Remembering and Rejoicing

Megan and I have attempted over the course of our marriage to discipline ourselves to eat regularly at our table. It’s a sign of the times that we live in that we even have to make such a statement, but it has required discipline and intentionality nonetheless. But, what we’ve found is that sitting down at the table with one another is powerful in ways that we don’t often perceive. Sitting down at the table has a way of just letting you know that, as a family, we’re good with one another. Throughout the day, you may be pulled in a hundred different directions and find yourself being totally overwhelmed by the chaos, but joining your family at the table has a way of resetting your priorities so that you remember what really matters. There’s an intimacy that comes with sharing a meal and a conversation that is powerful and renewing. It’s coming to a place in which you are embraced and accepted, a reminder that there is somebody that’s always in your corner no matter how you’ve failed or succeeded at school, at work, or any of your endeavors.

Today, we’re going to see Jesus sit down with his disciples for the final time before He goes to the cross. And, what we’re privileged to look in on is an intimate meal established for the church so that we can come together to remember who He really is and who we really are in him so that we might be renewed and so that our priorities might be reset.

“Now, as they were eating...” Jesus gathers with his disciples for one final meal, one final time of fellowship with each other. And, the meal they are sharing with one another is not just any meal; it is the Passover. They were gathered as a family to celebrate the provision of God for their salvation from death all those years ago in Egypt. The Passover was a time that was set aside for God's people to remember how wonderful their God was. They remembered that God sent the plagues and that God conquered Pharaoh on their behalf. They remembered how they thought they were about to be destroyed when God parted the Red Sea. They remembered how they ate the manna from heaven and drank from the water poured out of a rock. They remembered how God had led them by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud during the day. They remembered how God had not only delivered them from Egypt's slavery but also how He took them into a land that was flowing with milk and honey. The Passover was a time set aside so that all of God's people could remember who their God was and the assurance that they could have assurance that He would preserve them just as He did their ancestors.

But now, Jesus is establishing a new memory, a new celebration of God's goodness and provision. Just as God had delivered his people from Egypt's oppression, now He will deliver them from sin's slavery. Just as God had conquered their enemy Pharaoh, now He would conquer their enemy death. As He had provided for their every need to sustain them, now He would sustain them with his provision of grace. On Mt. Sinai, God had given the stipulations of the Old Covenant so that his people might enter into the Promised Land, but now, on Mt. Calvary He will provide the stipulations of a New Covenant that will circumcise the heart and write his Law within. The difference between Egypt and Israel was not Israel’s goodness; it was the blood of all of the lambs. And now, the difference between the church and the world is not our goodness; it’s the blood of the Lamb of God shed for us.

This would have been the most intense night that these disciples would have ever experienced. Jesus is leaving nothing a mystery. And, there’s an immediate purpose and a future purpose established. In the immediate, He is preparing his disciples. He is preparing them for what would happen tomorrow by pre-explaining exactly what was about to happen. I remember just before my surgery the doctors explaining to me how I would feel and what my recovery would be like once the surgery was concluded. They wanted to me to have the right expectations so that I wouldn’t think things were out of control, going badly. This is what Jesus is doing here in his last supper with his disciples. He is telling them exactly what is to take place tomorrow and that He is embracing it willingly so that they will know that things are not out of control and the cross is not proof that Jesus is weak or defeated, though this is how it will look. In fact, tomorrow will happen exactly as He describes. Jesus knows how He will be murdered even before his murderers know. He is setting the expectation for his disciples. Just as all of those lambs were slaughtered in the initial Passover for the good of God’s people, so will He be slain so that God’s people might find an exodus from their bondage to sin. And so, we see there is this immediate purpose for his disciples.

But, there is also a future purpose in mind. We can see that the purpose of this last supper was also to establish a pattern of remembering for Jesus' church so that we would not forget what God the Father has provided and what God the Son has done. And, on that night of intensity, Christ Jesus established what is still today the most intense form of Christian worship -- the Lord's Supper, which is has been passed down to us directly from the original disciples. When we take of the Lord’s supper, we join in with over 2000 years of Christians to remember the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We remember who Christ is, what Christ has done, and the assurance of what Christ has promised to us.

“Take, eat, this is my body” For more than a thousand years, Jewish households had celebrated the passover the same way. First, they would take the unleavened bread, and every head of household would say the same thing before the family ate, “This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate when they left Egypt.” They would dip the bread into a bowl of bitter herbs, and they would remember the bitterness of the slavery from which they had been delivered. But, Jesus does something that is blasphemous if He isn’t God. He says, “This is my body that is broken for you.” It would have dropped the jaws of his disciples. Jesus was saying, “I am the bread of affliction. I will bear the bitterness of your slavery and God’s wrath. As we break this bread with one another, so will my body be broken for you tomorrow.

