A Meal For All Seasons

COME TO THE LORD’S SUPPER OFTEN BECAUSE OF THE STRENGTH RECEIVED THEREIN!

Malady: Some people restrict their participation in the Lord’s Supper to a few special occasions in their life, or once or twice a year.

Means: This meal give us Jesus Christ, including everything He earned upon the cross and accomplished in the empty tomb.

It wasn’t that long ago the McDonalds hamburger chain had a little jingle over the airwaves: “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we ask is that your let us serve it your way. Have it your way, have it your way...” The idea of eating out at McDonalds was driven by getting your food they way you want it. You could get a meal one way tonight, and a different way on your next visit. No matter what tickled your fancy, it was a meal for all seasons.

It wasn’t that long ago the McDonalds hamburger chain had a little jingle over the airwaves: “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we ask is that your let us serve it your way. Have it your way, have it your way...” The idea of eating out at McDonalds was driven by getting your food they way you want it. You could get a meal one way tonight, and a different way on your next visit. No matter what tickled your fancy, it was a meal for all seasons.

Well tonight, we are gathered for a meal that has remained the same for 2,000 years. It is a simple meal and yet, the most important meal on this side of the heavenly banquet. It is not, like the Old Testament Passover, intended to be celebrated only once a year, but is to be observed throughout the year. It truly is “A Mean for All Seasons.”

This Meal Replaces the Passover

The Passover was an important meal for God’s people in the Old Testament.

It was a Passover to the Lord in which the Jews celebrated annually God’s deliverance of their forefathers from the bondage of Egypt.

The Passover meal required preparation (vs. 7-10).

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

The New King James Version Chapter 22

7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”

9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters

9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”

10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters

The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Jesus especially desires to eat this Passover with His disciples (v. 15a).

It would be His last meal with them (v. 15b) — “Before I suffer.”

He would not eat it again until He shares it as a heavenly banquet (vs. 16b, 19b).

The Passover is replaced by another meal (vs. 19-20)

There is no need to celebrate the Passover meal any longer because the deliverance to which the Passover pointed had been accomplished.

Deliverance from the bondage of sin.

Though the sacrifice of a spotless Lamb.

The Lord’s Supper commemorates the deliverance not only of God’s chosen people but of all people.

The Lord’s Supper is the incomparable Christian meal for all seasons.

The Lord’s Supper is to be eaten regularly, as often as we are to share the gospel with others.

St. Paul tells us, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” ()

St. Paul tells us, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you ‘proclaim’ the Lord’s death until He comes” ().

For whereas the Passover meal was to be eaten once a year to remember what happened in the past, the Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated continually, because it is a means of proclaiming the gospel.

So the Lord’s Supper is to be celebrated frequently, understanding that in the eating we are proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Yet, there are those who do not want too much of a good thing. Like McDonalds, they want it their way.

This Meal Is the Lord’s, Not Ours

It not about “Have it your way” it’s about Jesus Christ.

This meal was not invented or introduced by any man; it has been instituted by Christ.

In this meal Christ was prefigured in the Passover lamb. (slaughtered Lamb, blood smeared all over).

The real Christ is given to all who eat the bread and drink the wine (vs. 19b, 20b). “This is my body… This is the blood of the new covenant...”

And we need Jesus everyday, along with the assurance He brings.

The Lord’s Supper is not Passover 2.0. Like the Passover of old, some think we are just remembering some historical event. When in fact, in the Lord’s Supper everything is new.

In this New Covenant meal God said that He will be our God and we His people.

In the New Covenant all people will know the Lord, from the least to the greatest.

In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive our iniquity and remember our sin no more.

This meal is God’s gift to us, and so it is appropriate that we sing the songs of Zion that have been associated with this Meal for 2,000 years. It is appropriate that we eat this meal as often as possible, because in this meal God gives us Jesus Christ.

This Meal Gives Jesus Christ

Christ’s body given for us and His blood shed for us on the cross assure us of forgiveness.

The Passover was basically a remembrance, but the Lord’s Supper is both a remembrance of Christ’s death and a seal of His forgiveness.

We can be sure of forgiveness even when we feel unforgiven.

Christ’s body and blood received in bread and wine also strengthen faith.

Christ’s body and blood received in bread and wine also strengthen faith.

We can resist temptation.

It is called food of souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. So the Lord’s Supper is given as a daily pasture and sustenance, that faith may refresh itself, thereby becoming stronger and stronger. As a result,

We can resist temptation.

And so you see, we want to come to the Lord’s Supper as often as possible because of what God, in Christ Jesus, does for us here.

We can live as Christians.

We can live as Christians.

This means, we are strengthen to resist temptation.

And so you see, we want to come to the Lord’s Supper as often as possible because of what God, in Christ Jesus, does for us here.

We can live as Christians.

This means, we are strengthen to resist temptation.

We can live as Christians.

Since we need all the assurances of forgiveness we can get and all the strengthening of faith that is possible, the Lord’s Supper is indeed a meal for all seasons. The Passover with the Lord’s Supper, not our own, and this meal for all seasons gives us Christ Himself. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Since we need all the assurances of forgiveness we can get and all the strengthening of faith that is possible, the Lord’s Supper is indeed a meal for all seasons.