[0:00] Good morning. I want to encourage you to open your Bibles to Matthew 26, Matthew 26. Thank you.
[0:38] We're getting messages from some of the guys in Zambia. Just so appreciative just to get some training for them as they work in the ministry. But it's good to be back, and I thank you guys. We're continuing where we left off.
[0:50] So we're in Matthew 26. Just reminding you guys that we're now about to look at the Last Supper, the night before Jesus' crucifixion.
[1:01] So we're that close to the crucifixion. But we're in Matthew 26, and today we're looking at verses 17 through 30. 17 through 30. Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?
[1:24] He said, Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, The teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.
[1:35] And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.
[1:49] And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him, one after another, Is it I, Lord? He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
[2:04] The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
[2:15] Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him, You have said so. Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body.
[2:33] And he took a cup, and when he had given things, he gave it to them, saying, 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.
[2:46] I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
[2:58] Let's pray together. Oh, Lord, we again thank you for your word and pray for your Spirit's help as it's opened up, that we would understand what's communicated here.
[3:10] Lord, we pray that we would have affection for our Savior as we see what is laid out here. The beauty, the glory of Christ.
[3:20] Even this foreshadowing, this pointing to his sacrifice. Lord, we pray that you would help us even later as we take the Lord's Supper, that we would remember what's been done.
[3:33] We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. So I've said to you already, this is the night before Jesus is to be crucified. And really, we see two parts to what we're looking at today.
[3:44] One is Jesus keeping the Passover, or what we would oftentimes have been called the Last Supper. But Jesus takes the Passover feast. He observes the Passover feast. And then secondly, he institutes the Lord's Supper.
[3:57] And they're both closely related. They happen at the same night. So we're going to talk about both of these in this message. So first, let's look at Jesus' observation of the Passover. One thing that strikes me about this is we realize that Jesus has been made under the law.
[4:14] And he is willingly submitting to it that he might become our righteousness. That he might be our righteousness. This is the act of obedience of Jesus Christ that we sometimes talk about.
[4:25] The passive obedience we see at the cross, he willingly goes to the cross. But here Jesus is doing what God willed for his people to do. He is observing the Passover as God had commanded it.
[4:40] We see it even the disciples understand this. Verse 17. The question of the disciples shows their full expectation that Jesus would keep the Passover. Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?
[4:52] And so their full expectation is that Jesus would eat the Passover. I didn't know, one, how much time I would have. But secondly, how much knowledge there would be. But I imagine that most of you guys are fairly familiar with the concept of the Passover.
[5:06] It was the tenth plague that happened in Egypt. The angel of the Lord was to pass over all of Egypt. And the firstborn of every household would die. The only way to avoid that was if a lamb was slain and the blood of the lamb was put over the door.
[5:23] And the families would eat of that lamb as a Passover meal. They were to do it. There were certain regulations. I think they had to do it with their staff in their hand.
[5:34] All the food had to be consumed. If it wasn't consumed that night, it had to be burned. Why? Because they were leaving first thing in the morning. As soon as the Passover was over, they would leave. And then immediately after they're given these instructions about the Passover, I just was teaching all this in Zambia, so it's fresh in my mind as well.
[5:51] But Moses does something quite unique. He speaks to the audience he's writing to, the second generation of Israel there in the wilderness before they go into the promised land. And he tells them that when they go into the promised land, they're to observe this every year, generation after generation, to observe the Passover.
[6:08] And so they have a positive command from God to continue to observe the Passover. And the concept of what happened was this, that in every household someone died, either the firstborn or the substitute, the lamb.
[6:25] And the only way you could avoid dying was this, if you were covered by the blood of the lamb. And so then they have this positive command, do this every year so you can remember God's salvation, the way God saved you, the way you didn't suffer death, and others did.
[6:44] The distinction even that God makes for his people. And so we see Jesus willingly submitting himself to this ordinance. He's obeying this command and observing the Passover.
[6:58] Then verse 18, he says, Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. I know there's probably great curiosity about all this, and I really didn't delve into who's this man, and how does Jesus give him commands the way he did?
[7:16] I don't know all the answers. It's possible that God in some ways communicated to him beforehand that there would come this day where he would serve the master. It's just as likely that here's a man who's ready to serve, and when the command comes, he willingly gives.
[7:31] I don't know the answer to that. What I want to focus on instead is Jesus' comment, my time is at hand. My time is at hand. What does Jesus mean here? Well, I think Jesus is speaking here of his death.
