Sympathizing with Weaknesses - Mark 14:32-52 - January 24, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for January 24, 2021. We are meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 14:32-52 Sympathizing with Weaknesses

Good morning! We are returning to our study in the Gospel of Mark with chapter 14, verses 32-52, page 851 in the pew Bibles.

We are going to be dealing with a difficult topic this morning, at least one that has given the theologians great difficulty, and that it the humanity of Christ. It’s said that liberal scholars emphasize the humanity of Christ but have difficulty with His divinity and conservative scholars emphasize the divinity of Christ while having difficulty with His humanity.

In our text for this morning we are going to see the humanity of Christ on full display and just exactly how He deals with it.

So, let’s pray, and we’ll jump right into it.

Now when I speak of the humanity of Christ, don’t be confused into thinking that I am saying that He was just a regular person, He isn’t. Jesus, the eternally existent Son of God, put on flesh and dwelt among us. He has flesh like us, He was tempted like us, but He did not sin.

But He didn’t just appear to be human, He didn’t just look like a human, He is completely human, while still being completely God. As Saint Ambrose said, “[Jesus] took upon Himself, not the appearance, but the reality of incarnation.” His humanity doesn’t take anything away from His divinity, it adds to it.

Hebrews 4:14-16 says,

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

These three verses from Hebrews kind of unlock our text in Mark this morning. So let’s look at that.

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” 

43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And they all left him and fled. 

51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Here we have the striking of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep that we talked about last week. Jesus, quoting Zechariah 13:7 said, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Here we have that prophecy fulfilled just a few hours later.

The scholars agree, though the Scripture does not plainly say it, that the young man here was actually Mark, the human author of this Gospel. The Greek word translated, “young man,” means that he was somewhere between puberty and marrying age, not a little kid more likely a teenager. The linen cloth was a sleeping garment.

If this is truly the case, Judas most likely led the crowd first to the house where they celebrated Passover, which, based on this line of thinking was Mark’s family’s house, and finding that Jesus and His disciples had left that place he led them to the next closest place that he knew Jesus frequently spent time, the olive press of Gethsemane. Mark followed the crowd, perhaps to warn Jesus, we don’t know, but when they grabbed him he slipped out of his pajamas and fled.

I don’t want to spend any time on Judas and his betrayal so let’s rewind to verse 32.

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”

Gethsemane literally means “oil press.” This was a secluded enclosed garden with an olive orchard and a press for making olive oil, well known to Jesus and the disciples, and Judas.

I have been to this spot, though it looks much different now I’m sure. There are olive trees there that are over 1500 years old, it’s beautiful. At the entrance of the garden He told eight of the disciples to sit while He prayed further in.

 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 

I’m not sure what the thinking was in the minds of the translators here, I’m sure they had good reason, but the word translated, “greatly distressed,” is the same word that is used for fright at a crack of thunder or terror at seeing a ghost.

Perhaps the thought of seeing Jesus afraid was unsettling to them. I know it’s unsettling to me, but that’s what the words mean. He was in anguish and He was afraid. 

Don’t be confused, it is not sinful to be afraid. This was another temptation of Jesus by Satan. What does that fear motivate us to do, to trust the Father or turn away from Him? Jesus chose to trust Him.

34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 

Perhaps you can identify with this thought. Jesus was distressed almost to the point of death. What He was facing was more than He could bear. He knew what was coming and He knew that He would have to face it alone. The hour that was coming meant the desertion of His friends and His Father.

But instead of allowing fear to drive Him to sin, instead it drove Him to the Father in prayer.

35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 

I have a quote that you’re not going to like and I hesitate to share but I can’t ignore.

Alistair Begg said, “You’ve heard that there is power in prayer. There is no power in prayer, all the power is in God.”

Now before you run off saying that Heath told us not to pray… That’s not at all what I am saying, that’s not at all what Alistair Begg was saying. After all, here we have Jesus, our example, praying right here in our text!

But the power that Jesus received was not from the prayer itself but from the Father when Jesus submitted to His will. Submission to God’s will is the key to receiving power from God to accomplish His will.

Jesus sincerely prayed for the hour to pass from Him, that He would not have to drink the cup of God’s wrath for the sin of mankind and all the horrors that it entailed. He prayed, “Abba, Dad, Papa, all things are possible for you period. Remove this cup from me period. 