Jesus gathers with his disciples for one final meal, one final time of fellowship with each other. And, the meal they are sharing with one another is not just any meal; it is the Passover. They were gathered as a family to celebrate the provision of God for their salvation from death all those years ago in Egypt. The Passover was a time that was set aside for God's people to remember how wonderful their God was. They remembered that God sent the plagues and that God conquered Pharaoh on their behalf. They remembered how they thought they were about to be destroyed when God parted the Red Sea. They remembered how they ate the manna from heaven and drank from the water poured out of a rock. They remembered how God had led them by a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud during the day. They remembered how God had not only delivered them from Egypt's slavery but also how He took them into a land that was flowing with milk and honey. The Passover was a time set aside so that all of God's people could remember who their God was and the assurance that they could have that He would preserve them just as He did their ancestors.

“after bless it, broke it and gave it to his disciples” The way that bread was eaten was that it was baked as one loaf, and this was quite literally before sliced bread. So, the host of the home would take the loaf, and he would break it so that he could provide for each person that was eating at his table. It was a picture of fellowship, love, and provision at someone else's expense. They were to provide the bread and offer it to you. You were just to enjoy it. This is a picture of Jesus' body. It was his body that was to be provided. It was his body that was to be chained to the post. It was his body that was to be beaten with the cat of 9 tails. It was his body that was to endure the stripes that removed the flesh from his back and his body that was receive the crown of thorns on his brow. It was his body that was to receive the nails and his body that would suffocate on the cross. It was his body provided at no expense to us so that we might enjoy God's provision for our sin. By his stripes, we have been healed. Because He offered his body as a sacrifice to the Father, now we can fellowship with God and receive God's love in place of God's wrath.

“after bless it, broke it and gave it to his disciples” The way that bread was eaten was that it was baked as one loaf, and this was quite literally before sliced bread. So, the host of the home would take the loaf, and he would break it so that he could provide for each person that was eating at his table. It was a picture of fellowship, love, and provision at someone else's expense. They were to provide the bread and offer it to you. You were just to enjoy it. This is a picture of Jesus' body. Just as Jesus broke the bread that night, so will his body be broken the next night. It was his body that was to be provided. It was his body that was to be chained to the post. It was his body that was to be beaten with the cat of 9 tails. It was his body that was to endure the stripes that removed the flesh from his back and his body that was receive the crown of thorns on his brow. It was his body that was to receive the nails and his body that would suffocate on the cross. It was his body provided at no expense to us so that we might enjoy God's provision for our sin. By his stripes, we have been healed. Because He offered his body as a sacrifice to the Father, now we can fellowship with God and receive God's love in place of God's wrath.

The way that bread was eaten was that it was baked as one loaf, and this was quite literally before sliced bread. So, the host of the home would take the loaf, and he would break it so that he could provide for each person that was eating at his table. It was a picture of fellowship, love, and provision at someone else's expense. They were to provide the bread and offer it to you. You were just to enjoy it. This is a picture of Jesus' body. It was his body that was to be provided. It was his body that was to be chained to the post. It was his body that was to be beaten with the cat of 9 tails. It was his body that was to endure the stripes that removed the flesh from his back and his body that was receive the crown of thorns on his brow. It was his body that was to receive the nails and his body that would suffocate on the cross. It was his body provided at no expense to us so that we might enjoy God's provision for our sin. By his stripes, we have been healed. Because He offered his body as a sacrifice to the Father, now we can fellowship with God and receive God's love in place of God's wrath.

Just as Jesus broke the bread that night, so will his body be broken the next night. It was his body that was to be provided. It was his body that was to be chained to the post. It was his body that was to be beaten with the cat of 9 tails. It was his body that was to endure the stripes that removed the flesh from his back and his body that was receive the crown of thorns on his brow. It was his body that was to receive the nails and his body that would suffocate on the cross. It was his body provided at no expense to us so that we might enjoy God's provision for our sin. By his stripes, we have been healed. Because He offered his body as a sacrifice to the Father, now we can fellowship with God and receive God's love in place of God's wrath.