[7:43] The time of his death is at hand. He is about to die. Now there's a need for this thing. The Gospel of John makes this especially clear. John 13, 1 says, Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
[8:06] And so John 13, 1 makes clear, what is this hour that's at hand? It's to depart this world. It's to die and ultimately to be resurrected and to ascend to the Father.
[8:17] And so the hours come. And of course, it's consistent with what Jesus has said earlier in his ministry. For example, in John 8, 20, it says, No one arrested him because his hour had not yet come.
[8:31] And so we see in the providence of God, Jesus was untouchable before. Those who wanted to arrest him could not arrest him. Why?
[8:42] Because it wasn't time for him to die yet. His hour had not yet come. But now we see Jesus saying something that's quite significant. My hour is at hand. My time has come.
[8:53] Now remember, maybe you remember what we talked about last time we were in Matthew, that the Sanhedrin had decided to put Jesus to death, but they were going to wait until after the Passover was over.
[9:07] You remember Jesus tells his disciples, Two days I'm going to be put to death on the Passover. And so we see again this revelation that God's timing is ultimate. There's no one interfering with God's timing.
[9:21] Jesus is doing this because his time has come. It's time for him to die. We see in verse 19 that the disciples did as Jesus had directed them.
[9:32] I don't want to belabor this point long, but I see importance in this, that they did exactly what he had commanded. There's obedience to his command. Again, as I talked through the Pentateuch over the last couple of weeks, one of the things we would see over and over again is that God would give commands.
[9:50] And the commands would be repeated, which doesn't make for great reading maybe when you're reading through your Bible. It'd be repeated word for word. And here's what they did. But the point being emphasized is God's people did exactly as God commanded as they built the tabernacle and did other things.
[10:05] And what we see again here is that Jesus' disciples are doing just as he commanded in setting up the Passover. Passover. And I think part of that emphasizes the proper obedience to the Passover commands.
[10:18] They're observing the Passover as God has commanded them to observe the Passover. They're doing it correctly. Now, part of the Passover meal was that as they observed the Passover, the Jewish families were to recount the history of their deliverance from Egypt.
[10:35] They were told they had to teach their children about what happened. Listen to Exodus 12, 26 and 27. And when your children say to you, what do you mean by this service?
[10:47] You shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.
[10:58] Now, I'm going to make the argument in a little bit, but Jesus ties the Lord's Supper to the Passover.
[11:10] So if I can make a side note, an application point right now, isn't the same true for us today with the Lord's Supper? There are probably plenty of kids in the room who are looking and saying, what in the world are you guys doing?
[11:25] What's this all about? This is a great opportunity. We ought to be, every time we take the Lord's Supper, teaching our kids, this is what the Lord's Supper is about. This is a command, at least with the Passover.
[11:37] As they took the Passover, they were to teach, they were to recount the history. Here's what God did in saving us. Can't we do the same? Here's what God has done in saving us.
[11:48] He sent His Son, who gave His body and shed His blood that we might be saved from our sins. But I bring this up because what would normally happen is a recounting of history.
[12:02] Now, it may have happened, it's just not included here, but I point out to you that it's not included here. The way we see this observed is Jesus and His disciples are taking the Passover together as one household would take a Passover together.
[12:18] There'd be one lamb for a household, they're taking the Passover together as a household. Jesus then really leading this. He doesn't teach them, right here at least, about their history, about salvation.
[12:31] What does Jesus talk to them about? Well, He speaks of betrayal and death. One of you will betray Me and I'll be put to death.
[12:43] Now, why is that? I think Jesus is already making a transitional moment or transitional teaching here that really, as we see, He goes into teaching the Lord's Supper.
[12:57] I don't think this is a stretch for me to argue. Jesus begins to speak to them of the greater Passover, of the greater sacrifice.
[13:09] I'll make the argument even more as we go on, but the Passover, maybe I don't need to make the argument very much if you paid attention as I taught you the history of the Passover, but the Passover is a shadow. It's a type of the reality, of the anti-type, which is what Jesus is about to do on the cross.
[13:27] So instead of going backward and teaching them of the salvation that God had accomplished, I think He's pointing them ahead to the salvation that's about to take place. And so in that way, I think Jesus is still teaching about the Passover.
