The Lord’s Supper

Mark 14:22-26

            There are events in the history of America we will never forget events we memorialize every year. For example, a couple weeks ago, we celebrated the 4th of July. For over 2 hundred years America has recognized that day in 1776 when we won our freedom and independence from Great Brittan. Also, every year on September eleventh America stops and catches it’s breath and remembers the images of the twin towers crumbling to the ground and a day that has simply come to be known as 9/11.

            Every nation has those moments and events they remember and memorialize. For the people of God, the most significant event in their history was the Passover. For 1500 years they celebrated their deliverance from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Then in one night, Jesus changed everything.

            He ushered in a new era. What He did on this night speaks of the end of the old covenant and the beginning of a new. He inaugurated a new Passover where God’s people would no longer celebrate their deliverance as a nation from slavery, but their personal deliverance from sin and death. We would no longer celebrate the sacrifice of a lamb but the sacrifice of the Son of God, who died so we could be forgiven.

            Isn’t it a joy to know you have been forgiven? Isn’t it a joy to know the mistakes you have made and the things you are ashamed of are no longer held against you by God? But the penalty has been paid in full by the blood of Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. if you know Him today, then you are truly forgiven and you are forgiven forever. That is what we celebrate in the Lord’s supper. That is what we are going to talk about today. Jesus gave us the Lord’s supper to celebrate our forgiveness. (Mark 14:22-26)

  22      While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.”

  23      And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

  24      And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

  25      “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

  26      After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Pray)

In our passage this morning we have the institution of the Lord’s supper. Jesus is gathered in the upper room with His disciples to celebrate the Passover. This is Thursday of the passion week. It is on this night He will be arrested and on the next day He will be crucified.

Mark doesn’t go into great detail about what takes place in the upper room. He chooses to focus on the betrayal of Judas and the institution of the Lord’s supper. However, John devoted five chapters of his gospel to what Jesus did on this night. He dedicates chapters 13-17 all to the upper room discourse.

In John 13 Jesus taught us what it meant to be a humble servant as He washed the disciples’ feet. Also, He taught us the mark of true discipleship is love. When He said, “by this all men would know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” In John 14 He taught us He was the only way to heaven. He said, “I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father accept through me.” And He gave us a promise that He was going to prepare a place for us that where He is we may be also.

In John 15 we have the famous statement, “I am the vine, and you are the branches He who abides in me will bear much fruit.” He also teaches us what greater love is. Jesus says, “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. And He says, you are my friends.

In John 16 we have warnings of persecutions and the promise of the Holy Spirit. That there was going to be a comforter who would come, who would lead and guide us into truth. And finally in John 17 we have what has come to be known as the High Priestly Prayer. As Jesus prays to the Father that we would be one even as they are one.

All of that took place in the upper room this night. He fulfills the Passover and institutes the Lord’s Supper. He brings an end to an era and ushers in a new one. The old covenant of law is fulfilled in the new covenant of grace.

Jesus knows in just a few hours His suffering will begin so He gives this gift to the church. He says, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Remember what I have done for you on this night. Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper to celebrate our forgiveness.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the bread. Vs 22. The first act of the Lords Supper begins with bread. And how fitting is that? Early in Jesus ministry He said, “I am the bread of life.”  Vs. 22 begins with the phrase, “while they were eating.” So, this takes place during the meal.

The Passover meal was a ritual exercise full of symbolic steps performed in their proper order. It began with a cup of wine that was diluted with water. Then a ceremonial hand washing that had little to do with clean hands, and everything to do with spiritual purity. Next, they would share another cup of wine as they ate the bitter herbs.

The bitter herbs represented life in Egypt and the bitterness of slavery. Then as they sat before the roasted lamb, they would share a third cup of wine with unleavened bread. Unleavened bread because of the haste of which they had to leave Egypt. They had no time to find leaven for their bread. It is at this point in the meal we believe Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper.

Notice when Jesus breaks the bread He says, “Take it, this is my body.” He is speaking metaphorically here, what He means is, “this represents my body.” That is important because the Roman Catholic Church teaches what is known as Transubstantiation. They believe, after the priest prays over the wine and the bread it becomes the physical body and blood of Jesus. In fact, this teaching is so important to them, that during the reformation men were burned at the stake for disagreeing with this teaching.

This is clearly not what we believe. We believe Jesus is speaking metaphorically and this sacrament He gives us is symbolic. Jesus is clearly standing with them as He hands them the bread and says, “eat this it is my body.” The disciples knew they were eating bread and so do we.

