By Rev Dr Edward Goh
I read an article years ago that defended the use of Rev. 3:20 for inviting Christ into one’s life. Such a usage of the verse was debated because the Lord Jesus was speaking not to unbelievers but His church. That door is the door to our hearts. He knocks because He wants to enter into our lives, to dine with us. As the article has rightly asserted, it’s an invitation for not just the church in Laodicea, but for all who hear His voice.
Luke 19:10 tells us this is indeed the purpose of His first coming, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 7:34 is the way by which He did so, “the Son of Man has come eating and drinking.” He came to eat and drink with sinners. He ate and drank for three years with a band of twelve men He had poured His life into. At the end of His days on earth, at the Last Supper, He said to them in Luke 22:15-16, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Our Holy Communion today is a re-enactment of this Last Supper. It reminds us how our Lord looked forward to the final fulfilment of this feast. It was for this joy set before Him, He endured the cross. It is the joy of our eternal fellowship with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19). It was the end for which He suffered and died.
Israel’s elders first had such a feast after receiving the words of the Sinai Covenant in Ex. 24. It was a miracle of grace. They saw God. Yet they did not die but lived. However, they despised this tremendous gift and privilege. They turned instead to worship the golden calf in Ex. 32.
We are not to follow in their steps, but to remain conscientious, consecrate, and committed to our Lord. For this Communion embodies our redemption. It points to our hope as a community. It habitually forms us to walk worthy of the cross. It expresses our dependency on God for everything, from the bread we eat to our final salvation. It reminds us of our mission as His witnesses. As we feed on this word of the cross, may it sustain us and keep us faithful, to eat and drink to His glory, till we meet Him face to face.