I think that’s what our prayers often sound like, don’t you? Lord, I’m dealing with a thing, please make it stop. Father, I have pain, emotional, physical, whatever, make it stop. Amen.

But there’s no power in that prayer.

Jesus knew that the Father had a purpose for what He was about to go through, but that didn’t stop Him, in His humanity, from being afraid of it, or from wanting to avoid it. The difference is in the rest of Jesus’ prayer: “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Not my wishes, but your wishes. Not my desires, but your desires.

How often do we close our prayers with, “Lord, thanks for hearing my prayers. Now please, don’t do as I’ve asked…”? Jesus prayed, “I don’t want to do this, I want you to stop this, but what I want doesn’t matter, what you want does.

This is a prayer of faith. This is trust in God.

37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

We often think that Jesus was talking about the disciples when He said, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Maybe He was, at least in part, after all, Peter had just said that even if he had to die with Jesus he would never deny him and then promptly fell asleep. But I think He was also talking about Himself. In His spirit He was willing to drink the cup of God’s wrath but in His flesh He was afraid and needed strength from the Father.

 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” 

Jesus prayed and asked the Father to remove the cup from Him and to let the hour pass, but in the end submitted to His will, and the hour came, He was betrayed by His friend, He was deserted by His followers, He was stricken by God.

But because He submitted to the will of the Father it was not Christ and righteousness that were captured in that hour, it was Satan and sin. 

God’s great purpose, our redemption, was accomplished through Jesus’ submission.

Who knows what He will accomplish through ours!

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Amen

Peter's Problem - Mark 14:26-31 - January 17, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for January 17, 2020. We are meeting at the church with limited seating and specific procedures and protocols that need to be followed. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can still watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 14:26-31 Peter’s Problem

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let’s pray.

That Psalm, Psalm 23, known as the Shepherd’s Psalm has brought comfort to millions. I think it’s read at every funeral, at the very least every funeral that I perform.

The beautiful thought that Jesus is the Great Shepherd of the sheep, watching out for us and caring for us, leading and guiding us right where He wants us to go.

Jesus is again portrayed as a shepherd in His parable in Matthew 18:12 and Luke 15:4.

If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

It seems in our day that being called a sheep is an insult, blindly following and not thinking for oneself. I say that it’s not an insult if you’re following the right Shepherd.

1 Peter 5:4 and Hebrews 13:20 both refer to Jesus as the Great Shepherd. Ephesians 4:11 says that Jesus gave some to be, “poimen didaskalos,” shepherd-teachers, also known as pastors, Jesus’ under-shepherds.

We’re picking up our study in Mark 14 right after Jesus had instituted the Lord’s Supper. They had celebrated the Passover together in an upper room that scholars believe belonged to the father of John Mark, the human author of this Gospel. After singing a hymn, which would have been Psalm 113-118, Jesus led the disciples across the darkness of the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives. This would have been around midnight. It’s on this walk through the night that we pick up in Mark 14:27-31, page 851 in the pew Bibles.

27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Here Jesus applies the title of Shepherd to Himself and He quotes Zechariah 13:7.

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered…”

Do you see any difference between how Zechariah said it and how Jesus said it? For you English nerds, Jesus changed the verb, “to strike,” from imperative to indicative, from “strike,” to “I will strike.”

It is the Lord of Hosts that will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter. Not the devil, not the Sanhedrin, not the Romans, the Lord of Hosts. God Himself will strike the Shepherd Jesus, pouring out His wrath on Him for us.

I don’t know if the disciples knew their Old Testament well enough to notice the difference but I’m sure Jesus did. Jesus death was not a surprise to Him, it was the plan from the beginning, as was His desertion by His friends.

But even here in our short text Jesus reminds His disciples that He will not be stricken for long. Verse 28 says, “But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” Jesus’ role as Great Shepherd would continue after His death and resurrection and He promised to meet them back where this all started, in the back woods of Galilee.

Unfortunately this promise from the Great Shepherd fell on mostly deaf ears. The disciples missed the part about being raised up after being stricken, they only heard the part about being scattered.

So up steps Peter. 29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”

Ever stop and think about that statement? Even though the rest of these guys are not strong enough, not loyal enough, not courageous enough to stand with you, I will stay strong, I will not fall away.”

But as we know, Peter was not courageous, he was thoughtless. Peter foolishly boasted because he was not wise enough to carefully examine himself. He overestimated the strength of his will and character to which Jesus responds in verse 30, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.

