Is this the Last Supper?
Notes
Transcript
For those of you who have brought your own bible, or for those who follow in their electronic bible, on your phone or something, please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11!
1 Cor 11: 23-26
1 Cor 11: 23-26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
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Introduction: What have we come to do here, see here?
Introduction: What have we come to do here, see here?
Loved ones,
And so once again,
we sit with heavy hearts,
as our minds drift, inevitably
back to Oom Thys!
(The chair in the back, is where Oom Thys would sit …)
Remember that?
O how good it would have been, if he could be here with us today!
But he is not!
This morning, Tannie Susan, and Annelie, and Roelf … and all of Oom Thys’ family and friends, know this one fact:
Oom Thys is not here!
((Which reminds one of the woman who went to Jesus grave, and having arrived there, were confronted by “a man with bright clothes”
who asked them:
Why have you come here? Are you looking for Jesus?
He is not here … in the grave … He is alive!))
Yes, friends! That … is what we have come to see with our eyes, and touch with our hands today: we have come to see and touch … that Jesus is alive!
And if we atre convinced of that
then we will know, Oom Thys is not here
but that doesn’t mean he is “nowhere”
Oom Thys is with Jesus!
… Just as everyone we remember today, who has gone before us ;
Just as you and I will be, those who believe in the Lord Jesus!
For some of us sooner
for some a little later (God alone knows when!)
But … as empty as Oom Thys’ chair this morning
… so empty was Jesus grave, on that resurrection Sunday
… and that is what we have come to see with our own eyes today!
How certain am I about this?
I stake my life upon it!
Why?
Because here is the glorious truth: Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper, and commanded us to come together as we are now, so that we, when we need it most, will remember that Jesus .
He gave it to us as a physical sign
That is what the Lord’s Supper is!
And we are about to take that sign in our hands
and remeber, it points to a reality!
That Jesus truly lived, died, and was raised to life
‘ so that we too will live, and be with God!
even though we may still die!
In the same way, on the night before Jesus would die on the Cross, He leaves His disciples with a most glorious sign!
The Lord’s Supper!
That which we are about to participate in!
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That is what Paul is on about in our passage:
Listen … or read with me ...
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
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Can you see it, now?
The Lord’s Supper, is a sign!
A real-time, physical, sign, that points to the Life we have in Jesus!
The bread,
is a sign of the body of Christ!
(The bread is not the body of Christ as the roman catholic church will have you believe!)
It is a sign of the body of Christ!
And soon, Jesus will invite you, to touch that sign
and as we do, we remember Jesus said:
“This is my body!
And just so, the wine ...
“This wine, says Jesus, is a sign of the blood of Christ Jesus!
It is not the blood of Jesus that we drink,
but a sign of the blood of Jesus,
which signifies the reality of the spilt blood of Jesus:
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It is a sign … like the rainbow was a sign!
It is a Covenant sign, no less ...
a sign that seals the promises God made!
Like the rainbow!
Remember?
12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all future generations:
13 I have placed my bow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
14 Whenever I form clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds,
15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all the living creatures: water will never again become a flood to destroy every creature.
See that?
There is another sign!
And, it is a sign, like Marriage is a sign!
Marriage is a sign, a covenant, no less!
It signifies the love that the husband has for His wife, the submission of the wife to her husband, like Jesus submitted to the Father and sacrificed Himself for His bride! It is the sign of the sacred, god ordained love that a man has for His wife!
But, it is a sign - even though it is a sacred, binding sign!
And so, too, the Lord’s Supper!
It is a sign, given to us by Jesus, so that we may participate in it, and be blessed - if we do so in a worthy manner!
And, still, some will say “ … Ahhh, yes, but I do not need to participate in the Lord’s Supper to know that I love Jesus ...”
Sinclair Ferguson explains this false notion this way:
“When I come across a man, who says he does not believe we have to go to church, participate in the Sacraments, pray … to know that He loves Jesus and Jesus loves him, I look to see if he has a ring on his finger, to see if he is married ...
And then I say to this man: Are you married?
On confirmation from the man, I say: “do you love your wife”?
Again, when he confirms it, I say:
Now here is what I want you to do … or rather, NOT to do:
Starting today, you should for as long as it takes, NOT tell your wife you lover; NOT hold her hand; Not ruffle her hair; NOT kiss her, or cuddle her ...”
Friends, if a husband withholds these gestures, these SIGNS for any length of time, how long do you think it will take for the wife to cry out: I don’t believe you love me anymore!
Can you see it?
To tell your wife you love her, is not the love itself,
it is a sign of your love!
