Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 3 Lesson 1
We begin a new quarter of our Answers Bible Curriculum Sunday school this week with the theme: The Church Begins. Our first lesson focuses on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion and Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples. Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper regularly in church, but what is the significance of the bread and grape juice? How do these elements connect to the original Passover? And do believers really appreciate the joy and seriousness of what they declare when they partake in the elements? Join us as we answer these questions and more!
Our main text for this lesson is Matthew 26:20-30.
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Lord has been gracious a lot of the winds that they had anticipated would are going to really amplify the fires did not materialize it’s a lot less windy than normal the fires did spread a little bit but at this point at least according to the news may the fires are more contained a lot of the ones that were directly threatening sections of La have been have been contained or much more contained fires are still burning though so they just something to continue to keep in mind people have been evacuated many people have lost their homes or their other buildings so it is still still a great tragedy to have these fires there was also one confirmed fatality but the Lord was gracious it was a lot it could have been a lot worse or at least up to this point it could have been a lot worse so I do thank you for your prayers I believe the Lord heard your prayers we begin a new quarter of our answers Bob what curriculum today we’re in the third year of the curriculum this is quarter three our new theme is the church begins that’s pretty descriptive of what we’re gonna be looking at here’s a breakdown of the coming lessons roughly the first half of this quarter our first six lessons or so is going to be focused on the end of Jesus life and ministry on earth we’ll talk about his death we’ll talk about his resurrection and then in the second half of this quarter we’re going to talk about the beginning of the church which is exactly what our theme is called we’re gonna be moving into the book of Acts and we’ll see how the church begins and eventually starts going the gospel starts going to the Gentiles but today we are talking about Jesus final Passover and betrayal now every gospel account the four Gospels we have they focus a lot on the the final part of Jesus life the crucifixion the things leading up to it is death and resurrection it’s a critical part of the gospel the gospel that we share and so it makes sense that they the writers put a lot of emphasis in it so we really want to pay attention to these accounts they may be more familiar to us but as always we want to come at them with fresh eyes because when we think we know the stories or we can stop paying attention to them under stop appreciating just how significant they are we’re gonna talk a lot today specifically about the Lord’s Supper which there’s an ordinance we practice all the time but one that because of familiarity we can forget just how significant it is this how significant the declarations that Jesus was making when he first inaugurated the Lord’s Supper so let’s come at this passage with full attention wanting to know exactly what our Lord was communicating in his work through the Gospel writers and through Jesus inaugurating this ordinance for the church let’s pray my God our God thank you for your provision every day I thank you for the church for Calvary I prayed you’d build up the people and you helped me to be able to explain your word will in Jesus name Amen who’s open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26 it’s just where we’re going to have our main text today each one of the Gospels has something to say about this element of the crucifixion account but we’re gonna focus on Matthew’s account with sprinkling in a little bit of details from the other Gospels we’re gonna be looking at Matthew 26 22 30 but just let’s set the context with the end of Jesus three-and-a-half-year ministry opposition to Messiah has peaked as well as XP anak expectations among the people Jesus has told his disciples a number of times that he’s going to Jerusalem he’s going to be handed over he’s going to be put to death but he is going to rise again three days later when he comes into Jerusalem the common people Herald him as Messiah he has a triumphal entry they’re all saying Hosanna they’re saying save now they’re expecting him to set up a new Kingdom and to get rid of the Romans the Jesus for his part he actually prophesized judgment against the city he tells the people your house is left to you desolate next time you see me or you won’t see me until next time you say blessed is he who comes the name and Lord you as cleanses the temple again just like he did at the beginning of his ministry he has a number of verbal exchanges with the religious leaders who are trying to discredit him but Jesus shows himself to be totally able to answer and answer any of their questions and to pose questions that they cannot answer after leaving the temple Jesus has a lengthy discourse in which he describes his disciples what’s going to happen in the future these things include the Temple in Jerusalem is going to be destroyed the nation of Israel is going to be judged but also Jesus disciples are going to be witnesses witnesses of him throughout the whole world and then eventually there’s going to tribulation and judgment and then Jesus will come again but he tells his disciples be faithful until I come and if you are and really for all those who would follow Jesus afterwards you will be rewarded this brings us to the beginning of chapter 26 by the way that discourse is known as the Olivet discourse but this brings us to the beginning of chapter 26 a couple things happened in the beginning the chapter that we also want to keep in mind first in chapter 26 verses 1 to 5 the religious leaders determine that they must destroy Jesus in verses 6 to 13 we have a flashback to something that took place at the beginning of Jesus passion week and that is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus anointed Jesus with costly in fragrant perfume when Jesus or when Mary did this the disciples actually complained Judas Iscariot leading the complaint that she was wasting the money that she could have given to the poor by