Introduction

We have come to the end of our focus on the Passion of the Christ.  In the first part, we saw Jesus betrayed by Judas, one of His own disciples.  We discussed how Jesus understands your betrayal, be it by a relative or a friend.  The next week, we watched Jesus’ flogging at the hands of the Roman soldiers.  We were shocked at the morbid brutality and the giddiness of the soldiers as they ripped and tore his flesh with their whips.  We talked about fairness, how it was unfair that Jesus took our punishment.  The following week, we saw Jesus carry His cross up to Golgotha, a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, walking to His death.  We talked about endurance, how we are to take up our cross daily and make the decision to follow Him to the end.  Tonight, we saw a portrayal of the event that defines all of humanity.  Either the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus means something to you personally, or it does not.  Everyone falls on one side or the other of this dividing line.

To bring our focus on the Passion to an end, tonight we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper.  But, before we do, we are going to take a closer look at this ordinance and allow some time for personal reflection and preparation prior to taking the elements.

Basics of the Lord’s Supper

                As Baptists, we view the Lord’s Supper as an ordinance.  That means it is a symbolic celebration of what Jesus did through his life, death, and resurrection.  The bread and the juice are not mystical or special in any way.  In fact, we are using Welch’s grape juice and French bread tonight.  Those were made by human hands somewhere else and purchased just for this use.  They were not specially made for this use.  Eating the bread and drinking the juice is not necessary in order to be saved.  We believe that they are not the literal body of Christ, neither do they become the body of Christ after we partake of them.  However cannibalistic that sounds, some denominations believe that to be the case, making it necessary for a person to observe the sacrament in order to be saved.  We, however, do not believe that.  I not judging, but simply stating facts.

            There are two parts to the Lord’s Supper:  the bread and the juice.  The bread symbolizes the body of Christ and the juice, being red, symbolized His blood that was shed for our sins.  Usually, the bread is in the form of small wafers.  It is distributed first.  Each person takes a wafer and then all of the participants eat the wafer at one time, to demonstrate the unity of the body of believers.  The juice is then distributed and the same procedure followed. 

A Closer Look

            Tonight, let’s take a closer look at the Lord’s Supper so that we can better understand just what it is we are doing when we participate in this observance.

            First of all, I want to look at Luke 22 to establish the setting of this supper.  Luke 22 tells us that the setting for the Lord’s Supper and observance of the Passover meal.  The Passover meal remembers God’s deliverance during the time of the Exodus.  If you remember, the Hebrews had become the slaves of the Egyptians.  God used Moses to tell Pharoah to let the Egyptians go free.  After many plagues sent by God, Pharoah was still hardheaded and refused God’s command.  The final plague was the death of the firstborn son of every human and animal in Egypt.  The angel of death would pass over all of Egypt and kill all of the firstborn unless blood was put over the doorposts, the top of the door and the bottom of the door.  This was an early reference to Jesus.  The night before the death angel came the Hebrews baked unleavened bread (no time for yeast to take its effect and for the bread to rise) and ate a roasted lamb.  They ate ready for travel, for God was about to bring about their release.  If you remember, the death angel killed all of the firstborn, including from Pharoah’s house.  Pharoah told Moses to take Hebrews out of Egypt as quickly as possible.  Subsequent Passover celebrations remember God’s actions to bring about the Hebrews’ freedom.  This celebration was the setting for the institution of the Lord’s Supper.  During the celebration of the Passover, four cups of wine would be poured and drank, eat roasted lamb, retell the story of the Passover, and pray.   Somewhere during the celebration, Jesus broke with the Passover and began something new.

The Bread

                Luke 22:19 says, “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.’”  He broke the bread to symbolize how He would be broken for us.  The Bible tells us (and you saw it in the movie) that what happened at the moment Jesus died?  Right, the veil of the temple was torn in two.  Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”  What happened to the bread and to the veil is what happened to the body of Jesus.  It is like what happened when God made his covenant with Abram in Genesis 15.  God had promises Abram a land and a son, neither of which had happened.  Abram asked God, “How can I know that this is really going to happen?”  In verses 9 and 10, the Bible says, “So the Lord said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.’ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other.”  When God made his covenant with Abram, He passed between the halves of the animals.  When men would covenant together, this precise thing would happen to the animals.  The men would walk down into the blood, between the broken bodies of the animals and make their covenant to each other.  They both knew that breaking the covenant meant that the other could do to him what was done to the animals.  It was that serious. 

