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Kleinig continually directs the reader's attention to Christ and his gifts.
To our earthly eyes, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a strange sight. The pastor lifts a piece of bread and a cup of wine, speaking our Lord's words from the night in which he was betrayed: "Take, eat; this is my body…Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:26-28). In this sacrament, Jesus gives us his very body and blood to eat and drink for the forgiveness of our sins. But how can this be?
The foundation of The Lord's Supper: A Guide to the Heavenly Feast by John Kleinig rests on Jesus and his own words. According to Kleinig, "His words about the bread as his body and the wine as his blood are, on any account, strange. They puzzle and mystify us…indeed they seem too good to be true. But since Jesus said them, they must be true" (pg. 49). Kleinig takes Jesus at his word and invites his reader to do the same.
Theologians have wrestled with explaining this sacramental mystery for centuries. However, in The Lord's Supper, Kleinig does not attempt to explain or rationalize the sacrament through human reason. Kleinig simply takes Jesus at his word. The author, speaking of our Lord, he writes:
"He uses the human hands and mouths of his human ministers to deliver his body and blood to his disciples. We do not understand how this happens, but we do know that he does this in his Holy Supper. We know this by what he tells us. We know what he gives, and why. We know that he gives eternal life to us who believe in what he says and receive the consecrated bread and wine as his flesh and blood" (pg. 122).
An order of prayer for meditation on the Lord's Supper is provided at the beginning of the book and can be used as a meditation to begin each new chapter. At the close of each chapter are a few stanzas of a selected hymn. Kleinig notes, "While prayer and praise fit us well for the proper appreciation of a divine mystery, sung poetry enables us to express what we otherwise find so hard to teach, let alone explain. It helps us to contemplate and adore what we can never fully fathom" (pg. 9).
In The Lord's Supper, Kleinig does not attempt to explain or rationalize the sacrament through human reason.
Kleinig explores the mystery and gift of the Lord's Supper both through Jesus' teachings as well as the vivid imagery of the Old Testament, which foreshadowed this feast of forgiveness and new life.
The Old Testament is filled with feasts and celebratory meals. In the first few chapters, Kleinig unpacks these meals. He shows his reader how they were shadows pointing toward the "meal of meals" our Lord would institute in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The author points out, "This was not just another meal in a long line of holy meals. It was the meal of meals, the feast to end all feasts. Jesus did not establish it as an optional celebration; he commanded his disciples to continue to celebrate it in remembrance of him" (pg. 20).
After speaking of these holy feasts and celebratory meals, the author then spends the subsequent chapters expounding the words of our Lord. He begins with these words of Jesus: "Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:27-28).
As with the feasts, Kleinig shows how all of the high priests, sacrifices, and covenants of blood in the Old Testament point to Christ and what he offers us in this heavenly feast. These chapters are rich with the imagery of Christ's work as our great high priest, the One who finishes the work of atonement and brings us into the holy of holies.
Jesus makes us holy not with the blood of animals but with his own blood. Our high priest, himself, is the sacrifice for our sin. In the Lord's Supper, Jesus gives us his holy blood, which was shed for us for the forgiveness of all our sins. Kleinig explains, "By his blood Jesus sanctifies us inwardly and completely. By ourselves we are not holy. But we are holy in him. He shares his own holiness with us so that we are now as holy as he is" (pg. 71).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says he is "the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:41). In this Sacrament, Jesus gives us himself, the Bread of Life. The Bread of Life offers his very body for us to eat and his blood for us to drink in this divine feast. Kleinig observes, "Normally we assimilate the food that we eat. It becomes a part of us and our bodies. But in the Lord's Supper, we have a food that assimilates us to itself. We become what we eat" (pg. 112). The great exchange takes place and we receive from Christ all his righteousness and work for us.
Kleinig continually directs the reader's attention to Christ and his gifts. Through his deep engagement with the Old Testament, Kleinig provides a rich backdrop to the Lord's Supper and shows how Christ is the fulfillment of these texts.
I've read many of Kleinig's previous works, including his commentaries on Leviticus, Hebrews, and his book Grace Upon Grace. In each, I've found this to be a common thread: the Christian life is one of gift and reception. He is quick to point out where Christ is in the text and where Christ is giving himself to us in the sacraments. This most recent work on the Lord's Supper once again pointed me to Christ and left me with a more profound hunger for the Lord's Supper.
To our earthly eyes, the sacraments may not appear profound. In Holy Baptism, our sins are washed away with just a few splashes of water and God's Word. While we may see just a small piece of bread and a sip of wine with our eyes, our ears of faith see a heavenly feast laid before us. Christ's true body and blood are given to us here in the sacrament for the forgiveness of our sins.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). Here in this sacrament we find the "meal of meals" as Kleinig calls it. In this sacrament our hunger is satisfied with the righteousness of Christ given to us as we eat and drink his body and blood.
Just as Mary humbly replied to the angel, "Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38), Kleinig adopts the same posture of faith and invites his readers to do likewise. What makes this book unique is not the author's profound insights on the sacrament, though there are many. What makes this book unique is the author's faith in Jesus' word to do what Jesus promises it will do. He simply takes Jesus at his word and receives this sacrament as a treasure.
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