just pouring this really expensive perfume on Jesus Jesus actually commended what she did and he said this is actually in preparation for my burial then it in chapter 26 verses 14 to 16 and there’s this is probably the reason why the anointing it was recounted right before we hear about Judas Iscariot going to meet with the chief priests and he asks them how much will you give me if I hand Jesus over to you they were glad to hear this and they offer him 30 pieces of silver now some of you may know what is significant about the price 30 pieces of silver it is the price of a slave according to the law if we go back to X’s 21 32 X is 21 32 says this if the ox Gore’s a male or female slave the owner shall give his or her master 30 shekels of silver and the auction stoned so this is the same price according to law that you would compensate a master if you would accidentally killed his slave this is the price that was being offered for Jesus Messiah interesting this price also appears in another place in the Old Testament significantly and that’s zechariah zechariah is one of the prophets when israel’s returning from exile and in zechariah 11 zechariah is acting as a symbol before what messiah will do in the future zechariah is acting as a shepherd to israel but it’s not going well he’s trying to shepherd the people but the people are being very stubborn and eventually zechariah says I I quit and Zechariah 11 12 to 13 this is what he says to them or this is what Zechariah’s prophecy says this is very poignant Zechariah 11 12 to 13 Zechariah says if it is good in your sight give me why my wages but if not never mind so he’s asking the people whatever you people think I deserve to be paid give it to me and the verse continues so they weighed out 30 shekels of silver as my wages this is next verse 13 then Yahweh said to me throw it to the potter that magnificent price at which I was valued by them so I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of Yahweh this is very interesting what Zecharia records first of all because of you may already be noting connections to what happens to Jesus there’s this thing about the Potter and the house of Lord and 30sec shekels of silver which are our which are all details that reappear in what happens with Judas Iscariot but more poignant is what God’s comment is on all of this Zechariah says give me my wages but God says the one who’s really being valued at thirty pieces of silver is whom it’s God himself he says that magnificent price at which I was valued by them and notice that’s incredible sarcasm from the Lord from our God that magnificent price now thirty pieces of silver I mean that’s not pennies but that’s hardly that’s hardly valuable sum and yet this is what Judas agrees with the chief priests to betray Jesus he agrees to betray Jesus for that price back in Matthew chapter 26 says Judas begins looking for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them then right before a passage and verses 17 and 19 Jesus tells certain disciples to make preparations for the Passover tells him to follow a certain man in Jerusalem follow that man into a certain house and then ask the owner of that house to have the guestroom prepared which is what they do so Passover is about to take place it’s Thursday evening Jesus travels to this room with his twelve disciples the thirteen of them are there and let’s now read our text Matthew 26 verses 20 to 30 here’s what it says now an 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 the 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 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 this is maybe a little bit smaller section than we normally take in our Sunday School lessons but very packed with important things for us to analyze so let’s follow our study process observe interpret apply starting with observations notice verse 20 it says that the disciples were reclining in the room now when we talk about reclining we need the proper image of what this Passover scene actually looks like think about in your own mind what you picture with it with this Last Supper of Jesus likely if not now earlier in your life you have thought of this scene the way it’s commonly depicted in religious paintings there’s a table the disciples are all sitting in a bunch of chairs they all have their own individual plates this is the way that we might eat the Last Supper but this is not the way that the Jews actually ate the Last Supper the fact this wasn’t the way that the Jews ate usually at all this they would recline to eat and what that means is that there would be a low table or a small or a low set of tables and there would be cushions or couches that were situated around the table and each guest each diner would actually lay down prop himself up on one arm and then reach with his other arm to grab food or to take the food that he had grab and dip it into common bowls I’ll show you some some pictures here you might be thinking of Leonardo da Vinci that’s the kind of traditional way of thinking about it that’s the way we would we would eat today that’s not the way they did it be something more along these lines so you’ve got people reclining about the table there could be one central table that has all the things on it and they’re people the disciples are fanned around it wood has Jesus’s or it could be a series of tables set up probably in a u-shape and this way the diners would actually be propped up against one another which is what makes sense of John’s description and his account where he says that the apostle himself John was laying against Jesus breast that’s only possible if people are reclining to eat that’s a Jewish way of eating and the Jews were the only ones who did this but they weren’t one of them this is a more relaxed and intimate way for people to eat then maybe we would do today and certainly what they what they ate was shared in common they weren’t using cutlery like we would today it was it was different so I’m going to make sure we have the right image of what this Passover meal would have looked like now I’m gonna go back to the previous side that has our observations okay now this is the Passover meal what is it that the Passover exactly commemorates very good so the last plague and right before the people are delivered from Egypt was God striking down the firstborn of all the Egyptians but to make a distinction as that God would not strike down the first one of the Israelites he required that they would slay a lamb or a goat that was