12.14.14 Matthew - The Last Supper


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Matthew: On Earth As It Is In Heaven The Last Supper * Matthew 26:14-35 Please take your Bibles and turn with me once again to Matthew 26. Today we are going to continue in our march towards the cross by studying how Jesus institutes one of the two ordinances of the church, what we have come to know as the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. So, here at Harmony we hold to two ordinances – two things the New Testament tells us to practice in order to remember and celebrate some of the most important truths of our faith. One of these ordinances is baptism, through which a new believer professes their faith in Jesus Christ and illustrates the fact that as he died and rose again, so too have they died to their old way of life and been made new in him. The second ordinance of the church then is the Lord’s Supper, one that we are hopefully going to learn a whole lot about from our passage today. And before we read the passage, let me point out the significance of the events we are going to see unfold in it. While there is substantial disagreement regarding which day of the week these events happened, there is no debate that they kick off three days on which all of history turns. There really are no more important days than the ones we are about to study, and so I urge you yet again to give God’s Word your full attention today. That said, pick up with me in v. 14. We are going to read all the way to v. 35, zeroing in on v. 26-29. Matthew tells us this:

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests [15] and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. [16] And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. [17] Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat

the Passover?” [18] He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” [19] And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20 When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21 And as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You have said so.” 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.” 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. (Matthew 26:14-35, ESV) Ok, so as you can see there is a great deal of intrigue and suspense in this passage. We have Judas betraying Jesus, Peter claiming that he will never deny Jesus, and pretty much all of the other disciples overwhelmed and not exactly sure what is going on. All of that aside, the central focus of this passage is the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and that is where we are going to spend most of our time this morning. We will circle back and talk more about Judas and Peter in a few weeks, but today we a going to zero in on v. 26-29. 2

Now, when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, we are talking about something that most of us are pretty familiar with. Many of us have participated in it dozens and dozens of times, if not more. However, I want to make sure that we really understand what it is all about. One of my concerns when it comes to this ordinance is that we don’t get to the point where we treat it as a ritual, something we do, well, because it’s just what we do. So, I want to make sure that we don’t simply go through the motions, failing to understand the significance of what we are participating in. Since this is the case, I want to carefully walk through our text and remind us of what the Lord’s Supper is all about. From this passage we learn it’s about five things. 1. Reflection (v. 20-25) First, the Lord’s Supper is about reflection. It is a time to examine ourselves and to evaluate where we are spiritually. That’s why in v. 20-25 instead of coming out and directly identifying Judas as his betrayer, Jesus is very cryptic. Let me tell you why I think this is the case. One, I truly believe Jesus is giving Judas one last chance. Jesus’ words in v. 24 are a final warning to Judas to turn from his unbelief and to place his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Look at the verse again: The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by who the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had not been born! Do you get what Jesus is telling Judas here? He’s saying, “My Father has decided that I am going to suffer and die, but you do not want to be the one who plays a hand in seeing this happen. In fact, it would be better for you to have never been born than to be involved in this. You have a choice, Judas.” Unfortunately, of course, Judas failed to heed Jesus’ warning, with the result that today he finds himself in hell for all eternity. So listen to me here. We need to take Jesus’ interaction with Judas to heart 3

today. On the one hand, we need to know that regardless of how harshly we have rejected him, Jesus still offers to show us grace. Although Judas had already accepted the money to betray him, Jesus still showed him grace and gave him the opportunity to change his mind. And you know what, he gives us the same opportunity today. If we will turn from our sin, no matter how vile or evil that sin may be, Jesus will accept us and make us one of his true disciples. On the other hand, if we refuse to trust him and go our own way, it would be better for us if we had never been born. Make no mistake; there is a solemn warning here for everyone who refuses to believe that Jesus is the one who came to save them from their sins. This warning is especially applicable to those of us who have grown up in or around the church and have had every opportunity to give our lives to him. You see, Judas had all the spiritual privileges anyone could ever hope for. He heard Jesus’ teaching firsthand. He saw Jesus’ miracles with his own eyes. He interacted personally with Jesus on a daily basis for three years. And yet his heart was never changed. It remained hard, and as a result, today you can bet that he wishes he had never been born. And so before we go on, if you have yet to trust Jesus, I urge you to trust him today. Today is the day of salvation. Today Jesus offers you another chance. If you have not, repent and believe in him today. Two, in v. 20-25 Jesus is giving all of his disciples an opportunity to examine themselves. He wants them all to consider their commitment to him. He knows that in the days ahead their faith is going to be rocked to the core, and he wants them to take the time to consider if they are all in or not. He doesn’t tell them who is going to betray him, because he wants them to ask the “Is it I?” question. Likewise, before partaking in the Lord’s Supper we too need to look deeply into our own hearts and consider whether or not there are things of which we need to confess and repent. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul is very direct about this. After nearly repeating Jesus’ words here in Matthew 26 verbatim, he writes this: 4

