In Remembrance

Slide What is the most loving thing that someone has ever done for you?

Brought you breakfast in bed every morning for the last 10 years. Some of you are thinking, I want some of that. Maybe it was cleaning up everything after you got sick. Or they bailed you out of a jam financially. Someone picked up the phone at 3 a.m. got out bed in a storm and came to your rescue when you broke down on the side of the road.

Maybe there is someone in your life who stuck it out, when you were not at your best, they didn’t leave you when you might have deserved it.

Maybe they cared for you when you were really sick. Gave you a one of their kidneys when you were on dialysis needing a transplant.

Maybe there is someone watching or in the room right now who is here because of a loving act by someone, that saved your life at the expense of theirs.

Slide What would you do for the ones you love?

I would do anything for Gail. When we were dating, I would drive hours to spend just minutes. I would give up sleep if it meant we could be together. I saved every penny to put a ring on her finger and After 40 years of marriage, I would give everything I have and am for her, including my life.

I have three children and nine grandchildren that I love dearly and want to show my love for them. I want them to know that they are loved by their dad and their pops.

There is something that happens to you when you love someone. Whether a spouse, a child, a parent, a brother, a sister, a best friend, another human being.

This is the story of Jesus. The one who was fully God and fully man. Loving you and me some much that he would become one of us, meeting us at the point of our greatest need, salvation, restoration with God our creator.

Slide Jesus so loved the world that he gave his life – all for you!

Over the next 12 weeks we are going to unpack the greatest act of love of all time. We will also have our ServeFeston October 6th (our way of showing God’s love to our community) and our Annual Fellowship Celebration on October 20th (our way of celebrating God’s love for his church) so 10 weeks of messages in chapters 26-27 where we see the extent of a love that is all for you!

So, let’s begin … Matthew 26 begins with these words …

Slide When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Matthew 26:1-2

These sayings – referring to all that Jesus said about being prepared and ready for his return and the end times. He is saying, look, it is going to get bad, it is going to look bleak, it is going to turn black … don’t forget what I’ve taught you, what I said to you.

And then here Jesus juxtaposes the lamb of the Passover and the lamb of the crucifixion. Here we see that …

Slide God provides because of His great love for you!

That is what love does, it acts on behalf of another. Love gives lavishly forgives eternally and meets you and me at our greatest need, our most pressing issue or our most desperate moment.

Slide Provision is an act of love!

This story of God’s provision for our salvation starts all the way back in Genesis. Our God has always provided but we begin to see it so clearly in the story of Abram and Sarai.

Abram was 100 years old and Sarai was 90 when God told Abram, I will make a covenant with you. You will be the father of generations; kings will come from you. As a result of God’s promise and covenant with Abram … he changed their names to Abraham and Sarah and she did have a son in her old age and named him Isaac.

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17

But God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:2

Now we don’t have time to unpack this story or even to understand the pagan culture that Abram was in or what God was doing but Abraham did what God said to do and took Isaac, his only son whom he loved and took him to be sacrificed. Along the way Isaac asks “where is the sacrifice.”

Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. Genesis 22:8

And he did at the exact moment God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and he provided a ram for the sacrifice.

So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” Genesis 22:14

Slide Jehovah Jireh – the Lord will provide!

Fast forward to through Genesis and we find that Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob, Jacob encounters God and his name is changed to Israel and he has twelve sons and a daughter and those sons have many children and Joseph, the 12th children, 11th son was sold into slavery and eventually during a famine God provided for Israel and all his offspring in Egypt and then there is 400 years of slavery in which they multiplied and grew under the hardship of captivity and cried out for God to provide and He did. Moses would come to Pharaoh and say let my people go and there was tug of war as plagues were brought until the last one … the angel of death. It was at that time that the Israelites are told to kill a lamb and take the blood of the lamb and cover the door posts with it so that the angel of death will “Passover” the house and everyone in the house will be saved. In Genesis 11-12 we see God giving Moses and Aaron the instructions for Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover meal.So here we are once again … the feast of unleavened bread begins with the Passover meal. Preparations are beginning but we see two different scenes …

Slide The tale of two houses …

God has shown the world that he is a God who provides for us out of his great love and yet many in the world reject his provision. We see that the first house …

Slide One house was filled with hate, fear and power rejecting and scheming to kill God’s provision.