unblemished year old and male and take the blood and put it on the doorpost of each of the Israelite houses Passover was the commemoration of this event and really Passover then was a celebration of two truths first it was a celebration of deliverance from Egypt the people were in bondage God brought all these plagues and the culminating plague the climactic Blake was this striking down of the firstborn and through that the people of Asia were finally delivered Pharaoh finally let them go and they were free the one hand Passover celebrates freedom Redemption when the other hand Passover celebrates the mercy of God the mercy in God sparing the firstborn of Israel and not bringing judgment on them something very interesting about the tenth plague and I can’t remember if we said this exactly well we went to the plagues in Sunday school talking about the Exodus but it’s interesting that the tenth plague is the only one where Israel was required to do something in order to be protected one might ask why why would they ask to do that in the first place this wasn’t something that God required for the other plagues and just even more generally we might ask why was it that the Egyptians had the plagues come upon them why did God send plagues against Egypt right so that’s one of the main reasons Pharaoh would not let them go Roy were you gonna say something else yeah this was for their disobedience and evil against God not only in favor refusing to let them go but also the oppression they had worked against Israel for hundreds of years for decades at least they had enslaved they had oppressed they had tried to kill all the Hebrew babies and then they wouldn’t let them go this was a judgment against these if all of these were judgment against Egypt against Pharaoh and against their gods so if that’s the case then why would Israel need protection in the tenth plank I mean if Egypt is being judged for evil why does Israel need protection is it that the angel might get confused the angel of the Lord as it strikes down the Egyptians and it doesn’t know that it’s actually striking down the first point of Israel and that can’t be the reason what must have been the reason that Israel needed the protection of the blood of a lamb yes Danny I believe yeah yeah I think that’s it that’s the only reason why they would need protection is that the angel the Lord was coming to strike down an evil people but Israel was evil too and that’s that becomes immediately apparent actually even before they need some sort of blood they need some sort of substitutionary sacrifice so they won’t be struck down so their first one won’t be struck down so Passover’s also remembrance of the mercy of God God did not send judgment on Israel even though Israel in its own way deserved judgment and we see the same theme in the rest of the law and indeed in the rest of the sacrifices the burnt offering the sin offering the offering on the day of atonement they’re all emphasizing Israel has sinned Israel is sinful and needs atonement it needs the blood of a substitutionary innocent unblemished sacrifice in order that God’s judgment may not come against Israel because God is holy and he cannot endure unholiness so Passover is also a remembrance of that now remember Passover and the associated feast of unleavened bread was one of three feasts that Israel was required to celebrate every year it’s given in the law every male was supposed to be in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover each year and Passover had to be celebrated in a certain way according to Exodus 12 and Deuteronomy 16 some of the stipulations included that the families partaking in Passover which should it be all Jews they had were to have no left allowed in their homes m11 is fermented dough it’s what would cause bread to rise it would have no eleven and at all in your houses he were to slay an unblemished male lamb or male goat at the temple it wouldn’t offer it at the temple but it would be slain at the temple and then you’d bring the animal back you would roast the meat and there would be none left over the next day and you’d serve it to the family or to whomever had gathered together and you would serve the roasted lamb or roasted goat with bitter herbs and unleavened bread this was all to bring back to mind exactly what Israel experienced when they first celebrated this meal when God delivered them and what God had mercy on them now these were the stipulations according to the law but there were more traditions added to Passover celebration by Jesus time indeed these traditions still exists today some of the extra traditions included the addition of four cups of wine to the Passover meal four cups of wine mix a lot remember all wine list makes with water virtually back then and each of these cups which was served and drunk by the precious bits was symbolic the exact symbolic significance is somewhat debated today but we can roughly understand what each cup represented juice for Jesus breaks down the meaning of each of the Passover cups in this way the first cup was the cup of sanctification the idea of holiness the second cup was the cup of plagues the third cup was the cup of redemption or blessing and the fourth cup was the cup of praise or a cup of acceptance for the cup of Elisha that is looking forward to Elijah’s coming and the coming of Messiah so all of these were to be brought back to mind and remembered when the wine was drunk by the participants now these background details on the Passover are very helpful for us understanding the different details of the text that appear in our passage so you’ve got the scene in your mind’s the disciples are reclining around this table everything’s been prepared they’re eating this Passover meal the roasted lamb bitter herbs the other things that cups of water that the wine is there they’re enjoying that time together they’re talking and all sudden verse 21 Jesus makes a startling announcement he says truly I say to you one of you will betray me now we’ve heard Jesus start off statements with truly before often it’s truly truly I say to you and he always says they’re right before he’s about to say something that’s gonna be a little bit hard to believe that’s what he says here he’s never mentioned before that someone at least directly there’s someone within his own group of disciples with the training but he does so now and this would have taken the disciples aback how could this be true it’s not that Jesus is lying Jesus doesn’t lie but who could