26 Would you give your life?

                                               

Would you give your life?

Matt 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

A familiar saying you might have heard is “I would give my life for my children” Human's are not the only species capable of such sacrifice and in fact a certain spider does this as part of their life cycle. The spider “Stegodphus dumicola” is one of a few species who literally give up their own life to conserve the species. But they do more than this. The Mother a short while after her babies eggs have hatched allow the baby spiders to enter her body and literally eat her from the inside out. Her insides turn into a fluid mucous that ensure at least some of the babies survival.

This sounds quite grotesque but it is the only way to ensure survival of the species. Humans may not quite go to that extent, but they might give up their lives for their children perhaps saving them from drowning or a fire etc., or standing in the way of an attacker. Many people have also died on the battlefield taking a bullet or a grenade for their comrades.

Jesus was to die for the human race. Before this he held out his hands and asked his disciples to eat “of his body”. This seemed quite an absurd invitation, after all cannibalism was frowned upon. But Jesus was looking forward to his death, he wasn't dead yet so they could not ate of his actual flesh, but he was asking them to identify with his coming sacrifice. He wanted them to know his death would not just be a routine execution, it was he that was giving of his own life. He wanted the disciples to metaphorically taste his death, be part of it, in fact die with him. His flesh would not in fact stay dead, it would be alive again as he is eternal, so we would be with him also in eternal life. His body, his blood shed for us.

But the spider who dies for her species and the vast majority who of humans who die for others, generally die for those they love, or relate to. Very rarely will they die for enemies, for people they loathe. Jonah himself did not want to save the people of Nineveh, not because he was afraid to preach, but that he loathed the people and thought them unworthy of being saved. Jesus is not like that. He was the in the beginning of creation, and he is there with his people still, holding out that offer to eat of his body and live.

Rom 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.