07-04-08.01
07-04-06.02 vv zz 07-04-08.02
07-04-01.01
Title: “Fervent Desire…!”
FCF: to see Jesus as he really is
D-Theme: Jesus is the Passover of God
M-Thrust: his blood must be applied to our hearts
App: His blood must be applied to our hearts because he is the Passover of God
Comment: Latty was a wonderful experience for me. Levi being there with his amens and encouragement really allowed me to preach! And the decision to allow the congregation to remember their baptism was a good one as many came to the altar in commitment and dedicat
Subject: Resurrection Sunday
Date: C72C289AFFD04F7A9FBD6121724EE220
Text: Luke 22:14-18
CTW: Exodus 12:21-28
14When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
• Introduction
• As I went to meet with Ron this week…
• …thinking of what the message should be this morning…
• …the verses that were read for the message…
• …came into my mind…
• As you know for the last several weeks…
• …we have been considering the parable of the soils…
• …and the desire and intent on the part of the sower…
• …to receive fruit as a result of his sowing…
• Jesus is looking for fruit and the people who will produce it…
• And here he says…
• I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes
• Now chances are he is not referring to the fruit…
• That comes from the seed of the Word of God…
• But is making a literal statement about when…
• …he will eat and drink again…
• …neither of which occur until the coming of the kingdom…
• But he makes the statement in conjunction with Passover…
• Celebrating the meal with his disciples…
• And instituting the Last Supper…
• As Ron and I studied once again I was gripped by his words…
• With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you…
• …a kind of play on words… a Semitic idiom…
• For in the Greek it is epitymia — epithymeō
• And we might say “With desire I have desired…!”
• “With longing I have longed…!” “Hunger I have hungered…!”
• Jesus endeavoring to say that this particular Passover…
• He earnestly desired and longed for the eating of it…!”
• And so I am drawn in by the emotion expressed…
• Immediately asking myself… “Why Jesus…?”
• Why such a longing to eat THIS Passover with them…?
• And why so emphatic about not eating it again…
• Or drinking of the fruit of the vine again…
• Until they are fulfilled in the kingdom…?
• Surely he had celebrated Passover with them before…?
• …what about it made this Passover meal so important…?
• “Why is this night different from all other nights?” [1]
• …even from every other celebration of the Passover…
• And Lord I am struggling to find what that is…
• I believe Jesus’ longing to eat THIS Passover with them…
• Is for them to see Jesus as he really is…
• That Jesus is the Passover of God…
• …not just or only the Passover Lamb…
• …not the commemoration… but the Passover itself…
• …the act and the means of God passing over…
• And as Exodus Jews painted the doorpost of their dwellings…
• …with the blood of the Passover Lamb…
• …so that the destroyer would pass over them…
• So his blood must be applied to our hearts…
• …for the grip of eternal death to be broken…
• …and for the power of eternal life to take hold…
• …his blood must be applied to our hearts because…
• The Cross is the fulfillment of the Passover…
• Jesus said in verse sixteen…
• I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled…
• So the question is when is the Passover fulfilled…?
• Is it @ some future date—some day over yonder…
• When God’s kingdom has fully come…
• What does it mean for it to be fulfilled…?
• In the original language it means to cram full…
• Like the net the Lord told Peter to cast on the other side…
• …which was full to the point of breaking…
• So when is the Passover fulfilled…?
• When you think of the imagery of the lamb with its blood…
• …painted on the doors of the houses…
• …with the angel of death then passing over…
• When is the deliverance by the blood of the lamb…
• Fulfilled in the Kingdom of God…?
• When is that imagery full to the point of breaking…
• When can it take no more…?
• When can it yield no more…?
• When we look to the Lamb of God…
• …who takes away the sin of the world…
• …as his life-blood pours out on the cross @ Calvary…
• Now, I know what you are thinking…
• Pastor, why didn’t you preach this sermon on Friday…!
• This is a Good Friday sermon pastor…
• All this talk of blood and STUFF…
• Talk to us about the empty tomb pastor…
• Talk to us about the promise of resurrection and life…!
• that IS what I am talking to you about…
• …from the perspective of the Passover meal…
• What is Jesus saying to his disciples…?
• With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God…
• Jesus had been eating the Passover meal since his youth…
• Thirty-three years of the ritual…
• …of wine, bitter herbs, unleavened bread, roasted lamb…
• Thirty-three years of the promise of deliverance for Israel…
• Thirty-three years of the promise of the coming Messiah…
• What Jesus was saying to his disciples was this…
• Tomorrow these promises will be fulfilled—in me…!