betray Jesus after all he’s done for them he said the twelve disciples they were called specifically by Jesus he taught them he gave them extra teaching that he would wouldn’t even give to the crowds he walked through them he lodged with that he ate with them he did miracles before them he saved their lives and the storms at Galilee he used them as ministers they went out as but as his Proclaimers and Proclaimers of the kingdom he’s having the Passover meal with them now who would betray Messiah after all of this after all the good that Messiah has done this is a terrible terrible revelation and it says in verse 22 the disciples were deeply grieved and I asked themselves could it be me Shh could I be the one that Jesus is talking about surely not right and they even asked the Lord hoping and trusting that Jesus doesn’t mean then but Jesus goes on to clarify he says in verse 23 he who dips with me in the bowl he is the one who will betray me okay what is the significance of that phrase well we don’t know the specific table arrangement of that Passover meal it’s possible that Jesus was sharing a bowl with just one other person and he could be pointing out that disciple or perhaps he’s sharing it with a few people and just narrowing it down or maybe he’s sharing it with everybody and so he’s just saying it’s one of the disciples nevertheless sharing a bowl is a sign of intimacy and Trust indeed eating with another person especially in that day was considered a sign of intimacy and Trust but sharing a bowl even more so I think we still the same concept today to some extent will eat family-style that’s good more intimate way eating you’re actually sharing the different dishes or two to dip into the same bowl with somebody else especially the double dip that’s not something you do with people you don’t know very well yeah it was the same idea back then Jesus saying someone so close to me that’s to dip into the same Bowl he’s the one who will betray me but then Jesus goes on to announce a contrast about this person they says the Son of Man remember son a man is a title that Jesus uses for himself often it’s a title of Messiahship connotes deity so the son man will go just as it is written just as the Old Testament just as the prophet set but woe to the one who betrays the Son of Man now what does the word woe mean so you can you say that again yes it is a word of judgment Roy you’re gonna say yeah you’re right actually you have some more knowledge about the term this with a phrase oh yeah wave a comes from it does come from the evil word for well that’s translated well and yeah it’s an expression of calamity an expression of judgment expression of warning expression of lament you remember that something that Isaiah says in chapter 6 of Isaiah when he sees God in his temple he says woe is me I am destroyed because my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts and I’m an unclean man I’d well with unclean men so Jesus says whoa warning judgment calamity lament on this person who betrays it betrays the Son of man it’s better for that one if he had not been born and we can understand the implication that phrase he’s saying the judgment on such a one will be so staggering to be better if you were never born now Jesus clearly knows who the betrayer is he announces it and as readers or as those listening to this count we know too because earlier in the passage we’ve seen Judas has gone to proko betrayed Jesus but this was known even earlier in the gospel account when Judas Iscariot is first introduced in Matthew chapter 10 is introduced with the description Judas the one who would betray him was always known to the Lord that Judas would betray him that Judas Iscariot would betray him and he knows it now yeah Judas innocently asks in verse 25 surely it is not I rabbi but Jesus tells them you have said it that’s a roundabout way of saying it is you Judas now interestingly the disciples don’t seem to understand Jesus statement with the other things that Jesus does indicate that Judas is the betrayer because according to John’s Gospel John chapter 13 verses 28 to 30 they don’t understand what Judas is doing when he leaves they suppose that Jesus had given him some sort of mission to buy food for the Passover or to give money to the poor and so when Jesus or when Judas Iscariot leaves they don’t think anything of it but Judas he leaves to go arrange Jesus’s arrest and apprehension but the Passover meal continues though continues with some alterations and this is extremely significant at verse 26 when Jesus passes out and breaks and passes out the unleavened bread that was a normal part of Passover celebration he then says take eat this is my body that’s not a normal part of the Passover meal Luke 20 to 19 records Jesus words in this way as he passes out this unleavened bread this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me so Jesus is saying to the samples you want to eat this bread eat this unleavened bread that he gives to them and then in verse 27 later in the meal it takes a cup it gives thanks he gives thanks and then he gives it to the disciples now this is probably the third cup of the Passover a third cup which is also the cup of blessing or the cup of redemption and he says his disciples drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the Covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins again this is not a normal part of the Passover but Jesus makes this announcement now pouring out blood what is that an expression for for a person to pour out blood or to pour out his blood that is an expression that means why that’s death in fact in Hebrew the word for a poor blood or shed blood they’re the same the same word is used to is translated both ways in the Bible it’s the idea of death Jesus says this is the pouring out of my blood of the Covenant the Covenant may be says it results in forgiveness of sins forgiveness of sins what are you talking about Luke 22 20 says it this way this cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood ah new covenant what Old Testament verses should come to our minds Ezekiel does say something about it but this phrase specifically new covenant appears in a different Prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 31 actually holds your place in Matthew and turn back to Jeremiah 31 let’s refresh our minds what that passage says Jeremiah 31 verses 31 to 34 many Old Testament prophets spoke about this new covenant even Moses did in Deuteronomy chapter 30 but the