Ever since I was a child, the Lord’s Supper was sacred to me. Even though I did not participate, I could feel that there was something special about the event and I longed to partake of it. In the summer of 2010, when I was accepted into the church through baptism, I stood together with church members ready for the Lord’s Supper. Excited, I thought, “Now I am a part of them and I can finally join in this sacred ritual.” However, I did not understand the spiritual meaning until I heard the sermon. In the past, I had listened to various sermons presented at such meetings, but at this time I was determined to focus more. I placed myself into the words that the minister was touched by God to share, and I saw myself a sinner, unworthy to follow Christ’s example 2,000 years before. In that moment, a thought came to my mind: “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). It was then that I realized that this sacred ceremony was instituted for me also. Since then, I have always kept in mind that I am who I am because of Christ my Saviour.

During their daily walks together, Jesus was always trying to prepare His disciples for the coming trials. Unfortunately, being focused on their own personal worldly progress, the disciples could not understand what He was talking about. Despite their poor insight, however, Jesus still wanted to leave them with a comforting gift. In the very last moments before His night of trial, Jesus gifted the disciples with something that would remind them of Him. “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:26–29).

“Christ was standing at the point of transition between two economies and their two great festivals. He, the spotless Lamb of God, was about to present Himself as a sin offering, that He would thus bring to an end the system of types and ceremonies that for four thousand years had pointed to His death. As He ate the Passover with His disciples, He instituted in its place the service that was to be the memorial of His great sacrifice. The national festival of the Jews was to pass away forever. The service which Christ established was to be observed by His followers in all lands and through all ages.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 652.

Just like my own past experience with the Lord’s Supper, the disciples did not at first understand the spiritual meaning behind it. It was only when the Lord departed from them that they gained true insight. As they “waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief. As they called to remembrance the words that Christ had spoken to them before His death they understood more fully their meaning. Truths which had passed from their memory were again brought to their minds, and these they repeated to one another. They reproached themselves for their misapprehension of the Saviour. Like a procession, scene after scene of His wonderful life passed before them. As they meditated upon His pure, holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character. Oh, if they could but have the past three years to live over, they thought, how differently they would act! If they could only see the Master again, how earnestly they would strive to show Him how deeply they loved Him, and how sincerely they sorrowed for having ever grieved Him by a word or an act of unbelief! But they were comforted by the thought that they were forgiven. And they determined that, so far as possible, they would atone for their unbelief by bravely confessing Him before the world.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 36.

The disciples longed to be with their Saviour again, and while they were meditating on these thoughts “they realized what a privilege had been theirs in being permitted to associate so closely with Christ. Sadness filled their hearts as they thought of how many times, they had grieved Him by their slowness of comprehension, their failure to understand the lessons that, for their good, He was trying to teach them.”—Ibid., p. 37. Still, they remembered the comforting words of Christ, “this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). These words inspired them. As the disciples would take part in the Lord’s Supper, they looked forward to the promised day of His coming and kept the sacrifice that He made for them alive in their minds.

“The symbols of the Lord’s house are simple and plainly understood, and the truths represented by them are of the deepest significance to us.”—The Review and Herald, June 22, 1897. “Till He shall come the second time in power and glory, this ordinance is to be celebrated. It is the means by which His great work for us is to be kept fresh in our minds.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 652, 653. Meditating on the Lord’s Supper helps us to plainly understand the plan of salvation and how this plan applies to us personally if we are willing to accept Jesus as our Saviour. The Bible declares that “all have sinned,” and that “the wages of sin is death” Romans 3:23; 6:23. Still, Jesus is comforting each one of us. The Contemporary English Version of the Bible translates His declaration as follows: “This is my blood, and with it God makes His agreement with you. It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven” (Matthew 26:28 ECV). “Christ pledged Himself to them as their Redeemer. He committed to them the new covenant, by which all who receive Him become children of God, and joint heirs with Christ. By this covenant every blessing that heaven could bestow for this life and the life to come was theirs.”—Ibid., pp. 656, 659. This new covenant is open to each one of us through His grace, and every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we renew this covenant with Him. Christ pledged Himself to us as our Redeemer, and when justice asks for our blood, He presents the marks on His hands in our behalf.

“To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins, and that we are complete in Him.”—Ibid., p. 389. The Lord declares, “ ‘He that eateth My flesh,’ He says, ‘and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.’ John 6:54, 56, 57. To the holy Communion this scripture in a special sense applies. As faith contemplates our Lord’s great sacrifice, the soul assimilates the spiritual life of Christ. That soul will receive spiritual strength from every Communion.”—Ibid., p. 660.

Before the disciples were able to have the Lord’s Supper, a preparatory work had to be done so that they could leave aside their evil thoughts and be able to assimilate the meaning of this sacred event. Jesus therefore invited them to join Him in an unexpected practice. Normally, in that culture, the servants had the duty to wash the guests’ feet.

However, on this day, “The pitcher, the basin, and the towel were there, in readiness for the feet washing; but no servant was present, and it was the disciples’ part to perform it. But each of the disciples, yielding to wounded pride, determined not to act the part of a servant. All manifested a stoical unconcern, seeming unconscious that there was anything for them to do. By their silence they refused to humble themselves.”—Ibid., p. 644. In response to the disciples’ misguided attitude, Jesus explained to them that, in reality, if they wanted to become first in the kingdom of God, they must take the role of a servant. It was then that Jesus set the ultimate example by girding Himself with a towel and washing their feet. This “action opened the eyes of the disciples. Bitter shame and humiliation filled their hearts. They understood the unspoken rebuke, and saw themselves in altogether a new light.”—Ibid.

“Christ was here instituting a religious service. By the act of our Lord this humiliating ceremony was made a consecrated ordinance. It was to be observed by the disciples, that they might ever keep in mind His lessons of humility and service.”—Ibid., p. 650.

In His last prayer for the disciples, Jesus prayed both for them and for everyone who would believe in His name throughout the ages. Christ prayed that they all might be one with Him, with the Father, and with one another.

“The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. In mind, in purpose, in character, they are one, but not in person. By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus.”—Sons and Daughters of God, p. 286.

When the disciples first came to Christ, their characters were unfit for Heaven. By beholding Christ and following His teachings, however, their characters were transformed and the unity between them and Christ can be clearly seen in their later life. The same the Saviour wants to accomplish such a transformation in each one of our lives to prepare us for Heaven. If we are to live unitedly in Heaven, this unity must begin here. “Christ gave His disciples the ordinance of washing feet for them to practice, which would teach them lessons of humility. He connected this ordinance with the supper. He designed that this should be a season of self-examination, that His followers might have an opportunity to become acquainted with the true feelings of their own hearts toward God and one another.”—The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, pp. 201, 202.

“Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.

“He who beholds the Saviour’s matchless love will be elevated in thought, purified in heart, transformed in character. He will go forth to be a light to the world, to reflect in some degree this mysterious love. The more we contemplate the cross of Christ, the more fully shall we adopt the language of the apostle when he said, ‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.’ Gal. 6:14.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 661.

A true understanding of the sacrifice made on our behalf changes us. It is through daily meditation on Christ’s sacrifice for us, through having a desire to become like Him, and through a daily yielding to His transforming power that we will experience the same transformation that the disciples did—and such a transformation enables us to be complete in Jesus and thus fitted for Heaven.