In keeping with our 2017 preaching theme of “Practical Discipleship,” today we will examine another one of those things that disciples do—they participate in Communion Services. So let’s take a look at “The First Communion Service.” Then we will conduct a 21st century Communion Service! It was Thursday of the final week of the life of Jesus. According to the Jewish calendar, it was the 14th day of the first month of the year—the month of Nisan. Multiplied thousands of lambs were killed at twilight, and in the hours that followed, every household in Jerusalem ate the ancient Passover Meal—which consisted of roast lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and grape juice that had been preserved at harvest time in goatskin bags. This was the setting John was describing when he wrote, “It was just before the Passover Feast” (John 13:1a, NIV). After washing His disciples’ feet in a second-story room in a residence in Jerusalem, Jesus gave new meaning to the Ancient Passover tradition by conducting the first Communion Service. Then He went immediately with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane where they often camped for the night. Sometime after midnight a mob arrived, Jesus was arrested, and His disciples fled. He was escorted to the palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where He was tried by the Jews and condemned. Because the Jews, under Roman law, did not have the authority to enact the death penalty, they were forced to take Him to Governor Pilate from whom they demanded a trial in the Roman Court. Early on Friday morning Jesus stood trial before Pilate, was flogged, humiliated, and finally sentenced to death by crucifixion. He was led to a place of execution on a hill just outside the gates of the City of Jerusalem, and by three o’clock Friday afternoon, He died on a Roman rack of torture and execution that we call a cross. Just before 6 o’clock Friday evening His body was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Sometime during Friday night and Saturday, Jesus made a journey to hell in the heart of the earth. Then at sunrise on Sunday morning women came to His tomb and discovered that God had raised Him from death! He spent the next forty days appearing to His disciples and teaching them about His kingdom, and then He ascended to His Father. None of these events was a surprise to Jesus! That’s what John meant when he wrote, “Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1b, NIV).