea how much I long to be with you at this time. I believe that's what the Lord in our midst is saying to us today. He's the same yesterday, today and forever and he says you have no idea how much I long to be with you and I wish we could hear that more often because it'll save us from a lot of discouragement and you see another example of that in Luke 24 when he was walking with the disciples to Emmaus and when they reached the village you see in Luke 24 and verse 28 he acted as though he were going further.

Is it proper for is it good for a Christian to act to pretend if the motive is good it's good. Jesus acted after his resurrection he pretended that he wanted to go further that was not his real desire he wanted to be with them but he was testing them to see are you guys as eager to have me as I want to be with you and he says they pressed him said no you must stay with us verse 29 then he went in but I believe his attitude there also was to them you have no idea why I walked with you all these seven miles for three hours I wanted to be with you in your home and I was acting as I was going further to just to see how eager you were to have me and I believe that is something we can ask ourselves. I believe Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever and if he could hear his voice personally not just in the crowd but in the Lord speaking to me personally you have no idea how much I want to be with you at this time to you to partake in my broken body symbols and we say Lord I want you to be here I want to be with you and I believe that is not just in relation to the Lord in relation to each other it says we are to care for one another in the body of Christ to look around at each other and say you have no idea how much I want to be with you and I notice here there were times when you know at the Lord's table when the Lord said all this to them what do you think they were discussing the thoughts going through their mind was it's amazing verse 24 there was a dispute among them imagine they're sitting around the Lord's table and the Lord's saying you don't don't have any idea how much I wanted to be with you and the thoughts going through their mind is who is the greatest is he or me verse 24 and I know other times in Jesus when Jesus was with his disciples and he saw some failure in them like they wouldn't he gave them the part to cast out demons but there was this boy his father said I brought him to your disciples they couldn't cast him out and Jesus said how long shall I be with you sometimes he spoke strong words like that how long shall I be with you you full of unbelief bring the child to me and he cast out the demon but here he doesn't speak like that he could have said three and a half years I've been with you and you're still thinking of who's going to be the greatest I see a tenderness here and that's something we have to learn from Jesus there was a time for rebuke yes there is a place even as fathers we know there are times we have to correct our children strongly but we need to encourage them also nine times out of ten we need they need encouragement one time they need correction so how does Jesus respond to these people struggling discussing who's to be the greatest he doesn't rebuke them it's not like that other time he says it's all the kings of the world who discuss these things it must not be like this my dear brothers whoever is the youngest the greatest must be like the youngest verse 26 and if you're a leader if you're a leader you must be the servant because who is the greatest person here you think I am Jesus says well I am among you verse 27 as your servant I'm always humbled by the way Jesus was his disciple when he was alone with them he manifested his real character how he took that bucket of water and washed their feet there's something of that spirit and he did that before they broke bread must never forget my brothers and sisters when we come to break bread that Jesus is the same if he were here today he would be ready to wash our feet and he said you must be willing to wash one another's feet the meaning of that is when you see some dirt in somebody don't criticize it get some water and wash it off you want to wash one another's feet don't say how dirty your feet are what are you doing with it why don't you clean it the Lord says you take a bucket of water and help him to be clean that's the spirit I see in Christ at the Lord's table and that's the spirit we should always have towards one another we can't have that to the whole unbelieving world because many of them are not straightforward they don't walk in the light but especially when we come in a family meeting like this you know very few are here and it's a family we don't have all those outsiders like on Sundays here at least we must have a very tender attitude towards one another you have no idea how much I want to be with you and if there's dirt on your feet I'm here to wash it off not find fault with you and notice how he speaks to Peter verse 31 Simon Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat but I prayed for you that your faith will not fail and when you're turned again strengthen your brothers and he says I'm ready to go to prison death verse 33 Luke 22 33 but I say to you Peter that before the cock crows twice today you will have denied me three times now there's something that strikes me when I read that you know what it is he didn't first say you're going to deny me three times but I have prayed for you that's how we would do it you know you're going you guys are going to let me down but don't worry I'll pray for you because I'm the great saint but Jesus didn't say like that he started out by saying Peter I'm praying for you and afterwards he tells him you're going to deny me there is a there's a meaning in that order that he encourages them and say before he warns him he encourages him don't worry I'm going to pray for you then he says you're going to face some danger you're going to deny me little little things I see there in the attitude the Lord had to what he knew Peter was sincere but he knew he was weak he wouldn't be able to stand when there's a risk of his life that he would say no I don't know the Lord the Lord knew their heart and he tells these people who Peter's going to fail him all of them are going to run away he knows that but he says to them verse 28 amazing words you are those who have stood by me isn't that amazing to say that to people who he knew in a few hours they would leave him and run just in a few hours maybe two three hours later they would flee him and run leave him and run but he says you are those who stood by me and as my father has granted me a kingdom I grant you the bible says we should be tenderhearted towards each other let me read to you a verse in 1 Peter in chapter 8 chapter 3 verse 8 he's talking about how husbands and wives must behave towards each other and then he says all of you verse 8 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 8 to sum up all of you must be harmonious sympathetic brotherly kind-hearted and humble in spirit that's the worst we can profitably meditate on each of those expressions it's worth meditating on for a whole morning meditation harmonious sympathetic brotherly kind-hearted humble in spirit we don't know what all struggles many people here are going through we assume everything is wonderful because we don't tell each other all our struggles and aches and pains and problems but we know how it is in this world sickness can be there problems and uncertainties job uncertainties and health uncertainties in Ecclesiastes 3 it says there's a time for everything a time to do this and a time to do that there is a time for rebuke there is a time for encouragement there's a time for everything there's a time to embrace verse 5 the time to refrain from embracing so when we come together as a family this is a time to lift one another's burdens to be concerned and to have this attitude towards one another you have no idea how much i long to be here with you i'd rather be here than in any other place in the world at this particular time i have had the tremendous privilege of being with God's people in many countries who've suffered because their faith in Christ i really love them and appreciate them i've never been through what they've been through i had God-fearing Christian parents many children now planning to go to colleges at a young age we don't know what they face colleges are a very evil place nowadays we need to be tender-hearted and concerned for our children so as we come together to break bread let us remember what it says in 1 corinthians 11 the bread which we break 1 corinthians 11 sorry 1 corinthians 10 1 corinthians 10 16 the last part the bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ because there is one bread because we are one body that's why we all partake of that one bread that small piece of bread that you eat is broken from one piece to show that we are all basically one body none of us are perfect and i am most conscious of all that i'm not perfect but i think all of us are sincere certainly i believe that because i believe that all of you have heard the message of the new covenant here for years and i believe with all my heart that all of you are sincerely seeking to walk in the footsteps of jesus and therefore i want to value and appreciate each of you and break bread together with you recognizing that you are part of my body we are one body and that is what i am testifying to when i break bread with all of you so let us keep that in mind to have the spirit of christ with which he came to the that first breaking of bread to have that with us as we come to the lord's table now and to recognize that jesus himself is here we can sense him in our spirit ask the lord to make his presence real in your spirit to make a lot of difference amen