[13:42] He's teaching them about it, but instead of going backward, He's actually pointing them ahead. One of you will betray Me and I'll be put to death. And so that's why He speaks of this betrayal and that's why He then follows this up by instituting the Lord's Supper.
[14:02] Now all of this, I think, teaches us, we see in verse 21 even, as they were eating, He said, truly I said to you, one of you will betray Me. All of this again teaches, I've said this as we've gone throughout this part of the Scripture, that Jesus knew He was going to be betrayed.
[14:18] This isn't God's backup plan. This is plan A from before the foundation of the world. This is the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world.
[14:29] He knew He was going to be betrayed. He knew He was going to be put to death. And now we see Jesus actively moving in that direction. He knows what's coming. He's willingly going to the cross for you and for I.
[14:42] What a blessing this is. He didn't draw back from the cross even though He knew one of them was to betray Him. More than that, He called Judas.
[14:56] He chose Judas to be a disciple knowing that Judas would be the one who would betray Him, who would ultimately send Him to the cross. And then He still discipled Him for three years.
[15:07] I can't even imagine. I want to tell you how forgiving your pastor is, but if I knew someone was going to betray me, I wouldn't take them into my confidence for three years. Especially if I knew they were going to put me to death.
[15:20] And yet He brings Him into the disciples. He treats Him as equal among the disciples. He gives Him the access that's needed for Him to turn Jesus over to the Sanhedrin that He might be put to death.
[15:35] And so I point all this out to say Jesus isn't somehow out of control of the situation. He's not suffering at the hands of the Sanhedrin against His will.
[15:49] God's not defeated. God's plan hasn't failed. This is the plan. And I think Jesus is further preparing His disciples for what's going to happen by telling them about this betrayal.
[16:08] He's using this as an opportunity to strengthen them against discouragement and doubt. Because the tendency is to think even by Jesus' disciples, I think the tendency is when they see Jesus on the cross to think, we failed.
[16:22] Jesus failed. Because again, there's still this expectation that the Messianic reign will be from the throne in Jerusalem. It's going to be an earthly reign. We're going to overcome Rome.
[16:35] And so when you see Rome putting Jesus to death, oops, it looks like the plan's failed. And so Jesus is encouraging them here, this is the plan.
[16:46] I know one's going to betray me. I know I'm going to the cross. Don't be discouraged when this happens. Jesus said in John 13, 18 through 19, I'm not speaking of all of you.
[17:02] I know whom I have chosen, but the scripture will be fulfilled. He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. I am telling you this now before it takes place.
[17:12] And when it does take place, you may believe that I am he. And so again, I'm not making this up. And John, it's explicitly clear. He says, God beforehand prophetically told of, it says, the one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.
[17:35] And so God prophetically has foretold this. This is what's going to happen. And I want you to know it beforehand. Why does he want them to know? So that when it does take place, you may believe that I am he.
[17:47] And so far from discouraging us, when we see it happen, we realize this is the fulfillment of what God promised in the Old Testament. And when we see the Old Testament being fulfilled, we ought to know then that Jesus is the Messiah.
[18:01] And so I think Jesus, I guess I could be bolder than that. I think John 13 makes clear that Jesus is preparing them. He strengthened them. And in the same way, he strengthens us to know that Jesus is intentionally going to the cross to fulfill the scripture, to be that Messiah.
[18:26] And we see in verse 22 that in that moment, that knowledge that Jesus would be betrayed brought great sorrow to them. They're bothered by this. And it says, one after another, they all ask him, is it I?
[18:44] There's great humility here. This is, now, we're going to see very soon that Peter goes back to being Peter. And there's other times Peter's, everyone else will fall away, I'll never betray you.
[19:00] But here at least, there's some acknowledgement. I think even of the hymn we've seen about our hearts are prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love. I think there's a reality where they're all fearful.
[19:12] Is it going to be me? Am I the one who's going to betray you? It's an acknowledgement of the heart's propensity to turn away from God. It's obvious that Judas has deceived them all.
[19:32] I think it's obvious because none of them say, is it Judas? Because let's just be honest with our own hearts, oftentimes, if someone said, one of you in this room is going to betray someone. The tendency is to begin pointing fingers at the person you think is the sneakiest.
[19:47] The one who seems to be the one you can't trust the most. The least trustworthy one. Is it Judas? I think I saw him embezzling some money the other day. Right?
[19:58] No one suspects him. And so, I think we get a sense of just how Judas has deceived and betrayed the other disciples. And of course, we see Judas asking there at the end, maybe because all the others have and Jesus specifically calls them out.