Under the Old Covenant (i.e., the OT) when an Israelite sinned against God, instead of that person receiving the penalty due to him, an animal sacrifice was made and the penalty was paid.  But this sacrifice had to be made over and over.  When Jesus died, when His body was broken, the New Covenant was instituted.  When we covenant with God through accepting Jesus as Savior from the penalty of our sins, we literally meet God in between the pieces of the sacrificed animal, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.  This sacrifice was the final one.  No more were needed.  There was no more Holy of Holies, no more need for a temple, for God dwelt in the hearts of His people. 

The Juice

            Luke 22:20 says, “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.’”  Obviously, in this verse, Jesus is making a symbolic connection between His blood and the wine.  When covenants were made, wine always played a special role.  Jews had a special belief (which is reflected in Scripture) that the life of a person was in their blood.  Interestingly, when an unmarried Jewish man would propose to his prospective bride, he would say something closely resembling Luke 22:20.  After the man said this to the woman, he would offer her a cup of wine.  In essence, he was saying, “I am prepared to give my whole life to you, to be united with you forever.”  If she took the cup and drank from it, she was accepting his proposal of marriage, promising to him the same terms.

            In fact, in marriage receptions you will still find remnants of covenant ceremonies.  Remember how the newlyweds will share cake with each other by feeding a bite of cake to each other.  Then, they will interlock their arms and drink punch.  Old covenant ceremonies included the parties feeding bread to each other.  The bread symbolized their bodies.  However weird it sounds, it is almost like they were saying, “I am eating you and you are eating me.”  Drinking the wine depicted much the same.  The eating and drinking painted the picture of two lives now become one.  “I am giving you all of my life and you are giving me all of yours.”  When we stop to think about it, how beautiful a picture it paints—when we become Christians, we get all of Christ’s life.  Part of why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper is that it reminds us that we are to give all of ours to Him.

Comments about the Lord’s Supper

Remembrance

First and foremost, the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of what Christ did for us.  We remember that He died a cruel death that was ours, not His.  We visibly see His broken body and His spilt blood.  When we eat and drink, those elements become part of us, reminding us of how close Christ is to us—He is in us. 

Invitation

Secondly, we see an open invitation in the Lord’s Supper.  Both the bread and the juice are available to you.  The simple fact of their presence beckons you to eat and drink.  In John 6:35 says, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”  In verse 51, Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  These symbols are an invitation to partake of the bread of life, of the living bread that came down from heaven, so that you can live forever. 

Walk into Death

The Lord’s Supper is also a walk into death.  When the animals were cut and laid out, walking into the middle to meet your covenant partner meant death to your interests.  Gone are the days of mindless self-determination.  The interests of your covenant partner trumped your own interests. 

Seeing the broken body of Christ and entering the Holy of Holies through the blood of Christ reminds us that our life revolves around God, our covenant partner.  His interests trump ours.  Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  I have chosen to die to myself and to be alive to Him and His purposes.

Public Declaration

                Finally, the Lord’s Supper is a public declaration.  It is a public association with someone.  In the Bible, Jesus was despised by the Jewish rulers because He ate with “sinners.”  Why?  Because it was a public association with them.  It was a public declaration of a more intimate relationship with them. 

            When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we publicly declare our association with Jesus Christ, that we have a more intimate relationship with Him.  We declare our allegiance to Him as Risen King and Lord of Lords.  He is not only our Sustainer and Provider, but He is our Commander and the Lord of Hosts. 

Who can partake?

Good question.  Who was present at the first Lord’s Supper?  Right, His disciples, the ones who professed a love for Him.  Sure, they had warts, but the general direction of their lives said, “I love Jesus and I have an intimate relationship with Him.”  If that describes you, you are welcome to partake with us. 

If that description does not fit you, you can change that tonight.  Remember that the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the invitation to come to Him. 

If that partially describes you, if the general direction of your life is toward Jesus, but you are off the straight and narrow right now, you can change that.  1 John 1:9 promises us that if we confess our sins that He is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

If you need to talk to someone about receiving Jesus as your Savior or about rededicating your life, or if you need prayer about something, adults will be spread around the room.  Find one you trust and they will be happy to listen to you and pray with you. 

We are going to begin our observance of the Lord’s Supper, now.  I urge you to take some time and prepare your hearts and minds before you come down front.  Notice that the bread is in the cross and the juice is next to it.  There is one cross on each side.

In a minute, some music will start.  When it does, you may come down front at any time.  Simply pull a piece of bread from off of a loaf and take a cup of juice.  You can eat and drink here or you may take it back to your seat and pray.  This is very flexible.  I only ask that you be respectful of others during this time.