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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening to everyone welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church we have no announcements this evening so let's begin worship if you'll turn with me in your Bibles to the Book of Psalms Psalm 97 for our call to worship Psalm 97 this is the word of God the Lord Lord Reigns let the Earth Rejoice let the multitude of Isles be glad clouds and darkness surround him righteousness and Justice are the foundation of his throne a fire goes before him and burns up his enemies round about his Lightnings light the world the Earth sees and trembles the mountains melt like Wax at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth the heavens declare his righteousness and all the people see his Glory let all be put to shame who serve carved images who boast of Idols worship him all you Gods Zion hears and is glad and the daughters of Judah Rejoice because of your judgments O Lord For You Lord are most high above all the Earth you are exalted far above all gods you who love the Lord hate evil he preserves The Souls of his Saints he delivers them out of the hand of the wicked light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart rejoice in the Lord you righteous and give thanks at the remebrance of His holy name amen let's stand and sing together the first hymn we're going to sing is 145d as in David 145d let's stand and sing together [Music] my still are through his mesty and reach his his all my glory all my and [Music] work my love and mercy Works ofing me Works of Mercy for hision so to love good to all creation all his All Shall BL we shall th sa ading shall bless my [Music] let's go to our God In Prayer let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you that we can gather together this second time on your Lord's day to rejoice in you once again we would ask you to help us now to hallow your most high name we pray that you would have prepared our hearts to to gather in worship and having now gathered we pray that you would tend to our hearts that by your spirit we would worship you a right we would worship you in in spirit and in truth and we rejoice in the freedom that we have to so gather here in the name of Jesus Christ Our Savior to worship you uh we thank you for that we thank you that we can have Bibles in our hands your uh Divine word to the sons of men that we can Avail of that truth and that we can read from the scriptures here in worship that we can later hear from the word in the act of preaching and we thank you that we can come to you in prayer and sing to you and in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and we do pray that you would uh help us once again to count it a high honor to be able to gather together as the Saints of Christ to worship the one and only living and true God Father Son and Holy Spirit we rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Savior and we thank you as we heard this morning that in the fullness of the times you did send forth your son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law that we might have the adoption as Sons we rejoice in in So Glorious a truth that the Son of God took upon himself our nature to come into this world for for our Redemption and for our recovery and we do pray that you'd help us to uh to rejoice in you to rejoice in our Christ to rejoice in amazing and Victorious Grace and uh to find it a high honor to be counted uh worthy in your sight not by virtue of ourselves but by virtue of the Perfection of the work of Jesus Christ Our Lord we thank you for that for forgiveness of sins we pray that you would forgive us again now as we gather together as we H as your people in Christ have remaining corruption we we require that blood of the Savior that takes away all sin that is the ground of our forgiveness we thank you that we do have Christ Our Advocate with you at the right hand uh of your majesty that he ever lives to intercede for his people and that uh by virtue of his work we have salvation we pray that you would help us as uh as we continue in worship to have our minds tuned to that worship that we would reflect with great joy Upon Our God and upon the Christ whom he has sent we pray Lord God that you'd be with uh each and every one of our uh precious brothers and sisters unable to join us due to to travel to sickness whatever it may be we pray that you would watch over them for those who are unwell that you'd strengthen them in body that you attend to the the physical man cause them to know gains in health and strength and we do pray that you would heal your people people we pray for those struggling spiritually that you would by your grace lift them uh out from those uh uh from those ditches that you would lift them out from the those periods of time where the the clouds and the rains do roll in that you would cause there to be that the return of the sunshine the joy of their salvation that you might lift them up and give them strength in the Inner Man to have that Joy of Salvation returned to them we do rejoice in your goodness to the people of God throughout the world we thank you that we do have brothers and sister Sisters in Christ uh from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation we pray that you'd watch over those who are in those countries where there is so much persecution and and opposition