[20:15] Jesus quotes Psalm 41, 9 to explain what had taken place. Even my close friend in whom I trusted who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. And so, again, Jesus is quoting scripture to explain what's going on.
[20:28] And he proclaims a judgment, a woe, a prophetic judgment of woe on Judas. Look at verse 24.
[20:39] The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. So he proclaims this woe on him.
[20:52] And one thing that strikes me is it doesn't bring Judas to repentance. You know, prophetically, oftentimes the prophets would come and they declare woe or judgment upon God's people. And the point was to bring them to repentance, that they might not have to face that judgment, but Judas doesn't repent here.
[21:12] And I think this should serve as warning to all of us, lest we outwardly would seem to follow Jesus and yet, in the end, we end up opposing him. Here's Judas who's walked with him for three years who now is opposing Christ.
[21:29] And Jesus says it would have been better for him not to have been born at all. Now, we understand that this is non-existence. It's not as though his soul was somewhere floating and then God puts it in the body and his soul would have been better if that's not what's being said.
[21:44] He's just saying non-existence is better, far better even, than in eternity in hell. God's judgment. And so, what Jesus proclaims here, I think, can be said universally of all who will not trust in Christ.
[22:02] All who find themselves in the end in opposition to Jesus Christ. It would have been better not to have been born at all. That would be in a preferable state. Non-existence would be preferable than eternity in hell.
[22:15] I think that is why so many atheists fantasize about annihilationism. The idea that when you die, there's no soul, that's just the end, we turn to, it's over.
[22:29] Why does that fantasy exist? Because I think they understand that if God exists and there's an eternity, they're headed for hell.
[22:40] They're going to stand before God's judgment. And so, it's a fantasy. The reality is none of us have this option. You exist.
[22:51] And so, we have a choice. Are we going to follow Christ or are we going to oppose Him? As I've said already, Judas follows the example of the other disciples and asks if he is the one to betray Jesus.
[23:11] Here's what Matthew Henry writes. He says, He asks, is it I to avoid coming under the suspicion of guilt by His silence? He knew very well that it was He and yet wished to appear a stranger to such a plot.
[23:27] Note, many whose consciences condemn them are very industrious to justify themselves before men and put a good face on it. With Lord, is it I? And so, Matthew Henry here sees a pattern of men who are like this whose consciences condemn them but outwardly they try to look the part.
[23:47] They pretend as though it's not the case. Lord, is it I? And of course, Jesus confirms that it is. The other Gospels tell us that Judas then leaves their company.
[23:58] And Jesus even points out that Judas' own words have condemned him. I'm not sure if he means the words is it I or if he's speaking specifically of the fact that Judas has already gone to the Sanhedrin and agreed to turn Jesus over.
[24:15] But his words have condemned him. And then let's transition a little bit. We see beginning there in verse 26 the institution of the Lord's Supper. And that's really the second point of what I want to look at today.
[24:27] First, the question, why does Jesus institute the Lord's Supper at this moment in time? Why now to institute the Lord's Supper? Well, we might say the obvious reason is he's about to die.
[24:41] When else is he going to do it? But I think there's an intentional connection that Jesus is making between the Passover and the Lord's Supper that I want to bring to our attention. I want us to understand that as we look at this.
[24:54] First, I want to do this by pointing out the purpose of the Passover. I want you to see that Jesus fulfills the Passover. The Passover was a shadow, was a type looking forward to the cross and to Jesus Christ.
[25:11] So first, as we think of it, the Passover, this often called the Paschal, the Paschal Lamb points to Jesus Christ. Or to say it another way, Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
[25:23] Now, again, not making it up, we're told that specifically in 1 Corinthians 5-7. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. And so I could probably stop there because we have New Testament testimony that says Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
[25:40] The Passover Lambs, year after year after year, pointed to and have been replaced by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Christ. And so, again, it's no coincidence that Jesus suffered and died on the Passover.
[25:57] Now, there's great debate about the week and how this all took place. It's possible, at least, that Jesus is actually taking the Passover a day early here, and then he actually dies on the Passover.
[26:09] It's also possible that Jesus died the night after the Passover feast, which would have been the day that they actually left Egypt in celebration of that salvation. But either way, you guys understand, Jesus is dying on the Passover.