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. (1 Corinthians 11:28-31 ESV) These are very serious words and we need to carefully heed them. Before we come to the Lord’s Table we must soberly examine ourselves and take the time to address unconfessed sin in our lives. The body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ are very serious matters – that’s what I think it means to discern the body in v. 29 – and therefore we must not partake willy-nilly but with an honest examination of our lives and with a plea for his forgiveness if necessary. According to Paul to not do so invites God’s serious discipline in our lives. To be honest with you, in reading this passage I have to wonder if one of the reasons we have so much sickness in the church today, both physically and spiritually, is due to the fact that we take the Lord’s Supper too lightly. Let me give you a couple of application points here. First, I would strongly encourage you to take the Lord’s Supper seriously and not to simply participate because that’s just what everyone else does, but rather to always take time to evaluate yourself first, and if you are not prepared to partake, don’t. Don’t allow the pressure of everyone else around you partaking to lead you to bring discipline on yourself. So, if you aren’t ready to partake, you have full permission not to. There will be no looking down upon you, no judgment. In fact, we will think highly of you for your integrity. That said, the second application point is that we must not think we have to be worthy to partake before we can partake. The reason I say this is that on our own we are never worthy. On our own we will never get to the point where we are good enough to participate. However, because of the truth that the Lord’s Table represents, if we confess our sins we know that God will forgive us and make us worthy to participate. 5

So, the first thing the Lord’s Supper is about is reflection. 2. Substitution (v. 26) Second, the Lord’s Supper is about substitution. Look at the second part of v. 26. Jesus says: Take eat, this is my body. Luke adds that Jesus also says, “which is given for you.” So, Jesus takes the bread, breaks it, hands the pieces to the disciples and says, “Take eat, this is my body, which is given for you.” Now, it’s important to understand what the word for means here, and I’m not just splitting hairs. For doesn’t mean because of but rather instead of. It is true that Jesus died because of us, but it goes further than that. You see, the imagery of the bread is to point to the fact that Jesus’ died in our place. It was his body that was broken instead of ours. Many years ago a report in National Geographic told about a forest ranger in Yellowstone Park who found a bird literally petrified in ash after a forest fire. When he first found the bird he knocked it over with a stick and to his great surprise three little chicks scampered out from under their dead mother. You see, when the raging fire was about to overtake her precious children, the mother took them under her wings. Instead of flying off, she substituted herself for them. She took the fire in their place.1 And friends, that’s what the Lord’s Supper points us to. It reminds us of how Jesus took the fire in our place. The second verse of the hymn Hallelujah What A Savior states it well: Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood; Sealed my pardon with His blood. 1

Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

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Hallelujah! What a Savior! So, the second thing that the Lord’s Supper is about is substitution. 3. Forgiveness (v. 27-28) Third, the Lord’s Supper is about forgiveness. Verses 27-28: 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.” So, substitution and forgiveness are closely linked. Jesus died in our place so that our sins might be forgiven. Let’s consider for a moment why this is so important. It’s important because as humans our number one problem by far is the fact that our sins have separated us from God, and the only remedy for this separation is the forgiveness that he offers through the blood of Jesus. 1 Peter 3:18 explains it well: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. (1 Peter 3:18 ESV) Jesus the righteous suffered for us the unrighteous, so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be restored to a relationship with God. That is what the cup in the Lord’s Supper represents. Let me ask you a question. It’s a really important one. What do you do with your guilt? Now listen, while we may not want to admit it, all of us experience guilt. All of us have sinned, and as a result all of us feel a burden because of that sin. And this burden that we feel is the burden of being separated from God. We see this all the way back in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve sinned and as a result they experienced guilt. And what did their guilt lead them to do? They ran from God, something that human 7

