Matthew 27:45-66 "The Death of the King"

Matthew 27:45-66 "The Death of the King" Marc Transparenti / General The King's Cross | Matthew 26-27 / Crucifixion; Jesus' Death; Centurion watching Jesus' Death; Seven Last Sayings of Jesus / Matthew 27:45-66 Good morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! • Parents you may dismiss your kids! • If you don't have a Bible... • Please pray for our families who cannot be here today. • Pray for Ukraine... that God would use this bad to draw many hearts to Him. Announcements: • Today: Communion | Fellowship Lunch • Passover Seder: April 15th... details to come. • If you're new to Calvary Chapel...I'm Pastor Marc, welcome! Thanks for joining us today! • Welcome Card & Prayer Basket! ------------------------------------------------------------ Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 27... we are looking at VSS 45-66 today... finishing Matthew 27. We are in a difficult section of scripture... looking at the final week of Jesus' ministry prior to the cross. • Betrayed, Arrested, Tried, Scourged, and Crucified. And, vividly portrayed in OT prophecy. • Fulfilled prophecy is proof that the word of God truly is the WORD OF GOD. • Paul wrote, "All Scripture is give by inspiration of God..." Scripture is "breathed out by God." • We looked at portions of Psalm 22 last week... amazingly accurate descriptions of crucifixion about 500 years prior to the Persians putting it into practice... 1000 years Before Christ. And, about 700 years prior to Jesus Christ, Isaiah the Prophet wrote several Messianic passages... • We looked at Isa 53 numerous times. • Read Isaiah 53. After Isaiah speaks about Messiah being wounded for our transgressions... by His stripes we are healed... and His death and burial. • Isa 53:10 states, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him..." • Isa 53:11 states, "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities." • The substitutionary work of Jesus Christ satisfied the Father. He died physically, so we can live eternally. • It was pleasing to the Father... it was His will that His Son died... not sadistically... but sacrificially. • There is nothing more noble... nothing more loving than when one pays the ultimate sacrifice to save their loved ones. • When Jesus gave His life, it was pleasing to the Father... one sacrifice to save many... to redeem us back to relationship with God • 1 Pet 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit..." As we continue down this hard road today, do not lose sight that this was God's will and plan. • His desire was to allow the sacrifice of His Son to restore relationship with you... • And, Jesus is not just any son, but He is the Messianic King. The title of today's message is "The Death of the King." Let's Pray! Matt 27:45-50 "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" 47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. 49 The rest said, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit." 1. In these 6 verses, Matthew crams a lot of information that would be highly significant to his Jewish audience. a. Darkness, Ps 22, Elijah, and fulfilled prophecy... all pictured here. b. A Jew reading these verses would be drawn back to many OT allusions pointing to Messiah. 2. Matthew begins describing a 3 hours period of darkness... from the sixth to the ninth hour... from noon to 3:00 pm. a. An account even documented by secular historians. i. For ex., Greek historian, named Phlegon, around 137 A.D. wrote, "In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33) there was 'the greatest eclipse of the sun' and that 'it became night in the sixth hour of the day, so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia [modern day Turkey], and many things were overturned in Nicaea.' [also Turkey]." ii. Darkness... an earthquake... the same events in Matt 27. b. This darkness was not natural... the longest documented total solar eclipse was about 7 minutes... the darkness at Jesus' death was 3 hours. c. This was also darkness that stretched far beyond Jerusalem... Matthew records this darkness was, "over all the land"... land in Gk. gē meaning "earth, soil." d. This darkness was not localized, but over all the earth. i. Luke 23:44 "...there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour." e. And, this darkness was not random, but foretold prophetically by Amos the prophet who predates this event by about 780 years! i. Amos 8:10-11 "And it shall come to pass in that day," says the Lord GOD, "That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning [It was Passover], And all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, And baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, And its end like a bitter day." ii. Is this not what transpired at the crucifixion? f. Spurgeon had many quotes and sermons about this darkness at the cross...he seemed moved by this darkness... Spurgeon preached, "It was not the crown of thorns, or the scourge, or the cross which made him cry, but the darkness, the awful darkness of desertion which oppressed his mind and made him feel like one distraught. All that could comfort him was withdrawn, and all that could distress him was piled upon