TD Jakes - Communion Service (03/15/2021)
Jesus, the God-man, fully divine yet fully human, sacrificed His glory and advantages of divinity to suffer and die as a man on the cross, becoming our substitute Lamb and Kinsman Redeemer. In the midst of turmoil and plague, communion reminds us of His profound sacrifice—His body broken and blood shed—so that the death angel passes over us, freeing us from guilt and covering our homes today.
Jesus: The God-Man and Kinsman Redeemer
On one end of the story, we see fear, anxiety, pressure, and humanity—which is very important for you and me. We do not need a God who cannot be touched by the feeling of our infirmities or who does not understand human feelings. We need a God who is our Kinsman Redeemer, kin to us.
Jesus is not just the good man; He is the God-man. He is all the way God of gods, yet all the way man at the same time. To redeem us, to be our Kinsman Redeemer, to be the Lamb of God, He does not come as the Lion of the tribe of Judah—He comes as the Lamb to offer Himself as a sacrifice.
What makes the sacrifice profound is that He does not do it in His divinity; He does it in His humanity. He becomes our substitute Lamb, the second Adam. The Bible says there is one mediator between God and man: the man Christ Jesus.
Sacrificing Divinity for Humanity
He did not go to the cross in the full vesture of His godliness. Divinity cannot be nailed or killed. He went to the cross as a man and died for us. That makes the sacrifice more profound—He does not come in all His glory.
He prayed, "Father, glorify Me with the glory I had with You before the foundations of the world." On the cross, He is stripped not just of clothing but of that pre-existent glory. He sacrificed omnipresence and omniscience.
The disciples asked about the sign of His coming and the end of the age. He said it is not given to you or the Son to know, but only the Father. He gave up omniscience to become like us at our lowest.
When we could not be like Him, He became like us so we might become like Him.
From Gethsemane to Calvary
Between the Garden of Gethsemane and the atrocities of Calvary, we see the magnitude of the sacrifice for our redemption from the curse of the law, sin, and death—to give us righteousness with God.
At the communion table, the bread epitomizes His humanity from Mary; His divinity comes from the Father through the Holy Spirit. He carries divine, untainted blood.
The flesh (bread) and divinity (blood) come together at the table for the full picture. He could not redeem us with sin-filled blood; He had to be a holy sacrifice.
In our lives, we are divine yet human—faith and fear, confidence and anxiety, peace and pressure—all collaborating at once.
Communion Connects Humanity and Divinity
There is a part that says everything will be all right, and a part that cannot sleep. A part that knows God covers us, and a part with indigestion, rashes, snapping at people. All that comes to the table.
I want to talk to who you really are—not who you pretend or were taught to be. Communion connects us to God, to one another, humanity to divinity. We become one with the body of Christ, His expression in the earth.
Reading from Luke 22 (King James): Jesus instructs them to follow a man bearing a pitcher of water into a house for the guest chamber—an upper room furnished.
The Passover (later called communion) happens in a house, not synagogue or sanctuary. It is not odd to God that we partake in homes—He did too.
The Upper Room Passover
When the hour came, He sat with the twelve apostles. With desire, He desired to eat this Passover before He suffered. He would not eat or drink again until fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
He took the cup, gave thanks: "Take this and divide it amongst yourselves." None of us has everything, but all have something—divided amongst the body of Christ.
Away with the idea one person has the fullness of God, revelation, gift, power. It is divided amongst ourselves.
He took bread, gave thanks, broke it: "This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me."
Changing the Meaning of Passover
In the upper room, the physical body of Christ hands them bread—the memorial body—saying, "This is My body." He changes the meaning of Passover elements by His word.
Historically, Passover recalled the lamb's blood on doorposts so the plague passed over. The blood meant death had already been applied—judgment satisfied.
We are not here because we are perfect or righteous. Christ died in our stead. The blood on the doorpost tells the death angel: death has already been executed here—no double judgment.
He freed and liberated us—walk without guilt. The blood means this house is already dealt with.
Communion as Covenant in Plague
We partake of a contract with God amid plague—started in chaos, fear. For Christ, amid betrayal, beating, trial.
For anyone facing turmoil—financial, emotional, spiritual, domestic—this is a great time for communion. Paul: know Him in the fellowship of His suffering and power of His resurrection.
Faith leads into suffering—wilderness, barrenness, rejection, pain—but nothing it cannot get you out of. He is Alpha and Omega.
This generation faces a plague landing on our shores—thousands dead, morgues overflowing. God gets our attention, calls to repentance, unity against a common enemy.
A Common God in Common Struggle
Common enemy means common God to protect. Common question means common answer: Jesus.
As we partake, let faith rise—weak say strong, poor say rich. The blood arrests fear, anxiety. We are covered—not my house.
Washing hands with water: acknowledging unworthiness, cleansed by the Word. Nothing but the blood washes sin's virus touching all humanity.
This home communion may be most sacred, biblical—pastors joining in homes for covering.
The Price of Freedom
Freedom costs—wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, chastisement for our peace, stripes for healing.
Prayer over bread: Freedom has a bill—someone misunderstood, radical. Thank You for suffering we cannot comprehend. It should have been me—You took my place.
Partake together: Suffering not foreign to faith—we survive it, though we cry, feel low.
Over the cup: Most meaningful communion—in middle of plague, bodies, respirators, masks, shut-ins. First time lived through it.
Lifting the Blood
Prayer over cup: Grateful for grace, mercy, shed blood applied. Plead the blood.
Lift the cup as sign to enemy: death angel passed over. Above thoughts, emotions, fears. The blood is against you, Satan—touching no one.
Over hospitals, respirators, grieving families—lift the blood. New Testament in the blood—new covenant.
Drink together: As often as you do this, show the Lord's death till He comes—in remembrance of Me.