[26:22] There's no coincidence. It's intentional. God's purpose that Jesus would die on the Passover. I almost want to look at this backwards all the time. Because we tend to think of it in a linear way that God's outside of time and doesn't think the way we think.
[26:38] And we think, the tendency is to think, okay, this is a date, I think it's, I may have it here, 14th of Nisan. The 14th of Nisan is when the Passover is, and so Jesus is going to die according to that date.
[26:52] And I almost want to think sometimes it's the opposite. God the Father ordained for Jesus to die on that day, and so then we begin to sacrifice lambs year after year on that day, celebrating that future day.
[27:06] But I don't want to get too far outside of time and really mess up our thinking. But just understand that God isn't things have been going, Jesus institutes the Passover because Jesus is going to die on the 14th of Nisan.
[27:23] Does that make sense? Good, because I probably lost myself there somewhere in time. John the Baptist, you remember when Jesus appears on the scene, what John the Baptist declares at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
[27:43] So I would argue even from three years ago, the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John the Baptist proclamation is meant to point us to the idea of the Passover Lamb. Behold, what's the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world?
[27:56] The Passover Lamb was meant to be a sacrifice for all of Israel. There would be one Paschal Lamb that would be sacrificed that would represent the sins of the people as a whole being paid for by the blood of this Lamb, not just the individual lambs that are dying in every single household.
[28:12] There would be one Paschal Lamb there for all the people that would take away the sins of the people. And so I think John the Baptist is intentionally pointing us to the fact that Jesus is coming as that Passover Lamb.
[28:28] And of course we understand that a Lamb is a good representation of Jesus Christ, although obviously not a perfect representation, but it represented certain things about Jesus' character, his nature, namely that he was meek and lowly, innocent, and silent before those who would kill him, which is exactly what we see in Isaiah 53 verse 7.
[28:48] He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, like a lamb that is led to slaughter and like a sheep that is silent before its shears, so he did not open his mouth.
[29:01] The whole way the sacrificial system was designed, this Lamb had to be without blemish. Why? Because it was designed to be a picture of the sinless Jesus Christ.
[29:17] I think even the idea that the leftover parts had to be roasted, likely pointing to the trial, the suffering that Jesus is to undergo as the wrath of God is poured out on Christ.
[29:30] I've already talked about the timing. It was to be killed on the 14th of Nisan and late in the afternoon just as Jesus was. it was killed by the whole congregation and it was the Jews who would end up putting Jesus to death.
[29:46] And then not a bone of this Lamb was to be broken. And John 19 tells us that they did not break a bone of Jesus to fulfill the scripture not a bone of him shall be broken.
[29:58] And so in every way this Lamb had to picture Jesus Christ. I'd point out as well that both the Lord's Supper and the Passover were to be done in remembrance of a great act of salvation.
[30:16] Obviously one greater than the other. But listen to 1 Corinthians 11, 23-26. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you.
[30:37] Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
[30:47] For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And so twice he repeats do this in remembrance of me. Is he saying just remember me in concept, in principle?
[31:00] what does it mean to do it in remembrance of Jesus? Well, he makes it clear at the end, doesn't he? For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim something.
[31:12] What do we proclaim when we take the Lord's table? The Lord's death until he comes. And so just as a Passover was to be a continuing observance year after year, so too when we gather together, we observe the Lord's table.
[31:29] Just as they remember God's salvation, we remember God's salvation because we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. And so here we have the institution of this ordinance.
[31:44] Maybe I'll come back to that. We'll talk about the institution of it. But Old Testament Israel looked back to the Exodus through the Passover meal. And in New Testament Israel, the church looks back to the cross and to the resurrection of Jesus through the Lord's Supper.
[31:59] And so then as often as we eat this new Passover meal, we remember a greater salvation, a greater Exodus than they experienced.
[32:11] Colossians 1, 13-14, for he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.
[32:24] sin. So I know this is a big picture thing, but bear with me. What Egypt represented it and what I see really Moses presenting in much of the Pentateuch is that Egypt represented darkness, it represented the world after the fall, it represented false worship, God's delivering his people out of that to go into a place of rest and to worship him and to be in his presence.
[32:53] presence. And all that is a picture of what we experience and what we celebrate the Lord's Supper. And what he says is that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness. And what is that?
[33:04] That we were born in sin and under the power and rule of Satan. And he's delivered us from that into his reign, into his dominion, into the kingdom of his beloved son, where we will experience rest in the presence of God.
