The Lord's Supper

This morning we will be observing the Lord’s Supper. It’s one of the two ordinances we practice as believers. The Lord’s Supper is a symbol of our faith. But I would never call it “just a symbol.” It’s far too precious to call it that.

Illustration- Jennifer receiving my mother’s mixer after her death. The other day she said, “I can’t use that mixer without thinking of your mother.”

The mixer is a symbol but it’s not just a symbol.

I have a gun on the wall in my room that belonged to my father when he was a child. It’s one of the only things I have that actually belonged to him. He died when I was ten years old. It’s a symbol but not just a symbol.

Many of you have something like that.

Perhaps it’s a flag presented to you at a funeral.

Perhaps it’s a Bible.

The Lord’s Supper is symbolic but it’s more than that. For the believer it is personal.

When Christ left this earth, He left us something behind. He left us something to remember him by. He left us something personal. He left us the Lord’s Supper.

This morning I want to show you from this text three reasons we observe communion.

1. To Remind ourselves that Christ fulfilled the Law.

A. This was planned by Jesus (17-19).

It’s clear that Jesus had planned this out beforehand. Look at verse 18.

Note Jesus says “My time is at hand”- This speaks of the moment in which He will offer Himself up for the sins of the world.

This is not the religious leaders time- they think it is. They rejoice in His death.

This is not the Roman governments time- They think it is as they send a message to anyone who claims to be King.

This is not Satan’s time- he will rejoice but his joy will be temporary.

This is Jesus’ time! The cross glorifies Christ!

No greater love!

No greater victory!

No greater accomplishment!

Jesus had secured a home in Jerusalem to keep the Passover with His disciples. The disciples didn’t know anything about this.

Jesus sends Peter and John into the city (Luke 22:8). He tells them to look for a man carrying a container of water (Mark 14:14). This man would stand out. Primarily a woman’s role. I witnessed this in Haiti.

They were to tell that man The Master is ready to keep the Passover. He would take them to an upper room furnished and prepared.

Why such secrecy about the place? Remember, Judas is looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over. Jesus isn’t finished yet. He has work yet to do.

B. This was a fulfillment of the Law.

Passover had begun. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover were so closely related sometimes they were called by the same name. The Feast of Unleavened Bread started the day after Passover. There was an eight-day celebration in Jerusalem each year to celebrate these two events.

Passover was a feast that commemorated the deliverance of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery.

The slavery

The Prayer- “The children of Israel sighed by reason of their bondage and the cried and their cry came up before God by reason of their bondage. And God heard their groaning and God remembered His covenant.” Ex 2:23-24

The deliverer- God sent Moses. “Let my people go.” 9 plagues

The death of the firstborn- final plague. Broke the back of the Egyptians. All the firstborn of the Egyptians died.

The blood on the doorposts- each family was to kill a lamb and put the blood over the doorpost of their home. The blood was a sign for the death angel to pass over that house.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

For seven days the Jews were to remove anything leavened from their life. The reason was they had to leave Egypt so quickly they did not have time to wait for the bread to rise (Deut. 16:3).

All adult Jewish men were required to travel to Jerusalem to keep these feasts. Jesus kept these feasts for the same reason He was baptized: “To fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

C. This was a time of fellowship.

Jesus is saying goodbye to His disciples. The next few days are going to be a nightmare.

They’re going to disappoint Jesus by falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Judas is going to abandon them.

Jesus is going to be arrested.

Peter is going to leave the group claiming he doesn’t even know Jesus.

Jesus is going to be tried and tortured.

Jesus is going to die and be buried.

When they leave this room, everything changes. This is Jesus last moments with them before His death.

Jesus is going to wash their feet (John 13).

They are going to eat together.

They are even going to sing some songs together.

In keeping the Law Jesus not only shows us His obedience, but He also shows us how beautiful keeping the Law could be.

He keeps the Law but He does so with life and love. There’s nothing rigid, nothing dead about this.

2. To examine ourselves (21-25).

A. Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him (21).

The disciples were filled with sorrow.

They each begin to ask the Lord “Is it me?”

Mark says that they went one by one asking the Lord that question (Mark 14:19).

Probably after the first two the others thought they needed to ask as well.

Jesus doesn’t tell them who it is. In verse 23 He says it’s one who dips from the same dish as Him. But a household all dipped from the same dish during Passover meal. It’s like when we go to the Mexican restaurant and eat salsa. Jesus’ point was someone close to Him, someone who is like family to Him will betray Him.

In verse 25 Judas asks, “Is it me?”

Both Jesus and Judas know the answer to that question. I think Judas waited until last to ask Jesus.

Did you know that in every list of the disciples Judas Iscariot is always mentioned last? I think that’s interesting.

Judas had to ask to keep up the charade. Had Peter known what Judas was about to do there is no doubt in my mind he would have attempted to take his head off like he attempted to take Malchus’ off.

I do think the other disciples were sincere.

When you think of betraying the Lord are you filled with sorrow?

Does it break you heart to know that you may break God’s heart?

