The Bride Clothed

Christmas Scripture Reading 1

From the very beginning, God promised that sin and darkness would not have the last word. Through the prophets, He spoke of a coming King, a child who would bring light, righteousness, and peace. As we enter this Advent season, we listen to those ancient promises and fix our hope on the One who was to come.

Genesis 3:15 LSB

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Isaiah 7:14 LSB

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Isaiah 9:2 LSB

The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, The light will shine on them.

Isaiah 9:6–7 LSB

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.

Micah 5:2 LSB

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from everlasting, From the ancient days.”

These are the words of the Lord spoken long before Bethlehem, and fulfilled in Christ alone. Let us pray:

Prayer

O Lord our God, We have heard Your Word spoken through the prophets, declaring a Savior who would come to deliver His people and establish righteousness forever. As ancient Israel waited, so too we acknowledge our need. For even as we hear Your promises, we confess that righteousness does not rise from within us. We have no garment fit to stand before You. But You, O Lord, have promised a Redeemer who would be our righteousness, our substitute, our covering.

Father, we marvel that the righteousness Your Bride must possess is not achieved but received; not earned but imputed; not worked up by human effort, but given freely from the Son of God. As we turn our hearts now toward Your Word, lead us to behold Christ—the One who clothes His people with garments white and pure.

Humble our hearts to acknowledge that we bring only sin and weakness, but He brings perfect obedience and spotless holiness. Prepare us to hear how, in Christ alone, the Bride stands justified. May Your Spirit exalt Christ before us, so that all our confidence rests in Him.

In His holy and righteous name we pray, Amen.

Introduction

In the gospel of Luke there is contained a passage of scripture that most folks are familiar with, especially when it comes to the celebration of Christmas, and that, of course is the story of the birth of Christ as recorded for us in the second chapter of Luke’s gospel account. From that particular account in Luke we have almost all of the setting that people traditionally think of when they think of a manger or nativity scene. The only exception to that is the introduction of the wise men, although it is more likely that they came at a later time. In Luke’s account we read this proclamation in the 13th and 14th verses:

Luke 2:13–14 LSB

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

This angelic proclamation has rightly been seen as the central truth regarding the announcement of Christ’s birth, but the words have been horribly misunderstood and misused. The typical viewpoint of this pronouncement has to do with the proclamation of peace and the misunderstanding has to do with the definition of the peace that is being ushered into the world. From a humanistic and pragmatic point of view, the proclamation is that there will be physical peace, peace between the people of the earth. The result of this view is that people are left disenchanted when there is no peace on earth and they begin to question scripture, its veracity and because the question the word of God, they are thne questioning God, Himself.

The reality is that the peace that is being promised here can only be defined when we consider the remaining words in the verse along with the totality of scripture. What we see once we do that is that this peace is not a peace between people, but rather a peace between God and man that only exists in those “with whom God is pleased”. As we continue to study scripture it is not a challenge to discover that it reveals for us who these people are with whom God is pleased;

Psalm 147:11 “Yahweh is pleased with those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.”

Habakkuk 2:4 ““Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does Yahweh require of you But to do justice, to love lovingkindness, And to walk humbly with your God?”

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

And these are only a few of the examples that clearly demonstrate for us with whom God is pleased but we can sum it up with these words: God is pleased with those whom by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; have trusted in Christ according to Scripture alone and it is ultimately for the Glory of God alone… but there is an issue. The issue is the truth of the nature of humanity, in that we are sinful, broken, fallen creatures who continuously desire to rebel against our Creator. Take for a moment the words that I read to you from the prophet Habakkuk, “But the righteous will live by his faith”, Paul later uses this same passage in two places, first in Romans 1:17 where he begins to build the foundation for everything that is to follow in this letter and secondly in his letter to the church at Galatia in Galatians 3:11, where he demonstrates that the law itself does not and has not justified anyone, that it is according to faith alone that this occurs.

To complicate matters, we know that there are those whom have been identified as the church, those who are called out and set apart for His glory, identified as the bride of Christ. As we look at that bride we see that it is comprised of people who are less than faithful to God and in all truth commit spiritual adultery far more often than we care to admit. When we consider this great truth and the great truth revealed regarding the peace that Christmas proclaims and what is necessary to be one of those “who please God” we are left with the question “How can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a holy husband?”. Which brings us to our text and our focus for today, the bride’s righteousness. Please turn with me, if you have not already, to the book of Isaiah and the 61 chapter. As you find your place there I would ask that you...

