Maundy Thursday (2)

Luke 22:14–20 NIV

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

We often associate food with certain holidays. What foods do you associate with the following holidays?

Birthday — cake.

Wedding — cake.

Anniversary — cake.

Seems to be a theme here. But we continue.

Christmas — ham, cookies, everyone’s favorite — fruit cake.

Thanksgiving — turkey, pumpkin pie.

4th of July — hotdogs

Easter — ham, Easter eggs

Your family probably has an expected menu for each of these occasions and may even have a family tradition that makes it more meaningful. For my birthday my wife does not make cake but schaum torte because that is my favorite dessert that my mother made and we follow her recipe.

Did you know that the Lord God chose certain foods for certain occasions as well? Perhaps the most well known is the menu for Passover. (cite instructions).

On Passover seder tables, you may see a partitioned plate containing small amounts of specific food.

This is the seder plate, and each food is symbolic for an aspect of Passover: A roasted shank bone represents the Pescah sacrifice, an egg represents spring and the circle of life, bitter herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, haroset (an applesauce-like mixture with wine, nuts, apples, etc.) represents the mortar used by the Jews in Egypt, karpas (or greens, often parsley) to represent spring.

This became a lasting ordinance and part of the celebration was an explanation of each of the foods that were consumed. It helped to tell the story of how God delivered his people from slavery and how he continued to bless them. It also served to point them ahead to the Messiah — the Passover Lamb (see verse).

On Maundy Thursday we are told how Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples for the last time. The video we watched is a visual portrayal of what Matthew tells us in his Gospel. The other Gospel writers give some added insights into this event. Luke tells us that Jesus eagerly desired to eat this Passover with them.

We can relate to his feelings. There are certain meals that we can’t wait to eat. Not only because of the food that his consumed but in this case, the people with whom it is enjoyed. We have that circle of people that we find great encouragement from when we share a meal with them whether it is family, coworkers, neighbors, the club we belong to, or even our church family. I would hope that we eagerly desire to eat Easter breakfast together on Sunday because of the people we will be with. I know that I eagerly look forward to Tuesday morning breakfast (not because I have eggs and sausage — I could eat that at home) but because I enjoy the company of the other pastors I slurp coffee with.

Jesus’ statement gives us insight into his character. He wants to be with Christians. Even though he know how sinful they could be (and how in the next hours one would betray him, Peter would disown him, they would immediately revisit an old argument about who was the greatest, and they would all desert him), he still eagerly desired to be with them. This is because he loved them.

John 13:1 NIV

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Ephesians 5:25–26 NIV

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

Romans 8:35–39 NIV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And his desire to be with Christians and his love for them was not limited to that small group of men. We are told that he had compassion on those in need. This is consistent with the attitude that the Father and the Holy Spirit has as well. And when we stray away from him in our sins and doubts, Jesus teaches us that he seeks us out like a Shepherd searches for his lost sheep.

(See passages). And his desire to be with Christians and his love for them was not limited to that small group of men. We are told that he had compassion on those in need. This is consistent with the attitude that the Father and the Holy Spirit has as well. And when we stray away from him in our sins and doubts, Jesus teaches us that he seeks us out like a Shepherd searches for his lost sheep.

But in this statement, Jesus repeats a sad bit of news about the future. This would be the last time he would be with them for this meal for quite some time. We can relate to this as well. There are times when we just know it will be the last time we have a meal with our group. Perhaps it is a retirement party or a going away party. Perhaps it is the end of a sports season and the team is breaking up after one last trip to the sponsoring bar. Jesus is predicting his death and how the next time they are together for the Passover will be in heaven.

It is then that Jesus institutes what we call The Lord’s Supper. The words are familiar. We use a form of them for the consecration of the elements. Over the years I have spoken these words thousands of times in worship and in shut in calls. I try to focus on their meaning even though I know them by heart. I must say that the most emotional time I have said them is when I knew it would be the last time speaking them to a congregation or to an individual either because I know the individual was dying or because I knew I was leaving. One has to wonder just how emotional Jesus was the first and last time he spoke these words.

His words have great significance for us because they remind us of our relationship with Jesus and what he has done for us. Although there are those theologians who have argued over what he meant, the importance of the words are clear.

Jesus identifies the bread with his body. We think of how he offered his body as the sacrifice for our sins on the cross. The bread (wafers) we use even have a stamped image of Jesus on the cross on them which, of course, Jesus did not use at the institution of the Lord’s supper.

Jesus identifies the wine (literally fruit of the vine from the cup) with his blood. This reminds us that Jesus poured out his blood for our sins and that (NIV)

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (NIV)

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (NIV)

18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

But this bread and wine does more than remind us of this significant event. We believe that the Lord’s supper is a sacrament by which God himself gives us the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation and that when we receive it we are strengthened in our faith and empowered for godly living.

With some special foods we only eat them on special occasions. We could eat cake every day but few people do. The Jews celebrated Passover only once a year. Although we are not commanded as to how often we can receive the Lord’s supper, we are told that this can be quite often. “As oft as you drink it . . . “ (NIV)

26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. It seems that the early Christians observed the Lord’s supper at all of their worship services which were held every week.

Our custom is to celebrate it as a congregation once a month and on a special occasion such as tonight. When we do, we reflect on the death of Jesus and how he saved us and we rejoice in the new life that is ours through faith in him. Amen.