In Remembrance of Me
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In many ways, our culture has been shaped and formed by various monuments and memorials. Here in Jeff at the Big Four station, a monument stands to mark the high water mark of the flood of 1937 when ninety percent of Jeffersonville was underwater. Estimations of the damage of the flood in today’s dollars is over 3.3 billion--that’s with a B, billion--dollars. The monument stands to serve as a reminder of the disaster that occurred.
Nationally there are a variety other monuments and memorials. Just this last week we had memorial day, which is a whole say set aside to remember the sacrifice of men and women who have given their lives in the service of this country.
There is perhaps no more recognizable memorial than that of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. There lies an unidentified service man from one of our armed forces who died in WWI. The bodies of many in that war were either unable to be recovered or unable to be identified, so that tomb serves as a place for families to mourn their unrecovered loved one, and for the rest of us to recognize the great cost of war.
Monument. It’s a marker to make us remember. Monuments are intended to be seen for this reason, but there is a danger even in that.
Some monuments and memorials become so familiar to us that the significance of them begin to fade. If you’ve been down to Big Four Station, you’ve seen the monument. But did it cause you to reflect on what occurred here? For most of us I suspect that we saw it as merely a piece of art rather than a memorial.
There is a danger in familiarity. We begin to look past it. But whose fault is that?
Is it the monument’s fault? It might be, if the monument or memorial does not stand out or carry clear symbolic meaning. But I would suggest that usually it’s not the fault of the monument. I would suggest that it is our fault for not seeing what was placed in front of us. It’s the people’s fault if we fail as parents and as a society to teach the next generation.
In the book of Joshua, God helped the Israelites cross over the Jordan river on dry ground. Joshua had each of the 12 tribes grab a large stone and they piles the stones up to be a monument of what God did that day. Listen to what Joshua instructed the people in
5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
God had done a mighty work and so the monument was built so that the people would forever remember and not forget.
We have a responsibility to communicate the meaning of a memorial to our children. Memorials are forgotten and overlooked when we as leaders and parents fail to instruct our children about the meaning and significance of what had been established for the express purpose of reminding us of prior things.
As believers in Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection, we have been given a memorial.
The greatest act of love that has ever been done was performed by Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, paid the ultimate price. The death that you and I deserved because of our sin was instead given to Christ, who had no sin of His own. The wrath that should have plunged us all to hell long ago was poured on Jesus Christ.
And he wants us to remember that. So he gave us what it is often called communion, or the Lord’s Table. Today we are going to observe this memorial, but before we do, I would like to spend some time examining the significance of what we have. I want us to reminded of what we are doing. We must never approach the Lord’s Table a mere ritualistic act. We must never allow ourselves to simply go through the motions without considering what it is that we are doing.
There have been different understanding of the Lord’s Table throughout church history. If you’re interested in those thing come talk to me and we discuss them. I’m not going to focus on those things today because of time limitations. We’re simply going to look at a few texts, primarily 1 Cor 11, and then talk about how we are going to observe the Lord’s table here.
Here’s our general outline for today:
The Institution of the Lord’s Table
The Reminders in the Lord’s Table
The Practice of Lord’s Table
The Institution of Lord’s Table
The Institution of Lord’s Table
When did the Lord’s Table start?
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
This was the first instructions regarding the observance of the Lord’s Table.
What was going on here?
This was at the Passover, a Jewish holiday commemorating the OT event of when God delivered the people of Israel from bondage in Egypt.
This meal is known as the Passover Seder. Each element of the meal had its own significance, but Jesus here introduces new meanings to the elements that corresponded to the original meanings.
First, he broke the bread.
The bread is called Matzah bread. The bread that we have here would have been very similar to the Matzah bread. There would be three pieces of bread. The patriarch of the family would lead the meal, and the middle bread would be taken and broken. The larger piece wrapped in a napkin and hidden, to be used later. It’s not difficult to see the symbolism there. 2nd person of the trinity, death, partakers, burial, resurrection, partakers.
As for the Seder cup, wine was poured four times during the evening, with each cup carrying a different meaning based on God’s promises to the Israelites as he was bringing them out of Egypt. Four statements of God in
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Scholars believe it was during the third cup that Jesus instituted the Lord’s table. This is known as the cup of redemption.
Jesus was communicating something to the disciples in language they could understand about his death. His body was crushed, broken, and pierced for our sins. His blood was poured out on the cross on our behalf, providing for us redemption in His blood. Jesus said to observe these things, the bread and the cup, in remembrance of me. It is a memorial of what was accomplished on the cross.
Turn with me now over to 1 Cor 11 where we will see the Lord’s Table’s Reminders
The Reminders in Lord’s Table
The Reminders in Lord’s Table
Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. There are things we are supposed to remember about the death of Christ as we observe this memorial.
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul had to correct the practice of the church. In those days they were observing the Lord’s table at what could be envisioned as a first-century version of a pot-luck. That’s rather anachronistic, but they had a feast and they would all come together and observe the Lord’s table together at that time. But there were problems with what was happening.
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.
20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
For the poorer members of the church, these feasts were the best meals they would eat all week. And yet, as they would come together, there were some who were eating so much that they weren’t leaving and food for the others!
Paul is incensed over this. He says what are you doing! The Lord’s table doesn’t exist for your own selfish appetite! This is a memorial!
And so he recounts the words of Jesus in the following verses.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he 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, saying, “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.
He reminds the church that this practice is for remembering the sacrifice of Christ. But notice the three aspects of the memorial:
1. First is the past. Christ died for our sins. His body was broken, his blood was poured out. We look back at that.
2. But then notice there is the present: vv 26: for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lords’ death. Every time we gather to observe this, it’s heavily symbolized Gospel presentation. You and I should be that cracker. My body should have been broken, pierced, and crushed. My blood should have been poured out because of my own sins.