The bread that they ate during the Passover was an unleavened bread, meaning it was made without yeast. The reason that they ate unleavened bread was because of the memory of what had taken place the night of the first Passover. When the angel of death had passed over God's people and struck the homes of Egypt, Pharaoh sent them out and they had to go immediately. The homes of Israel had to leave so quickly that they didn't even have time to leaven their bread. They had to trust in God's provision because they didn't have time to make provisions for themselves. They were headed into the middle of the desert with no chance of real survival if God didn't supply their needs.

APPLICATION: For Israel, eating and drinking are metaphors of faith. All those years ago, Israel ran into the middle of the desert with no time to make preparations or to bring supplies with them. They were totally dependent upon God for food, water, and safety. They ran into the desert out of their slavery, but if God didn’t provide, they were just running out of one death and into another. So, in , when Jesus says, “Whoever will come after me must eat my flesh and drink my blood,” He is saying that those who will be his disciples must trust in his suffering for their provision. That is, they must put their total faith in him. This is what the Lord’s Supper reminds us of. To live by faith is to live at the mercy of God's provision. We mustn’t just run away from our sin; we must run away from it and toward Jesus. This begins at our salvation, but it doesn’t stop there. Once you trust Christ to provide for your sin and to deliver you from slavery, it is the reflex of the Christian to trust him with everything else. This is why we are called people of faith. We live in a way that is lethal and crazy unless God provides. We run into the middle of deserts without food and water because we know that God will deliver us. The world thinks we’re weird because we don’t make sense. Weird parents. Weird friends. Weird neighbors. This is what the Lord supper calls us back to: a life of faith-drenched living.

"this is my blood of the covenant” At the Passover, there were traditionally four cups that a family would share, with each of them representing something different. From what we can tell, it is the third cup that Matthew is recording here. It is known to Israel as the cup of redemption. Traditionally, the head of the household would hold up this final cup and say, “This is the blood of the covenant.” But, Jesus changes this slightly, doesn’t He? This change wouldn’t have been subtle to his disciples. It would jumped out to them as if I called God ‘Allah’ this morning instead of Lord. Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant.”

APPLICATION: To live by faith is to live at the mercy of God's provision. Eating and drinking are metaphors of faith. "Eat my flesh and drink my blood."

“which is poured out for many” When God covenanted with his people in Exodus, He instructed Moses to build an altar for each of the 12 tribes of Israel (), and there they sacrificed oxen on behalf of all of the people. Moses then took half of the blood and threw it on the altar, taking the other half and throwing it on the people. This is unprecedented in the Bible. It is the only time we see God's people covered in blood. God had sealed his covenant with his people by covering them with the blood of another. And, all of this was to point forward to the Greater Covenant that was to come. It was a covenant not made by the blood of oxen but by the blood of God's own Son, and He would bring his people into this New Covenant by covering them with the blood of the Lamb, so that every one that is covered by his blood has been brought into a New Covenant relationship with God that will never end.

And so, the people of God are to drink from the cup and remember that their sins have been forgiven but also that their sins are costly. The purpose of drinking the wine of communion is so that we never get over and never move past the costliness of our forgiveness. There seems to be among many Christians today a great comfort with their sins. We treat our sins with ambivalence and indifference, all while preaching to ourselves, it's okay because God's forgiven me. We've cheapened grace until it is nothing more than a Christian entitlement, a get-of-sin-free card. But, brothers and sisters, your forgiveness was not free! The grace that you've received came at a great cost to the God; it came at the cost of his own Son. He poured out his pure and righteous blood that your unrighteousness might be overcame.

APPLICATION: We are to remember the cost of our forgiveness, we are to remember Christ's blood poured out for us so that we might be compelled toward righteous living. As often as we want to go our own way and do our own thing and justify our own sin, we must remember the blood that our sin required and remember the love that sent Jesus to the cross. This is why Paul writes the way that he does in . He says, "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks of without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died." The Lord's Table is the place that we gather to remember the costliness of our sins and the beauty of the Lord's sacrifice. It is the place to face your sins once again so that they might be put to death. And, if you come to the Lord's table content to continue into sin, you will invite the judgement of God into your life because you have betrayed how lowly and how insignificant you hold Jesus' sacrifice by how indifferent you are to the costs of your sin. Christian, if you find yourself becoming comfortable with your sin, if you find yourself looking forward to gossip and harboring bitterness and pursuing sexual immorality, remember Christ! Remember the blood that was poured out! And, if you truly love Christ, you will find in you a hatred for your sin that murdered him.