What we believe is when we meet at the Lords table Jesus meets with us spiritually. The Bible says, “where two or more are gathered there He is in the midst. So, we believe Jesus is present, but the bread is bread, and the wine is wine.

This whole seen taking place in our passage is symbolic and ceremonial. Jesus is replacing the Old Covenant with the New, and the symbolism became so beautiful for the church they found profound meaning in each act Jesus performed.

. For example, it says, “He took the bread” This is symbolic of His voluntary sacrifice on our behalf. No one took His life from Him, but He willingly laid it down for us. The breaking of the bread is symbolic of His body which was broken for us and the suffering He endured for the sin of the world. In fact, this became such an important image to the early church, the Lord’s Supper was simply known as the breaking of Bread. (Acts 2:42)

Then, Jesus commanded the disciples to, “take it.” That became the symbol of every mans need to receive Jesus into their life. We need to absorb Him into our very being. Someone once said, “you are what you eat.” If that is true, we should all resemble Jesus because we are feeding on the Word and the Spirit of Christ every day.

The symbolism of the Lords Supper is so powerful it demands a response from the depths of our soul. To eat of His flesh and drink of His blood is to trust and believe on Him as the Son of God. The Messiah who came into the world to offer us the forgiveness and grace. That is what we celebrate in the Lords Supper.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the cup, Vs 23-24. The cup represents the blood of Jesus that was poured out for the sin of the world, and it carries with it all of the same symbolism as the bread. I am reminded of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prayed, “Father if it is possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but your will be done.”

He took the cup into His hands as a symbol of Him taking His life into His hands. No one took it from Him He offered it willingly. He gave thanks to the Father for the deliverance that would come through His sacrifice and then He gave it to the disciples the cup, and they all drank from it. All of that is symbolizes what we celebrate in the Lords Supper.

But notice we are given new information in Vs. 24. He says, “this is my blood of the Covenant.” A covenant is an agreement between two parties. It’s a contract between us and God, and Jesus changed it forever. 2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old thing passed away; behold new things have come.” Jesus gave His life for us, and He fulfilled the law and commandments of God we could not fulfill. He did that so we could live in forgiveness and grace. It’s not that we are innocent of sin, it’s that He has taken our place.

Notice the last phrase in Vs. 24 it says, “which is poured out for many.” Don’t be confused by this. Some of our Calvinist brothers will use this text as proof of limited atonement. They will say Jesus did not die for all but many. That’s not what this means. The word “many” here is synonymous with all. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  The blood of Jesus Christ is available to all who will receive it. That is what we celebrate in the Lords Supper.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the promise, Vs 25. It says, “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

In the third act of the Lords Supper Jesus gives us two great promises. 1. He promises us there is going to be a future Kingdom of God.  2. He promises there is going to be a future celebration in that Kingdom. That we are going to join with Him at the marriage ceremony of the lamb and we are going to celebrate.

Matthew makes this clear in his version of the story. Matt. 26:29 says, “I will not drink of this fruit from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Fathers Kingdom.”

The promises is a day when every true believer will sit down with Him in heaven. It is a promise of perfection.  It is a promise of living forever in the presence of Lord. Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

It is important we understand this is a promise that only comes to those who take of the body and the blood of Jesus. The point is we must believe and trust in Him. We absorb Him into our life. Like our bodies are nourished by the food we eat, as Christians we are to  fill our hearts and our minds with Jesus Christ.

The final thing I want to share with you from this passage is the Hymn, Vs. 26 The fourth and final act of the Lords Supper is a song. Why is that important? Because God inhabits the praises of His people. As they went out of the upper room they sang a hymn.

In spite the sorrow, in spite of the suffering, in spite of the uncertainty they were facing, they stopped and took a moment to praise God. That is a good example for us to follow. No matter what you’re going through today, no matter how difficult life can become. Take a moment and thank Him for His deliverance and salvation and it can change your entire perspective of life. You might not be able to change your circumstances, but you can change your heart and the way you feel about your situation by praising God.

This is what we celebrate in the Lords Supper. We celebrate our forgiveness and grace. We celebrate not just the facts of the event, that Jesus came and died on a cross so that we can be saved, and spend eternity with God in heaven, but we celebrate our deliverance. We celebrate where He has brought us from and who He is creating us to be. We celebrate this new life we have in Christ. Once we were lost but now, we are found. Once we lived and dwelled in darkness but now, we see. That is what we are celebrating today.