Acts 2:42
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers (ASV).
Patterns are everywhere, patterns matter to God. Patterns can be subtle, especially God’s patterns. Dick Rueben, forerunner to the Pensacola Awakening, has said, “when the pattern is right the glory will fall”. In this verse from Acts we see a pattern the early church continued stedfastly in. Those words “continued stedfastly” are the subtle words of covenant obligation. A Covenant is not a lightweight agreement, it carries with it a great obligation to those who enter in. The fruit of that obligation would produce a continuing steadfastness in remembering the terms of the Covenant. These four things listed in Acts 2:42 were very important, each was an essential “ingredient” to a long anticipated pattern delivered & entrusted to them by the Son of God – the Apostle of heaven himself, Jesus. With whom they had entered an eternal Covenant.
When Jesus sat down with his disciples to eat “the Last Supper” he told them, “with desire I have desired to eat this meal with you!”, that double emphasis on desire means it was really very special to him. I have to admit it’s a whole lot more desire for this meal than I probably have ever had for it. Have you ever really wanted to do something and whoever you are with was just not into it? or didn’t quite get why it mattered to you so much? & worse – what if they didn’t care, or they even tried to talk you out of caring so much about it. I remember taking a friend to church once and wondering what he thought of the communion part of the service. “Vampire Cannibal’s (Blood/Flesh)?”, wouldn’t it be OK just to leave that bit out? Why was this meal such a big deal to Jesus? Such a big deal that his disciples “continued stedfastly” in remembering it after he was gone. Should it be a bigger deal to me?
I love my roots. I grew up in the Salvation Army, a movement birthed by General William & Catherine Booth. The impact of the Salvation Army’s ministry on the world has transcended England in their time and continues to have a global impact to this day. Having said this communion was not part of the Salvation Army’s “stedfast worship” pattern at all. This adjustment was made because they were ministering to men from the streets struggling with addictions to alcohol. Addictions that were destroying the men and their families. The wine of communion could have easily been a stumbling block for these new converts. Non-alcoholic grape juice was not an alternative at that time. Avoiding communion in this type of ministry situation sounds reasonable to me & who can argue with the sustained fruit of the Salvation Army over the years? So coming from this tradition, it has been curious to find myself drawn to understand better the mysterious significance set before us in the pattern of the Lord’s Table.
If we are going to begin to understand the weight of this meal we have to first look at two key patterns. The pattern of the Blood Covenant and the pattern of the Holy Place & the Priesthood.
Jim Garlow & Rob Price outline in their book THE BLOOD COVENANT, the elements of the Covenant Ceremony:
Representatives,
Terms,
Blood Sacrifice,
Walk of Death,
The Mark on the Body,
Oaths & Vows,
Covenant Meals,
Memorials, and
Powerful Exchanges which included;
a. Robes,
b. Belts & Weapons,
c. Names,
d. the Oldest Male Child.
If we were to take time to analyze the 6 major covenants in the Scriptures we would find each follows this pattern to varying degrees. In the New Covenant, the ultimate fulfillment of these progressive Covenants, we find Jesus on his way to the cross sitting down with his disciples to eat a Covenant Meal.
The dominant idea in this Blood Covenant exchange was union (a sacred partnership). The strength of one covenant representative would compliment the strength of the other, or a weaker tribe may enter into a Covenant with a stronger tribe and receive the blessings of all the strength and protection of the stronger covenant party. From the disciples perspective, who probably had a clearer understanding of Covenant than we do, Jesus’ statement, “This is the New Covenant in my blood” would have been unprecedented. The Covenant Representative was about to become the Covenant Sacrifice. As Jesus’ Covenant partners the disciples would each have complete access to all the heavenly strength Jesus brought to the agreement. A strength that was about to be put on glorious display with his sacrificial death, resurrection from the dead & ascension to the right hand of the Father.