• And what did the Passover do for Israel…
• It brought them out of a foreign land…
• …out of slavery, bondage & the dominion of Pharoah’s evil…
• Passover is Deliverance—Salvation— Redemption
• Jesus is the Passover of God who brings us the promise…
• …and the fulfillment of Resurrection and Life…!
• Because through Jesus we who were not a people…
• Are now called the people of God… the children of God…!
• Because through Jesus we who all our lifetimes…
• …were subject to bondage through the fear of death…
• …now have been brought into…
• …the glorious liberty of the children of God…!
• Because through Jesus we who were slaves of sin…
• …are enabled to live as slaves of righteousness…
• Because through Jesus we who trembled in God’s presence…
• …are enable to serve God with joy and gladness of heart…
• …his blood must be applied to our hearts because…
• The Cross is the promise of Passover
• For there seems to be in Jesus’ words a forward look…
• To the day when the Kingdom of God truly comes…
• When he is established on the throne of the earth…
• To rule and reign forever…
• When the fruit of the vine of God is harvested…
Revelation 7:9-10
9…a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (The Passover Lamb)
• You see, Passover didn’t just take Israel out of Egypt…
• Passover took Israel into the promised land…
• Passover took Israel into freedom and liberty…
• Passover took Israel into God’s dominion…
• …into the place of his goodness, favor, and blessing…
• Jesus is the Passover of God who takes US into…
• …the promise and fulfillment of Resurrection and Life…!
• Through Jesus the day will come when we will walk…
• …on streets paved with gold…
• Through Jesus the day will come when we will drink…
• …of the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal
• Through Jesus the day will come when we will eat…
• …of the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life…
• Because through Jesus we have a heavenly country…
• …a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens… [2]
• …with a city whose builder and maker is God… [3]
• He wants us in the winepress of his joy…
• Not the great winepress of the wrath of God…
• Which speaks of the fierceness of His wrath. [4]
• He wants us to bring forth good grapes…
• To be that good fruit that comes from the true vine…
• That is planted by streams of (living) water…
• Yielding its fruit in its season…
• Don’t you know that the Lord Jesus longs to drink deeply…
• Of the fruit of the vine…?
• Don’t you know that is why he planted the vineyard…
• …on a very fruitful hill with the choicest of vines…
• …why he dug it up and cleared it of stones…
• …why he built a tower in its midst and built a winepress…
• The commentaries speak of four cups of wine @ the seder…
• …and according to J. Vernon McGee…
• …the Lord participated up to the last cup—the cup of joy. He did not drink it. [5]
• It would seem clear from the text that is so…
• “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
• The question is… does the Lord ever drink of that cup…?
Hebrews 12:2
…Jesus… who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• What is His joy—what is His rejoicing…?
• Would it not be the same as for the apostle Paul…?
1Thessalonians 2:19
19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
• Would it not be the same for those who are saved…?
1Peter 1:8-9
…you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
• Doesn’t the scripture say that there is more joy in heaven…
• Over one sinner who repents…
• Than over ninety-nine persons needing no repentance…?
• The Lord Jesus says through the Passover meal…
• That he will not drink of the fruit of the cup of joy…
• Until the Kingdom of God comes…
• Conclusion
• Has the Kingdom of God come for you this morning…?
• Has the Kingdom of God come in your soul…?
• Or have you yet to see Jesus as he really is…?
• Jesus is the Passover of God…!
• …his blood must be applied to our hearts…
• …his blood must be applied to your heart…
• Has the destroyer passed you by…?
• Have you passed from death unto life…?
• Have you walked out from underneath…
• …the valley of the shadow of death…
• …the fear of death…?
• If not then why not allow the blood of the lamb…
• To be applied to your sin broken heart…
• …and experience the deliverance of Jesus…
• …the Passover of God…!
Baptismal and membership questions
On behalf of the whole church, I ask you: Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
I do.
Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?
I do.
Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord, in union with the church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?
I do.
Reception into the Church
As (a) member(s) of Christ’s universal church, will you be loyal to Christ and his church through the United Methodist Church, and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?
I will.
As (a) covenant member(s) of this local congregation, will you faithfully participate in its ministries by… your prayers… …your presence… …your gifts… …and your service?
I will.
----
[1] Passover: Jeffrey, D. L. (1992). A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
[2] 2Corinthians 5:1
[3] Hebrews 11:8
[4] Revelation 16:19
[5] McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:344). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.