“So they prepared the Passover meal. When the hour came, Jesus reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…’”
— Luke 22:13b-15
When we sit at the Lord’s Table with our brothers and sisters to remember Him, our hearts are once again overwhelmed by His love. He commands us to do this in order to commemorate Him. At the Lord’s Table, we all sit with Him. As we take our seats, the Holy Spirit reminds us that the Lord is not merely “present” in a general sense—He is literally sitting down together with us.
The Lord has already gained the victory, the great victory; today He sits at God’s right hand in heaven. That is Christ’s throne—an eternal seat. He is also preparing a place for us there, and when the time is fulfilled, He will bring us to dwell with Him.
On that day, all wars will cease. The Victor will be none other than our Lord Himself. He is the Prince of Peace—not because He compromised or sought peace, but because by righteousness and love He utterly defeated His enemies.
On that day the Lord will host a feast there, inviting all to sit with Him and drink the new wine.
There is a hymn entitled “God and Man at Table Are Sat Down” which sings,
“Who is this who spreads the victory feast?
Who is this who makes our warring cease?
Jesus, risen Savior, Prince of Peace
God and man at table are sat down,”
That is the scene of that day.
Yet today, in spirit, the Lord comes among us to set this simple table—so despised by the world, even scorned by many whom Christ has redeemed.
This humble feast is laid out on this soon-to-pass earth, on this land torn by battle. We, who are weary and even faint-hearted amid the conflict, whenever we sit down with the Lord and behold the King of Peace Himself come and dine with us, our hearts are melted.
O Lord, we thank You!
Truly, we must thank the Lord. He loves us so. He did not ordain this humble feast so that we would confess our faults (though we have many); He ordained it to express His love for us, a love that, having loved us, loves to the very end—and to give us the opportunity to express our love for Him.
That night, knowing He would soon depart from His disciples, He set the table to express His gratitude to them. What had the disciples done to merit His thanks? Jesus Himself says,
“You are those who have stood by me in my trials.”
— Luke 22:28
He spoke these words in the midst of their quarrel over who among them was greatest.
Oh, our Lord—He truly appreciates those who choose to accompany Him. Though they could not do anything for Him, and though on the very night of His greatest trial they all fled, yet He was sincerely grateful for their willingness to be with Him.
We often feel the Lord does not need us—that His gratitude to the disciples was merely magnanimity, not born of real need. But no—He truly appreciated their presence, because He needs the companionship of those He loves. This need does not spring from lack in Himself, but from love: He loved us to such an extent that He cherishes even the smallest return of our love.
In the Song of Solomon, it is the bride, not the bridegroom, who says,
“Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
jealousy fierce as the grave…”
— Song of Solomon 8:6
This is where the bride belongs.
After Adam and Eve fell, God said to the woman,
“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
A wife needs her husband, longs for him, depends on him—that is her rightful place. Likewise, today the Church, as the bride, should occupy this position. It is only natural: we cannot do without the Lord, and it is right to plead with Him to keep us in His heart (to do otherwise—if we do not ask, if we feel no sense of loss apart from Him—is perversity).
Yet that night, when the Lord instituted this feast, how extraordinary was His love!
He actually asked us to remember Him!
The Lord could have commanded any service of us, and every command is legitimate. But all His commands call us to follow Him, to walk in righteousness and heavenly ways.
Only once did He command us to remember Him—and to do so until He returns.
Although His own bodily trials on earth ended at the resurrection, His Body (the Church) will undergo trials until He comes again. The Lord, Head of the Church, counts this tribulation as His own (Revelation 1:9)—and truly it is, for the Church is His Body, a reality, not merely a symbol. The Lord so longs—indeed needs—for His companions to be with Him throughout this tribulation.
The Lord came to earth not to receive praise, but to suffer: Ultimately to die on the cross. On earth, He heard mostly the complaints and even the curses of sinners, culminating in the cry, “Crucify Him!” And today, He still bears our constant offenses. Yet He forgives us daily, never holding our sins against us.
But when those who love Him gather around the Lord’s Table under the Spirit’s guidance, all together they thank Him and love Him, and the gratitude and praise they offer are as sweet music in His ears.
The voices of thankfulness and adoration from those who love Him—this is the sweetest sound He can hear on earth. When that day comes—when He returns and that heavenly feast is unveiled—creation redeemed will ring out in mighty praise, and we will be but one voice among many. Yet today, this sweet voice on earth is the unique, cherished song that accompanies the Lord in the night.
This voice is now faint, almost silent—almost no one utters it.
Blessed is the one who understands and joins this faint song. Only by experiencing it personally can one grasp the profound relationship between the Lord and His beloved Church—and understand why He commanded us to remember His death until He returns.
When was the last time you, alongside those who love the Lord, sincerely commemorated His death and shared His sufferings?
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