"Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself."
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But
I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
Good Morning my beloved,
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us , thank you for joining us today. Our international reaching is continuing to grow! We are thankful God has blessed this ministry and people are responding to His Word. Please consider sharing our website and social media platforms with others. If we can continue reaching people in other countries with the Gospel, we can fulfill the Great Commission, and can change the world, one soul at a time. For Christ's sake and for the glory of God!
We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're glad to have you here with us , thank you for joining us today. Our international reaching is continuing to grow! We are thankful God has blessed this ministry and people are responding to His Word. Please consider sharing our website and social media platforms with others. If we can continue reaching people in other countries with the Gospel, we can fulfill the Great Commission, and can change the world, one soul at a time. For Christ's sake and for the glory of God!
In the 1967, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier starred in a groundbreaking romantic comedy movie written by William Rose and directed by Stanley Kramer, entitled "Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner." It was the first Hollywood film to portray an interracial romance with an optimistic ending. Spencer and Hepburn were wealthy liberals whose latent racism was challenged when their daughter brings her fiancé home to meet her parents, not having told them he's African-American. Many were struck by the movies theme with mixed emotions given issues surrounding interracial relationships in the 1960's on both sides. In some aspects, not a lot has changed over the years, there are some people who experience various forms of discomfort and disapproval being around others who are not like them.
1 Samuel 16:7, tells us "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." That's we're called to be more like God, and less like those who are not. Seeing a person for how they treat us and others, not what they look like.
The movie was said to played a significant role in the overturning
of laws in seventeen states at the time of the movie’s release which
barred interracial marriages. Unwelcome people at the dinner table is nothing new. However, it pales in comparison with the importance of the meal we’ll be studying today, The Lord's Supper. Like the disciples, we must prepare for the Lord’s Supper, and come to the table with hearts prepared. The sin in our lives must be dealt with, through confession and repentance. Sin should never be treated lightly, we are to examine ourselves, see the ugliness of our sin and come to the Lord's table prepared. We are never to observe Communion ritualistically, with indifference, in an unworthy manner or by allowing unbelievers to participate in Communion services.
When you truly begin to understand the nature of sin, the human inclination toward depravity, you start recognize there is no aspect of the human character that is immune from the corruption of sin, even in those claim to follow Christ, who are bent on living for self- fulfillment. In fact, all sinners are good at self deception, and even better at justifying their sin, in order to feel good about themselves. Since
the Fall, every single person who has ever lived is born into sin, the
only difference is which sin we nurture, whether alcoholism, drug
addiction or sexual immorality. The problem is, that people tend to
focus on others sin but not their own.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world."
The elements are bread and wine used to represent Christ's body and blood. This is a permanent ordinance to be observed in the Church of Christ to stimulate in our hearts remembrance of the person and work of Jesus, until He comes again. Just as food and drink are essential to sustain physical existence, we depend spiritually upon His life, death, and resurrection. We proclaim our faith in the efficacy of the Lord's death, and in personal remembrance that He died for each of us. As we break bread
together, we are in the sense reinforcing our fellowship together in
the body of Christ.
Let's us pray
In Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: The Lord's Supper
As most most of you know, the Jewish calendar was filled with a number of religious holidays and celebrations, many of them involved feasts. The feast of Weeks, or of Pentecost, which commemorated God's provision during the time of harvest. There was the feat of Tabernacles, calling to remembrance Israel's forty years of wandering in the wilderness, in which they lived in temporary shelter and depended solely upon God's provision for their food and water.
The feast of Purim, celebrating Queen Esther's intervention to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite to massacre all the Jewish exiles for maintaining their values and way of life in Persia. Then, there is the highest holy day of the year, The Day of Atonement, in which the high priest offered a sacrifice once a year in the Holy of Holies, sprinkling the blood on the alter for the sins of God's people. Yet, the blood of all the thousands of lambs slaughtered and sacrificed could not cleanse a single sin. Foreshadowing a need for the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb of God, one sacrifice for all time, Who would be slain for the sins of the world, who would believe on Him. The feast of Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, which as we mentioned before, together was an eight day celebration of Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage and slavery. The unleavened bread was symbolic, a reminder of leaving behind the evil influences of their captors.
