What images of heaven do you have? What excites you most about it?
So far, I have painted a very positive and uplifting portrait of table fellowship as it occurs throughout the Bible. But I would be doing the topic a great injustice if I failed to point out the one negative depiction of a “table” in Scripture. But rest assured it is a “table” at which Christians, i.e., believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, will not sit.
Revelation 19 offers a symbolic vision of what Judgment day will be like for believers and unbelievers. As believers in Christ, we will be seated at a wedding feast as we await the arrival of our groom (Jesus Christ) (Rev 19:6-9). It is a picture of unparalleled purity and magnificent glory! The church, the bride of Christ, will finally be married to her groom! This is the moment that history has been awaiting since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. All impurity has been taken away and the church comes face to face with her Lord.
But there is another “table” in Revelation 19. This scene is descriptive of what will happen to unbelievers and other enemies of the cross. It is not a wedding banquet but rather is a gory supper where the unrepentant and evil are reduced to corpses that will be eaten by buzzards (19:17-21). To be sure, it is a picture of victory since Jesus is shown to arrive at the battlefield as a blood-soaked warrior with a sword who has not yet stopped slaying his enemies (19:11-16). Once his enemies are slain they are then eaten by scavenging birds.
Revelation 19 is meant to form a contrast of ideas: what Judgment will be like for the followers of Christ (wedding banquet) and what it will be like for those who are evil (gory supper). Though the latter “table” scene is gory, it is one that we Christians should not fear. The identity of the enemies of God should be clear: the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars (21:8). Evil is personified as an army that opposes God and his people, wages war against them, but is ultimately defeated. In contrast, our “table” scene at the Judgment is a beautiful wedding feast. This wedding scene is the pinnacle of the Bible’s table fellowship scenes. Revelation 19 is worth meditating on when it seems as though the stakes are stacked against the followers of Christ. The victory is ours!
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Christ's Table
Do you see communion as an opportunity to serve or be served? Why?
Jesus talked much about the role of service in the kingdom of God. His most passionate discussion of the subject comes as he sits around the table with his apostles eating his last Passover meal before his death (Luke 22:7-27). Luke paints a beautiful picture of fellowship as Jesus re-interprets the Passover meal to fit his own mission (22:17-20). Jesus gives new meaning to the Passover meal as he adapts some of the symbols (bread and wine) to fit his mission of inaugurating the new covenant. But the beautiful picture painted by Luke is smudged by a “dispute” among the apostles as to who would have the most authority in the new kingdom spoken of by Jesus (v. 24). Jesus passionately points out to them that his kingdom is not focused on authority but rather on service. After all, it is his kingdom not theirs. He is the head of the table in his kingdom (v. 27). Yet, though he has all authority, he chooses to demonstrate that authority by serving (v. 27). Thus, his followers are to follow his lead and serve one another.
This text has profound implications as we sit around the Lord’s Table each week. It is Christ’s table not ours. He is at the head of the table as we gather together each week. Even so, he demonstrates his authority by serving us. Thus, we should serve one another. Gathering around the Lord’s Table is not a time for arguing and disputing about correct interpretations and authoritative power struggles. It is an occasion for serving one another the symbols (bread and wine) that proclaim our common deliverance given us by the only sacrifice to have ever been raised from the dead. Indeed, God has called us to his table to celebrate what he accomplished on the altar of the cross. May he grant us grace as we serve one another around his table.
Jesus talked much about the role of service in the kingdom of God. His most passionate discussion of the subject comes as he sits around the table with his apostles eating his last Passover meal before his death (Luke 22:7-27). Luke paints a beautiful picture of fellowship as Jesus re-interprets the Passover meal to fit his own mission (22:17-20). Jesus gives new meaning to the Passover meal as he adapts some of the symbols (bread and wine) to fit his mission of inaugurating the new covenant. But the beautiful picture painted by Luke is smudged by a “dispute” among the apostles as to who would have the most authority in the new kingdom spoken of by Jesus (v. 24). Jesus passionately points out to them that his kingdom is not focused on authority but rather on service. After all, it is his kingdom not theirs. He is the head of the table in his kingdom (v. 27). Yet, though he has all authority, he chooses to demonstrate that authority by serving (v. 27). Thus, his followers are to follow his lead and serve one another.
This text has profound implications as we sit around the Lord’s Table each week. It is Christ’s table not ours. He is at the head of the table as we gather together each week. Even so, he demonstrates his authority by serving us. Thus, we should serve one another. Gathering around the Lord’s Table is not a time for arguing and disputing about correct interpretations and authoritative power struggles. It is an occasion for serving one another the symbols (bread and wine) that proclaim our common deliverance given us by the only sacrifice to have ever been raised from the dead. Indeed, God has called us to his table to celebrate what he accomplished on the altar of the cross. May he grant us grace as we serve one another around his table.
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