“Jesus took bread…he took a cup” I want you to notice something significant to the beauty of the Lord's Supper. Both the bread and the cup are singular. It's one loaf of bread and one cup shared among all of the disciples. We share one loaf and one cup because we are one in Christ Jesus. We have been baptized into one body by one Spirit. It's at the Lord's Table that we are reminded of the solidarity among Christ's disciples. Some of us have been a Christian for decades and others of us only days, but we are one in Christ Jesus. Some of us are wealthy and some of us are poor, but we are equal at Christ's table. Some of us have gifts the impress, and some of us have gifts that are easily discounted, but we are one in Christ Jesus. Some of us have rank in the world and others of us are cast out by the world, but we are received together in Christ. At Christ's table the unity of the church given to us by the blood of Jesus is made visible as we share this meal together.

I want you to notice something significant to the beauty of the Lord's Supper. Both the bread and the cup are singular. It's one loaf of bread and one cup shared among all of the disciples. It's no accident the way that 1 Corinthians is laid out by Paul.

We share one loaf and one cup because we are one in Christ Jesus. We have been baptized into one body by one Spirit. It's at the Lord's Table that we are reminded of the solidarity among Christ's disciples. Some of us have been a Christian for decades and others of us only days, but we are one in Christ Jesus. Some of us are wealthy and some of us are poor, but we are equal at Christ's table. Some of us have gifts the impress, and some of us have gifts that are easily discounted, but we are one in Christ Jesus. Some of us have rank in the world and others of us are cast out by the world, but we are received together in Christ. At Christ's table the unity of the church given to us by the blood of Jesus is made visible as we share this meal together.

APPLICATION: This is the time to forgive your brothers and sisters that have hurt you or offended you. This is the time to repent of any bitterness or anger that you've been holding on to. This is the time that you reject any division that is between you and your church family. This is the table of the Lord! It is Christ that has brought us together, and it is Christ that will hold us together.

“until that day when I drink it new with you” Matthew concludes his recording of this intense meal with Jesus taking a strange oath. Jesus says that He will not drink wine again until He drinks it new with his disciples. Jesus was giving them a mission to make more disciples across all of the known world. And, He had told them that they were being sent out as sheep among the wolves and their very own families would rise up against them and have them arrested and killed. They were to take the news that God's Kingdom had come and would one day soon be fully realized. They were to take the news that God was bringing all of creation beneath the sovereign rule of Christ, but as good as that news was, they would be hated for it.

Jesus was giving them a mission to make more disciples across all of the known world. And, He had told them that they were being sent out as sheep among the wolves and their very own families would rise up against them and have them arrested and killed. They were to take the news that God's Kingdom had come and would one day soon be fully realized. They were to take the news that God was bringing all of creation beneath the sovereign rule of Christ, but as good as that news was, they would be hated for it.

But, Jesus doesn't send them into the darkness without a glimpse of the light. Wherever his disciples were sent, wherever they were seeking to carry out Christ's mission, wherever they were facing suffering and persecution, they were to gather there at the Lord's Table with the Lord's people. And, this new table is a shadow of the New Kingdom that is coming to be. It's a shadow of the wedding supper of the Lamb. At that table, they would remember that Christ was with them everywhere that they went and that one day, He would return, they would join him in his very presence at his table with all of the believers from every generation and every nation in perfect unity and joy. It was this supper, this table that would remind them of that great Table that was yet to come, and so, they could press on in the mission that He had given to them by remember Christ and the Kingdom that He was bringing to full consummation in a new heaven and new earth. The joy and unity that you know as you gather at the Lord's Table now is the joy and unity will one day experience all day every day for all of eternity.

APPLICATION: We remember today because we will rejoice one day. How will you carry on? Come to the table, and remember Christ! Are you tired and thinking of quitting? Remember Christ's return is soon to come. You only have to endure for a little while. Are you discouraged and disheartened? Remember Christ! He is going to prove that it's all worth it! The Lord's Supper is at time of re-commitment and rededication in the life of a believer. It is a time to remember how wonderfully Jesus has saved you from the sin that was going to condemn you. It is a time to renew your commitment to bring glory to his name through your life. But, as we remember and as we renew and as we recommit ourselves, we can rejoice! We can rejoice that one day we will recommit for the last time. One day, we will be renewed for the last time. Because, one day, Jesus is going to return for us, and we will be made fully new, and we will join him at his table to never depart again. Today, brothers and sisters, remember and rejoice!

Remembering and Rejoicing

Introduction

God’s Word

Read

A New Memory

Immediate Purpose, Future Purpose

The Bread That is Broken

His Body at No Expense

Trusting God for Bread

The Cup of the Covenant

The Cost of Forgiveness

One Loaf, One Cup

Remembering to Rejoice