But today, we will look at the Lord's last Passover and the institution of the Lord's Supper.
Open your Bibles to the twenty-sixth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 26:20-30. I
invite you to follow along with me as I read verses twenty through thirty.
The Lord's Supper. So, let's open our hearts and our minds
to see what the Spirit of God has
to say us today. Matthew 26:20-30.
"Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to
go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son
of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not
been born.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself."
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But
I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
When the Lord Jesus Christ first began His earthly ministry, He echoed the startling words of John the Baptist, "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It's interesting that neither John nor Jesus ever attempted to explain the phrases meaning, I believe indicating that most people must have some understanding of it's meaning.
The word repent is the Greek verb "metanoeó," meaning to think differently or a change of mind, after becoming conscious of their sins; particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God, to receive God's pardon; to feel a deep sense of regret for one's past offenses having offended God.
Merriam-Webster defines the word repent as "to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life, to feel regret or contrition."
Today, many pastors commissioned to preach the Gospel of Christ, indict the people with a call to repentance, and to live lives to the glory of God, have attempted to lower God's standards and weave the word "repent" into a corrupt post modern religious theology, focusing on the human psychology of self-love and eliminating any feelings of guilt or shame, has caused many Christians to be ignorant as to the true meaning of the word "repent," living in open rebellion against God, falling short of His grace.
The "kingdom of heaven" which occurs 32 times, is an expression peculiar to the Gospel, belonging special or unique group of people. God’s dealing with men since the rejection and crucifixion of has not changed. Christians today need to understand the church is in conflict with the kingdom on heaven. You can no more enter the kingdom of heaven apart from repentance and living a transformed life, than you can write a single word without the letters of the alphabet.
Jesus illustrates this perfectly in Matthew 21, the Parable of the two sons, "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They *said, “The first.” Jesus *said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him."
One son said he would not, but repented and changed his mind and did what he was asked, they said he would do it, but he did not. You
need to understand that what you're living out today, is what you're
going to give an account for in the near future. What you choose to do
with your time and the habits that you establish, the way you live now
matters!
All
sin brings dishonor to God! God is gracious, He’ll accept you, and
offer you forgiveness of your sin but not on your own terms. True
repentance is not just turning away from sin but a radical change, turning all the way
around, heading in the opposite direction. The doctrine of repentance is
about conversion, a completely changed way of living. Impenitent
sinners has no place in the kingdom of God.
Let's look at verse 20, "Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples."
It's interesting how Matthew has to say about this last Passover meal itself, especially since this was no ordinary meal. He does say they were "reclining at the table," which interesting if you remember the first Passover in Exodus 12, in which they were required to eat the Passover meal before midnight, standing up with their loins girded, sandals on their feet, and their staff in their hand, and to eat it in haste, with nothing left over, ready to move as it liable to be interrupted at any moment. If anything was leftover, it had to be burned with fire. However, after that first Passover, it was no longer necessary to be ready to flee Egypt in a moments notice, the custom of being reclined, eating leisurely was adopted as we see here with Jesus and His twelve disciples. But it still needed to be eaten before midnight, since it’s only a matter of hours before He will be captured, brought before the self-righteous religious leaders for a mock trial, seeking to put Him to death.
In verse 21, Matthew tells us "As they were eating, He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me."
In the original text, betray is the verb "paradídōmi," meaning to hand over or deliver, most translations use the word betray because Judas was a betrayer. Mark also tells us in chapter 14, as they were eating, Jesus shares this information, "Oh, by the way, one of you will betray Me," talk about a conversation that changes the entire atmosphere of the meal and shakes everything up! That would be it. Even though they love Jesus and have devoted themselves to Him, they knew they had enough residual sin that remained in their lives, that it could very easily be any one of them. Not unlike like many today, who come to the Lord's Table, going through the outward motions, neglecting to deal with the inward sin in their own lives. I can imagine the deafening silence, as the other disciples wrestled with this news that Jesus delivered.
In John 13, John writes "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded."
So, the Passover meal had already begun, when Jesus got up from the table, taking the role of a servant, humbling Himself to wash the feet of the disciples. This must have been shocking to them. So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter."