governmental tyranny and and opposition from the hands of uh of wicked countrymen we pray that you'd be with our fellow Christians in these places that in the midst of uh of persecution in the midst of violence that that we know nothing of here we pray that you'd G them up that you'd strengthen them that that in the midst of of that opposition you would cause them to have that faith in the Risen Christ that they would be all the more emboldened to go forth and Proclaim The Riches of our blessed savior we do pray God that you'd be with those who rule over us as we're called by the Apostle Paul to pray for Kings for those who are in Authority that we might live Peaceable lives and that we might have the the context wherein we can freely proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ we do pray that you would uphold this and for those who rule over us we pray that you would cast down those who rule in wickedness and that you would raise up such that would rule in a proper righteousness we do pray now Lord that you'd be with Pastor Butler as he uh comes up here to preach in a number of moments we uh we know that the minister of your gospel does uh does not lean upon his own strength does not lean upon the strength that he can conjure up but rather leans upon the strength that the Triune God affords his ministers and so we do pray for that this evening help him to come up here to Proclaim richly and boldly the things of of your Everlasting truth and we pray that we would uh that we would hear this evening what the spirit intends for this church we do pray Lord God once again as we close in prayer that you would be with us again help us to Worship in spirit and truth and we pray that our precious savior the Lord Jesus Christ would be exalted upon the Praises of this gathered assembly and that our Triune God would receive all praise we pray in the name of Jesus Christ Our Savior amen let's stand again as a church this time we sing 416 416 together let's stand and [Music] sing his Our Father for good and [Music] to to Great and the to share the great and this alling all IIM one for Mery he will not fail us your your right and to us the viory shall be Heaven Glory shall be and we shall be our for our Old Testament scripture reading this evening you can turn to Deuteronomy 33 Deuteronomy 33 and we'll read the entire chapter once again the word of God now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death and he said the Lord came from SI and dawned on them from s he Shawn forth from Mount perin and he came with 10 thousands of saints from his right hand came a fiery law for them yes he loves the people all his Saints are in your hand they sit down at your feet everyone receives your words Moses commanded a law for us a Heritage of the congregation of Jacob and he was King in jeshuran when the leaders of the people were gathered and the tribes of Israel together let Reuben Live and Not Die nor let his men be a few and this he said of Judah hear Lord the voice of Judah and bring him to his people let his hands be sufficient for him and may you be a help against his enemies and of Levi he said let your thumim and your irum be with your Holy One whom you tested at Massa and with whom you contended at the Waters of merbah who says of his father and mother I have not seen them nor did he acknowledge his brothers or know his own children for they have observed your word and kept your Covenant they shall teach Jacob your judgments and Israel your law they shall put incense before you and a whole burnt sacrifice on your altar bless his substance Lord and accept the work of his hands strike the loins of those who rise against him and of those who hate him that they uh that they rise not again of Benjamin he said the Beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him who shelters him all the day long and he shall dwell between his shoulders and of Joseph he said blessed of the Lord is his land with the precious things of heaven with the Dew and the Deep uh and the Deep lying beneath with the precious fruits of the sun with the precious produce of the months with the best things of the ancient mountains with the precious things of the Everlasting Hills with the precious things of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the bush let the blessing come on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers his glory is like a firstborn Bull and his horns like the horns of the wild ox together with them he shall push the peoples and the ends of the Earth they are the 10,000s of Ephraim and they are the thousands of Manasseh and of zebulun he said rejoice zebulun in your going out and issachar in your tents they shall call the peoples to the mountain there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness for they shall partake of the abundance of the Seas and of treasures hidden in the sand and of GAD he said blessed is he who enlarged is Gad he dwells as a lion and tears the arm in the crown of his head he provided the first part for himself because a lawgivers portion was reserved there he came with the heads of the people he administered the Justice of the Lord and his judgments with Israel and of Dan he said Dan is a lion's WEP he shall leap from Bashan and of naph he said oh naph satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord possess the west and the South and of Asher he said Asher is Most Blessed