Psalm 16, Luke 24:13–35
Psalm 16 is considered by many to be a Messianic Psalm. Peter and Paul both seemed to have some agreement on this as they appear to have referenced as it appears to be referenced to by them in a number of places. One of the contrasts is the cup of blood (v4) and the cup of blessing (v5). The cup of blood is what is used to pour out the drink offering. This is a play on the “right” drink offering before God, which was the fruit of the vine. Instead, this blood offering is an unrighteous offering, not only because of the conflict of the drink offering but also—and primarily—the offering was to a god other than God. In other words, those who were making these blood offerings had chosen to follow false gods for their security.
On the contrary, the cup of blessing is a Godly portion which holds promise and blessing. The cup of blessing comes with an inheritance. The cup of blessing comes with Godly fortitude (not false fortitude). The cup of blessing comes with security. And, lastly, the cup of blessing comes with the path of eternal life. With all of that, one can easily see why Messianic is applied to this psalm, especially in the context of communion.
In the context of scripture (and yesterday’s sermon), we have talked about the institution of communion, which was Jesus‘ Last Supper with his disciples, and was observed within the context of Passover. One could say that Cleopas and the other disciple (some believe it was his wife) experienced the first “true” communion. In many ways, it is the exclamation point on Paul’s words, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”(1 Corinthians 11:26). Seeing is believing. They saw their Lord alive after he was dead, and declared alive again. They became witnesses to his bodily resurrection. What a way to know in your heart what the new covenant included!
1) Do you remember your first communion? If not, that’s okay. If you do, what do you remember? Do you remember the last communion you took? If so, what do you remember?
2) In certain church communities communion is taken individually Why do you think that is? Generations Community this coming Sunday, will take communion in framily groups? Why is this important?
3) Why is the individual and group taking of communion important? What does this tell us about church-, faith-, and community-life?