Peter claimed that his loyalty was greater than the rest but in truth, his failure was greater than the rest. Jesus predicted that they would all desert Him but Peter would disown Him, not once but three times… that night… sometime in the next four or so hours! The rooster crows just before the sun comes up and it was already after midnight.

Since we have the added benefit of perspective, we are standing back considering this moment, what should Peter’s response to Jesus have been?

Lord, I don’t want to do that. How do I not do that? He should have asked Jesus for help to stand firm and not deny Him!

John Calvin wrote, “Believers ought, indeed, to be prepared for the contest in such a manner that, entertaining no doubt or uncertainty about the result and the victory, they may resist fear; for trembling and excessive anxiety are marks of distrust. But, on the other hand, they ought to guard against that stupidity which shakes off all anxiety, and fills their minds with pride, and extinguishes the desire to pray. This middle course between two faulty extremes is very beautifully expressed by Paul, when he enjoins us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God that works in us to will and perform…”

Instead of counting on the Lord to help him avoid denying Him, instead of asking Him for help in the trial, in his stupidity and pride he flat out told Jesus that He was wrong, and that there was no way that he would ever deny Him, even if he had to die with Him, and all the other disciples chimed in and said the same.

Now, as we have already seen, even in this short text, that it was the will of God to strike Jesus the Shepherd, we know that His death means salvation for us, but that does not free Peter nor the disciples from bearing responsibility of their own actions.

We can see the list of failures right here in our text: foolishness, pride, they thought more of themselves than they did of Jesus, in fact, they trusted their own ideas, their own plans over His, over the Father’s.

They were all idiots!

But the Lord has proven, time and time again, through the disciples and through me that being an idiot is not an insurmountable problem. But they also didn’t have the Holy Spirit, also not an insurmountable problem. All we have to do is skip ahead to the first two chapters of the Book of Acts and see how the Lord solved it.

And it’s that solution that I think we need to focus on, that’s the one point to this sermon. Peter and the other disciples, at this point in the story, did not have the Holy Spirit within them. They had the advantage of being face to face with Jesus, yes, but they did not have the help of the Holy Spirit to overcome their weaknesses.

And this is a weak point in Peter’s life. His pride and arrogance blinded him to the will of the Lord. Jesus said, “I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will scatter. You will all fall away,” but Peter foolishly boasted of his own strength, which, we will see, failed him… miserably!

I can’t say what I would do if I were in his shoes, it probably would have been a lot worse. But, in truth, we are in those shoes all the time. Peter and the disciples didn’t have the faith to trust Jesus when things didn’t go according to their plan… When has anything gone according to our plan?!

The difference is, we have the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

1 John 4:13-15 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Romans 8:9-11 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Where Peter failed, by the power of the Holy Spirit we can succeed. Where he foolishly boasted of his strength, we can trust the Lord in our weakness.

The Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:7 wrote:

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited… a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

May every hardship, along with every victory, every twist in the road, along with every straightaway teach us, even force us, to rely on the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

The Love Feast - Mark 14:12-26 - January 10, 2021

These are the Sermon Notes for January 10, 2020. We are resuming in person services at the church building. We ask everyone attending in person to wear a mask as we will continue to follow the state's guidance for mask wearing and social distancing. Read our Covid-19 plan here. You can watch our livestream service every Sunday at 9:37 am on our facebook page or watch the livestream recordings any time.

 Mark 14:12-26 The Love Feast

Good morning and welcome back! 

Thank you so much for your love and prayers for our family while we have been in quarantine, we are all well and are very glad to be out of the house and able to interact with people again! I’d also like to thank Nate for rightly dividing the Word of truth for us last week, I pray you were all encouraged as I was in considering your own newness through renewal and your progress in sanctification.

And as Nate mentioned we are going to continue in our exposition of the Gospel of Mark in our study together this morning with chapter 14, verses 12-26, that’s page 850 in the pew Bibles.

It’s no coincidence that we will be celebrating the Lord’s Supper this morning, though it was unintentional on my part, as we are going to be focusing on the institution of this great sacrament.

I hope you all have some bread and drink set aside for this purpose at home. My initial intent in scheduling Communion for this week had a lot to do with emphasizing unity, the common unity that we embrace when we all eat this bread and drink this cup. 

