As you can see the order of things this morning are going to be a little different. That is due to the topic for this morning.
One of the biblical scenes that artists have tried to portray more than any other scene is that of the Last Supper. Each artist uses his imagination as he paints the scene. In some paintings the mood is festive, the disciples portrayed with smiling faces looking up to Jesus. In others the mood is a solemn portrayal of the seriousness of the event. In the same way each of the Gospel authors paint the same scene from their own unique perspective. The Last Supper as it is commonly called is recalled in most churches every Sunday. It is given the shorter name of communion. For us it is a reminder of what the Lord has done on our behalf.
Today we are going to view the Last Supper from the eyes of a couple of people. First we will be looking at Luke’s account of this even, and later we will see what Paul has to say about it as well.
Let’s first go ahead and see what Luke has to say. It is found in Luke 22:7-20. This is my favorite account to read. Here in Luke 22:7-20 it says, “1”
In today’s services we have a communion meditation, we are asked to examine ourselves, and to take of the bread and the cup in a worthy manner recognizing the Body of Christ. Some have taken this to be literally recognizing the bread and the wine of the vine to become the actual body and blood of Jesus this is called TRANSUBSTANTIATION.
In taking of the emblems we remember THE DAY on which we went forth from the bondage of sin and how the Lord freed us with his death on the cross. Sometimes we miss the whole worthiness part of it.
The story is told of a child at church. In that church they celebrated the Lord's Supper every first Sunday of the month. At that service, the offering plates were passed twice: before the sermon for regular offerings, and just prior to Communion for benevolence. His family always gave to both, but they passed a dime to him only to put in the regular offering.
One Communion Sunday when I the boy was 9, his mother, for the first time, gave him a dime for the benevolent offering also. A little later when the folks in the pew rose to go to the Communion rail, he got up also.
"You can't take Communion yet," his Mother told him.
"Well why not?" he said. "I paid for it!"
Do you ever come into worship thinking that you paid for it? Perhaps just because you went under water and got all wet, you deserve to take communion. It may not be that blatant, but there are many times that we come in here and take communion just as part of the service. It has become a routine for us. We enter into in an unworthy manner, without our hearts and minds being in it.
A somewhat famous guy once said about communion, “If you have received worthily, you are what you have received.” And that is what we are called to do, become a part of communion, not just go through the physical motions.
Right now I would like to read from I Corinthians 11:17-34. Here we see Paul give us another account of this event. Here in I Corinthians 11:17-34 it says, “2”
The legend of the Holy Grail is familiar; Indiana Jones searches for the chalice from the upper room, the very cup with which the Lord's Supper was first instituted. Now do you think that if we had that cup it would enhance our observance of Communion? Not at all.
To Paul it made no difference if they had the originals, if the right words were spoken, or if the right actions were performed. Because if the condition of the church’s fellowship and the spirit of its members stood as a contradiction to the true meaning of the Lord’s Supper it meant nothing.
But Paul had a method of correcting the abuse. Paul’s method for correcting the abuse is to go back to the very beginning and to remind his readers of the Last Supper’s institution and meaning. In four verses he reminds his readers how it all started and what its original purpose was.
In this brief account Paul makes several statements to remind them of the true meaning.
FIRST - the Lord’s Supper is rooted in history. It was a certain man, the Lord Jesus, and it was a certain night, in verse 23 it tells us that it was "the same night in which He was betrayed.", and it was a certain event in which He took real bread and real wine and instituted the sacred event that we still take part in today.
SECOND - the Lord’s Supper is about God’s gift. We catch the work of sacrifice in Christ’s Word’s "this is My body which is broken for you." In this statement He is identifying Himself with the Lamb, the lamb that was sacrificed in connection with the Passover.
In August of 1989 millionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes spent two million dollars to fly six hundred guests to a special place to celebrate his 70th birthday. Surely it was one of the costliest feasts ever held, unless you count the Last Supper. It costs very little to buy bread and wine for the Communion table, but the supper cost the Son of God his precious blood and a death on the cross.
I feel that we make a mistake if we interpret the words "do this in remembrance of Me" as a call to remember only His death. We are to remember that His death brings life. But we are also to remember His life and His teaching, His resurrection and the hope that it brings, and we are to remember His purpose in the world. It is a gift that has been given to us at a great cost to Him.
THIRD - the Lord’s Supper celebrates a new covenant. The history of Israel was the story of a covenant that God initiated with them. It was a relationship in which He acted on their behalf and asked only from them their obedience in return.
When Christ said, "This cup is the new covenant", He was announcing that He was entering into a relationship with those who He was going to die upon the cross for.
We are more familiar in modern times with contracts than we are with covenants. Often when we buy a house or sell a house, borrow money, or take a job, we are asked to sign a contract. This means that we enter into an agreement according to the terms of the contract. Paul’s reminder to his readers was that they had entered into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ that had demands connected with it.
