As we come to this Table, week after week, we know that the Lord is feeding us. And we should take note of all the different ways Scripture talks about the feeding of us.
In the famous passage at the end of the gospel of John, where Jesus asks Peter three times if he loved Him, much attention is paid to the different words used there for the word love. But not as much attention is paid to the fact that in the first exchange, after Peter answered the Lord affirmatively, the Lord responded with “feed my lambs.” The last two times, He tells Peter to feed His sheep, but the first time it is “feed my lambs.”
As has often been pointed out, being a sheep is not the most flattering metaphor in the world. Sheep are not the super-heroes of the animal kingdom. But lambs are a weak version of that. And Jesus tells Peter to feed my lambs. This means that Jesus has lambs, and it means that they are to receive food. It also means that the food we receive is all grace—it must not be any kind of achievement award, or “best in show” ribbon.
You are here, and perhaps you feel your weakness. Perhaps you feel it acutely. Know that this food is for you. Jesus did not come to this earth for all those (non-existent) people who had their act together. He traveled through the land, seeking out the weak and the diseased. He is the great Healer, not the Giver of gold medals.
There will come a time in redemptive history when He does say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That does happen, and we should yearn for it. But He does not say that to us yet. What does He say to us now? He says, “Take, and eat.” He says, “Take, and drink.”
So come, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.