THE TABLE OF REMEMBRANCE

Mark 14:22–25

In an upstairs room, the Passover meal took on new meaning. What for centuries had looked back to Egypt now pointed forward to the cross. The Lamb sat among His disciples, and as He broke the bread, He was breaking the pattern of the old covenant. “This is My body,” He said. The bread was simple, yet sacred—a symbol of Himself freely given. He gave thanks before He broke it, showing us that gratitude must always precede surrender. Around that table, the old story found its fulfillment: the Deliverer had come again, not to set Israel free from Pharaoh, but humanity from sin.

Bread Broken, Cup Poured

The cup passed from hand to hand, and with it came a promise sealed in blood. “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” The wine spoke of what would soon flow from His side. The One who turned water into wine would now turn wine into witness—the sign of a new and everlasting covenant. In that moment, the shadow of Calvary lay across the table, but love sat at the head of it. He gave thanks for the very thing that would crush Him, because He saw what it would purchase—our redemption.

The Meal That Preaches

Each time we come to the Lord’s table, we preach the gospel without words. The bread reminds us that He was broken so we could be made whole. The cup tells us that His blood still speaks mercy. Paul wrote, “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). This is no mere ritual—it is remembrance wrapped in relationship. It’s the place where we trade our self-sufficiency for His sufficiency, our sin for His righteousness, and our emptiness for His fullness.

Until He Drinks It New

Jesus ended the meal with a promise: “I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” What began as a supper in sorrow will end as a feast in glory. Every communion table whispers of another table yet to come—the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9). He communes with us now in the kingdom of God when we partake of the supper, and that is a taste of the eternal fellowship we will have with Him in heaven. Until then, we eat and drink as those abiding in Him and waiting for Him. The bread reminds us that He came. The cup reminds us that He’s coming again. And when He does, we’ll sit at His table, face to face with the One who once gave thanks for broken bread and now gives joy forevermore.

Bryan Dewayne Dunaway