There was nothing neat or tidy about the day that Jesus spilled his blood on the cross for your sins. It was a messy and shocking scene. But it was necessary that the Son of God's blood be spilled out on your behalf. Remember that if you ever have a mishap happen during Communion!
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Can you imagine spilling the tray during a Communion service? I’ve nervously wondered what would happen if I dropped that tray filled with all those little cups of grape juice. And Joni, you have got a story about that, don’t you?
JONI: It once happened at the church where my friend Peter Rosenberger attends. Peter and I became friends when he and his wife, Gracie, launched a prosthetic limb ministry to amputees alongside one of our Wheels for the World teams in Ghana. Well, anyway, Peter says he’s not sure how it happened, but at church, up front by the Communion table, one of the trays spilled over and grape juice splashed all over the pulpit, the floor, the table, and a few startled elders – and it happened in front of the whole congregation. There really wasn't any damage, since the pulpit area is all hardwood, but from the reaction of the shocked parishioners, it was clear everyone thought it was a disaster.
The elders recovered quickly and went about their business of passing the remaining trays row by row; each elder and church member gripping the trays like wrestlers determined not to contribute to the embarrassing scene up at the front of the church. The little cups lay scattered, and the white cloth covering the Communion table had a deep purple stain on it. Peter watched the pastors looking at each other – you could tell they were questioning the protocol for such a mishap. Surely, this should have been covered in a seminary class somewhere, right? But evidently not.
Well Peter was watching all this from the pew when suddenly, something happened inside him that pushed him out of his seat; he stepped into the aisle and walked quickly up to the platform. He bent down and started picking up cups. Another pastor showed up with a roll of paper towels, and the three of them wiped up the juice puddle around the table and pulpit while hundreds of people looked on. They had no idea at the drama being played out in Peter’s heart at that moment. The pastor who was also helping to wipe up the juice whispered his thanks to Peter, but he drew back in surprise at the response he received because Peter at that point was crying. With tears filling his eyes, Peter was barely able to choke out the words, “It’s okay; Jesus did this for me.” No longer was he wiping up grape juice. It was still a Communion service, and, in his heart, Peter knew that the spilled-out juice symbolized the blood of Christ spilled out for his sinful heart.
What a beautiful illustration of the gospel. Peter told the pastors he hoped they might never wash the cloth covering the table; he wanted to see the stain for the rest of his life as a reminder of the good news that someone else paid the debt that he could never pay. After all, there was nothing neat or tidy that day that Jesus spilled his blood on the cross. It was messy – it was a shocking scene. But it was necessary that the Son of God's blood be spilled out on our behalf.
SHAUNA: Oh Joni! I don’t think I’ll ever see those little cups of grape juice the same way again. And I’ll sure hold on to that Communion tray tightly! But if – my hands slip and the whole thing spills, I’ll remember what your friend Peter did – and I’ll just kneel down and mop up the mess. And Friend, I hope the same is true for you. It’s what Jesus did for us – except it wasn’t just grape juice that was spilled on the day Jesus died. It was his blood, his very life, poured out for you and for me.
© Joni and Friends