phrase new covenant appears in Jeremiah Jeremiah 31 verses 31 to 34 it says behold days are coming declares Yahweh and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel with the house of Judah not like the Covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt my covenant which they broke although I was husband to them declares Yahweh but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days declares Yahweh I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it and I will be their God and they shall be my people they will not teach again each man his neighbor and each man his brother saying no Yahweh but they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them declares Yahweh for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more ah so we’ve seen this passage before right but recall what’s promised in this new covenant god says I’m gonna give my people a new heart I’m gonna cause my people to actually be obedient and I will forgive them for their sins all of this comes in the New Covenant and all this in total contrast the Old Covenant where Israel did not get a new heart and therefore was still sinful and disobedient and was not forgiven but received condemnation Jesus sees something in this cup and it’s announcement about his blood being poured about the New Covenant and then verse 29 we get a surprising addendum to all of this Jesus makes another announcement we’re back in Matthew 26 now so you can jump back over there Matthew 26 verse 29 Jesus says I will not drink of the of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in my father’s Kingdom addition be striking to us for several reasons first of all and she says I’m not gonna drink of this by anymore until a certain thing happens and that’s catch his disciples a little bit by off-guard because drinking water is pretty necessary in that society that’s what you drank with each meal wine mixed with water the water my itself was not good to drink and when often result in stomach issues so you’re not gonna drink any wine anymore Jesus and drinking wine wasn’t necessary part of the Passover celebration so you’re not going to celebrate Passover anymore Jesus how could this be possible the answer is of course because we know what’s coming that Jesus is going to die and for that reason he’s not going to drink anymore he’s not going to drink wine anymore until something happens and then here’s the next part he says though he will drink wine again with his disciples so even though Jesus is making an announcement about his death he is also announcing that though he dies his disciples will what they will see him again and they’ll drink wine with him again and then the third striking aspect is when and where that’s going to happen when will they see Jesus again when will they drink wine with him again in his father’s Kingdom that means the kingdom of God is still coming the disciples are going to be part of it and they’re gonna drink the fruit of the vine together with Jesus when God’s kingdom comes so some pretty pretty amazing promises this is where Matthew’s account of the conversation inside the upper room finishes it says verse 30 a conclusion of the meal they sang a hymn and they went to the Mount of Olives now it was traditional at this time for the Jews to end the Passover celebration with the singing of the Hallel which is a section of the Psalm Psalm 113 a 118 they may have some all of those chanted recited all those or maybe just the last one 118 there’s also a tradition to sing the great ho L at the end of Passover which is Psalm 136 that’s the psalm that where every other line is for his steadfast love endures forever so they sing and go to the Mount of Olives Mount of Olives is just east of Jerusalem Jesus often went there and there’s a garden at the base of the mountain that we know as the Garden of Gethsemane oK we’ve made our observations of the text let’s move to the second step interpretation and we have it’s very important things to explore about the Lord’s Supper in particular when Jesus said this is my body and this is the cup of the Covenant in my blood was Jesus being literal or metaphorical he was being metaphorical now how do we know this yeah the most basic thing we need to know is that Jesus was sitting right there his body and blood was actually still making up his body and that’s why he was alive so when he says this is my body this is my blood he must be speaking figuratively we could add to this that Jesus when he when he makes those statements Luke tells us he says do this in remembrance of me so there’s a memorial or a figurative aspect what Jesus is saying this is true also the original Passover it was about remembrance but as we said the most important aspect is that Jesus’s body and blood are right there next to table Jesus body and blood can’t be in two places at once and whatever is true of this first instance of the Lord’s Supper must also be true in the other instances so Jesus is presenting figures or symbols to his disciples let’s make sure we understand the significance what is exactly is communing any communicating each one of these symbols Jesus gives his body that is the bread and his blood that is the wine for the disciples to eat and drink now why normally does someone eat or drink it’s for nourishment it’s for the sustaining of our lives it’s so that we can grow and continue to live also when we eat or when we drink what we take into our bodies becomes part of our bodies though the the part of it is is excreted as waste by taking in these symbols of what are the disciples testifying about Jesus if you think about what food and drink do and Jesus says this food in this drink this is my body this is my blood by taking it in what are the disciples essentially testifying about Jesus right both those things both of what you just said on the first hand on the one hand they’re saying that Jesus is the one who gives me light he is the one who saves me Jesus life and death specifically are what give me life and even give me forgiveness of sins just as food and drink sustain a person to give them life Jesus body and blood is what gives me life that’s what they testify but also the second thing that was said is that they identify themselves with the Lord in Union just as bread is taken in and innocence becomes one with the body so this thing I have become one with Jesus and this is just like what Jesus said in John chapter 6 remember John chapter 6 where Jesus announced himself to be the bread of life and he says he