of sons let him be favored by his brothers and let him dip his foot in oil your sandals shall be iron and bronze as your days so shall your strength be there is no one like the god of jesan who rides the Heavens to help you and in his Excellency on the clouds the Eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the Everlasting Arms he will thrust out the enemy from before you and will say destroy then Israel shall dwell in safety the Fountain of Jacob alone in a Land of grain and new wine his Heavens shall also drop Dew happy are you oh Israel who is like you a people saved by the Lord The Shield of your help and the sword of your majesty your enemies shall submit to you and you shall tread down their high places amen let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this the reading of your scriptures we thank you uh for you the god of whom we read here we thank you that you are the strong Refuge of your people we thank you Lord God that we have refuge in you a strong tower h a place wherein we can hide that one with whom we have Sovereign protection Sovereign care Eternal loving kindness grace and mercy and we do pray that we would Avail of that as we continue in worship once again by your spirit help us to worship you a right and we do pray that you would uh cause your spirit to to act such in this place that the Saints of Christ here would be edified lifted up in the things of the Lord and by that same Power by Amazing Grace Lord God you would raise de dead Sinners to life in this place tonight that by the proclamation of the Gospel joined by the power of the Holy Spirit those who entered in this evening outside of Christ would leave singing the Praises of his Most Blessed name and we do pray in his name the name of our redeeming King amen amen well let's stand and sing the final hymn before the preaching will be 6 uh 68b 68b as in bravo let's stand and sing together in my to of our salv be God is here to us is to S the his to of the all the Earth to God all and his he the voice of God [Applause] [Music] glor PR you can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew's gospel Matthew chapter 26 Matthew 26 our focus is on the institution of the Lord's Supper I know this is a passage we look at usually every month we have looked at it in terms of an exegetical study a couple of times over the last few years I thought it would be fitting as I hope to make a couple of changes with reference to the supper but I want to read beginning in chapter 26 at verse 17 to put it in its context I'll read to verse 30 now on the first day of the Feast of the unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying to him where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover and 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 so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover when evening had come he sat down with the twel now as they were eating he said assuredly I say to you one of you will betray me and they were exceedingly sorrowful and each of them began to say to him Lord is it I he answered and said he who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me the son of man indeed goes 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 then Judas who was betraying him answered and said Rabbi is it I he said to him you have said it and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many many for the remission 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 and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives amen let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you again for this wonderful Lord's day we thank you for the Blessed privilege to gather before the the Triune God of absolute glory and majesty and power we ask now that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider this pass message of scripture may we see the glory of Jesus Christ revealed vividly in the text and in the supper and may you cause us Lord God to see him as allog together lovely and chief among 10,000 may you increase our faith may you increase our love may you increase our obedience to that blessed one forgive us now for all sin and all unrighteousness cleanse Us aresh in that precious blood and we pray in jesus' name amen well as we look at chapters 26 to 28 broadly speaking we aren't doing that just this small section concerning the supper chapters 26 to 28 deal with the passion of our Lord Jesus and in many respects give us or not many respects they provide for us the how of what we find previously in the book If you go back to Matthew chap 1 at the announcement of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ we read in verse 18 now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit then Joseph her husband being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example was minded to put her away secretly but while he thought about these things behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take to you marry your wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit and she will bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins it's a good passage to keep in mind as you read the entirety of Matthew's gospel Jesus didn't come to just start a new religion Jesus certainly didn't come as a Messianic revolutionary in the first century Jesus came to save his people from their sins turn over to Matthew CH 20 specifically at verse 28 just prior to the