As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

And that idea could certainly use some emphasis given the events of the last few days and weeks. But I don’t think that exactly what the Lord has in mind for us this morning. The idea is not false, it’s not wrong, that common unity does truly exist and should be emphasized, but that is not the express purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

So let’s look at the text, Mark 14:12-26.

12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 

17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For 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.” 

22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Let’s pray.

This account very closely parallels the account of the triumphal entry. 

Jesus instructs some of the disciples to go to the city and someone will meet you and give you what you need for what is going to happen next. 

With the Triumphal entry it was a colt that had never been ridden tied up and waiting for them, and this time it was a man carrying a jar of water to lead them to where they could prepare and celebrate the Passover together.

I have always considered these two events to be miraculous, that God had preordained these things to be there at the moment the disciples needed them and I’m not sure I’m ready to give up that idea. 

It only occurred to me in the study preparing for this morning that I had ever even heard anyone suggesting that Jesus had arranged these things beforehand. I guess my flannelgraph is just a little more miraculous then pragmatic.

The fact that there was a man carrying a jar of water was a much more clear sign in the first century than it would be today. During the time of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread there were millions of people in the city of Jerusalem, how on earth would the two disciples be able to identify the right man carrying the water jug? How many other guys could there possibly be fitting that description?

It turns out that carrying water jars, in the first century, was women’s work, a man would only carry skins filled with water. A notion that in the age of “amen and a-women” must be very popular. 

No matter what your opinion on the subject, this was a sign that was much more obvious to them then than it would be to us now.

The other Gospel writers tell us that these two disciples were Peter and John, and they found things just as the Lord had told them and they prepared the Passover in that upper room.

17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For 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.” 

It has always amazed me that when Jesus tells the twelve that one of them will betray Him that one by one they asked Him, “It isn’t me, is it?”

They don’t point fingers at each other, nobody was placing blame, nobody says, “I think Judas is sus-spicious.” They humbly ask the Lord, “is it me?”

And though we all know that it was Judas from what we read in verses 10-11 of this chapter, Jesus doesn’t immediately point him out specifically in our text, He simply says, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For 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.” 

Jesus and the disciples would not have been arrayed like Davinci’s painting of the Last Supper all on one side of the table as if posing for a picture. We do know from the other Gospel accounts that John was on Jesus’ right and Judas was on His left, in a seat of honor.

Judas was neither hero nor victim. He was not a hero for being used by God as the instrument that brought about Jesus’ death for our benefit, nor was he a victim of cold predestination as if he had no choice but to act like a robot.

Judas, motivated by greed, acted on his own accord and accomplished the will of the Father. 

He was lost for the same reason that millions of other people have been, are, and will be lost: he did not repent of his sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It would be better for him if he had not been born. That’s no joke.

22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

It struck me that the original Passover was eaten on the way, in haste. The Israelites had escaped from Egypt but they had not yet reached the Promised Land. Their redemption was not yet complete but they were looking forward to its completion. 

The Lord’s Supper was instituted in the same way, on the way. The process of their redemption had begun but would not be completed until Jesus died and was raised. 

And when we celebrate it now, we do it to remember what He did, yes, but also to proclaim His death while looking forward to His return when our redemption will be complete.

Luke adds the words in his account, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” What is it that we are to remember?

The word remembrance is not just recollection of past events, but a participation in past events. We too, like those disciples take in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf by faith.

The bread and the wine (or juice) does not become the actual flesh and blood of Christ as our Catholic friends would have us believe. John Calvin called that doctrine known as “transubstantiation,” a monster!

The bread is still bread and the juice is still juice but faith gives that bread and that juice new purpose.

The bread and the cup are symbols of the body of our Lord and the blood of the New Covenant, the new arrangement made by God between us and Him and eating and drinking them are symbolic of our faith.

It is no longer an arrangement of works that brings us to Him but faith in His Son, that mankind, that individuals, either choose to accept or reject.

As I was writing this week the Lord made it clear to me that my remembrance was incomplete.

I remembered the Lord, I remembered His sacrifice on the cross, His body given, His blood poured out.

But the Spirit spoke to my heart: “Remember how much I love you.” The words pierced my soul. “Remember how much I love you!”

It’s not just a matter of God so loving the world back then that He gave His only Son back then… 

Remember how much He loves you right now.

As we eat the bread and drink the cup today, let’s remember just how much He loves us.

(say a blessing) “Take and eat, this is my body.”

(give thanks) This is the blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many.”

Amen.

Let’s sign a hymn like they did that night!