What mean ye by this service?

Open: Today is the 31st of October and for most people, it signifies nothing more than Halloween. For them it is a spooky holiday filled with ghosts, goblins, skeletons, and things that go bump in the night. It is a time for allowing costumed little people to extort candy from strangers via the tradition of “trick or treat.”

This date of October 31, 2021 also marks the 504 anniversary of the beginning of what became known as the Protestant Reformation. In the year 1517, a monk named Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle door at Wittenberg Germany on Oct. 31st, an act which changed the course of history.

Luther did not mention the Mass in the 95 theses, but as the reforming movement grew, the abuses of the Mass quickly moved to a more prominent position in Luther’s and other reformer’s attacks against the Church. One of the major changes in worship brought about by the Protestant Reformation involves the manner in which we celebrate and participate in the Lord’s Table in the present.

The RCC views the Mass as a Sacrament. This means that the act itself conveys grace upon the participant. Baptist and other Protestants teach the biblical truth that the Supper is an Ordinance. We participate it the Table because Jesus commanded us to do so (Luke 22:19, 1 Cor 11:24), but we do not view it as a sacrament. An ordinance is a ritual whose intent is to demonstrate an adherent's faith, but it does not convey grace in and of itself. (online dictionary)

There were many Christians in the Middle Ages who did not have the proper biblical understanding of the Mass, and the Reformation helped clarify the biblical teaching. Though we live in the modern age with ready access to the rich biblical teaching, many believers still have questions about the meaning and significance of the Table.

Today we are going to look at the institution of the Passover from the book of Exodus. As we prayerfully examine this passage from Exodus 12, we can gain fresh insight and understanding of how and why Jesus transitioned the Passover into what we call Communion. With a richer and deeper biblical understanding we will be in a position to receive a more full blessing through participating at the Table.

READ the TEXT: Exodus 12:1-14

Observations on the Institution of the Passover from Exodus 12

The Passover was a game-changer! It was so momentous God used it to divide time for the Israelites. The institution of the Passover signified a new era for the Israelites, and it changed their calendar (12:1).

Passover was a community event (12:3, 6) All of the members of the covenant community were called to participate. When the lambs were sacrificed the killings took place at the same time. The community gathered for the occasion. There was no place given to an individual observance for Passover.

Provision for Passover was sufficient (12:4) No economic barriers to keep someone out; provision was made for the poor and small households

The Provision was costly (12:5). It was to be a male lamb, and healthy as well, one without blemish. The families were to present their best for the service of Passover.

Passover involved personal identification (12:6-7). The lamb was brought into the house for four (4) days. Members of the household, especially children could get attached to the lamb in 4 days. It is hard to kill something you care about.

Passover involved total commitment (12:8). The members of the congregation were to consume their lambs. The sacrifice on the part of the lamb was total (it gave up its life), but the act of eating also symbolizes a form of identification on the part of the people.

The Need for Remembering & Teaching

This first group of Israelites would have had no problem understanding the symbolism involved in Passover. They were members of the generation who witnessed first-hand God’s judgments on Egypt and the killing of the firstborn. They were the ones who actually applied the shed blood on their doorposts, they heard the cries of anguish and woe while they remained safe under the blood. They experienced it and they understood.

God also understands, and He fully knows the shortness of human attention and memory. That’s why He inspired Moses to write v. 26. God knew a generation would arise in which the events of the Passover would simply be history. God knew that some would ask, “what mean ye by this service?” (Exodus 12:26) and He gave Moses the answer in v. 27 - “It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.”

So, what is it that we are doing today, 3,500 years after the Exodus event? What do we mean by this service of the Lord’s Supper? To answer that question, we are to look back 2,000 years to the night before the Crucifixion when Jesus observed Passover with His disciples (Matt 26:20-30; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor 11:17-34). The Passover meal they observed was the same one that Moses set up in Exodus 12. Jesus, however, made a very significant change in its meaning. No longer were God’s people to look back to the Exodus event when God delivered them from the bondage of slavery; from that point forward God’s people were to look to the sacrifice of Jesus at the Crucifixion when payment for sin was accomplished.

Significance of the Table

The Table signifies a life-changing event. Jesus’ voluntary and substitionary death on the Cross actually brought about peace with a Holy God. It was a revolutionary act then, and remains so today. When a believer, by faith, receives Jesus as his or her only hope, that life is forever changed.

Participation at the Table involves the family of faith. This service is for all baptized believers who profess Jesus as Lord. The family of faith participates together as an act of worship that brings unity. We partake of Communion as a congregation that worships together. We do not partake as individuals at separate times; we gather together, and we reflect and rejoice together.

The Table reminds us that God’s provision for salvation is sufficient. Jesus did all that was necessary [(“It is finished” (John 19:30)].

Only Jesus as the God-Man could make the only payment that God would accept (1 John 2:2, Col 1:20)

Jesus has been, and will continue to be the only means of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)

The Table reminds us of the cost of our Deliverance. The statement, ‘the sins of humanity put Jesus on the Cross’ is a true statement. To reflect on the statement, ‘my sins put Jesus on the Cross’ is also true and is helpful in reminding us of the part we play in Salvation history. It is worth remembering that Jesus was truly innocent of any sin, and that He took on a debt He did not owe. The Eternal King of Glory voluntarily left the wonders of Heaven, laid aside His privilege, and died a terrible and humiliating death as a common criminal. The price of our deliverance is costly and precious (1 Peter 1:18-19)

The Table calls us to abandon ourselves and fully identify with Jesus. The apostle John sheds light on this principle when He shares Jesus’ teaching about this same thing (cf John 6:48-58). Jesus tells the crowd that unless they fully embrace Him for who He is (vv. 52-56) they will not obtain eternal life. Jesus is not an add-on; He is not a good-luck charm or a magic lamp. He is the Lord of Glory and He will be worshiped as such by His followers.

The Table also assists us in looking forward. For every generation except the first, the Passover of Exodus 12 was looking backwards to the deliverance from Egypt. It was a powerful way of teaching future generations of the faithfulness of God. They were to bring the past exploits of God to the present through remembering.

Not only are we called to remember what Jesus has done for us in the past, and to reflect on how He continues to provide for us in the present, the language of the Table shifts our focus to the future. Jesus promised that he would partake of the Passover again in the Kingdom (Matt 26:29) and Paul told believers that as we come to the Table, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.