B. Jesus sends a warning to His betrayer (24).

Please understand Jesus was in control of this situation. Jesus says

“the Son of Man goeth as it is written of Him”

This is the eternal plan of God not the evil plan of Satan.

The Psalms prophesied this. The prophets prophesied this. But that doesn’t excuse what Judas is doing.

The pawns of Satan play a part in the plans of God but that does not excuse their behavior.

Look what Jesus says about Judas:

“Woe unto him” Judgment will come upon him.

“It would be better for him if he had never been born”

Why?

Because he went to hell.

Because his name is eternally shamed.

When Judas asked Jesus if it was Him Jesus answer was ambiguous. It could be taken a couple different ways. He said, “You said so.”

There were two people who knew the truth. Jesus and Judas knew. John’s gospel tells us during the supper that John whispered to Jesus asking Him who it was. John says Jesus showed him it was Judas by passing a piece of bread to him.

After that the Bible says Satan entered Judas (John 13:27). Jesus told him to do what he was going to do quickly. Judas left the group, the disciples thought he left to get supplies or to go give some offerings to the poor. John, Jesus, and Judas knew why he left.

C. Paul reminds us that the Lord’s Supper is a time of examination.

1 Cor. 11:28

Every time we observe the Lord’s Supper, we should ask ourselves “Is it me, Lord? “

This shows humility. It could be me.

This shows sincerity. How can we examine ourselves if we will not honestly consider we could forsake the Lord?

Judas asked the question, but the answer didn’t matter to him.

Paul said discipline had fallen on the Corinthian church because they didn’t examine themselves when taking the Lord’s Supper.

To examine ourselves implies we are going to deal with what we find. You can’t just examine yourself and acknowledge sin without repenting of it.

When we take the Lord’s Supper we should examine ourselves and repent of the sin the Spirit of God shows us.

3. To rejoice in our salvation (26-30).

A. The Passover feast was for the Jewish people.

“Was” After calvary there was no reason for another lamb to die. Every Passover feast kept since calvary has been unnecessary.

“for the Jewish people” it commemorated the deliverance of the Jewish nation from Egyptian bondage.

Even the food eaten was symbolic to the time they spent as slaves in Egypt.

Lamb- symbolic of the lamb killed and blood pained above the doorpost.

Bitter herbs- symbolic of the bitterness of their time in Egypt

Unleavened bread- symbolic of their having to leave quickly

The dates, apples, nuts etc were formed into a paste that symbolized the mortar used to make the bricks in Egypt.

The four cups of wine represent the four promises given in Exodus 6:6-7 concerning the exodus from Egypt.

I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians

I will rid you of their bondage

I will redeem you with an outstretched arm

I will take you to Me for a people

It was a beautiful feast, but it was for the Jewish people. It pointed to the coming of Christ, but it did not celebrate the coming of Christ.

Illustration of Jewish man who asked why I didn’t celebrate Passover. When I told him I wasn’t Jewish he said he had never thought of that.

B. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of our salvation in Christ.

They are finished with the feast, now Jesus institutes something new.

The bread

Jesus broke the bread.

The body of Jesus was broken for us. None of His bones were broken. But His body was broken.

His back was broken open.

His hands and feet were broken open.

His head was broken open.

His side was broken open.

Jesus said, “This is My body.” This is obviously symbolic language.

The disciples are commanded to eat the bread. The symbolizes the receiving of Christ into their life.

Jesus passed the cup. The wine symbolized the blood Jesus would shed for them.

Jesus is inaugurating a new covenant. This covenant is sealed in His own blood. Note the blood is for the forgiveness of sin.

The elements represent His body and His blood.

Christ is our Passover. In His body He bore the punishment for our sins.

He died that we could live.

He was punished as if He were a sinner so we could be treated as if we are not sinners.

Today we are reminded that our sins are forgiven!

One of the ways the Bible describes God’s deliverance from Egypt is “with an outstretched arm” That phrase is used many times to describe that event: Deut. 4:34, 7:19, 9:29, 26:8, Ps 136:12.

How did Christ save us? He saved us with outstretched arms, nailed to the cross.

C. The Lord’s Supper reminds us of our future with Christ.

In verse 29 Jesus tells them He will celebrate with them again in the kingdom of God.

Jesus tells us to continue to observe this ordinance until He returns.

We were not at the first Lord’s Supper, but we will be at the last one. We will be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).

When we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are going back to the beginning of Christianity, but we are also thinking of the end.

When you observe the ordinance this morning think about the day you got saved and think about the day your salvation will be complete, when you see Jesus face to face.

Look at verse 30. It says when they finished, they sang a hymn. It was likely one oof the Psalms, probably Psalm 118.

But the leader of the household normally led in the singing of the final hymn at Passover. That means Jesus would have led this hymn.

Could you imagine hearing Jesus sing? Have you ever thought of that?

When I read this my mind went to Zephaniah 3:17

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

God is so filled with joy over His people He sings. What a blessing to be accepted in the Lord! It is through the sacrifice of Christ that we are worthy. This morning we should remember that God is pleased with us because of what this ordinance represents.

Rejoice in your salvation this morning! If you are not saved come to Christ!