who believes in me and he who eats me remember those are synonymous in that passage how exactly just he’s a saved he says I can’t remember the exact language but I will become one with him and he will become one with me I will be in him that’s how I did this says it I will be in him and he will be in me now you don’t become part of food whenever you whenever you actually eat food so this is a little bit different Jesus says there is union based on your eating me so they are testifying both of Jesus giving life to them and saving them but also in Jesus becoming one with Jesus Jesus is putting forth these symbols and that by eating and drinking the disciples are testifying of of salvation reality related to Jesus now which has the life-giving power the symbols of the bread and wine or the reality Jesus body and blood the life-giving power comes from the reality not the symbols there’s noble life giving power to the bread and the wine except no it’s the reality that they represent Jesus is the one who gives them life it’s his body and blood this is important for us to remember and disciples probably didn’t fully understand what Jesus was saying here but they would later in fact Paul he explains in 1st Corinthians 11 that the Lord’s Supper is indeed a gospel symbol it’s one of the two ordinances given to the church a right or a ritual that testifies about Jesus saving sacrifice 1st Corinthians 11 26 says this first Corinthians 11 26 Paul says at the Lord’s Supper for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes so the Lord’s Supper this which was experienced by the disciples first here in the Last Supper is a testimony of how Jesus provides salvation just as food provides life and how the followers of Jesus become one with him but there’s more to it there are several layers to the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper and we want to make sure we we note each because all of this is laid on top of the Passover how is the Passover related to the Lord’s Supper well consider the Lord’s Supper our weakest aid in this way the Lord’s Supper takes the realities that are memorialized in the exodus to a whole new level because in the Passover the Israelites are celebrating freedom freedom from Egyptian bondage freedom from the tyranny of Pharaoh but in the Lord’s Supper indeed in the salvation of Jesus the gospel believers celebrate freedom from sin from the penalty of sin from the power of sin and from the tyranny of death this is a much greater freedom similarly in the Passover and in the original Exodus the Israelites celebrated the mercy of God in sparing judgment the judgment that was spared on them was the death of their firstborn on one particular night before the Exodus this was mercy from God’s wrath a sparing but in the Lord’s Supper in the salvation that Jesus provides there’s a much greater act of mercy from God believers all of those who trust in Jesus are forever not just one night but forever spared from the wrath of God which was due them because of their sin and by a much greater means originally the Passover they were spared on the basis of the blood of a one unblemished lamb or goat but for believers the Lord’s Supper they are spared on the basis of the unblemished sacrifice and blood of the Lamb of the Son of God himself and isn’t that what John the Baptist said John the Baptist when he spoke of Jesus he said behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world Jesus is the atoning Lamb and the act of mercy shown us through Jesus atoning sacrifice is much greater than the act of mercy that was shown in Israel in the original Passover indeed the Exodus realities were grand the original Passover was grand but in comparison to what Jesus accomplishes the Passover the original Passover is a pale foreshadowing the much greater deliverance the must greater passing / is to be celebrated by Jesus disciples that is what Jesus is presenting and really inaugurating in the Last Supper so we must so there’s the layer of the Passover on top on top of all this but then there’s another layer because Jesus makes an announcement about the New Covenant he says this cup is or this cup has my blood of the New Covenant which results in forgiveness of sins so by saying that what was Jesus announcing New Covenant was promised Jesus says this cup is the blood of the New Covenant what would Jesus essentially announcing yeah boy yeah the new covenant has come the new covenant that have been promised all those things the Old Testament that God had promised they’ve come and they’ve come in Jesus he’s the one who is inaugurating and mediating the New Covenant and all the benefits that were promised in the New Covenant are now going to be the benefits of those who follow Jesus they receive new hearts they become obedient to the Lord and they have total forgiveness from sins this is way superior to anything that the Old Covenant offered and Jesus said that has now come and it’s come through my blood now I say inaugurated rather than still because the New Covenant has not been totally fulfilled yet we read back in Jeremiah 31 that covenant was offered to Israel and Judah and it says all of them would be saved so that nobody even has to tell each other to know the Lord that’s not yet happen it will happen according to Paul all Israel will yet be saved but it has the New Covenant has been inaugurated the firstfruits of the New Covenant are already evident the remnant of Israel and Judah has been saved but also the Gentiles have been mercifully grafted in Gentiles become beneficiaries of the New Covenant that is inaugurated and me you’d by Jesus so we see the Lord’s Supper is not only a celebration the gospel but we can attach to that it is a celebration of a greater passing over it is a celebration of the inauguration of the New Covenant but then there’s another layer a layer of future promise because the Lord’s Supper is not just a testimony about life now but also about future life there’s an ultimate fulfillment of the Lord’s Supper now what is that ultimate fulfillment it’s exactly what jesus promised one day I will drink the fruit of the vine together with you in my father’s Kingdom so that the Lord’s Supper is a preview it is a testimony to the future banquet with the Lord if you belong to Jesus if you are one of his disciples if you trust and believe in him then that’s where you’re headed when you take part of the Lord’s Supper you are testifying I’m gonna go banquet with the Lord and not just Mina visually but all