Slide Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.” Matthew 26:3-5

Caiaphas- Functioned as the high priest from about ad 18 to 36. He is mentioned by name in the books of Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts,

Slide The other house was filled with love, sacrifice and humility receiving and celebrating God’s provision.

Slide Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper … Matthew 26:6

Many believe that Simon was the leper that Jesus healed in Matthew 8.

Slide When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:1–3

Once my life was isolated, untouchable, unclean and now the Messiah, my savior is dwelling right here in my house, eating at my table. What an amazing moment. Listen to me, no matter how unclean, unworthy you feel. No matter what you have done, where you have come from … Jesus loves you and can make you clean, whole and restored to God. It didn’t matter that he was once a leper, because Jesus loved him.

Forever known by our past – he was healed but still called Simon the leper. Then there is this woman …

Slide … a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. Matthew 26:7

A woman? This could have been Mary from John 12:3 … Which probably is Mary of Bethany, Martha’s sister.

Slide Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. John 12:3

Or Mary Magdalene, who had been possessed by seven demons. Either woman would have expressed her love for all that Jesus had done for them so extravagantly.

Both Simon the leper and Mary were responding to the loving provision of God in their lives. Which raise the question …

Slide How do you respond to God’s provision of healing, forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, salvation and more?

Do you worship with passion? Give with a grateful and generous attitude. Do you serve with a desire to see Christ manifest in your life and the life of others. Are you overwhelmed by God’s loving provision. In awe?

Or just indifferent, distracted or even focused on the wrong thing … Look at the disciples …

Slide And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. Matthew 26:8-10

Disciples? Maybe Judas was the one that voiced what they all were thinking. In John 12 we have a glimpse in the heart of Judas …

Slide He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. John 12:6

Jesus responds …

Slide For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” Matthew 26:11-13

Jesus wasn’t indifferent to the plight of the poor. It was what was necessary at that moment. Jesus isn’t here anymore, but he did tell us that as we have done it to the least of these we have done it to him. Our caring, serving, loving, sharing with the least of these is an extravagant love shown to the Lord. Just like Mary.

Slide How extravagant is your love in response to what the Lord has done for you?

We live in a world filled with distractions calling for our devotion. Pay attention! We are designed to worship and we will worship something but you can’t worship God and anything else … has Jesus taught in Matthew 6 … 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24

We see the object of Judas’ affection in the next verse … Judas set his betrayal in motion.

Slide Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. Matthew 26:14-16

One group went in one direction to see that Jesus would be crucified. For Jesus and the disciples and all good Jewish people …

Slide It's time to remember and celebrate God’s provision!

As talked about earlier …

Slide Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’ ”And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. Matthew 26:17-19

The Feast of Unleavened Bread in Deuteronomy 16:3

Slide … 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. Deuteronomy 16:3

Passover is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread

It begins with a question, a search for leaven anywhere in the house.

Slide Is there leaven in our celebration?

Leaven is often used to symbolize sin because a little impacts the whole thing. Even as Jesus sat at the table with disciples he knows that the leaven of sin is present.

Slide When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Matthew 26:20-21

Slide We all need to take time to examine ourselves and repent of sin.

Sin causes sorrow in our lives. It makes less of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The very thought that you and I would betray the Lord is gut wrenching. That is the very emotions of the disciples.

Slide And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 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.” Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” Matthew 26:22-25

We all need to pause before we take communion

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23–25

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Corinthians 11:26–29

Slide In Remembrance of His Love and Provision for All

We will take communion at this time …

“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. . . . And you, O Lord our God, have given us festival days for joy, this feast of the unleavened bread, the time of our deliverance in remembrance of the departure from Egypt. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to enjoy this season.”

Slide Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it

“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with your commandments, and commanded us to eat unleavened bread.”

broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:26

Slide And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks

“Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine. . . .

he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:26–29

Slide How do we respond to God’s provision for our lives? (pad)

Slide Put your faith in Jesus and His sacrifice for you. – this is what we do every day of our lives. We trust in the salvation and sanctification that only come through faith in Jesus and his work on the cross.

Slide Give thanks to God for your salvation. – Often our thankfulness is so limited, our gratitude so shallow. Daily gives thanks to God that your sin will no longer determine your eternity for Jesus took on your sin and punishment.

Slide Worship Him fully with your life. – this is the only response, to love God with your whole being. To give God your attention, affection, adoration and allegiance.

Pray – stand and sing “Nothing but the Blood”