We Savor His Death As Our Life

We Savor His Death as Our Life

God gave strict instructions about how the Passover lamb was to be eaten:

Roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast. Do not eat any of the meat raw or boiled in water. The whole animal—including the head, legs, and internal organs—must be roasted over a fire. Do not leave any of it until the next morning. Burn whatever is not eaten before morning. (Exodus 12:8-10)

By ingesting the whole offering, the Israelites made total identification with the sacrifice God provided for their salvation. They took it in personally, completely. It became nourishment that sustained and satisfied them.

Just as the Passover lamb had to be eaten, so Christ, our Passover Lamb, needs to be eaten. Jesus said,

I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. (John 6:53-56)

In his Passion, Jesus’ flesh was ripped and pierced; his blood flowed. By inviting us to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, he’s pointing us to the life-giving nourishment of his death. It is only as we partake of his death on our behalf that we become united with him in that death. This is the feast of salvation that we cannot merely admire. We must eat.

It isn’t enough for the wine to be poured and the bread to be broken. It isn’t enough that Jesus died. We must savor his death as our life, or we will never know what it means to live. It’s not enough to be inspired by Jesus’ beautiful life; we have to find a feast of satisfaction in his death.

Feast for my soul, I cannot afford to simply nibble at your teaching or feebly try to follow your example. I must partake of your death. So I come to your table with an aching hunger in my soul and partake of the feast of your dying sacrifice. This is salvation—the salvation feast in which I take your life into mine and live.