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s inerrant, infallible, authoritative, complete, certain, sufficient and holy word:

Isaiah 61 LSB

The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners, To proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh And the day of vengeance of our God, To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a headdress instead of ashes, The oil of rejoicing instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His beautiful glory. Then they will rebuild the ancient waste places; They will raise up the former desolations; And they will make new the ruined cities, The desolations from generation to generation. Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers. But you will be called the priests of Yahweh; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their glories you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, And instead of dishonor they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land; Everlasting gladness will be theirs. For I, Yahweh, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And in truth I will give them their recompense And cut an everlasting covenant with them. Then their seed will be known among the nations, And their offspring in the midst of the peoples. All who see them will recognize them Because they are the seed whom Yahweh has blessed. I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; My soul will rejoice in my God, For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its branches, And as a garden causes the things sown in it to branch out, So Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise To branch out before all the nations.

Our prayer this morning is adapted from “The Valley of Vision”, a prayer entitled “Fullness in Christ”

Our great and merciful heavenly Father, You have taught us in Your word that Christ has all fullness and so all plentitude of the Spirit, that all that we are lacking, we will find in Him, for His people, not for Himslef alone, He having perfect knowledge, grace, righteousness to make us see, to deem us righteous, to grant us fullness. Father it is our duty, out of a sense of emptiness, to go to Christ, to possess Him; to enjoy His fullness as our own, just as if we had it in ourselves because it is for me in Him. Remind us that when we do this we are as full of the Spirit as a fish that has for from the shore to the sea and has all the fullness of waters to move in, for when faith fills us, then we are full; Show us that this is the way to be filled with the Spirit, like Stephen, first faith, then fullness because the preparation for this makes us totally empty of ourselves and fully ready for the filling of the Spirit. Lord, You have taught us that the finding of this treasure of all grace in the field of Christ creates within us strength, joy, glory, and renders grace all the more alive. Help us, O Lord, to delight more in that which we receive from Christ, more in that fullness which is in Him, the fountain of all His glory. Let me not think to receive the Spirit from Him as a “thing” apart from finding, drinking and being filled with Him. To this end, establish us in Christ, settle us and give us a being there, assuring us with certainty that all this is ours, for this will fill our hearts with joy and peace. Father we ask all of these things in the blessed name of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.

The Unfaithful Bride

A couple of weeks ago we took an in-depth look at the truth that the church was God’s plan from before the foundation of the world and we demonstrated that the church is what the Old Testament expected, the New Testament implemented, and the final truth of the consummation where the bride is brought to the bridegroom and spends eternity in the presence of the Triune God. One of the truths about the church that we did not talk about at that point, but that I alluded to in the introduction this morning is the unfaithfulness of the church, the unfaithfulness of the bride of Christ to Christ. Please do not take this the wrong way, this is not merely an indication of the various organizations that call themselves churches when in fact they are not, this is an indictment of the true church. The issue is that the true church is also made up of true people, people who are natural born sinners, who need no excuse, no training, no encouragement, we are just, to steal a phrase thrown about much to often today, are born that way. The truth, however, is that this does not excuse our failures and behaviors, we are still each, regardless of the sinful nature with which we were born held accountable to God for being obedient to His moral law. Having a right understanding of that truth is what leads us to the reality that we are truly, of our own ability, nature, and will, incapable of being obedient, truly incapable of being faithful to God.

The easy thing to do, and the worldly thing to do, would be to explain this away, to excuse it and continue to live in rebellion, however, when God moves in the heart of an individual, there is a change, one that creates in us a heart that has different desires, different thoughts, different approaches. One that desires to know God and ultimately will result in our placing our faith in Christ for salvation, repenting of our sin, and seeking to live a life that is pleasing to God and in accordance with His moral law. Even, however, in that space, we are still clothed in a body that is corrupt, Paul describes it in Romans 7 as a “body of death” as he teaches us about this battle that wages even in our converted, regenerate state. This is the place where we understand the unfaithfulness of the body. Going back to the passage from Habakkuk that Paul references in both Romans and Galatians, “the righteous will live by faith”. It does not say that the righteous will live by their ability but by their faith.

So, back to the question “How can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a holy husband?” The 61st chapter of Isaiah answers this question for us. As with all biblical prophecy there is a short term application and a long term application. In the short term, this particular prophecy speaks about the deliverance of the Jews from captivity in Babylon. Ultimately, however, what this passage of scripture teaches us about the sovereignly anointed Bridegroom, the deliverance of God’s people from the bondage of sin, and the righteousness that is imputed, or given to us by Christ as we are adorned in His righteousness and presented in that adornment before God.