Lord Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem to engage in that work of of propitiation for his people notice in 2028 just as the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many so when we come to the passion narratives in vers or chapters 26 to 28 it answers for us the question how does he save his people from their sins what does it mean for him to give his life a ransom for many well we see that very vividly and very clearly in Matthew chapters 26 to 28 well as we f Focus this evening on verses 26 to30 I want to look first at the setting of The Lord's Supper in verse 26a secondly the institution of the Lord's Supper in verses 26b to 29 and then finally the conclusion of the Lord's Supper in verse 30 but if we look at the passage notice in verse 26a and as they were eating that connects us to the previous section and that was the celebration of the Passover and at the Passover the children of Israel rehearsed and recalled the great Liberation the great Deliverance by God of his people out of the house of bondage in Egypt you see specifically that set forth in Exodus 12: 1- 27 and interestingly it comes before the actual act in the same manner the supper comes before the actual act so we have this uh emphasis on rehearsing and recalling and remembering what it is that God has done in terms of the Salvation of his people now in terms of the Passover again it's good to set it in its original context here I just want to give a bit of an extended quote in terms of what happened during Passover first the festival and the wine is blessed followed by the first cup the food is then brought in unleavened bread bitter herbs grains stewed fruit Rose lamb third the son asks why this night is distinguished from others the family head answers with the Exodus story followed by praise to God for past and future Redemption from the first part of the halel and the Hal are Psalms 113 to 118 so at this juncture it would have been Psalms 113 to either 114 or 15 fourth the second cup of wine is drunk fifth the unleavened bread is blessed broken and distributed then it is eaten with the herbs and fruit as the father explains the meaning of the bread six this is followed by the meal proper which was not to extend beyond midnight seventh at the consummation of the meal the head blesses a third cup followed by singing the second part of the Hal either Psalm 115 or 16 all the way to Psalm 118 and then a fourth cup concluded the meal so that's what Jesus and his disciples were engaged in and then we see this transition into the Lord's supper and with reference to the Lord's Supper it anticipates a new Exodus you had the Exodus of Israel out of bondage in Egypt and now under the Lord Jesus Christ we're going to have the Exodus of the true Israel out of the bondage of sin he shall save his people from their sins so there is in this section A Prophecy of the Betrayal verse 21 the connection to the Passover and the reality that the Lord is preparing to depart and again the focus is upon his death the broken body and the shed blood can mean nothing other than the death of our Lord Jesus Christ now that brings us then to the institution of the supper in verses 26b to 29 first we'll look at the administration of the supper then we'll look at the significance of the cup and then the anticipation of the future but note with reference to the administration of the supper you have the bread and you have the wine or the cup notice in the first place that Jesus blesses verse 26 Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body now I'm not a particularly wise man I preached three sermons on the rpw to basically introduce the actual breaking of bread when we gather together for the supper now I know most of you will say that's what we did in our church before we ever came here well you live what you learn and you learn what you live and the church that I was at prior to coming here we did it in the manner that we do it so I believe that there needs to be a change implemented where we actually or I actually or whoever is leading the supper physically breaks the bread because the symbolism communicated by that is Rich it's the broken body of our blessed Lord the pouring of the wine indicates the shed blood for the remission of sins for for many so with reference to the blessing most likely it would have sounded something like this blessed are you Lord our god king of the world who bring forth bread from the earth we see similar instances of Jesus thanking God for the provision of bread when he feeds the multitudes those aren't sacramental settings but the nonetheless the same pattern applies and then the distribution notice what we read in scripture and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples the bread is distributed to the disciples that's why typically we always say if you're not a Believer please do not participate in the taking of the Bread and Wine this is not a condemnation you're already condemned the wrath of God abides on you but that's not sort of an exclusionary thing wherein we are bigoted or prejudiced against unbelievers the diday basically said that you were to excuse the unbel Believers from the meeting of God's people when it came time to eat the bread and to drink the cup so the bread is distributed to the disciples not to unbelievers and then we notice the specific symbolism that is involved so Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body now in terms of the symbol the bread represents his body there's been significant debate in the history of the church as to what Jesus means when he says this is my body I think it is obvious that Jesus is speaking metaphorically he's not suggesting that his bread now has taken on the properties of his own flesh Jesus uses metaphor Jesus uses simile Jesus uses hyperbole in his teaching it ought not to cause us to fret in fact the I am statements in John's gospel indicate that Jesus is the bread of life John 635 4148 and 51 he indicates in John 10 that he is the door of the sheep as John gersner said that didn't mean he had hinges on him that didn't mean he had a door knob on him rather it is metaphorical Jesus is using some analogy to illustrate some glorious truth about himself as well the section that we come to soon in the Gospel of John in John 15 Jesus says I am the True Vine and the significance of that is that Israel in the old Covenant was God's Vine God's Vineyard I think there Jesus is teaching that he is the true Israel of God and we by grace in him are thus the Israel of God as well you've got Christ re referenced as rock in 1 Corinthians chap 10 and verse 4 so the use of metaphor the use of of analogy the use use of of concrete things to apply spiritual meaning in the life of our blessed savior is not unique to this particular passage he says take eat this is my body we might gloss this represents my body this symbolizes my body and I think that is a legitimate gloss in fact our confession of faith says in Chapter 30 I'm going to lean on that tonight in paragraph 5 the outward elements in this ordinance duly apart to the uses ordained by Christ have such relation to him crucified as that truly although in terms used figuratively they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent to Wi the body and blood of Christ albeit in substance and nature they still remain truly and only Bread and Wine as they were before so our confession refutes the notion of transubstantiation that a romish priest has the ability to actually change Bread and Wine into the body of our blessed savior so our confession repudiates that and we will see that in more detail as we move on now notice as well the specific Focus take eat this is my body and later he'll explain the significance which is given for you or in 1 Corinthians 11 specifically in verse 24 as Paul rehearses as he repeats the institution of the supper he says it's broken for for you again the body of Jesus our blessed savior was bruised and broken on the cross for us men and for our Salvation the symbolism is Rich and as well we see the emphasis on do this in remembrance of me so just as the ex uh rather the Passover was celebrated throughout old Covenant Israel it was a time to reflect it was a time to Muse it was a time to contemplate it was a time to instruct the Young amongst us in terms of the significance of that particular Feast well the supper functions in the same way hopefully some Sunday night on your way home from church Junior will say what do you guys do that for why do you break bread why do you eat bread and why do you drink the cup well then you get to explain the significance of the great Redemptive event that the true Israel of God wrought for the people of God and then notice he passes it then to the disciple Les Gil says the words take eat show that Christ did not put the bread into the mouths of the disciples but they took it in their hands and ate it expressive of taking and receiving Christ by the hand of faith and feeding on him in a spiritual manner again the rich overtones the spirituality involved the fact that Christ is with us in the supper is indicated in these passages and as well not just in 1 Corinthians 11 but even more significantly in 1 Corinthians 10 and we'll see that in a moment then he moves from the bread to the cup according to verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you again the giving of thanks probably sounded like this blessed are you Lord our god king of the world who create the fruit of the vine and we see often in the scriptures that the cup sign if I the Wrath and the Fury and the Judgment of God so we got the broken body of our Lord and then we have the cup that represents his blood that blood was shed to satisfy Divine Justice through penal suffering on the cross of our blessed savior when Jesus prays let this cup pass from me he knows what awaits him past Geth Gethsemane he knows what awaits him in golgatha and it is the cup and of God's Wrath and fury in chapter 20 when the sons of zebedy jockey for position the Lord Jesus says there's a baptism I have to undergo and a cup that I have to drink that you men know nothing of well again the baptism there isn't water baptism eat already been baptized according to Luke 12:50 this is the overwhelming influence that would be received by death in the life of the son of man and then that cup as Jesus communicates to those sons of zebede is the representation of God's Wrath and fury and curse he says you cannot handle that you're not up for it so the blood or rather the cup that signifies or represents the blood of our blessed savior indicates that the death of Christ is what is communicated the benefits of it rather to the people of God death and Resurrection so the bread and the wine is given to all the disciples notice again in verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them not some of them not a part of them not one of them but all of them this is Contra not this is Contra Roman Catholicism is Contra to this particular practice now they may have evolved to some degree I don't know but it used to be the case that they denied the cup to the leoty the only one that drank from the cup was the priest the Le the people of God only got the wafer they only got the host they only got the representation the the the not representation of Christ's body and so we see here that both Bread and Wine are given to the disciples and the wine is the communion of the blood of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 10: 16 now again the passage is Rich with symbolism the idea of the cup God's Wrath God's Fury which necessitates uh Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world that's going to be Jesus through his death through his suffering he is going to atone for the sins of All Those whom the father had given him and in terms of the cup it represents as I said or symbolizes the Jews these men would have never thought that he was actually calling upon them to ingest blood that was always completely condemned Genesis 9:4 Leviticus 3 Leviticus 7 Leviticus 17 Leviticus 19 acts 15 you see a condemnation of the ingestion of blood for these men to suppose that the bread had actually become the body and that the wine had actually become the the the blood it would have been outlandish it would have been Unthinkable they would have known metaphor they would have heard our Lord say I am the door they would have heard our Lord say I am the True Vine they would have heard our Lord use these various metaphors to describe glorious truth about himself now in Chapter 30 continuing on in ch uh uh paragraph six in our confession commenting on this we call it transubstantiation that Doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ's body and blood commonly called transubstantiation by consecration of a priest or by any other way is repugnant not to scripture alone but even a common sense and reason common sense and reason ought to indicate that no man has the power to take bread pronounce a few words over it and change it into into the actual body of Jesus or to take a cup of wine pronounce a few words over it and change it into the actual blood of Jesus it goes on to say this overthrows the nature of the ordinance and has been and is the cause of manifold superstitions yay of gross idolatries for those of you who are not schooled in Roman Catholicism never make the mistake of thinking that's just another way to engage in the supper no what is Central in a Roman Catholic Church it's not the pulpit it's not the word of God it's the altar it's the sacrifice of the mass they teach that it is in fact a sacrifice and when the priest has pronounced the words when he has uh supposedly changed the bread into the body of our Lord he then raises that up he's got attendance on either side of the altar called Altar Boys there's a thing of bells and when those bells are wrung the idea is is that the people of God worship that bread as it is lifted on high why because it's the body of Jesus this is what they're saying this is superstitious this is gross idolatry in the back of a Roman Catholic Altar you have a little box that they store these elements in It's called The Tabernacle that's where you put the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ so so when our confession goes off on the Roman Catholic Doctrine we should understand that it's not just another way to observe the supper it's not just another approach wherein good men differ it is rather an Abomination before God most high and I don't think our confession is saying it too strongly now then from this point we see after the administration of the supper Jesus explains with reference to the cup the the significance of all this notice in verse 28 so he takes the elements take eat this is my body drink from it all of you and then in verse 28 he's not separating cup and bread he is rather on the occasion of the cup explaining the significance of the bread and the cup in other words his death on the cross his sacrificial death so verse 28 for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sin so he puts this in a covenantal context and again reading this with an Old Testament mindset you'll know that the first Covenant the old Covenant was not ratified apart from blood after the giving of the law the decalog in chapter 20 of Exodus you then have judicial law in chapters 21 to 23 and then you have ratification of the Covenant in chapter 24 that's essentially where the people swear Fidelity to Yahweh and we see the sprinkling of blood by Moses upon these people and the writer of the book of Hebrews the Apostle Paul picks up on that he says the first Covenant was ratified in blood as well so Jesus places this or locates it in a covenantal context not only do we have the Covenant at siai but we have the prophecy of the New Covenant by Jeremiah Jeremiah had announced in Jeremiah chapter 31 God said through the prophet behold I'm going to make a new covenant with the house of Israel not like I made with their fathers which they broke no this Covenant the essential features are they're going to know the lord they're going to be forgiven of their sins they're going to have the law of God internalized upon their