Lesson 4 – The Lord’s Supper

Jesus is our Passover Lamb who with His very body and blood grants us forgiveness, life and salvation.

Opening

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible Discovery Guide, and the Lesson 4 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees Jesus and  his disciples at the Last Supper.  Also paper and pencil or crayons will be needed.

Read the Faith Words on page 4 of the leaflet

Listen to and read the lyrics of "What Is This Bread".

This hymn is written as a series of questions, answered from the perspective of someone who is receiving the Lord's Supper. Note, too, that each stanza has a similar ending.

Does the final sentence in stanza 5 (“This Lord id good”) sound familiar? Where does it come from? Read Psalm 34:8.

This lesson is about an event that happened during Holy Week: Jesus' giving of the Lord's Supper.

Why do we call the week Jesus died "holy"? Because it is the week we remember the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, our Savior.

The first day of Holy Week is sometimes called the Sunday of the Passion. There are several definitions for the word Passion, but the meaning, in this case, has to do with the suffering of Jesus.

 

How did Jesus suffer? Jesus suffered by being arrested, beaten, spit upon, mocked, and crucified.

Why did Jesus have to go through this suffering? In order to save us, Jesus accepted the punishment for our sins.

Prayer: Dearest King and Redeemer, Lord Jesus, You suffered at the hands of men, You died for our sins, and You rose from the dead. As we study what Your suffering means to us, please bless the time we have now to learn Your Word. Open our ears and our hearts to You. In Your name we pray.  Amen.

God Speaks

Every evening, Jesus went to Bethany, the village near Jerusalem, to spend the night with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. During the day, He taught in the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:17; Mark 11:11, 19; Luke 21:37).

On page 6 of the Bible Discovery Guide, read about The Passover Celebration This is the feast that Jesus celebrated with His disciples on Thursday of Holy Week. We know it as Maundy Thursday.

What feast was it? The Passover or Feast of Unleavened Bread. You can read more about how this feast started in Exodus 12.

How did God rescue His people from the last plague? He instructed them to put lamb's blood over their doors.

Why is this festival called the Passover? The destroying angel passed over the homes of the Israelites and did not kill their firstborn.

 Ask a student to read the definition on the Faith Word Card Passover

On the top of page 2 in the leaflet, fill in the blanks. Hint: Stanza 4 of “God Loves Me Dearly”.

The phrase is: Jesus, my Savior, Himself did offer, Jesus, my Savior, paid all owed.

Read Luke 22:1-23 and answer the questions on the bottom  of page2 in the leaflet.

• Why did the chief priests and scribes want to kill Jesus? They were afraid of the people because they knew the people were following Jesus rather than them. See verse. 2.
• Who was in charge of preparing the Passover meal? Peter and John. See verse 8.
• Where did Jesus want to celebrate the Passover? In a large upper room. See verse 12.
• Whom did Jesus celebrate with? With His disciples. See verse 14.
• Which part of this passage tells us about the Means of Grace through which God forgives us? See verses 19-20.  Jesus gives His body and blood in the bread and wine of the meal.

When do we hear these words? In the liturgy for Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper.

These are the Words of Institution. They are spoken by the pastor on behalf of the congregation and are the very words of Christ as He gave the Lord's Supper to His disciples. They are not a prayer, but a proclamation Jesus declares, "This is My body" and "This is My blood”. Jesus spoke them at the Passover meal He celebrated with His disciples. The pastor speaks them to consecrate (set apart for a sacred purpose) the elements of the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion-bread and wine. Through this Sacrament, Jesus offers the forgiveness He purchased on the cross to all who believe. His disciples received that forgiveness in the

 Last Supper and all who have received the Sacrament in faith since have as well.

On the Student Page at the end of the lesson, answer the question by reading the scriptures listed to emphasize gifts Jesus has willed to us at His death.

They include forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28); reconciliation with God (Colossians 1:22); eternal life (Romans 6:8-9); and new life (Romans 8:10).

Look at the diagram on page 3 of the leaflet.

The visible elements-bread and wine-are eaten as all foods are eaten, but the invisible elements, Christ's body and blood, are received in a supernatural way - that is, only God can explain it. He gives us faith to believe that when we eat the bread and drink the wine that we can see, we are truly eating Jesus' body and drinking His blood, which we cannot see. We are receiving both in this meal and, with these, the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Read the following questions and answers about the Sacrament of the Altar:

Why does Jesus give us His body and blood? It is given "for you" for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. After you are brought into adult membership of the congregation, you will be able to share in Holy Communion, receiving the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation in this way. This is a means, or a way, of receiving God's grace. Until then, you can rejoice that God gave you faith in your Baptism and that now your faith is fed by hearing God's Word, two other Means of God's Grace.

We Live

The Bible Words, (page 4 of the leaflet) in 1 Corinthians 11:26, says that when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Eucharist (YOU-kuh-rist), we "proclaim the Lord's death".

Why would we want to do that? The Lord's death is vital information for all people. Because of Jesus' suffering and death, we have forgiveness of sins and life eternal. This is great news, and we want to share it with others!

 As we gather together to partake of the Sacrament of the Altar, we are proclaiming that the benefits of Jesus' death on the cross come to us. We give Him thanks for forgiving our sins.

Since Jesus paid all we owed and we are no longer slaves to sin, what is our response? We thank and praise Him.

The word Eucharist reminds us that in this meal, we give thanks for the forgiveness we have in Christ.

In this lesson, we learned not only about Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper but also that Jesus would be betrayed. Betray means "to be disloyal to or break faith with."

How might someone betray someone else today? Possibilities might include not being a true friend; being disloyal to someone; and acting like a friend, but not really being a friend.)

Who betrayed Jesus? Judas

How did he betray the Lord? For thirty pieces of silver, Judas told the chief priests of the temple where they could find Jesus in order to arrest Him. 

Judas betrayed our Lord Jesus, but we also betray our Lord. How? Whenever we sin, we betray Him. Our sin separates us from God. When we sin we are no longer loyal to God; we are broken from Him. We also sin when we deny Jesus or hide our faith in Jesus. But the sacrifice of our Passover Lamb, with His very body and blood, removes all of sin's guilt and grants us forgiveness, life, and salvation. Before His Father in heaven, Jesus claims us as His own. Jesus' suffering and death on the cross paid for all of our sins.

On which day in Holy Week is Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper celebrated? Maundy Thursday.

Maundy Thursday, the day in Holy Week when we commemorate Jesus' institution of the Sacrament of the Altar, takes its name from the Latin word mandatus  (mahn-DAH-toos), meaning   "commandment." This is taken from Jesus' words in John 13:34, "A new commandment l give you, that you love one another”.

In the Old Testament, we get a glimpse, or a little peek, into what Jesus would do for humankind when He humbly came to earth as true man.

What did the Passover lamb's blood do for the Israelites? It protected them from the angel of death.

Christ's blood also protects us. What does it protect us from? His blood protects us from everlasting death. Jesus is our Passover Lamb, who with His very body and blood grants us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Complete the Words of Promise activity on page 3 of the leaflet.

Closing

Again, listen to the hymn "What Is This Bread".

On page 4 of the leaflet:

• Review the Key Point of this lesson.
• Read the Bible Words.
• Read the Prayer.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of the Sacrament of the Altar. Thank You for giving Your body and blood that we may have forgiveness, life, and salvation. Please strengthen our faith through Your Word that we may always trust in You. In Your name we pray. Amen