The Sovereignly Anointed Bridegroom

As you may recall from our first message the Bridegroom is identified in the Old Testament as God where He describes His chosen people as His bride and we talked about how as we move into the New Testament that both John the Baptist and Jesus identify Jesus as that Bridegroom, clearly identifying Him in this (among many others) as God. We want to press into this a little more this morning. There is an encounter in the gospel of Luke, located immediately after the temptation of Christ and the mark of the beginning of His ministry. In this particular encounter we find Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath day in the city where He had been raised, Nazareth. The encounter reads:

Luke 4:16–21 LSB

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

You may recall as we read Isaiah 61 earlier that this is th very passage scripture that Jesus read to the men standing around Him that day. As He did this there were two reactions, an intial reaction and then a secondary reaction. The initial reaction was favorable, in fact verse 22 says that they “spoke well of Him and marvelled” as Jesus continued speaking however, their reaction changes by verse 28 to being “filled with rage”. For our purposes here this morning, however, we are concentrating on the words that Jesus read, His statement that today the scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing, and what this means.

Starting with Jesus proclamation of prophecy fulfilled we should understand that Jesus means that this particular passage refers to Him, specifically, when we read this passage we can insert Jesus into the places where we see the word me in the first verses of this passage and we see that Christ is Sovereignly anointed by God for the task of truly accomplishing the works that are listed in this chapter. In addition to the encounter recorded in Luke if we look in the gospel of Matthew we see a different encounter, one in which John is imprisoned and sends word to Christ by his (John’s) disciples, we read in Matthew 11:2–3 “Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?”” Here, John asks the question, are you the One. John already knows the answer, he has known the answer but he specifically asks the question, to which Jesus gives this reply in verses Matthew 11:4–6 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”” In His response, Jesus pulls from a two places in Isaiah, chapter 35 and here in chapter 61. The portions of the verse dealing with miracles come from Isaiah 35 but the final clause “the poor have the gospel preached to them” is a direct reference to the afflicted mentioned in verse 1 of Isaiah 61 who receive the “good news” or the “gospel”.

So, in both the gospel of Luke and in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus specifically references this particular passage of scripture as being fulfilled and serving as proof that He is the One sent, the one whom “the Spirit of the Lord” is upon. These words, as we will see in a few minutes describe the effect that He has on His people and what that effect results in, but for the moment, what this means to us is further evidence or verification that Jesus is the bridegroom of the church, and that He has been anointed by God to fulfill the purpose of calling this church to Himself, throughout the remainder of the passage in Isaiah we see that the actions that are completed are the work of God alone. In fact, even in the short term fulfillment of this prophecy, the good news that Isaiah proclaimed to the Jews of their deliverance from captivity, is still only accomplished by God, the difference between Isaiah proclaiming that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him and Christ making that same proclamation is Isaiah never said that this prophecy had been fulfilled, Jesus claimed that the prophecy, specifically in regards to the first 2 verses had been, that very day fulfilled in their eyes.

The Deliverance From Sin

The fact that Christ is the bridegroom AND the one of whom Isaiah speaks is of utmost importance. We have asked the question, “How can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a holy husband?” So beginning with the understanding that this Holy Husband is the Lord Jesus, knowing that He is the one of whom Isaiah prophesied would come and “bring the good news to the afflicted, bind up the broken hearted, release the captives, free the prisoners, comfort those who morn, and replace the mourning with rejoicing and praise helps us to understand exactly what the work was that He was sent specifically to do for His people.

First, we see that He proclaims the word, His responsibility was that of prophet in the proclamation of His word. We have talked in the past about the three-fold office of Prophet, Priest and King, here we see the first of those announced by the prophet Isaiah and fully manifested in the person of Christ who is literally the Word Incarnate. John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us… ”. I think it appropriate to reflect back to the angelic message that we looked at earlier from Luke, the angels announced to the shepherds in Luke 2:10 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.” The good news on that first night was proclaimed to the lowliest of people, the shepherds, and it has still since that time been proclaimed to the poor, not the poor in terms of what this world identifies as poor, but rather the poor in spirit. Consider the words of James in James 2:5 “Listen, my beloved brothers: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”

Secondly, we see in this passage from Isaiah 61 that He is to be a healer. Certainly as Christ walked this earth He healed many physical ailments and all of the people stood in awe and wonder when He did so, and they followed Him all the more to receive this healing but even as they followed Him the physcial healing was temporary and paled in comparison with the true healing that he was to offer. Notice He was sent to bind up the broken hearted but not the physical ailments of the heart, the spiritual ailments of His people. To close the wounds, Matthew Henry says this in regards to this passage and the statement that Christ is to be a healer:

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Isaiah 61:1–3

He was sent to bind up the broken-hearted, as pained limbs are rolled to give them ease, as broken bones and bleeding wounds are bound up, that they may knit and close again. Those whose hearts are broken for sin, who are truly humbled under the sense of guilt and dread of wrath, are furnished in the gospel of Christ with that which will make them easy and silence their fears

These are the people who hear the gospel, repent and believe because the Holy Spirit has regenerated their heart so that they are able to feel the burden and the weight of the sin that they bear.