[33:22] God. And so we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and that is something that can never be proclaimed in the Old Testament. Sin could be overlooked through the sacrificial system, but there was no forgiveness of sin.
[33:37] Now we have experienced a greater salvation, a true forgiveness of sins that we celebrate when we take the Lord's table. sin. And so then we're commanded to feed upon Christ.
[33:49] This would be a great place for me to pause and say, when Jesus says, this is my body and this is my blood, Jesus is not being literal. I know there's centuries old debate about this, but let's just understand that Jesus is God in flesh and as such, he's not omnipresent.
[34:09] So if it's his literal body spread out all over the world, let's just say, obviously that's problematic. There's plenty of places where God uses this kind of figurative language and we have to understand that what Jesus is communicating to is, this is pointing to, that this bread and this cup point to Jesus' body and blood.
[34:37] They remind us, our remembrance of that theme. So we read in John 6, 53-58, so Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.
[34:54] He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him.
[35:07] As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven. Not as the fathers ate and died, he who eats this bread will live forever.
[35:22] Again, Jesus isn't speaking of his physical body, but he points to the manna in the wilderness. The bread from heaven. This is the true bread that's come down from heaven.
[35:33] Jesus is the fulfillment even of the manna and those who feed on him live. And again, we understand this to be spiritually, not his actual body. And so likewise, we understand that we don't celebrate the Lord's Supper as a mere remembrance.
[35:47] We believe that Jesus Christ is spiritually present with us when we take the table. And so when the table is taken up properly, if we are mindful of what we're doing, if we prepare our hearts rightly, there's spiritual blessing for us as we take the table.
[36:01] It encourages us spiritually. It helps us in our walk. So if we're covered by the blood of the Lamb, just as they put the blood on the door, by faith in Jesus Christ, his blood covers us.
[36:17] If we're covered by the blood of the Lamb, we have no fear of judgment, of death. The angel of the Lord, as it were, figuratively, will pass over all of us one day.
[36:28] And either we will pay for our sins by our death eternally in hell, or we will be covered by the blood of the Lamb who will die in our place, Jesus Christ.
[36:42] And so the question for all of us is, just as it was in Egypt that day, are we trusting in ourselves or are we trusting in the blood of the Lamb? What's going to save us from the angel of death?
[36:54] It's either Christ or there is no salvation. We will suffer eternally. So in Egypt, every house, in every house in Egypt, the life had to be laid down, either the life of the firstborn or the substitute, the Lamb.
[37:11] And so to today, the death must be your own or the death of your substitute, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. And so Jesus is instituting here a new ordinance for the church to be continued, it says, until he returns.
[37:30] And so that's why we take the Lord's Supper. That's why we believe we should be taking the Lord's Supper, because God has commanded us to. We don't make up the stuff we do in worship. We believe we're not allowed to do anything unless God's commanded us to do so.
[37:42] And so here we have Jesus positively giving us a command until he returns, that we're to observe this Lord's Supper. We're to do this in remembrance of him. I wanted so bad to spend a good deal of time on this, and I won't, in the application, I'm going to mention this again, but Jesus says this is the blood of the new covenant.
[38:01] I'll talk about this in a little bit. I encourage you, I'm pretty sure I'm right on my timing, next Sunday we're doing the new covenant in Sunday school. We're going to be talking about the new covenant and the blessings of it.
[38:13] If this is new to you, I encourage you, if it's not, I encourage you, come to Sunday school next Sunday, listen to this, we'll have more time to delve into this than I have now, but I want you to understand that Jesus is instituting a new covenant, the covenant of grace.
[38:27] He's instituting by his blood. And the only way to enact a covenant is by blood. And the symbolism of the blood was always, if you break the covenant, you die.
[38:39] And so at times, they would cut animals in half, they would pass between it. Other times, they would sprinkle blood on the people, and the blood on them is meant to symbolize, if you break this, that will be your blood, you'll die. And now Jesus institutes this covenant by his own blood, and he goes ahead and takes upon himself the death that we deserve.
[38:59] He dies, suffering the curse of the covenant, that we might know only the blessing of the covenant. There's no condition for us, everyone who's in the covenant receives this blessing, and we'll talk about that blessing in a minute.
[39:12] Those who were under this new covenant have their sins forgiven.
