The Lord's Supper
Back to the Basics • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 3 viewsNotes
Transcript
For this Week & Next…
Our Sermon Text is Going to Be Centered on the Night of Passover…
When Jesus Instituted the Lord’s Supper
So, for Bible Class, We’re Going to…
Go Back to the Basics of the Lord’s Supper
Since the Lord’s Supper was Instituted During the Passover…
And is a Renewal & Re-Interpretation of the Passover…
We’re Going to Start By Studying the Passover
I Think this will Help Us…
Better Understand & Appreciate the Lord’s Supper
What is the Passover?
What is the Passover?
An Annually Celebrated, Sacred, Jewish Feast…
That Commemorates the 10th Plague in Egypt…
When God Punished Egypt By Killing Their Firstborn…
But “Passed Over” the Obedient Israelites…
Which Resulted in Their Deliverance from Egyptian Slavery
Almost Every Question We could Possibly Ask about Passover…
Is Answered in Exodus 12
So We’re Going to Read this Chapter & Learn as Much as We can
Exodus 12:1–3 (NASB95)
1 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. 3 “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.
During the 1st Month of the Year, On the 10th Day of the Month…
Every Family of Israel is to Select a Lamb for Their Household
Exodus 12:4–6 (NASB95)
4 ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.
Smaller Households can Share a Lamb
Lamb Must Be a 1 Year Old Male
Lamb Must Be Without Defect/Blemish
Lamb can Be a Sheep or a Goat
Lamb should Be Sacrificed on the Evening of the 14th Day of the Month
Exodus 12:7–10 (NASB95)
7 ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 ‘They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 ‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 10 ‘And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.
The Blood of the Lamb should be Applied to the Doorposts & Lintel
Lamb Must Be Roasted with Fire & Eaten…
With Unleavened Bread & Bitter Herbs
Whatever is Left Until Morning should Be Burned in the Fire
Exodus 12:11–13 (NASB95)
11 ‘Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. 12 ‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13 ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
They’re to Eat it:
With Loins Girded
With Sandals on
With Staff in Hand
I a Hurry
Why?
Because Tonight’s the Night They are Leaving Egypt
They’ve Got to Be Ready at a Moment’s Notice
Exodus 12:14–20 (NASB95)
14 ‘Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 15 ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
16 ‘On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 ‘You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
18 ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 ‘Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. 20 ‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
Not Only should They Celebrate the Passover on the 14th…
But They’ll Also Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread…
From the 15th to the 21st Day of the Month
They are to Eat No Leaven from the 14th to the 21st
Why is Unleavened Bread Specifically Chosen for Them to Eat?
Because They were to Be in a Hurry
Leavened Bread Takes More Time to Prepare
Unleavened is Quick
Exodus 12:24–27 (NASB95)
24 “And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever. 25 “When you enter the land which the Lord will give you, as He has promised, you shall observe this rite. 26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ ” And the people bowed low and worshiped.
They are to Observe this Sacred Feast Every Year
They are to Teach Their Children Why They Celebrate it Every Year
God Wants His People to Always Remember How He Delivered Them from Slavery
That’s the Biggest Thing to Keep in Our Minds about Passover
It was Celebrated to Remember How God had Saved His People
That Plays a Large Part in Helping Us Understand…
How We are to Celebrate the Lord’s Supper
Exodus 12:42–49 (NASB95)
42 It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations. 43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat of it; 44 but every man’s slave purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it.
45 “A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 46 “It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it. 47 “All the congregation of Israel are to celebrate this.
48 “But if a stranger sojourns with you, and celebrates the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat of it. 49 “The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Every Circumcised Israelite is to Celebrate the Passover
No Outsiders are to Eat of it
If They Want to, They Must Be Circumcised
They Must Become a Part of Israel to Celebrate this
That Also Plays a Role in Understanding the Lord’s Supper
So, that was the Establishment of the Passover
How Often were They to Celebrate it?
Did Israel Celebrate it Every Year?