him." g. During this darkness was when God judged the sin of mankind and laid it on His Son. i. Darkness, in the Bible, is symbolic of judgment. ii. The Ninth Plague in Egypt was darkness... Exo 10:21 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt." iii. The Fifth Bowl judgment in Revelation will be darkness. Rev 16:10 "Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain." iv. Hell ... eternal separation from God is sometimes described as "outer darkness." Matt 25:30 "And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" v. In John 3, of unbelievers sadly it says they "loved darkness rather that light." vi. And, as believers we are exhorted, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers... what communion has light with darkness?" vii. Darkness, throughout the Bible, is associated with sin and judgement... and it spread over the earth as Messiah hung on the cross. h. One more quote from Spurgeon... a great segue from the darkness to Jesus crying out... from V45 to 46... Spurgeon said, "The darkness never came to an end until the Lord Jesus broke the silence. All had been still, and the darkness had grown terrible. At last he spoke, and his voice uttered a psalm. It was the twenty-second Psalm. "My God," he says, "my God, why have you forsaken me?" 3. Jesus made several statements from the cross...but, Matthew choose only to record V46, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" a. The other statements were significant, but not for Matthew's Jewish audience who only needed to be pointed to Ps 22. b. Which we will talk about, but I know there's at least one person out there trying to remember Jesus' statements from the cross, so here they are... Jesus' 7 Statements from the Cross... i. As they crucify Jesus, the first cry of Jesus is one of forgiveness, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34 ii. From the cross Jesus extends salvation to the thief on the cross, who expresses faith in Jesus... Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43 iii. Third, Jesus honors and cares for His mother, entrusting her care to John... "Woman, behold your son!" 27 Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" John 19:26-27 iv. Fourth, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34 v. Fifth, "I thirst!" John 19:28 ... He died in thirst physically, but spiritually He alone possesses living water. vi. Sixth, "It is finished!"... tetelestai meaning "paid in full." John 19:30 1. HE WAS NOT FINISHED, but it... sin is finished as Jesus redeemed mankind. vii. Seventh and final, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' " Lk 23:46 1. We could blame the Jews for Jesus' death, or the Romans... we could even personalize His death, 'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' 2. But, truly no one killed Jesus... a. He prayed and asked the Father if there was any other way... there was not. b. He didn't call down twelve legions of angels to stop His passion... c. He didn't defend Himself during the trials... He remained silent. d. And, no one took His life... He dismissed His spirit. "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' " 3. But, death was NOT His end... 'It's Friday, but Sunday's a coming!' a. Death could not defeat Him. b. The grave could not hold Him. c. Next week we read about an empty tomb and an angel who proclaimed, "He is not here; for He is risen..." d. That's our God. Alive! Seated on the right hand of the Father in majesty, forever living to make intercession for you! 4. That's next week, but today, we are still in V46... and there is more to learn about His sacrifice. a. It's nice to dwell on the victory, but there is no victory without sacrifice. b. V46... At the ninth hour, 3pm, Jesus cries out quoting Ps 22:1, and it seems for two reasons: c. The first is Jesus draws attention to Psalm 22. Calling out the first verse, is somewhat comparable to how I begin sermons... turn in your Bibles to Chapter ___. d. But, in Jesus' day, there were not chapter and verse divisions... they came much later. i. A little Bible History... ii. In 1227 A.D., Chapter divisions were introduced to the Bible by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury... iii. In 1448 A.D., Verses were added to the Old Testament by a Jewish rabbi named Nathan. iv. And, in 1555 A.D., Verses were added to the New Testament by Robert Estienne... also known as Robertus Stephanus, and these are the standard numbered verses we see today. 1. And, there is a test later. I hope you're taking notes. e. So, when Jesus references this first verse in Ps 22, He draws attention to this Psalm... i. We looked at Ps 22 last week... it's a Messianic Psalm that details the crucifixion of a just man... and Jesus' death is fulfilling Ps 22 in their midst. f. A second reason for Ps 22 is because Jesus is literally crying out 'My God? Why are you forsaking Me?' i. What exactly happened in this moment is a mystery, but something happened in the Godhead never before seen, nor ever after. ii. Jesus sensed some sort of judicial separation from the Father, as He takes on all the sin of all mankind in every age... past, present, and future... iii. Look at Ps 22:1 (cue that slide), "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?" 