[39:23] As I've said, that's better than the Old Testament, better than the Old Covenant. Hebrews 10.4, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
[39:34] It's impossible for blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. And then Ephesians 1.7, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
[39:49] So what Jesus does in the new covenant had never been done in the history of the world before. He paid the price that brought forgiveness of sins. And so everyone in the Old Covenant is saved by looking ahead to Jesus Christ.
[40:07] They're saved through the new covenant. And everyone who lives after Jesus Christ, all of us today are saved by looking back to Jesus Christ. The gospel is the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
[40:21] Everyone who's saved is saved by the blood of that lamb, of Jesus Christ. They were never saved by the blood of animals. And so when we repeat the Lord's Supper, we remember that shedding of blood on the cross that purchased our forgiveness.
[40:39] And then we see at the very end that Jesus points them to the new earth and heavens where we will share wine in his presence again.
[40:53] Verse 29, I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And so there's this encouragement, this promise to those disciples that are still there.
[41:06] I won't drink of this cup with you again until when? Until we drink it together in the kingdom. And I think this is speaking not just of what we understand of heaven and spiritual existence. The way I understand things, they probably aren't drinking in a spiritual state.
[41:20] But there's coming a day when Jesus will return. Our bodies will come forth from the grave. They will be glorified. This whole earth will be consumed in fire. He'll make the whole earth, the whole creation.
[41:34] The skies will be consumed. And there'll be a new creation, a new earth, new skies for us without sin or the effects of the fall. And we will dwell in the presence of the Lord forever.
[41:46] And we'll drink with him there. And so he ends with this promise, this encouragement to them, even as he's about to go to the cross. Know that there's coming a day when we'll drink of this cup together again in the new earth, in the new heavens.
[41:59] Which, again, is the fulfillment of everything that we've longed for since the fall. It's the fulfillment of Canaan, of that rest that they long for. It's our eternal rest.
[42:10] And then he closes the time by singing a hymn together. Again, we end our Lord's Supper service in much the same way. We sing hymns in worship.
[42:21] And we'll end our Lord's Supper service today by singing a hymn together. So just a few final words in application. One major point that I want you guys to see that I think is being communicated in this passage is that Jesus is in control.
[42:34] This isn't happening outside of God's control. This isn't, God's not going to have to come up with a backup plan to say the church because he failed in saving Israel. This is the plan. God doesn't have backup plans because God's will is accomplished.
[42:47] He does whatever he desires in the heavens and no one can stay his hand. And so what we see happening here is Jesus Christ willingly going to the cross that he might shed his blood that you might have forgiveness of sins if you'll put your trust in him.
[43:04] Secondly, the blessings of the new covenant. I just said I'd mention this again. I just want to read for you Jeremiah 31 that speaks to us of the new covenant.
[43:15] Jeremiah 31 31 through 34. Behold, the days are coming, you clear as the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
[43:30] So when did God institute that covenant? My covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord.
[43:44] I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people and no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, know the Lord.
[43:55] For they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more. If I can just briefly say, what is Jesus doing here by shedding his blood and instituting a new covenant?
[44:11] What is this new covenant about? There are a few truths that we see presented in this passage. I didn't enumerate, but I'm going to try to right now. So number one, that he will write the law in our heart.
[44:23] That we will, by the spirit, be able to keep God's law. Even though we know that's not perfect. We have the help of the spirit in dwelling us and the law written on our heart.
[44:35] We're convicted in our conscience in a way that the Old Testament believers never had. So that's one blessing we see in this covenant. Secondly, it says, I will be their God and they shall be my people, which is the covenant promises all along.
[44:48] And it points us to the reality that there will come a day that we will dwell with God forever. But already, again, we have a spirit dwelling in us in a way that has never been fulfilled in any of the prior covenants.
[45:01] It says, no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each one his brother saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord. What does this mean? Why would we not tell people to know the Lord?
[45:13] Well, it's not talking about people in general. It's talking about those who are in the covenant. And so the big distinction here between the new covenant and the old covenant is this. In the old covenant, all of Israel was in the covenant, but not all of Israel was saved.
[45:27] And so if you're having to teach covenant members, know the Lord, know the Lord, know the Lord, because they don't know the Lord. Probably the vast majority of them. We know in Elijah's day, there's only 7,001 who did know the Lord.
[45:40] But there's going to be a change in the new covenant. God's going to work in hearts in such a way. He's going to circumcise the heart to initiate covenant membership.