Jesus' loving act was a profound lesson of humility, a strong rebuke to their pride and their personal ambitions to be the greatest. This wasn't the first time they've been rebuked. After the first cup, they were washing their hands, reclining at the table, Jesus probably noticed their feet were still dirty. It was customary that feet were to be washed whenever you came into a home. John goes on to say, "Peter *said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."
Biblical Christianity is unpopular: REPENT AND BELIEVE the gospel, ALL of it, which has the power to transform lives. God loves you but He commands that you to turn away from your sin.
Only God's way will bring you true salvation that leads to eternal life. You either come to Christ on His terms or not at all. You must be washed clean.
Verse 22, "Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?"
The verb "sphódra," it means exceedingly, with total effort. It is a strong way to indicate their deep agonizing sorrow, they knew that Jesus always spoke the truth, but this was unthinkable, they couldn't imagine of whom He was speaking. Outwardly, they all appeared to have devoted themselves to Him, they didn’t know who it could possibly be, Jesus hadn't said or done anything to expose him. They knew that everyone of them were capable of betraying the one they loved. There's a beautiful honesty in the fact they didn’t even trust themselves but each hoped surely it was not "I" who was the one who will betray the Lord. Of course Judas knew, because he has already made the deal with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus.
I believe Judas is the perfect illustration of how well people can be in the presence of Christ, giving the illusion of being redeemed and yet, still betray Him, being under the influence of Satan. Perhaps, even some of you today are professing Christ, betraying Him with whatever sin you have valued more than Him. Whatever it is, that’s your price! I pray the Holy Spirit would do whatever work is necessary in your life to expose that to you and bring you to true salvation.
Verse 23, "And He answered, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me."
Which one of them did that? All of them! Jesus is saying it’s one of you here at the table eating with Me. Luke chapter 22 says, "And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes." Later He says "But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table."
Verse 24, He pronounces damnation on the one who is guilty. "The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.'
Notice that He still doesn't say specifically who it is, I believe He is graciously giving Judas the opportunity to repent before he actually goes through with his plan to betray Him. This made me think about how many times the Lord uses a preacher to confront someone who is betraying Him, that everybody considers to be part of the group, and like Judas, they reject the opportunity to come clean and repent, before He returns to pronounce judgement and damnation on the one who is guilty.
I have heard a number of times over the years, "It's not really Judas fault, so why should he be un hell?" Let me be clear, God controls both the righteous and the unrighteous to accomplish His divine plans. Judas made his own choices, God just used his decision to betray Jesus to fit perfectly into His own sovereign plan. God’s plans can not be stopped, man simply chooses to become part of them, whether for good or evil. It will happen just as it is written!
And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" Jesus *said to him, "You have said it yourself."
Judas knows that he is the guilty one, but like every self-righteous sinner, he doesn’t want to admit it, so he had to say something, because everybody else was. I'd like you to notice, that Judas does not call Him "Lord." but rather, he calls Him "rabbi" meaning teacher. John 13 tells us Peter leaned over to John, who was on the right side of Jesus, and said "Ask Him who it is." So leaned over asked Him, "Lord, who is it?" John Jesus then *answered, "That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him." So when He had dipped the morsel, He *took and *gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot."
John goes on to say, "After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, "What you do, do quickly." Like any Christ rejector, Judas was indwelt by Satan himself. So, Jesus quickly dismissed him because Judas could have no part in the Lord’s Table. What a dramatic ending to the final Passover, which had been celebrated for over fifteen hundred years. No Passover celebrated after this one is authorized by God, because Christ ended the Passover to institute the Lord's Supper. The old must end before the new can begin. The Passover meal had already been interrupted once with the foot washing, they had to have already broken the bread and the bitter herbs and dipped them, then they were interrupted again with the dismissal of Judas. Now, the meal resumes again and Jesus gives them directives for the new feast, the Lord’s Supper using the bread and the wine as illustrations.