1. He felt forsaken and far away from God... and that's what sin does. 2. Jesus always called the Father... "Father." But here, as Jesus takes on the sin of the world... as he feels the judgment of being forsaken... He addresses the Father as "God." 5. V47, As Jesus cries out... some misunderstood Jesus words and think He is crying out for Elijah... a. Carson wrote of a Jewish tradition that Elijah would come and rescue the righteous in their distress...as we see in V49... "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him." 6. In V48, someone gives Jesus sour wine... and no doubt He dehydrated... and speaking would be difficult. Ps 22:15 states, "My tongue clings to My jaws..." a. This sour wine was not the same as the sour wine mixed with myrrh... the anesthetic concoction that Jesus refused prior to the cross... this is just sour wine... wine vinegar... a poor wine... not tasty, but would aid the thirst of the dying. b. The motive why this was given is unclear... was this mercy? Or, to prolong His suffering in cruelty? i. Whatever the motive, and as a point of application... let me remind you that God knows all our motives. ii. Rom 2:16 speaks about "...the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ..." iii. Hopefully, whoever gave Jesus this sour wine had a good motive. c. Whatever the case, this act fulfilled prophecy... i. Ps 69:21 "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." ii. We looked at this Psalm last week... another example of God weaving the supernatural... fulfilled prophecy... into natural events. 7. Another astounding observation is John 19:29-30 where John wrote, "Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." a. Notice they put the sour wine on hyssop... a common bushy plant that can act like a paint brush. b. It was named in Leviticus and Numbers... to be used with various rites of purification. David spoke of hyssop in Ps 51... in relation to spiritual purification. c. But, most interesting is the connection to hyssop with the original Passover... i. Exo 12:21-22 "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin." ii. Hyssop was used to strike the blood of the lamb on the two doorposts and lintel... which would have formed two crosses. 1. And, on the cross "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us."... between two crosses ... His blood in the middle and covering it all. 2. I like this quote from CompellingTruth.org in relation to hyssop at the two most significant Passovers, "Much like the first Passover, when hyssop was used to spread the purifying blood of the lamb upon the Israelite's doorpost, hyssop is used here as Jesus bleeds out the blood that would purify and atone for our sins for eternity. Just as hyssop aided in spreading the blood of a sacrificial life to save the Israelites at the first Passover, hyssop aided in the shedding of Jesus' blood at the cross to save the world from their sins. This last use of hyssop at the cross eradicated the need for its ceremonial use of purification. Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross is the only purification we need to be right with God and live with Him for eternity." iii. As Jesus is given this sour wine, it gives Him just enough moisture to cry out His final two sayings, "It is finished!" and "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' " 1. And, as V50 states, Jesus "... yielded up His spirit." 8. And, then in VSS 51-53, we observe a number of supernatural signs... we've already observed 3 hours of darkness, and now a number of additional signs... Matt 27:51-53 "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many." 1. If darkness was not enough... now we have the veil torn, an earthquake, rocks split, and the walking dead. a. And, still many didn't believe. We see no great revival amongst the nation of Israel... they do not repent and turn to Messiah... we will only read about one Roman Centurion who turned to God. 2. How true it was when Jesus spoke of the Rich Man and Lazarus. a. The rich man pleaded that Abraham would send Lazarus back from the dead to testify to his five brothers. Luke 16:29-31 reads, "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets [the Old Testament]; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.' " b. Supernatural miracles, signs and wonders... amazing, but they do not compare to the word of God. i. Be sure to center your life upon Jesus and His word. 3. Still, let's talk quickly about these supernatural occurences... a. First, the veil... or curtain... i. I have a slide of Solomon's Temple and you can see that the veil separated the Holy of Holies (where the Ark of the Covenant stood) from the Holy Place. ii. This veil was massive... you think curtains are expensive today... well according to 1Ki 6:2... Solomon's Temple was about 30 feet wide and 45 feet high, so the veil would be close to these dimensions. 1. And, Herod's temple was even bigger... about 60 feet high. That's a large curtain. 2. The thickness of the veil is not explicitly stated in the Bible, but Jewish tradition holds it is about a handbreath (9cm or about 3.5 inches). a. Sources also cite Josephus stating the veil was 4 inches thick. iii. Now here's what's significant about all of this... the point... 