[45:52] You're not brought into the covenant by an external circumcision, but an internal circumcision by the spirit. God circumcises the heart so that everyone who's in the covenant is a Christian. They all know the Lord.
[46:03] And so you don't have to say to covenant members, know the Lord. Now we still share the gospel of those who are outside the covenant, but everyone who's in the covenant knows the Lord. From the least of them to the greatest of them, it says.
[46:15] And then finally this, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more. Jeremiah is making this distinction. Here's what's different about the new covenant. I will forgive their iniquity.
[46:27] I remember their sins no more. I said before, there's no hope of that under the old covenant other than looking to Christ in the new covenant. And so how is anyone whose sins are forgiven?
[46:40] How are their sins forgiven? What hope did Moses have? Did David have? Adam, Eve, Elijah? They look forward to Jesus Christ just as we look back to Jesus Christ and we understand that in Jesus Christ we have forgiveness of sin and God remembers them no more.
[46:58] And it's not because God has a bad memory. He's all knowing. God willingly forgets our sin. He puts it behind him because he's put it on Jesus Christ who's died for our sin.
[47:08] Which then points me to my final point of application. The blessings of the Lord's Supper. We're about to take the Lord's Supper providentially. That's the timing of things.
[47:21] I didn't work it out that way. It's just today's the day we take the Lord's Supper. But I want you to see the blessings of the Lord's Supper are tied in with the Passover in this new covenant. We are celebrating the blood of the lamb that covers us so that we don't face the judgment of God.
[47:37] That we have forgiveness even that God has forgotten our sin. What a blessing that is as we take the table. I want you to remember that.
[47:51] I want you to understand as well that again Jesus is spiritually present with us. By the Holy Spirit we have blessing of taking of this table when we do so by faith. And then I also want to finally a message for all of you who have not trusted in Jesus Christ.
[48:07] Remember the Passover. There is coming a day of judgment where God will judge all who have not trusted in Him. And so I encourage you today. Put your faith in that lamb.
[48:19] Put your faith in Jesus Christ that you might be covered by the blood of the lamb. That you might not face death. That you might know the Lord's salvation. Forgiveness of sins. Let's pray together.
[48:30] Father. Dear Heavenly Father we do thank you for Jesus Christ. For that lamb.
[48:41] For your lamb that was slain from before the foundation of the world. Lord we thank you that he came in time. That he's willingly going to the cross. Lord we know our hearts. If we saw it coming. Lord our tendency is to flee.
[48:56] We thank you that he willingly went to the cross. Lord we pray that you would use this message to one help us to worship you as we go from here. But two to prepare our hearts for worship.
[49:07] In the Lord's table in just a moment. And Lord we pray especially for those hearts that are completely unprepared to take the table. Those who don't know you.
[49:18] Those who are outside the covenant this moment. We pray that they would know the Lord. That you would work in their heart. That you would save them. Lord we ask all these things in the name of our great savior.
[49:33] The lamb of God. Jesus Christ. Amen. Our closing hymn sings of the lamb of God who has washed us with his blood.
[49:46] And it's really a response. Let us love and sing and wonder. Let us love the Lord who bought us. Let us sing even in the face of temptation. Let us wonder that grace and justice have been done at the cross.
[50:00] Let us praise and join the chorus of the saints who have known this grace. So let's sing in response and praise to the one who has washed us in his blood.
[50:10] and watch us He has washed the waters of thunder, He has questioned Son of His way.
[50:40] He has washed us with His blood, He has washed us by to God. Let us love the Lord who lies, with He of strength and enemies, call us by His grace and times.
[51:04] Bring us here and give us eyes, He has washed us with His blood, He presents our souls to God.
[51:18] Let us take no few temptation, let the Lord who tear us down, For the Lord our strong salvation, holding Him the boundless ground.
[51:37] He who washed us with His blood, soon He'll bring us home to God.
[51:47] Let us wonder, grace and justice, join everyone to mercy's door. And through grace and kindness, justice was there as no more.
[52:06] He who washed us with His blood, has secured our way to God. Let us praise and joy in the course of the saints and from the line.
[52:26] We're laid just in Him before us, now there is in the sky. You have washed us with your blood, you are worthy of the blood.
[52:45] Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing to the sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.
[53:06] Amen. In about five minutes we'll start the Lord's Supper service. Five more minutes. Where should I give up? How do I give up? Peace. Thank you. Amen.
[53:28] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:39] Amen. Amen. Amen.