Walk of Life – Day 17 – March 2021 – the C R O S S of Calvary

Stations of the Cross – The Last Supper

And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:15,16

The Lord Jesus is seated at the table with 12 of his disciples. This is his last meal on earth and that also with his disciples. The whole happenings of that day are very popular and most of us are very familiar with everything that the Lord spoke and did that day. I love the Bible because every time I turn to it, the Lord shows me something new. The stations of the cross are basically a Roman Catholic tradition that is followed year after year on Good Friday. There have been several scriptural adaptations and we decided we would try one.

There are two truths in particular from this narrative in Luke 22 that is extraordinary and striking. First the Lord Jesus loved his disciples as they were with all their human weaknesses and desired to be with them. The verse says that Jesus eagerly desired to have the Passover with His disciples. It is understood that the disciples needed the Lord Jesus. He was all to them. Yet as a man, at some level, the Lord Jesus needed his disciples, He needed these human friends beside him at this time of deep hurt, pain and struggle. He did not want to be with them because of their knowledge or maturity but because except for Judas the Lord Jesus knew that they truly loved to the extent that they could as human beings. It is truly a very comforting thought. In our journey of life, we all need friends, and here is this perfect friend who laid down his life for you and who gave all it took so He could have communion and fellowship with you. He will not keep pinpointing your mistakes, you can feel perfectly comfortable in his presence. Just imagine a group of fishermen, tax collectors having a last meal with the king of kings. He was so down to earth. He loved them in spite of all their weaknesses. And it is exactly the same with us.

Second the disciples were with the Lord Jesus in His deep agony and sorry, they never actually sensed His grief. They were with Him for three and a half years yet they could not actually discern that the Son of  God is going through a very tough phase in His life. They were so worried about who would betray the Lord Jesus rather than the fact that He would be betrayed and handed over to His enemies. They spent their last hours with the greatest human who ever lived but they were arguing about who would be greatest. With momentous events of eternal consequence taking place around them and in the presence of the one at the center of these events, the disciples seem to be missing the significance of Jesus’ words and the privilege of Jesus’ presence.

This is a very sad realization. The Lord Jesus loves me and welcomes me to dine in His presence. He desires to speak to me, to share His thoughts, to speak to me as friend to friend. Here am I worried only about myself, my goals, my aims, my achievements. I keep praying Lord bless me!! I sit there lost in my own self failing to perceive the heart and mind of the Lord, which is of much greater and deeper significance. He gave His all for me. He made such an insignificant part of His universe to be part of His everlasting plan. Am I like Abraham with whom the Lord did not want to hide anything he was doing. May I always enjoy sweet communion with my Savior, be His vessel in this world, His shining light.

“A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss
That one so weak as I
Should ever have a Friend like this
To lead me to the sky

Friendship with Jesus!
Fellowship divine!
Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
Jesus is a Friend of mine.

A Friend when other friendships cease,
A Friend when others fail,
A Friend who gives me joy and peace,
A Friend when foes assail! – Joseph C. Ludgate”