1. The whole layout of the temple was situated like a big "Keep out" sign. a. (Go ahead with the Herod's Temple slide) 2. If you were diseased, you couldn't come in the city. 3. If you were a Gentile, you could only enter the court of the Gentiles... which Annas turned into a den of thieves... a. And, there were literally signs hung telling Gentiles to 'Keep out' of the Temple... i. "Keep out or we'll throw rocks at you!" Something like that... b. Josephus wrote these signs were hung on the pillars of the Temple "...declaring the law of purity, some in Greek, and some in Roman letters, that "no foreigner should go within that sanctuary..." 4. Inside the Temple, there were further divisions... The Court of the Women... Jewish women could only go that far. 5. Then the Priest's Courtyard and Israelite's Courtyard...Jewish men could go no further.. 6. Priests could enter into the Holy Place, but not behind the veil to the Holy of Holies. 7. And, once a year... only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies behind the veil to atone for the sins of the nation. 8. Keep off the grass man! iv. Look back at V51... "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom..." 1. From 60 feet high... top to bottom... the 4 inch thick veil was torn. 2. This was the hand of God. No man tore that veil. It's said they sewed it back up after this... they wanted the veil... they wanted separation... Keep out... God's not approachable! 3. God tore the veil... sending a clear message... no longer is there a wall of separation... Come in! Come to Me! a. Eph 2:14, speaking of Jesus, states, "For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation..." i. No more veil. Open access. b. 1 Tim 2:5 reads, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus..." i. You can come to God wherever and whenever... you don't need a priest... you just need Jesus. c. Heb 4:16 reads, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." i. No veil... no priest... simply Jesus. Just go boldly to God. The veil was torn. ii. Well, we do need to hurry... b. In V52, Matthew also notes that after Jesus died, the earth quaked and rocks split. i. This is also indicative of God's judgment. Nature itself is testifying... rocks are crying out... c. Then we see graves open and many, but not all, OT saints who were dead come back to life and go into Jerusalem appearing to many. i. Do note... in V53, Matthew said this occurred "after His resurrection," so Matthew is jumping ahead here. ii. Also, note only Matthew records this event, and I think that's significant. 1. Matthew wrote to the Jews... making this is a very symbolic event for the Jews. 2. These Jewish OT saints are a testimony to the truth that Jesus' death conquered death. 3. But, even more... that resurrection... for Old or New Testament saints... resurrection hinges upon and is linked directly to Jesus Christ. a. These OT saints stood as a testimony to the resurrection for the Jews in Jerusalem. 4. Continuing on... Matt 27:54 "So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 1. The supernatural events did not move the nation of Israel, but they moved the heart of this Roman Centurion. a. These battle hardened soldiers recognize that the earthquake and other events are directly linked to the death of Jesus. b. The Centurion was a captain of one hundred men. i. And, his testimony is recorded in eternal Scripture... He testified, "Truly this was the Son of God!" 1. In Luke it's recorded, "... he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous Man!" ii. And, I mostly agree with the Centurion except He refers to Jesus in the past tense. "... this was the Son of God." 1. No He IS the Son of God! Jesus is alive. iii. But, I sense sincerity with this Roman who glorified God, and I would not be surprised if we meet him in heaven. Matt 27:55-56 "And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar [no doubt heartbroken; probably far off because it was illegal to mourn those executed under Roman law.], 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene [Mary of Magdala who Jesus cast out seven demons], Mary the mother of James and Joses [Salome], and the mother of Zebedee's sons." [James and John... the sons of thunder]. 1. Women had an important role in the ministry of Jesus Christ. a. V55 states they followed Him from Galilee... all that distance... hearing His teachings... eyewitness to the miracles. b. The ministered to Jesus... Gk. diakŏnŏs... where we get our word "deacon." i. They cared for the needs of Jesus... they were present at the cross... at the burial, and the first at His resurrection. 1. They are bold and present, when most the men have scattered. ii. In a society that overlooked women, neither Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit did... these women are forever carved into Scripture. John 19:31-37 gives us the next important detail, "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. [so they would suffocate and die quickly] 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. [Mark recorded "Pilate marveled that He was already dead.." Keep in mind... they did not kill Him... He yielded His spirit] 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, [John speaking of himself] and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. 