The Lord's Supper
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 38 viewsNotes
Transcript
14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 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.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
14 Cuando era la hora, se sentó a la mesa, y con él los apóstoles. 15 Y les dijo: ¡Cuánto he deseado comer con vosotros esta pascua antes que padezca! 16 Porque os digo que no la comeré más, hasta que se cumpla en el reino de Dios. 17 Y habiendo tomado la copa, dio gracias, y dijo: Tomad esto, y repartidlo entre vosotros; 18 porque os digo que no beberé más del fruto de la vid, hasta que el reino de Dios venga. 19 Y tomó el pan y dio gracias, y lo partió y les dio, diciendo: Esto es mi cuerpo, que por vosotros es dado; haced esto en memoria de mí. 20 De igual manera, después que hubo cenado, tomó la copa, diciendo: Esta copa es el nuevo pacto en mi sangre, que por vosotros se derrama.
Neither before nor after. That's the right time, the right time. We feel uncomfortable when we are late, and it can happen also when we arrive earlier than expected. We have to recognize that there is a right time for things, a special and appropriate time for things to happen.
God knows about times, and God's things happen at the precise moment they have to happen, neither before nor after.
So it was that night when Jesus would be arrested. He met with the disciples for the celebration of Easter, but the biblical account tells us that this meeting did not take place at a random moment, the product of chance or simply following "the natural sequence of events." Happened...
And when the hour came...
Cuando era la hora...
At the right time. That was prepared, anticipated, had been carefully planned. Jesus knew that this was "the time."
Luke extends the story to us by adding the Lord's parliament when he sits at the table and the moment he takes the cup for the first time, at the beginning of the meal.
We must take into account that this was a banquet, an event that must have lasted for a few hours. The evangelists Matthew and Mark tell us what might be considered "most important" to us, what we know as "the institution of the Lord's Supper" (see titles contributed by Bible Societies), but there were more conversations, more comments, maybe laughter, stories, conversations. Luke gives us a little more, demonstrating why Jesus ordered that moment to be remembered especially, repeating his most precious moments.
I. Jesus is signaling the arrival of the most important moment in human history.
I. Jesus is signaling the arrival of the most important moment in human history.
I. Jesús está señalando la llegada del momento más importante de la historia de la humanidad.
I. Jesús está señalando la llegada del momento más importante de la historia de la humanidad.
Yes, you read that right, the most important moment in the history of mankind. Which one is that? It is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That is the central event in the history of humanity, the most significant, with the most results, the most shocking of all.
Jesus sits at the table surrounded by his disciples and begins by saying:
English Standard Version Chapter 22
I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Reina Valera Revisada (1960) Capítulo 22
Y les dijo: ¡Cuánto he deseado comer con vosotros esta pascua antes que padezca!
The first phrase of his kind of welcome to the celebration of Easter sounds normal. It is what we would hear or say at the beginning of a birthday celebration or an anniversary: "How I have longed to eat with you this Easter...!"tag. It is likely that the apostles expected a similar phrase. It sounds like "Thank you all for coming!" But no, the fact is, it didn't end there. The Master knew something that the disciples did not.
... before I suffer.
…antes que padezca!
Jesus had been anticipating and waiting for that moment to come. There would be no "next Passover" the following year for Him and the disciples, for in a few hours He would be arrested and put on trial by the Jews.
Jesus knows that that moment, when He suffers, the moment of His suffering, when He is bearing the wages for your sins and mine, when they are receiving the weight of God's wrath in His death on the cross, would be the moment that would make an eternal difference in the lives of millions upon millions. That was not just another moment in history, simply the evolution of destiny, the sum of the multiple coincidences of life. No, that event had been planned, anticipated, announced, planned and prepared. Jesus' suffering on the cross is the center of history, not only for the human race but for every person who believes in Him by receiving eternal life as a reward.
II. Jesus is anticipating the future moment when those who believe in Him celebrate in His presence.
II. Jesus is anticipating the future moment when those who believe in Him celebrate in His presence.
II. Jesús está anticipando el momento futuro cuando los que creen en Él celebren en su presencia.
II. Jesús está anticipando el momento futuro cuando los que creen en Él celebren en su presencia.
The Master is linking here past, present and future, what was, what is and what is to come. The time of anticipation, prophecy, and preparation was over. The time had come for the realization of what had been announced, according to plan. But that drew the line that anticipated the glorious future that would come to fruition in heaven.
English Standard Version Chapter 22
For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Reina Valera Revisada (1960) Capítulo 22
Porque os digo que no la comeré más, hasta que se cumpla en el reino de Dios.