FOURTH - there is a proclamation. Christ had said to them that every time they took communion they "proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes". This is a word of evangelism and also a word of hope. In this Supper, Christ gave the church another way of preaching the gospel, a way for the eyes to see as well as for the ears to hear.
The message Paul gives in verses 27-34 is an effort to apply what he said about the institution of the Lord’s Supper to the abuses being practiced in the church. His main point was that the observance ought to cause everyone who participated to "STOP AND EXAMINE HIMSELF" by giving the warning not to drink of the cup "in an unworthy manner".
Ask yourself what does it mean to take the Supper "unworthily"? Does it mean that we are to be unworthy of such a sacrifice? Does it mean that those who do not have perfect lives should not participate? Does it mean that if we can think of any way in which we do not measure up, that we should not participate?
The answer to all these questions is "NO". The Lord’s Supper is a continuing reminder that there is forgiveness for the sinner and strength for the weak and the weary.
Communion is not merely a ritual. It is fellowship and involvement in the life of Christ.
There are three observations I want to make about the Last Supper and apply them to our observance of the Lord’s Supper today.
I. THE NECESSARY PREPARATION going back to Luke 22:7-13. Here it says, “1”
It was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. This was an eight-day feast that began with the observance of the Passover. Therefore, it was really two feasts combined. There was much preparation that must be done to observe the feast. The disciples inquired of Jesus where they would observe the feast so that they could begin the preparations. Jesus tells them that there is a certain man in the city that they are to go to and inform him that “the teacher is looking for a place to observe the Passover.” This guy was probably a disciple of Jesus with whom he had already made these arrangements.
To observe the Passover meal the disciples would have to obtain unleavened bread, spices, fruit, and a lamb. There was a lot of preparation that went into the observance of the Passover. The borrowed room had to be searched for any trace of yeast. Any crumb of bread had to be removed. Yeast represented the evil influence of Egypt that the Jews were leaving behind at the Exodus. Yeast came to be known as the influence of sin.
Just as the disciples had to prepare for the Passover meal, so must we prepare for the Lord’s supper? We are to observe the Lord’s supper according to Paul with a prepared heart. Paul said we are not to observe the supper in an unworthy manner. We are to come to the table with hearts prepared. The yeast of sin must be removed from our lives through confession and repentance. Paul said, "let a man examine himself". We are not to enter lightly into the observance of the Lord’s supper. There is a necessary preparation.
Next we see:
II. A JOYFUL ANTICIPATION in verses 14-18. Here it says, “1”
This meal would be observed with the disciples again in the future in the Father’s Kingdom according to Jesus. The fellowship would continue. This implies Christ’s resurrection. The fellowship would be restored. In addition, because he was resurrected so shall we be. I think that the next meal with Him will be experienced in the great banquet halls of heaven. We observe the Supper this morning in anticipation of that day in which Christ returns for us to fellowship with Him forever!
There is a church in Millan Italy that was bombed out during WWII. All of the walls of the church fell down during the war except one. The wall left standing has painted upon it none other than Leonardo Da Vinci’s "Last Supper" scene. A wonderful illustration of how this fellowship meal will survive the disturbance and the change of this world to be celebrated again with Jesus at his return.
Finally there is:
III. A FITTING REPRESENTATION in verses 19-20 it says, “1”
Kids understand best how things are represented. There was a little girl whose father was a minister. One day he responded to a Red Cross appeal for blood donations. When he didn't come home by the time his young daughter expected him, the girl asked her mother, "Is Dad going around visiting all the sick people?"
Her mother replied, "He's giving blood."
The little girl then said "But we know it's really just grape juice, don't we Mommy?"
Well Jesus again interrupts the Passover meal. This time he transforms it into the Lord’s Supper. He takes the bread and he tells his disciples that the bread now represents his body. The bread is a symbol of sustenance. Jesus says my body, my life that I have lived, and that I will give is being offered so that you might live.
He then takes the cup of wine and he says this wine now represents my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. In this case the word remission means release. The shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross was so that his disciples might experience the release from the penalty of sin. His bleeding and dying purchased our forgiveness.
The disciples were to "take" or "receive" the bread, which represented the body of Christ, and to drink the wine, which represented His blood.
This represents the wonderful truth that we may have life and forgiveness and release from the power of sin by receiving worthily this meal and realizing that Christ went to the cross and suffered on our behalf. This is the New Covenant that we remember and celebrate today. This is the strength that we must continue to feed upon, Christ’s life and his blood.
Now in closing I would like to say that if there is only one thing that you remember form today I hope that it is a reminder to enter into communion in a worthy manner. Enter into it with a sincere heart and a focused mind. At this time John is going to come up and softly play a song. Now we are not going to have words for it and we aren’t going to sin. However, I want you to use this time to examine you heart, to focus your mind in on this great meal, that cost us nothing, but it cost Christ his life, and his blood. Just focus on that and truly evaluate you life at this time. After that the guys will come and serve communion. Let’s truly take this time as seriously as God intended it to be and lets go before the throne and take part in this meal.
Communion
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