The Second Pattern that is helpful to observe when understanding the weight of this meal is the Pattern of the Priesthood & the Temple, particularly the Holy Place in the Temple. When it comes to his royal priesthood and the pattern of temples and tabernacles Jesus is very intentional. He guards these patterns jealously would be a better way to say this. Within the Holy Place, a location where only the priesthood were permitted to minister to the Lord were three items that relate to the passage in Acts 2:42. The Altar of Incense, the Lampstand and the Table of Shewbread. Within the New Covenant this responsibility would be handed over to his disciples as his royal priesthood in an unprecedented or “New” way. Jesus was revealing the next step in the fulfillment of his pattern on earth. A step so revolutionary it would make the existing temple & priesthood obsolete. What the established Priestly order should have received as a wonderful transition they instead resisted as a threat. Even Jesus’ disciples were struggling to keep up with the way he was fulfilling prophecy before their eyes. The New Covenant Pattern is a Royal Priesthood of all believers where every believer is not only a Priest, but the heart of every Priest is also a living fully mobilized Temple of the Holy Spirit. The responsibility to minister from the Holy Place has not stopped it has transitioned to a more glorious & perfect operation from within the believers heart by the believer in the power of the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant parallel of the Lampstand becomes the Apostles Teaching, The Incense becomes the Prayers of the Saints and the Shewbread becomes the Breaking of Bread. Through the lens of Covenant is it any wonder why Jesus disciples after being asked to “remember” this meal gave themselves wholeheartedly & stedfastly to this pattern, as often as they met.
Bread in Hebrew is the word Lechem. Bethlehem is the House of Bread. Jesus the Living Bread came to the House of Bread for the Salvation of Humanity. Jesus was very clear that only true communion with him was the pathway to salvation. The Hebrew word for Battle is identical to the word Bread only the vowel’s differ – Lacham. The vowel’s are inserted only for the benefit of our English transliteration. I believe there is a very profound provision of strength in the bread of presence for those who believe.
King David when he was fleeing for his life from King Saul met Ahimelech the priest at Nob. David asks for food for his men who have left in haste from Saul. Ahimelech tells him there is only Holy Bread which he could only allow them to eat on the minimum basis that they were consecrated. According to Levitical Law only the priests were permitted to eat this bread (Matt 12:4). David assured Ahimelech that his men were consecrated & on this basis they were given the Shewbread to eat. David then asks if Ahimelech had any weapons and is told that the sword of Goliath, the slain Philistine champion, was in the tabernacle. He gave it to David who said, “there is none like it in all the land.” David and his men then left and hid from Saul amongst their enemies in Philistia. I personally believe during this exile David & his men were protecting Israel from invading enemies.
What can we take away from this in our New Covenant context?
David and his mighty men eating the Bread of Presence is a remarkable anomaly in the old testament that foreshadows this new covenant meal. It sustained them in their journey as they prepared for the battles that lay ahead. In addition the exchange of weapons, they brought nothing to the exchange, infact they had left their own weapons in their haste to flee King Saul. But here Ahimelech gives them the weapon of their fallen enemy, ‘the finest in the land’. Could it be that the Lord wanted David to remember, “It was in my strength you conquered the giant Goliath, do not be afraid, I am with you now, continue in my strength and you will prevail“. I believe there is also a similar weapon exchange in the New Covenant. At the Table the Lord has prepared for us, we are invited to lay our carnal weapons of rebellion at his feet in exchange for his mighty weapons – “there is none like (them) in all the land”. His weapons of consecration, fasting & prevailing prayer are highly effective & capable of pulling down every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Cor 10:4)
I believe there is great significance in the practice of breaking break together. It is more than just believers having a meal together. But when we intentionally remember the Lord’s Table as Jesus set out as a pattern, we are demonstrating great honor to Jesus. As we remember the whole-hearted way Jesus gave himself to this New Covenant at the cross, there is a contact with his presence, forgiveness, acceptance, peace, healing, strength & protection; that brings the deepest restoration to the soul. In this hour, we, as Jesus disciples also need to remember & continue stedfastly in breaking the bread of battle together. It would not be wise to forsake something Jesus desired with such desire to leave with us as a pattern.
(Incidentally the word remember is also a Covenant word and it means more than just don’t forget what we did today. In the context of Covenant it means remember by continuing to do this. It would have been received with great honor by the disciples as part of their ongoing covenant obligation to their friend & Lord)
Sources:
Garlow & Price, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Beacon Hill Press
Kenyon, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Kenyon Gospel Publishing Society
Trumbull, THE BLOOD COVENANT, Imprint Books
Reuben, PATTERN FOR REVIVAL FIRE SERIES, MP3
http://www.dickreuben.org/the-pattern-for-revival-series.html