of those who trust in Jesus with me it’s a communal preview we’re all looking forward to the banquet when you at Calvary celebrate the Lord’s Supper together or whenever you’re in a bible-believing Church celebrating the Lord’s Supper you’re in a sense doing a previewing banquet you’re all gonna be there again with Jesus when his kingdom comes celebrating with him now consider these realities who could have ever thought of these things who could ever conceive who could have ever earned or deserved a place at the banquet of the Lord God has provided one for you and me because of our faith in Jesus we approach the table of the Lord like mephibosheth approach the table of David you remember him a civil chef he was the grandson of Jonathan blaming his feet because he was from the house of Saul he expected nothing good from David because the house of Saul was at war with David but David because he loved Jonathan you wanted to show kindness to my Bichette he said you eat it my royal table from now my favorite chef was dumbfounded he says what am i I’m a dead dog to my king it’s my lord the king why should I deserve such grace it’s a good analogy for us I think about coming to the table of the Lord I don’t know exactly what that Bank was gonna look like but Jesus testifies that it’s gonna come and because if you believe in Jesus you’re gonna be there with him he’s promised that so there are many glorious realities all being celebrated all being declared in the Last Supper and in the Lord’s Supper that we celebrate in commitments of the Last Supper so think on these things my brothers and sisters think of these grand realities you did not deserve this you don’t deserve this if you believe in Jesus you deserve to be struck down just as Israel deserved to be struck down in the original Passover your sin was just as bad as Egypt you were not without sin before God His Holiness could not stand you you did not reach God’s standard but God in His own grace because of his own love because of his own mercy he gave you salvation he sent His Son Jesus to be your greater Passover your greater Passover land he brought you into the new covenant he gave you a new heart he forgave your sins he gave you new life and union with Jesus and he has secured you a place at his table his coming Kingdom did anyone conceive of a God such as this that’s so gracious this is not the kind of God that the world comes up with what comes up with a God who either winks at sin or who has man come up with some way to earn his salvation that is not the God who is a God who is does everything himself his own mercy for his own glory but we who believed in Jesus are the beneficiaries there is one more element to consider in all this it’s also really really kind of cool you notice that Jesus establishes this right commemorating his sacrifice and salvation that he achieves before he’s actually sacrificed before Jesus actually dies Jesus has not been sacrificed as the Passover lamb and yet he’s given this ordinance to commemorate it this is just what God did also with the original Passover if you go back to X’s don’t do that now but if you go back and look God tells Israel how to celebrate the Passover before God actually does it he says this is gonna be memorial for you throughout all your generations this is the way you’ve got to celebrate it he does before he actually brings the deliverance what’s the point of doing that by telling the people how to celebrate the memorial before the reality actually takes place just God showing Roy what are you saying yeah I think you both said it and this is a testimony to God’s leave sovereignty foreknowledge is ultimate power it says I’m gonna tell you what’s gonna happen beforehand and by the way here’s the way you’re gonna celebrate it after it happens God’s in total control the Lord is in total control Jesus is in total control even in his arrest and crucifixion we see some elements of that even in this passage of Jesus knows his betrayer and he’s able to announce that but also at his announcing it of the realities of this Lord’s Supper the Lord is totally in control he has total authority and this goes right along with what the Gospel writers had been wanting to show us all along if he has such authority even in his own death who must he be if everything is proceeding exactly as Jesus foretold exactly as the Scriptures foretold exactly as God planned then who must use he is the Messiah he is the son of God he is the only Savior and he is the one that you must believe in if you want to be saved we’ll see more of this next week as we see more how God’s sovereign plan was coming to pass but we even see it now Jesus is the Messiah he demonstrates total control and authority even in his own arrest and death so let’s sum up what we’ve seen today we see I just said some of this boss say it one more time Jesus knew Judas plan to betray Jesus and he knew the wrath that was due on Judas because of it we also saw that Jesus transformed the Rite of Passover to the Jews to a profound symbol of multiple grand Gospel realities and that symbol is something that Jesus has given to the church to practice continually they’ve also seen that Jesus followers they give testimony to these realities every time they partake of their right not only that those realities exist but indeed that they are partakers in that reality I am going to be at the Lord’s banquet that’s what you testify at Lord’s Supper I am in the new covenant I am I do have a greater Passover lamb who has delivered me that’s what you do every time you partake let’s consider more specific application as we come to the third part of our Bible study method couple questions here Paul makes clear in 1st Corinthians 11 that those who come to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way they eat and drink judgment upon themselves and in that church some people even got sick and died why is God so serious about the celebration of the Lord’s Supper yes yeah I think that’s a good answer it is a representation of the body and the blood of the Lord really representation of the whole gospel the realities are so grand the Lord Himself is so grand that to treat this memorial in an irreverent way a hypocritical way or a mocking way it’s not something that God is going to allow God will not be mocked at this Lord’s Supper therefore if you come at it in an unworthy way that is if you use the Lord’s Supper as an occasion for sin as the Corinthians did well if you contradict the testimony that you’re