But because of the great love of the Savior, He did it for us. And all who turn to him in repentance and faith will receive the forgiveness for their sins, a right relationship with the Father, entrance into His family, his Kingdom, and His presence for all eternity.
So we look back to the past, and we have a present proclamation, but then we also look forward.
3. Finally, we see the future. The last three words “until He comes”. Jesus himself said that he will not partake of this until He comes to establish His Kingdom, and at His return when He sets up His Kingdom here on earth, we will then partake of this meal together with Him. This is a reminder that Jesus Christ is one day coming back! We don’t know when. It could be today. It could been in a year. It could be a hundred years. But we know with certainty that it will happen. 2 Peter 3 stresses that point that Jesus Christ is surely returning.
And when we observe the Lord’s table, we are reminded of His words. And so we look forward to the future.
So we have a three-fold reminder. Christ’s death in the past. Our present proclamation of the Gospel. The future return of our conquering King.
We have seen the institution of the Lords’ Table, the Reminders of the Lord’s Table, let us now turn our attention to the practice of the Lord’s Table.
Practice of the Lord’s Table
Practice of the Lord’s Table
Scripture is almost entirely silent on the actual practice of the Lord’s Table. We have Jesus’ instructions about the bread and cup and how we are to remember what these things symbolize, but there is precious little about the actual how to aspect of observance. I talked about the elements of the Passover Seder, but we know that information from other sources. Scripture does not command us to observe the Lord’s Table the way the Jews observed passover.
In fact, the only clear instructions that we have about how to observe it are in this passage of 1 Corinthians 11 and the point is clear: observe it soberly.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Because of the selfish attitude that the Corinthians were bringing to the table, Paul had to issue them a strong warning. They were polluting the purpose and significance of the Lord’s Table with their actions, and God was actually judging them for it by sending illness and even death in some cases!
So Paul warned them: don’t approach this table so flippantly. Examine yourself. Examine your motives. Examine your heart.
The point is less about “you better watch out! God might smack you if you step outta line!” and more about the reality that God takes this table seriously. And anything that is taken seriously by God ought to be taken seriously by us as well.
So we should examine ourselves, and strive to partake in a manner worthy of our God, but we also need to be reminded that this is a picture of the Gospel.
The Gospel tells us that left to ourselves, there is no such thing as partaking in a worthy manner. We can’t do it. We are sinful. But Jesus died on the cross for our sins. All our sins! Including partaking in an unworthy manner!
That doesn't mean we flaunt our sin. But it does mean we partake with peace, knowing that this is a symbol of the grace of God. We soberly remember the death of Christ, but we also rejoice because it is through the body and blood of Christ that we are made right with the Father, and that is worth rejoicing over, amen?! We examine ourselves, but we also rest in the very Gospel it proclaims.
So. In a few minutes we are going to partake in this together.
This is kind of a big moment. The first Lord’s Table observance of Pillar Fellowship. How shall we go about this? There are many traditions that many churches have, and considering the lack of instruction in Scripture we cannot say anyone is right or wrong if approached with the biblical perspective. So what shall we do?
For the time being, here are four key aspects of how we will observe the Lord’s Table:
1. Observe it soberly. We’ve just discussed this. Examine ourselves, but rest in the Gospel it proclaims.
2. Observe it thoughtfully.
Think about these elements. Do the words of Is 53:4-5 go through your mind as you look at the bread:
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Think about the cup. They had wine, we have grape juice. Similar in color to blood. Poured out for us. The corst of redemptoin. Heb quotes Leviticus when it says “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Think about these things.
3. Observe it weekly. Depending on your church background, this might surprise you. I personally grew up in a tradition where we observed the Lord’s table once a month. My previous church did it once every 6 weeks. Other churches observe it weekly. Why are we making the choice we are making for a weekly observance here?
I mentioned earlier how there is precious little about the actual practice of how to obverse the Lord’s table. There are no specific instructions regarding frequency. But we do have an example.
In Acts 2: 42 we read:
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
The breaking of the bread likely refers to the Lord’s Table. It seemed the early church made a habit very early on of observing the Lord’s Tabled devotedly. Likely each time they gathered for worship. In Acts 20:7 we find this description of one church’s meeting:
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
We also have the testimony of documents from the first century documenting the weekly observance of the Lord’s Table.
Now, this does not mean that we are required to observe it weekly and that those who observe it less frequently are in sin. Scripture does not say “do this in remembrance of me, and do it weekly”
But there does seem to be a clear pattern, and I believe we would do well to follow that pattern.
From a practical point of view, observing it weekly gives us all the benefit of proclaiming the Gospel each week. It ensures that no one will miss out if they happen to be sick or on vacation during the first week of the month of something like that. So there are many benefits of weekly observance.
So we will observe it soberly, observe it thoughtfully, observe it weekly,
Finally,
4. Observe it Orderly.
How we will do this: There is a table up here with the elements in it. Rather than having ushers pass a plate to distribute the elements, we will have everyone you com forward by row. Enter through the center aisle, pick up the elements, and then loop back around to your row through the outside aisles.
This will symbolize for us our common source of grace. We must all come to the same place to receive the grace of God. Not to these physical elements, but to what they represent: Jesus’ body.
We will then hold on to the elements and partake of them together, symbolizing the common bond we have in Christ together as Christ’s church.
So we will observe this memorial soberly. Thoughtfully. Weekly, and orderly, remembering the past sacrifice, the current proclamation, and the future return of Christ.
I’m going to pray to conclude the sermon, we will sing one more song, and then we will observe the Lord’s table as we discussed.
Let’s Pray