In the Days of Moses & Joshua…
It Seems Like They Did
But After that, it Gets a Little Shaky
2 Kings 23:21–23 (NASB95)
21 Then the king commanded all the people saying, “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in this book of the covenant.” 22 Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 35:17–19 (NASB95)
17 Thus the sons of Israel who were present celebrated the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign this Passover was celebrated.
There were Many Years in Israel’s History…
Where They were Not Celebrating or Remembering…
What God had Done for Them
It Makes You Wonder How Much that Contributed…
To Their Disobedience/Unfaithfulness & Idolatry
By the Time Jesus Comes on the Scene…
The Passover was Being Celebrated Regularly Again
Some New Customs & Traditions had Also Been Added to it
The Jews Followed a Set Order of Service at the Passover Meal
After an Initial Prayer Over the Meal…
A 1st Cup of Wine would Be Poured
Then They would Begin Eating a Portion of Bitter Herbs & Unleavened Bread
The Bitter Herbs Represented the Bitterness of Egyptian Slavery
Then a 2nd Cup of Wine would Be Poured
Then a Son would Ask His Father the Meaning of the Passover Feast
And the Father would Retell the Story as if He Personally Experienced it
They Did this in Compliance with Exodus 12:26-27
Exodus 12:26–27 (NASB95)
26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’ ” And the people bowed low and worshiped.
Then the 1st Portion of the Hallel Psalms were Sung (Psalm 113-114)
Then a 3rd Cup of Wine was Poured
After this 3rd Cup of Wine, They’d Begin Eating the Passover Lamb & Bread
Then a 4th & Final Cup of Wine would Be Poured
And then They’d Sing the 2nd Portion of the Hallel Psalms (Psalm 115-118)
Everything Done in the Passover Feast was Very Intentional & Symbolic
Even the 4 Cups of Wine had a Symbolic Purpose
They Represent the 4 “I Will” Statements from Exodus 6:6-7
Exodus 6:6–7 (NASB95)
6 “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
This Feast was Very Structured & Very Important to the Jewish People
And They Wanted to Make Sure that it Kept its Significance
To the Jewish People, Passover:
Was a Time of Celebration, Joy, & Praise/Worship
Was a Time to Remember How God Redeemed Them
Jesus Instituted the Lord’s Supper During the Passover
That Means, Understanding the Significance & Purpose of the Passover…
Helps Us to Understand the Significance & Purpose of the Lord’s Supper
It’s All About:
Celebration, Joy, & Praise/Worship
Remembering How God Redeemed Us
Jesus is Our Unblemished, Sacrificed Passover Lamb
His Body is Our Bread
His Blood is Our Wine
The Lord’s Supper is Not for Outsiders
It’s Only for Those Who have…
Experienced the Circumcision of Their Hearts By God
Only Baptized Believers are Welcome to Join Us at the Lord’s Table
We’re Going to Do a Deep Dive on 1 Corinthians 11 Next Week
I Think There’s a Lot of Misunderstanding of that Text
Taking a Deeper Look will Help Us Better Appreciate the Lord’s Supper…
As Well as Helping Us Know How We Ought to Celebrate it
The typical Jewish blessing for bread was this: “Blessed are you, oh Lord, our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the Earth.”
A typical prayer they recited over the wine was “Blessed are you, oh Lord, our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.”
Matthew tells us that the service we know as Holy Communion began as they were eating, which means that Jesus began it in the context of a meal, not as a separate piece of religious ceremonial. He took bread, not any special bread, but the bread they were using for the meal. He would, of course, have broken bread and given thanks at the beginning of the meal, but he was now starting something new and it was appropriate that this new observance be marked off with a new beginning, a special thanksgiving. Then he broke it, a not uncommon action when a prayer is said over bread that is to be eaten, but this was done when people were commencing their meal. That Jesus performed the action when the meal was well underway marked it off as an unusual and significant action. Since Jesus is about to speak of this bread in terms of his body and since that body was about to be broken on the cross, there is a special suitability about breaking the bread in this observance. He proceeded to give it to the disciples; they were all meant to eat some of the bread.