Thirdly we see that He was sent to deliver, and who was to be delivered but His people, ultimately the church, the Bride, described here as captives and prisoners. Notice that all of these things are related to fully and completely delivering His people from the bondage of their sin. We see proclamations of peace to the Bride and proclamations of war to the enemy. Notice that in HIs role to deliver His people this is what He promises, proclaim release and freedom to those which are bound and then He proclaims a day of vengeance of our God. Henry again is helpful as he states:

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Isaiah 61:1–3

Christ proclaims the day of vengeance of our God, the vengeance he takes, [1.] On sin and Satan, death and hell, and all the powers of darkness, that were to be destroyed in order to our deliverances; these Christ triumphed over in his cross, having spoiled and weakened them, shamed them, and made a show of them openly, therein taking vengeance on them for all the injury they had done both to God and man,

Lastly we see that He is to be a comforter and a planter. Notice in verses 2 and 3 how He will “comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion (The word grant here can also mean establish), giving them a headdress instead of ashes, the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of fainting. All of these are the comforts promised to those whom He came to deliver, His people, the Bride, the Church. Coming out of that comfort, as all of these things are done for His people, His bride then they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that He may show forth His glory. Here again, we see that the people whom Christ came to deliever, to comfort, to declare freedom to, His people, His bride, are to be mighty oaks. And not just oaks, but oaks of righteousness that exist for the glory of God...

Imputation of Righteousness

Which again, brings us back to the question, “how can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a Holy husband?”. So far we have demonstrated that Christ, the Bridegroom, is the one who was sent to deliver His people and in that deliverance He accomplishes all of these things that we have mentioned, including the fact that somehow the bride has been made righteous. In another passage from Isaiah this same one is identified as a servant of the Lord who is “crushed for our iniquities” and pierced for our transgressions”. We know and understand that this refers to Christ, but we need to deepen our understanding of this truth. As we proceed in that particular passage in Isaiah 53 we come down to verse 11 where we read: Isaiah53:11

Isaiah 53:11 LSB

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.

From this passage, we see that this Servant, also identified here as “the Righteous One” obediently suffered and in that obedience and that suffering the many are justified or declared righteous. If we move forward to Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia we read the following:

Galatians 4:4–5 LSB

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

What we see here is that His obedience was done as the covenant head of His people, the husband that Paul describes in Ephesians 5:25–27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.” he is the second Adam described by Paul in Romans 5:19 “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were appointed sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be appointed righteous.” The Incarnate Word fulfills to the highest decree the law of God, providing a perfect righteousness that He then imputes to His people. Consider Romans 7:1–4 “Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is master over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman has been bound by law to her husband while he is living, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. So, my brothers, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.”

For the church, the bride of the Bridegroom, when we talk of belonging to Christ we are united to Him as a spouse, with all of the legal relational implications that follow. Consider that in an earthly marriage when a man and woman are joined together all that each has becomes the possession of the other, all that the husband possesses becomes the possessions of the wife. In the spiritual marriage between the Bridegroom and the bride, the righteousness of Christ becomes the possession of the His people.

This then is the answer to the question, “How can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a Holy Husband?”, it is because Christ, the Incarnate Word, came as a man to obey the law that Adam transgressed (and that we transgress; only the truth that this Man, who is truly man is also truly God, can His obedience and sacrifice prossess the infinite worth necessary. Only because this Husband is the Incarnate Word, truly God and truly Man can His righteousness be imputed to His bride because He has entered the condition of the bride, fulfilled her obligations, borne her curse, and now, as risen Lord, credits His obedience to her by grace through faith. The reason we celebrate the birth of our Savior is because the Word becoming flesh through the Incarnation not only verifies the Bride’s belonging but also provides the very righteousness by which we, the church, the people of God, stand justified in the sight of God.

Conclusion

As we consider this glorious truth revealed in Isaiah 61 and fulfilled in Christ, we come face-to-face with the answer to our most necessary question: “How can an unfaithful bride be accepted by a holy Husband?” The answer is not found in our merit, our performance, our obedience, or our progress, but in the sovereign, gracious, imputed righteousness of Christ alone. He came not merely to proclaim freedom, but to purchase freedom. He came not merely to announce righteousness, but to clothe His bride in His righteousness.

