Sermon Tone Analysis

The Last Supper

For almost 2 millenium, all of creation has existed in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We gather on Resurrection weekend to celebrate and remember the work of Christ on the cross, and to marvel at the perfect plan that God brought into fulfillment when Jesus rose from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the single most important event in the history of the world.

Even those who would deny the resurrection would be compelled to admit that the events that unfolded in Judea 2000 years ago forever altered the course of history.

What makes the death and resurrection of Jesus so eye poppingly powerful is the overwhelming amount of prophecy dating back thousands of years before the life of Christ.

And Jesus verifiably fulfilled every single one of the hundreds of prophecies concerning the Messiah.

This event shattered everything the sharpest religious minds had previously thought about the Messiah, yet it simultaneously rang a perfect resounding peal of truth, affirming that God indeed was a God of grace, who loved His creation, and was willing to sacrifice His own son for the sin of the world.

On the night Jesus was arrested, he was sharing the Passover meal with his disciples.

Luke 22:14-

We as evangelical believers partake in two sacraments, or ordinances that were ordained by Christ.

Baptism, and communion.

Both of these acts are done in obedience to direct commandment by Jesus.

Here is an interesting thought:

Jesus began his ministry with baptism.

Jesus ended his ministry with communion.

Baptism happens once, communion is enjoyed frequently until it is enjoyed in fulfillment at the wedding feast of the lamb.

As we receive the bread and wine with our hands and mouth, we receive the body and blood of Christ spiritually by faith.

“The Lord’s Supper is the continuing sign of belonging to God’s people.

Questions about how it should be received — sitting in the pew, standing or kneeling at the front of the church — are not important.

Most important is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper — as a remembrance () and a proclamation (v.

26), and the Gospel integrity of those who take it.

Paul wrote a letter of stern correction to the Christians in Corinth because they were allowing those who were in unrepentant sin to take the Lord’s Supper.

Paul told them that this should not be.

Taking the Lord’s Supper would never save such an unrepentant sinner.

It is true that the Lord’s Supper is only for sinners.

But within that group, it is only for repentant sinners.

Like baptism, the Lord’s Supper, properly administered, portrays God’s faithfulness to us.

But our participation in it also speaks publicly of us personally being known to be partakers of God’s grace in Christ.” - Mark Dever

Tonight we take communion in sober remembrance of the broken body and spilled blood of the word made flesh, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

Take communion

Luke 22:21-

The Garden

Matthew 26:36

The events that transpired between this last supper and Jesus death on the cross can be found detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

This evening we will briefly consider what was taking place on the cross, and then we will joyfully bask in the light of the resurrected Christ.

Jesus was run through a mockery of a trial.

Complete with false witnesses and betrayal.

He was tortured, made to carry his cross, and then he was lifted up, nailed to the tree that he had spoke into existence.

The Cross

Luke 23:44

“It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished.

His dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished.”

How deep the fathers love for us

The Resurrection

John 20

Jesus Christ was no longer dead.

The immediate implications and shock of this are lost on us in our day.

Put your selves in the shoes of Mary.

Three days prior she had watched her Lord cry out in agony to God the Father as he gave up his spirit.

She had heard how the soldiers had pierced her side and blood and water flowed from the wound.

The tomb where his body lay had been sealed from all air and outside influence, and then at the moment when she thought that his body must have been stolen to be desecrated, she hears a man’s voice, she doesn’t process who this is her grief is so strong.

And then he says one word, Mary.

Mary.

How splendidly her heart must have soared in this moment.

To hear her name spoken by the man, now understood to be God, who had set her free from the spiritual death and slavery that she had walked in.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead had immediate and earth shattering consequences for everyone who heard the news.

For those who hated him, they now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was who he claimed He was, and any worldview that didn’t conform to Christ being God was now toast.

I imagine that there was much soul searching amongst those who had opposed Him.

For those who had been touched by Jesus hands and words, everything was falling into place.

Every person who Jesus rose from the dead, died later on.

Every person he healed was overcome by their dying flesh later on.

Every person to which he said “Your sins are forgiven” continued to struggle with their fleshly tendency to sin.

But when Jesus conquered death and rose on the third day as prophesied, everything changed.

Dying bodies didn’t matter anymore.

Struggles with sin were no longer fatal.

Jesus had perfectly satisfied God’s justice on the cross and all of reality was melted away and restored with joy and peace at the revelation of the glorified Messiah.

Mary had had her sins forgiven by Jesus and he changed her life in a big way BEFORE the resurrection.

Imagine the unstoppable witness she bore after seeing the resurrected Christ

John’s Vision

Fast forward roughly 60 years.

The gospel has begun to spread all over the known world.

Most of the apostles have been martyred.

Heretics are springing up like daisies.

Jerusalem has been sacked by the Romans.

The church has already had many ups and downs and growing pains.

Paul, the great titan of the faith has been martyred.

One apostle remains.

John.

Jesus’ dear friend.

Not long after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, Saul was visited by the glorified Christ on the road.

And it changed his life.

Imagine how John must have felt.

I doubt he felt any sort of bitterness towards Paul, but I bet he was overwhelmed with longing to see his friend Jesus again in the flesh, and to enjoy his company, and to hear his voice.

John clung to the hope of seeing Jesus again for his whole life.

He was a very young man when he had walked with Jesus during his ministry.

John went on to be a global leader and elder in Christ’s church, and he carefully shepherded the church for decades.

We pick up in Patmos, an island where John has been exiled for his witness concerning the resurrection.

Revelation 1:9

When we read this passage we are not just viewing the revelation of God to a man.

We are viewing the reunion of the sweetest friendship in the history of the world.

When John turned around he was face to face with God.

And he did not consider himself worthy to even look at his face.

And Jesus didn’t just speak to him, he reached out and touched him.

What a beautiful picture of love and friendship.

THIS is God’s design for kingdom living.

This is what Adam and Eve had in the garden yet lost.

We view death as being the end of the road.

The worst thing.

The last thing.