Sermon Tone Analysis

Reading:

Luke 22:14-20 “And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.

And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.

For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.”

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Introduction:

When we think through Communion it is easy to forget exactly what they were all partaking in.

Eating and celebrating.

We can all relate getting together with those you love and sharing a meal together.

Making plans and hoping it all works out.

We just finished taking part in that type of thing.

Many plans hadn’t worked out due to weather and sickness, which can be disappointing; but we can enjoy the times when everything does work out.

It is easy to get disappointed when you enjoy the company of those you made plans with, only for those plans to fall through.

In this scenario Jesus made plans with the Apostles, and they were excited to get together and celebrate the passover.

One commentator says that Luke loves meals.

This particular meal is the seventh meal scene recorded in Luke.

Think of all that takes place at a dinner table:

Fellowship or enjoying causal conversations with those seated around you, catching up with one another.

Opportunities to reflect on times had together.

Jesus was perfect at setting the stage and He prepared this situation for what He would reveal.

We have here an close and intimate scene that would be the perfect timing for them, and us, to best remember what was proclaimed by Jesus.

Transition:

Jesus knew what was coming: His sacrifice.

Jesus reveals that even when He would be justified to focus on Himself, He didn’t.

He only focused on preparing the disciples for what would happen next He gave:

I.

A Future Blessing

Luke 22:14-16 “And when the hour came, He reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.

And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.””

Jesus sitting at the table with all the apostles, celebrating the passover meal together.

Illustration:

Katie and I had been dating for a while, I knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

I needed someone to smirk at my corny jokes and to pester.

It was time to ask her dad for permission to marry her.

Him and I went to a study on revelation at Church one night.

We chit chatted for a bit of the drive, then I decided to ask him.

It was the opportune time and place.

We were together, just the 2 of us, and enjoying the conversations.

It was the right opportunity.

This is exactly like the scenario for Jesus here:

He created the opportune place where all of them were together and the timing was perfect for what He had to say.

Transition:

Jesus leads into the real conversation He wants to have:

Luke 22:15 “And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

He opens the curtain to

A. The Future.

He is going to suffer.

Great Segway:

I really looked forward to celebrating the passover meal with you.....especially before I suffer.

But It was a great opportunity to speak about the sacrificial lamb who would pay for the sins of the world and save them from death!

Remember what the passover celebration was:

Deuteronomy 16:1-8 ““Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there.

You shall eat no leavened bread with it.

Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.

No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning.

You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening …”

Baker Encyclopedia has this to say about the evening meal:

The evening meal was the time when all family members normally were gathered together, and was thus an important time of fellowship.

Providing food for the traveler was both a social and a religious responsibility, while the ideal of a quiet social life was realized by having friends break bread with the family and discuss the problems of the day by the light of small oil lamps.

The significance of the meal retains its central focus, both in the Jewish religion with the Passover meal and in Christianity with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

It was the celebration of the Holy Spirit acknowledging the sacrifice that was made for the family back in Egypt, and passing over that home to the next.

They are celebrating the very thing that Christ would do for them and for all mankind.

He was to be the final passover lamb for the sacrifice.

Transition:

Jesus took the opportunity after the remembrance feast to point to what He came to do:

Be the final Sacrifice once for all.

He said that He was excited for this moment!

Why wouldn’t He be excited?

God’s moment for handing the gift of redemption to the world was at hand.

The promise from back in the garden was going to be fulfilled.

The Hope is: the future celebration that would take place again when it is all fulfilled:

It spoke of the messianic banquet, when the full arrival of God’s Kingdom would be set up.

The marriage supper of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:6-9 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.””

Point:

That marriage hasn’t happened yet.

We are still waiting for the groom (Jesus) to come gather His bride (The Church).

Then we will celebrate the marriage and enjoy being with our Lord.

The future is coming and the bride needs to be ready!

She should present herself as ready, clean and in constant looking for that great and glorious day when the Groom comes.

Would you say the church is ready, and clean for the marriage?

Anticipating and hoping for that joyous day?

How about you are you ready and hoping for that day?

We should be ready, clean, and anticipating our belief.

We can trust and hope in that future when Jesus is coming for us!

It will happen; we just don't know when.

Transition:

Jesus presented 2 elements that would represent His Sacrifice.

The first being:

II.