Verse 26, "While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
After thanking God for the provision of bread for this wonderful feast symbolizing His deliverance, He broke the bread, first because it had to be broken to be distributed, but more importantly, He is reminding them that His body would soon have to suffer tremendously at the crucifixion. Breaking the bread it isn’t symbolic of the breaking of His body, as some have concluded, because not one bone was broken. It was symbolic of new life accomplished by His death, burial and resurrection. In the Passover meal, breaking the unleavened bread was symbolic of breaking free from Egypt, He is transforming the Passover. Jesus has that authority, He is God in human flesh.
In verses 27-28, "And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."
The cup of blessing in the Passover now becomes cup of the Lord in the new feast, the wine was symbolic, as a graphic illustration of spilled blood that He would soon shed for the forgiveness of sins. There was nothing in the chemistry of His blood to save us. Scripture clearly teaches that sin must be paid for with a blood shedding death, it's been that way since the beginning. This very significant, because all of that pointed to Christ who would be that sacrifice. The significance of the Lord's Supper is to help us remember our redemption, our forgiveness, that in Christ, we celebrate God's amazing love for unworthy sinners, now a people who stand in His grace.
Churches all over the world continue to celebrate the Lord's Supper since that day, until He comes, in remembrance of the the blood shed sacrifice laid down for you, to be brought into reconciliation with God.
Unlike the Roman Catholic Church that teaches, that the bread and wine are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ, claiming that the early church embraced transubstantiation. However, the early church clearly understood the elements to
This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.
1 Corinthians 11:24-25, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." These are symbols, they are not actual body and blood, to remind us of Christ.
But
I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom."
What a tremendous verse, keep doing it, remembering My shed blood, My sacrifice for you, so that you'll never forget your glorious redemption, until I come back for you and then you and I will do it together in the Kingdom. After the delivering the tragic news of His death, He gives them the affirmation of His promise in John 14:3, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." It's very important to remember that we are not worthy, and what an amazing gift salvation is! I believe that we must also remember that in Christ, we are one body in Christ, we are a family. I've encountered a number of Christians, who don't understand that. They fail to live out the true fellowship we have in Christ. We're not to be divided but united in Christ. It's not my church or your church, it's Christ's Church. There's no separation of class in His Kingdom! So, when we partake of the Lord's Table, we are to remember our fellowship.
It is to be celebrated to remind us to look forward to our future, and the glory that is to come! This is a beautiful text that teaches us the significance of the Lord's Supper, it should never be treated carelessly, disregarding it's significance. We must remember to look back at our lives, remembering we don't deserve what Jesus did for us through the crucifixion. It's a precious gift of God's amazing grace. That's why I believe we need to guard the Lord's Table, it is not for unbelievers to celebrate a gift that's not applicable to them, they haven't received forgiveness. Only God grants you forgiveness, through Christ.
I know many churches tell their people in the spirit of inclusiveness, that "All are welcome, but participation is not required," allowing all people to participate in the Lord's Table, that's not biblical. Christ ordained the Lord's Supper, believers are commanded to participate in Remembrance of the self-sacrificing, blood-spilling death of Christ for us. Scripture doesn't prescribe the exact frequency in which it must be done, or prescribe the specific elements that are to be used. But I believe we must be mindful, not knowing each person's history, as we remember His sacrifice together, whether juice or wine. We must not be a stumbling block to others. Jesus says "Woe to him through whom they come!" That's why I believe pastors shouldn't drink alcohol, because if someone who has struggled with alcoholism sees them and thinks it's ok, it may well put them in a position of occurrence. We never want to do that!
That's why sound biblical teaching of the New Covenant, backed up by God's Word, not man's opinion is so important. God's people rejoice in remembrance of our salvation, our forgiveness, our fellowship and our glorious future that is to come when He returns. You need to repent and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, confessing Him as Lord, to receive His forgiveness. You can either confess that Jesus Christ is Lord now, or you will do it when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Him as Lord, to the glory of God the Father! It's a tragic thing to hear the Gospel and wait.
That brings us to verse 30, "After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
In the Greek, it literally says they hymned. They probably sung a Psalm after they celebrated the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Today, we can rejoice in the New Covenant, as we celebrate the Lord's Table, as we wait in anticipation for the day we celebrate this with Him. Giving thanks to God Who has been so gracious to us.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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