beings have been doing ever since. And friends, there is only one way to be relieved of this burden and to be restored a to relationship with God, and that is by the forgiveness he offers through Jesus Christ’s blood. I want you to look with me a little more closely at v. 28. You will note that Jesus says the cup represents his blood of the covenant. Luke’s version of this story says that it is a new covenant. Now, what exactly is Jesus talking about here? Well, first we have to understand that in the Bible a covenant is essentially a commitment between two parties. Jesus is saying that through his blood shed on the cross God is entering into a new commitment with those who trust in him. And what exactly is this commitment? Well, Jeremiah 31 explains it best: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, [32] not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. [33] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [34] And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV) This passage is so clear that it really needs little explanation other than the fact that as he holds up the cup Jesus is telling his disciples that his death is going to be a fulfillment of the prophecy Jeremiah had made hundreds and hundreds of years before. That through the blood he would shed in less than 24 hours God would make a new covenant with his people to forgive their sins once and for all and remember them no more. So, listen, don’t miss this. Every time we partake in the cup, the primary thing we should remember is the fact that through the blood of Jesus God has forgiven our sins and as a result we are free of our guilt and restored to 8

a relationship with him. So, the third thing the Lord’s Supper is about is forgiveness. 4. Thanksgiving (v. 27) Fourth, the Lord’s Supper is about thanksgiving. You will note in v. 27 that before Jesus gives the disciples the cup he first gives thanks. This points us to the fact that as much as anything the Lord’s Supper is to be a time of thanksgiving. In fact, the Greek word for thanksgiving, (eucharisteo), is the word from which we get Eucharist, another name for the Lord’s Supper. The word Eucharist literally means “good caress”, which tells us that one of the things God wants us to know and experience as we participate in the Lord’s Supper is his love. Get this; I think it’s wonderful. In a real sense, through the Lord’s Supper God is reaching down and caressing our hearts and reminding us of how much he loves us. And of course, the appropriate response to this is nothing more and nothing less than thanksgiving. So, the fourth thing the Lord’s Supper is about is thanksgiving. 5. Joy (v. 29) The fifth and final thing the Lord’s Supper is about is joy. Stick with me here because this is really, really good, and it’s not something we normally think about too much when it comes to communion. Look at v. 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. Now, what is Jesus getting at here? Well, he’s telling the disciples, “Yes, in one sense this is the end, but in another sense it is only the beginning. Yes, I am going to die, but that’s not the end of the story. There is coming a day where I am going to return and establish my Father’s kingdom once and for all, and on that day I am going to make everything new.” I really think here in v. 29 Jesus is hinting at both his resurrection and his second coming. 9

This means the end result of partaking in the Lord’s Supper should be joy. Yes, we should enter into it mourning over our sin, but then as we reflect on the love God has shown us through the cross and the fact that one day very soon he is going to return and make everything new, it should produce in us a thankful, joyful heart that nothing and no one can take away. I love how Jesus explains this to the disciples in John 16: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy….So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. (John 16:20 & 22 ESV) And friends, this is what our experience of the Lord’s Supper should be. It should start with sorrow over our sin and the fact that it lead to the death of the Son of God. However, our sorrow should turn to joy as we partake in the elements and are reminded that through Jesus’ death God has forgiven our sins, and he is right now, as we partake, in the process of making everything new. So, the Lord’s Supper is about reflection, substitution, forgiveness, thankfulness, and finally joy. I want to finish today with a Lord of the Rings illustration that I think succinctly illustrates what the Lord’s Supper is all about. At the end of the second volume, Pippin, one of the hobbits, is standing at the front of the fortress of Helm’s Deep as the evil Orcs break through the gates. At this point in the story it seems as if all hope is lost. Everyone in the fortress is facing imminent death. But then at the very last moment, Pippin hears horns in the distance and looks up to see the King of Rohan coming to the rescue. The king and his army join in the battle, a battle in which the king is killed but the enemy is defeated and Pippin and those in the city are saved. Now, this isn’t in the movie, but in the book we are told that for the rest of his life, whenever Pippin hears a horn blowing in the distance he bursts into tears. Why? Well, because it reminded him of the day when the king died so 10

that he could be saved. A horn blowing was a symbol that reminded him of his salvation. And friends, that’s what the Lord’s Supper is for us. It’s a reminder of how the king died so that we could be saved. It’s a reminder that when sin was about to destroy us, Jesus rode to our rescue and died in our place. Even more, it’s a reminder that one day soon, another horn is going to blow and Jesus is going to return to make everything new.

Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. © 2014 by Chris Carr. You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that: (1) you credit the author, (2) any modifications are clearly marked, (3) you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, (4) you include Harmony Bible Church’s website address (www.harmonybiblechurch.org) on the copied resource.

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