Remembering What is Important

Introduction:

This evening our church members will gather to observe the Lord’s Supper.

Because of this, we should pause and think about the words Jesus spoke and the significance he gives to them.

Matthew 26:26-30 presents an interesting setting for Jesus’ establishment of the significance of the Supper.

Matthew does some interesting things, so in this message, we will focus on two things:

The setting around Jesus’ breaking bread and passing around his cup.

How the importance of God’s plan before and after brings to light the significance of atonement.

Jesus death either means nothing or it means everything.

It is the death of another Galilean revolutionary.

It is the atoning death of the Son of God in accordance with the scriptures .

Context:

Jesus and his disciples are in the middle of observing the Passover.

Mt. 26:21 provides our first significant tie to the language Matthew will reuse for the Lord’s Supper section.

Notice: “while they were eating.”

The most surprising part of Matthew’s account is the discussion of betrayal and scandal occur before and after the “main event.”

Mt. 26:25: Jesus confirms Judas as the betrayer.

Mt. 26:31: Jesus discloses that his disciples will abandon him. This continues with Peter and the other apostles rebuttal to Jesus’ words.

Mt. 26:33.

Mt. 26:35.

This casts a gloomy shadow over the events.

It is also tempting to make the betrayals the focus of the occasion.

Assurance by Prophecy

Jesus frames both the betrayal and the scandalized disciples in light of the scriptures.

Mt. 26:24. This is a tacit reference to Psalm 41:9-10.

Mt. 26:31. Jesus quotes what has been written in Zec. 13:7.

All these events will transpire, not as random acts, to fulfill God’s plan to bring about forgiveness of sins.

We know to understand it that way because the institution of the Lord’s Supper occurs in between.

This is what brings everything else around it into focus.

Forgiveness is God’s Plan

There are obvious parallels with the Passover.

This observance precedes the event, just as in Exodus 12.

It is to be repeated in the future for commemoration of what follows.

Physical liberation in Egypt vs. spiritual liberation through Jesus.

Jesus takes established elements and gives them a new interpretation/meaning.

The bread = his body.

The cup = my blood of the covenant…for forgiveness of sins.

Jer. 31:33.

Forgiveness/Remission = It is extremely important to note that the focus in the meanings of ἀφίημιf, ἄφεσιςa, and ἀπολύωe is upon the guilt of the wrongdoer and not upon the wrongdoing itself. The event of wrongdoing is not undone, but the guilt resulting from such an event is pardoned. To forgive, therefore, means essentially to remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing.

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 502). New York: United Bible Societies.

The Kingdom to Come

Before Jesus and his disciples concluded the Passover observance, Jesus frames that immediate events will not mean the end.

He will partake with them in the future kingdom.

A death, life, and a kingdom.