36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." [Ps 34:20] 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." [Zech 12:10] Matt 27:57-61 "Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [Mark says "fine linen"- honoring Jesus] 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb." 1. Joseph of Arimathea... a. Mark 15:43 states he was "a prominent council member" meaning he was part of the Jewish High Council- the Sanhedrin. i. And, that he was "waiting for the kingdom of God." He lived a life in anticipation of Messiah, as we all should. b. Luke 23:50 states "he was a good and just man." His relationships were right... He was good to others, and just or righteous with God. i. Luke also states, "He had not consented to their decision and deed." He spoke against the council's condemnation of and evil acts against Jesus. c. But, most important, in Matt 27:57, we just read he became "a disciple of Jesus." He placed his faith in Jesus Christ. i. John 19:38 notes Joseph "was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews." 1. He and Nicodemus (another Sanhedrin member who seems to have believed) moved behind the scenes.... a. One such way was doing what Jesus' disciples could not do... securing an burying the body of Jesus. 2. Mark described this act of going to Pilate as "taking courage"... it was a bold act. d. Around, 3pm when Jesus yielded His spirit and died. Joseph had to hurry, gain permission from Pilate, take down Jesus' body and place the body in the tomb prior to sunset... because on Sabbath... no work was permitted. i. Burial was typically the duty of family, but there is no record that Jesus' brothers attempted to bury Him. 1. I wonder how that effected James and Jude later when they believed? e. Joseph and Nicodemus (as John notes) lay the body of Jesus in Joseph's new tomb which he had hewn or carved out of the rock... i. This gives some credence to Gordon's Calvary... the place of the skull next to the new tomb and garden. ii. And, this fulfilled Isa 53:9 "And they made His grave with the wicked- [as Jesus hung between two thieves] But with the rich at His death..." [The rich man's tomb]. iii. And, in death Joseph and Nicodemus greatly honored Jesus' body, as John 19 record them "bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds." 1. Very expensive... very generous... very honoring. 2. 2 Cor 9:7 states, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." 3. I think these men gave cheerfully. 2. Wrapping up... Matt 27:62-66 "On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." [insinuating a resurrection report would be worse than Jesus' claim He was Messiah and Son of God] 65 Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; [Pilate grants them a guard of soldiers] go your way, make it as secure as you know how." [But, how do you hold back God?] 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard." 1. So, these snakes now take great precaution to avoid a hoax... to avoid a fraudulent resurrection claim. a. They remember Jesus' words that He promised He would rise from the dead after the third day. b. And, they set a Roman guard, and sealed the stone likely with ropes and wax seals warning against tampering. c. The scholar Unger wrote, "The precautions His enemies took to "make the sepulchre sure, sealing it and stationing a guard," only resulted in God's overruling the plans of the wicked and offering indisputable proof of the King's resurrection." 2. Indisputable proof. Over and over we have looked at fulfilled prophecy... miraculous signs and wonders... and testimonies of people attesting to Jesus... a. Indisputable proof. If you are here today, and you've fallen away from Him or never come to Him... what more proof do you need? Let's Pray! Communion Reading: 1 Cor 11:23-29 "...the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." Please distribute the elements... Communion is a time for us to look three directions... 1. We look back remembering Jesus' sacrifice... His broken body and shed blood for the remission of our sins. a. His new covenant. Salvation by faith and in grace. 2. Look forward in hope of His imminent return... we proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. He is coming. 3. Finally, look inward... and, examine yourself...take communion in a worthy manner. a. This is your time to do business with God. Once you have prayed... take the communion elements individually. Our worship team will play one worship song, and then close us in prayer. ---------------------------------------------- If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord... • ...either let the cup pass and do not partake in communion -or- the better option... • ...accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today. • Pray to God and tell Him you believe in Jesus and accept Him as your Lord and Savior, and ask for forgiveness. • ...then take communion. And, be sure to let us know. Salvation is something to celebrate! Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:58 PM March 5, 2022.