Left to ourselves, we remain unstable, inconsistent, prone to wander, weak in faith, and faithless in obedience. Yet, the Bridegroom is faithful. The Incarnate Word descended into our world, took upon Himself our nature, fulfilled the law we shattered, bore the curse we earned, died the death that belonged to us, and rose again to declare us righteous — not because of who we are, but because of who He is.

So what does this mean for us today? It means that the peace proclaimed on that night in Bethlehem is peace between God and the redeemed. It means that those “with whom He is pleased” are those who are united to His Son by grace through faith. And it means that every true believer stands before God not as a stained and unfaithful spouse, but as one clothed in garments of salvation, wrapped forever in the robe of Christ’s righteousness.

But this truth demands response. If Christ has truly provided righteousness for His bride, then are we living as those who belong to Him? Are we resting in His finished work, or trusting in our failing efforts? Are we seeking the glory of God in the joy of being clothed in Christ, or are we returning to the garments of self-righteousness?

Beloved, the Bridegroom has come. He has clothed His bride. He has imputed His righteousness. How, then, will we live as those who are adorned in His glory?

Closing Prayer

Our gracious Father and holy God, we bow before You humbled, yet full of joy, because of the righteousness that is ours in Christ alone. We confess our weakness, our unfaithfulness, our wandering hearts — yet we rejoice that our acceptance before You is not built on our faithfulness but on the perfect faithfulness of our Bridegroom.

Lord Jesus, thank You for bearing our iniquities, fulfilling our obligations, and imputing to us the righteousness that we could never attain. Guard our hearts from pride, from self-reliance, from doubt, and from despair. May Your Spirit drive us again and again to rest in the fullness of Christ.

Holy Spirit, apply these truths deeply to Your people. For those who are weary, grant comfort. For those entangled in sin, grant repentance. For those doubting their standing, grant assurance. For those delighting in Christ, grant even greater joy. Shape us into oaks of righteousness — not for our sake, but for the display of Your glory.

Make us a bride who treasures her Husband, who trusts His word, and who eagerly awaits His return. And may our lives together bear fruit for God. We pray this in the name of Christ, our righteousness, our Redeemer, our Bridegroom. Amen.

The Lord’s Supper Liturgy

Call to Worship

Psalm 95:6–7 LSB

Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you hear His voice,

Confession

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Prayer

Almighty God,

We come before You in humility and reverence. We thank You for Your grace poured out through Christ Jesus our Lord. We confess our sins, asking Your forgiveness, trusting in the finished work of the cross. Prepare our hearts, O Lord, that we might partake of this holy ordinance in a worthy manner. Strengthen our faith, deepen our repentance, unite us in love, and conform us more to the image of Your Son. Bless this congregation, grant us boldness to proclaim Your gospel, and preserve us in Your truth until Christ returns. We ask all this in His holy name. Amen.

Scripture

Luke 22:7–22 LSB

Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” And they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” And He said to them, “Behold, after you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. “And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ “And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. And when the hour had come, He reclined at the 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 say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. “For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and 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 in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table. “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

Fencing of the Table

Brothers and sisters, this Table is for those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Those who do, in good faith, stand right and have been declared just based on the righteousness of Christ. If that describes you, come and partake. If you remain unrepentant or outside of Christ, we urge you to refrain, lest you eat and drink judgment upon yourself. Brothers and sisters, even those who have repented and believed are commanded to examine themselves to ensure that they come prepared to this table. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27–29 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must test himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”

Let us now take a moment to examine ourselves and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

Prayer of Consecration

Gracious Father,

We set apart these common elements of bread and the cup for this holy use. We acknowledge that they do not physically become the body and blood of Christ but serve as a reminder for us. We thank You for Christ’s body broken and His blood shed for the remission of our sins. May this Supper be a means of grace to nourish our faith and strengthen our covenant bond with You and with one another. Amen.

Bread

As we come to the observance of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, given to us to celebrate in memory of His broken body and shed blood. It is said that on the the night before He was betrayed, at the conclusion of the feast of the Passover, which He and His disciples were celebrating, He took bread and having blessed it, broke it and gave it to His disciples and said “this is my body, which is given for you.”

Prayer

After bread is passed out:

John 6:58 ““This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.””

Cup

On that same night our Lord took the cup and having blessed it, gave to His disciples as said “This is My blood which was shed for you.”

Prayer

Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Drink

1 Corinthians 11:26 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.”

Conclusion

After our Lord and His disciples ate the bread and drank the cup, celebrating the first Supper of our Lord, it is said that they sand a hymn and went out.