To kiss your husband, is not the actual love,
it is an expression of love, a sign of your love for him ...
And so on ...
When Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper, it is not the reality of what is about to happen to Him,
but, it is a SIGN of what is about to come to pass!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Can you see it now?
The bread is not His body! It is a sign of His body!
The breaking of the bread is not the breaking of Jesus’ body on the Cross, it is a sign of the breaking of the body of Christ on the Cross!
It is a sure sign … but! … it signifies a reality!
What is that reality?
Here are six headings which point to the reality which the Lord’s Supper signifies!
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The Lord’s Supper is Consecration
The Lord’s Supper is Consecration
When Jesus says: “This is my body … which I give for your sake, He is making a wedding vow!
And it is real! And He keeps His promise!
Jesus takes an oath, when he responds, like all bridegroom do: “Do you take this woman to be your wife,
forsaking all others?
See that?
It is a consecration, like! A sacred oath!
“I do!” He says!
Let us never forget, It was Jesus who took the vow, first, when it comes to His bride, the Church!
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her
26 to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word.
27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.
Jesus says: I take you to be my bride!”
To which we should respond: Yes, Jesus, I will take your hand … I will be your bride
and forsake all other
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The Lord’s Supper is Commemoration
The Lord’s Supper is Commemoration
Not a memory exercise!
(Not, looking in !! // Looking out:
As I eat this bread, and drink this wine, I participate in JESUS! This … that which we are doing here, is the Commemoration!
This, is the memorial!
“Do THIS !!! … in remembrance of ME! (JESUS)!
Remeber that! In This way!
And we are to do it … often!
The Lord’s Supper is Repetition
The Lord’s Supper is Repetition
Do this as often …how often?
Often!
How long?
Until He comes!
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
And ...
The Lord’s Supper is Proclamation
The Lord’s Supper is Proclamation
The Event is the proclamation.
(The sermon is not the proclamation!)
The sermon is a part of the proclamation!
What we are about to DO here,
participate in the Lord’s Supper, THAT is the proclamation!
We are saying, to each other and to the world ...
“Here is the Gospel!”
See! Jesus died for you? And for me! Taste it! Touch it!
We proclaim the Gospel too each other … and we receive the Gospel from each other!
Look! See! Here is the Body of Christ!
(And for those not yet convinced ...
To Non Christians … “See - This is what we believe!”
do you see?
Then … ((with emphasis!!))
The Lord’s Supper is Anticipation
The Lord’s Supper is Anticipation
This which we will do here is the “now, but not yet”!
This is not yet the Main Meal!
It is, if you will, the Hors de ouvre!
A tasting!
But it is a real tasting! Isn’t it?
This tasting does signify a reality!
The reality that we are waiting, expectantly,
for the main meal! The feast, no less!
Here is the picture of the feast we long for:
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying, Hallelujah, because our Lord God, the Almighty, reigns!
7 Let us be glad, rejoice, and give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has prepared herself.
8 She was given fine linen to wear, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: Blessed are those invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These words of God are true.”
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And for that … we should prepare ourselves, no?
We must prepare ourselves!
And so, the Lord’s Supper BECOMES ...
self examination!
The Lord’s Supper is Self-Examination
The Lord’s Supper is Self-Examination
Like a bride
Self examination … in the mirror:
I know that I am not perfect, but ...
(I want him to be pleased!)
Conclusion
Conclusion
Loved ones, we are about to DO something, that is at once Holy and Sacred!
We are about to participate in the death and resurrection of our Saviour, Jesus, who died for the sins of the world, so that those who trust in Jesu, would live!
We are about to experience and participate in a most Holy meal - because it is a “Take … Eat! moment.
An invitation from our Lord Himself, now, to “Take … eat!”
The significance of this moment is found throughout God’s word:
here was such a moment in the beginning of time,
In the garden of Eden: When God said to Adam and Eve:
“Take eat...”
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
29 God also said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. This will be food for you,
Take … eat… (A blessing!)
But then, the evil one sows destruction … and death, by also saying: “take… eat ...”
1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.
3 But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.
5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“Take, eat ...” !!!
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And so … we are lost! It turns out we will surely die, when we are disobedient to God!
And so we are lost … doomed … all of us ...
But, wait ...
Do you hear it?
Listen carefully.
You are about to hear it ...
Yes, there it is …:
“Come brothers, come sisters! All things are ready!
Come and sit at the table of the Lord!
Take, eat, and you will surely no longer die, but you will live,
even though for a little while we may still die!
Come, brothers; come sisters; all things are ready!