Yes, Jesus announces the banquet to be held in the Kingdom of God. There He will again celebrate the Passover with His own (including you and me), but we will call it "The Marriage Supper of the Lamb," a feast to which all of us who believe in Him are invited.
Go, imagine it, you also anticipate that moment when you will sit at table with Jesus to celebrate the result of his sacrifice.
These words of Jesus are an announcement, an invitation. From them, all of us who believe in Him anticipate the precious moment in which they materialize.
To reaffirm and emphasize this invitation, the Master took the cup in his hands.
17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
17 Y habiendo tomado la copa, dio gracias, y dijo: Tomad esto, y repartidlo entre vosotros; 18 porque os digo que no beberé más del fruto de la vid, hasta que el reino de Dios venga.
Here Luke speaks of two occasions when Jesus takes the cup for the purpose of pointing out something important. In this first case, he is emphasizing what he had just said when talking about the Supper in general. He encourages the disciples to drink together, to rejoice, to share, anticipating the moment when they will have a feast again in the Kingdom.
The children of God will drink wine with Jesus in His house, in His presence, we will have a feast in His Kingdom, for having believed in Him, because He paid the price for us on the cross of Calvary.
III. Jesus emphasizes the value of God's gift.
III. Jesus emphasizes the value of God's gift.
III. Jesús destaca el valor de la dádiva de Dios.
III. Jesús destaca el valor de la dádiva de Dios.
We all like gifts, we like to receive. At the same time, gifts are perhaps the most eloquent language for communicating love. We all give gifts to the people we love.
19 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.”
19 Y tomó el pan y dio gracias, y lo partió y les dio, diciendo: Esto es mi cuerpo, que por vosotros es dado; haced esto en memoria de mí.
The bread... It is something normal, common and ordinary for many centuries on the tables of humans. What's so special about it? Not much. Today some of us avoid them for dietary reasons. But Jesus here was not talking about healthy diet but conveying a powerful message from God. Can bread convey a message? Yes, it can, and a tremendously powerful one. Jesus looked out, he saw the bread, but he saw much more than the bread. He saw his hands taking bread, he saw his body, which in a few hours would be broken, punished, hurt, bled to death. The disciples did not yet know it, but that body they were seeing in front of them was about to be broken, sacrificed.
But that violence was not the product of the bad intentions of the Jews or the bad decisions of the Roman authorities. In that bread, Jesus saw his body...
... which is given for you.
…que por vosotros es dado;...
Given, not taken. Given, not snatched.
Yes, love is expressed by giving, and this clearly sounds like this:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.
Yes, love made a gift from God.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
23 Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, mas la dádiva de Dios es vida eterna en Cristo Jesús Señor nuestro.
Do you notice how all these passages express the way God has expressed His love for you and me, sending His Son to die in our place?
Yes, today we celebrate God's matchless love!
When we partake of the bread, this is what has to fill our hearts: the gift of God.
IV. Jesus announces the establishment of a New Covenant, a new agreement between God and humans.
IV. Jesus announces the establishment of a New Covenant, a new agreement between God and humans.
IV. Jesús anuncia el establecimiento de un Nuevo Pacto, un acuerdo nuevo entre Dios y los humanos.
IV. Jesús anuncia el establecimiento de un Nuevo Pacto, un acuerdo nuevo entre Dios y los humanos.
This happened at the end of the Supper, and it was also one of the moments that would never be erased from the memory of those humble disciples.
The Master is going to make another comparison and another announcement.
Likewise, after he had supper, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:20)
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
De igual manera, después que hubo cenado, tomó la copa, diciendo: Esta copa es el nuevo pacto en mi sangre, que por vosotros se derrama.
The cup was not the most important thing: the important thing was his blood.
God had already established a blood covenant with His own, because...
Hebreos 9:22 (ESV)
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
22 Y casi todo es purificado, según la ley, con sangre; y sin derramamiento de sangre no se hace remisión.
... Without bloodshed, there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)
…sin derramamiento de sangre no se hace remisión.
God has invited us to establish a covenant with Him. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, in which each of the parties agrees to do something or contribute something. God is committed to forgiving us, clearing our criminal record, so to speak, reconciling us to Him, and returning us to the original condition for which He created us. Our part is to commit ourselves to Him as Lord and Master of our lives, ceasing to live for ourselves and dedicating ourselves to living for Him.
The covenant with God was sealed with the blood of Jesus. Have you accepted God's invitation to live in a covenant relationship with Him?
As you approach the Lord's table, participate with respect and fear of God, recognizing the cross as the center of history and anticipating that moment when we all celebrate together in his presence.