On the night before he died, Christ famously sat down for a last supper with his disciples. He broke the bread and said, “This is my body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of me.” [1]

He was thirty-three years old, in the prime of his life, at that magical intersection of youth and full man strength. As devastating as his death would be, he also managed to avoid a lot. No morning scan in the mirror to see gray hairs spreading across his scalp like contagion, no uphill battle against the development of love handles, no pulling of his shoulder muscles doing some mundane task.

Just as we measure time before (B.C.) and after (A.D.) his birth, so our experience of him changes before the age of 33 and afterwards. As a youth, his age and beard seem interminably far away, but post 33 we begin to see his life in a different context. Just as surely as he was God, he was also a man, a paradox that will make your head explode if you focus on it for too long.

Immediately after that last supper, he took them for a walk in the garden of Gethsemane, where he told them, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” [2]

In those pre-33 days, this statement is heard as a wild encouragement, albeit a very unrealistic one. Doing greater things that JC? That seems extremely unlikely. Post-33, we hear it for what it is: a sheepish admission from a young guy on his way to the father.

It’s as if he’s saying ‘You think what I’m about to endure is difficult? Enduring your trial will be even more impressive.’ You will navigate mid-life, wrestle with purpose, face disappointments, strain to hear my voice in the midst of life’s chaos and noise. Then as you approach late life, questions of legacy and deeply wondering what life was all about will come at you. You’ll see the things you dedicated your time to being torn down by the younger generation, they will misunderstand you and reject you. They will crucify and curse you.

Meanwhile, your body will be broken. Hips and knees will give out, minds will become dull and confused. You’ll have no energy to face the day, someone else will dress you and lead you where you don’t want to go.

When that’s happening, do this in remembrance of me, he says. Remember that I came not as the total expression of humanity, but to show that a different way was possible.

He says, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” [3]

The flesh continues to break apart. A physical body circles the drain while spiritually something new is about to be born.

As the days and years pass, 33 slips further into the rearview mirror. Do not work for that which spoils, but release and let go.[4] Allow the kernel to unravel. Spread seeds far and wide to multiply the vibrant life that is within. Cling not to youth, accomplishment, legacy, and name. For whoever wants to hoard their life will lose it, but those that give it away will gain it back in another form. [5,6]

1. 1 Corinthians 11:24

2. John 14:12

3. John 12:24

4. John 6:27

5. Luke 9:24

6. Isaiah 55:10

This is my Body