declaring at the Lord’s Supper by saying I follow Jesus I’m the New Covenant I’m obedient I’m gonna be in the banquet with him and really you don’t follow the Lord and you you risk you recklessly risk the chastisement and the judgement of the Lord upon yourself realities are too grand for you to treat the Lord’s Supper lightly in a way however it is not the Lord’s it is not really the ritual of the Lord’s Supper that we need to be sober about it’s really the whole Christian life the whole Christian life is in a way a celebration of the Lord’s Supper Paul Lutz this earlier in first Corinthians whenever he’s speaking about how there’s immorality in the church was that which the church is tolerating flagrant immorality he says this about it first Corinthians 5 verses 6 to 8 first corinthians 5 verses 6 to 8 your boasting is not good do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole up dough clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump just as you are in fact on living for Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed therefore let us celebrate the feast not with old leaven nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth see what Paul’s saying your whole life is a celebration of the Lord’s Supper your whole life ought to be unleavened and indeed the whole life of the church this doesn’t mean we’re going to be perfect but that we don’t we don’t allow sin to reign in our lives and when do we allow nor do we tolerate unrepentant sin in the church because Jesus our Passover lamb has been sacrificed we must respond appropriately or else we hazard the holy chastisement of God another thing to note here always important to mention when we talk about the Lord’s Supper since the late Middle Ages the Catholic Church has taught the doctrine of transubstantiation transubstantiation states that in celebration of the Lord’s Supper which they call the Eucharist the bread and the wine or the grape juice they literally become the body and blood of Jesus though the bread and wine continued to look like normal bread and wine Catholics also teach that the Lord’s Supper is a presentation of sacrifice by the priest Jesus being offered again on behalf of the participants in the Eucharist in order to keep them in a state of grace why is this understanding biblically inaccurate and dangerous we’re running low on time so I will provide the answers to you this is not correct Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father his literal body cannot be in more than one place he is human he’s forever human though he has also got so his body can now also be in the bread or his his body cannot also be the bread and blood they were not the bread and blood originally when you nitrate in the meal they are not afterwards moreover Jesus has accomplished a once-and-for-all sacrifice on the crops and does not need to be sacrificed again if he does need to be then his work was not sufficient Christians already have full salvation full justification by faith in Jesus and we do not to obtain we do not need to obtain something in the Lord’s Supper to keep us in a state of grace we do obey it we do obey the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper I Jesus commanded but it is not is not necessary to keep us in the state of grace or salvation just a couple other things I want to mention Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus said it would be better for Judas if he had never been born but Jesus is not Judas is not the only one for whom that to description is accurate there are others who from a personal perspective it would be better for them if they’ve never been born and really it’s anyone who refuses to believe in Jesus or who believes and then falls away we know the writer of Hebrews says if those who received the previous revelation from God in the Old Testament would judge based on their obedience and appropriate response to it severely how much more we who have received a great a greater salvation who have received the revelation of an even greater Salvage so we cannot neglect this salvation is Jesus your Lord and Savior you cannot want to be found in the same place that Judas Iscariot was I don’t mean this all to be super sober and serious there’s along with that Sariah t there’s also great gladness because the reality is that we’ve explored today the reality is that Jesus declared and the first inauguration of the Lord’s Supper our lives and especially the celebration of the Lord’s Supper that we do in church ought to be one of the most joyful things that we do because in it we proclaim all that crisis accomplished we proclaim our union with him we proclaim our life and salvation in him through his through his death we proclaim what we will experience with Jesus in the future and we proclaim this together we say we have come to this common salvation it is all a preview of what is to come so look forward to the next time that you get to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in church but also celebrate in all of your life your Passover lamb that’s it for this week this week next week we’ll talk more about how God’s sovereign plan was unfolding and all the things that were happening at Jesus’s and what led up to Jesus’s crucifixion and even afterwards let me close in prayer oh I should say Lord willing I will see you in church next week I won’t have to do the live stream I’ll be there in person since we’ll be coming home and a little bit of a vacation I pray my lord and god we thank you for the incredible realities or better to declare in the Lord Center our great God thank you thank you that you’ve given us a place at your table however he didn’t deserve that honor we didn’t deserve even to be have a place in your house a place in heaven but you brought us into an honored place you see there just right at the table goddess is more than we can understand comprehend how you can be so gracious to each one of us we’re so loaded with sin we can think back to any of all the sins of our lives so many and you hate them all you hate sin and yet you should love to us yeah thank you for being so gracious okay God that we share this grace with other people even over this Christmas season we’d be telling others about what a wonderful Passover lamb has been provided and that they too can be saved they will only believe I pray God you make us bold toast with the loves that we will do this fill us with the grace towards others but also the boldness and Jesus name Amen all right I’ll see you guys