hearts they're going to love me they're going to walk walk with me they're going going to enjoy me and then of course you have several references in the book of Hebrews you can turn to Hebrews 9 Hebrews 9 just to see covenantal context as we transition from old Covenant to New Covenant we move from the ex the old Exodus of uh of the book of gen uh book of Exodus to the new Exodus of the New Covenant scriptures the record of our Lord Jesus Christ notice in Hebrews 9 beginning at verse 15 Hebrews 9:15 and for this reason he is the mediator of the New Covenant by means of death for the Redemption of the transgressions under the first Covenant that those who are called may receive the promise of the Eternal inheritance see the Apostle is saying that in those old Covenant offering offerings they they were real they were legit it wasn't like it was useless but the effect uh uh the effectual application of redemption is as a result of our blessed savior they were looking forward typically to the coming of the Son of God so the Apostle says that all those who've ever entered into heaven have entered by the blood and Merit of the Lord Jesus Christ notice and for this reason he is the mediator of the New Covenant by means of death for the Redemption of the transgressions under the first C so another argument for the superiority of the New Covenant over the old Covenant it is the power and the effectiveness of the New Covenant that brings salvation to Old Covenant members and not all of them not all Israel is Israel so in this section Jesus emphasizes Covenant secondly he emphasizes sacrifice he emphasizes sacrifice for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins Davies and Allison say the ransom for many think back to chapter 20: 28 with which I introduced the sermon the son of man will give his life as a ransom for many it's the same concept that we find In this passage the ransom for many is made through sacrificial blood this last fact is emphasized by the use of pour out or shed it's a sacrificial word which canotes of violent death and in connection with Passover recalls the slaughtered Pascal lamb Jesus knows precisely what he's doing as he inaugurates the New Covenant Jesus knows precisely what he is doing when he institutes the Lord's Supper Jesus is Shifting or moving us from a trans uh in terms of transition from old Covenant to New Covenant and then the language of substitution is conspicuous for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many why does he shed his blood for many why does he shed his blood for many for the remission of sins we see that language for many broken for you for you in 1 Corinthians 11:24 this isn't exemplary follow me in terms of my love for you just go out and do likewise no substitutionary curse bearing penal satisfaction the Lord Christ in our stead bearing the Wrath and fury and Judgment of God most high such that we can now pass into everlasting life the Old Testament background Isaiah 53:12 because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors and he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors and I would ask you as well to focus on that statement for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many not for all not for every man without exception men without distinction from every tribe and tongue and people and Nation but Jesus is not a Universalist Jesus is not teaching that his shed blood is for the sins of all men who've ever lived and I think there's an analogy to this on the day of atonement in Leviticus chapter 16 remember in Leviticus chapter 16 we rehearse or we see that day of atonement literarily it's the focus in the book structurally it's the focus in the book theologically in terms of penud gets the focus of the book and so what we have on that day of atonement is that the high priest that one day out of the Year enters into the holy of holies he doesn't go with all of his uh uh glorious robes he's just down into the linen and he takes one of the animals he cuts it up he takes the blood and he pours it on the mercy sea there's a second animal we call it the scap goat and what does the high priest do the high priest lays his hands upon that scapegoat and he conf confesses the sins of who he confesses the sins of Israel not the jebusites not the hivites not the Hittites he confesses the sins of Israel what do we learn from that that the day of atonement is effectual for the nation of Israel it isn't effectual for those jebusites Canaanites and all the other ites that we see littered throughout the world so then we come to the Redemptive benefit notice verse 28 again for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins or the Forgiveness of sins there's a lot of benefits that acre from our relationship to our Lord Paul says in Ephesians 13 1:3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ so we've got groups of them we've got justification we've got sanctification we've got adoption we've got glorification in our future but note where Jesus focuses his attention the remission of sins for many forgiveness is a chief Boon of gospel blessing and that is communicated through the supper my sin or the bless of this glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more praise the Lord praise the Lord when we gather together the Redemptive focus of our Lord Jesus Christ and his work on our behalf ought to be uppermost yes look at yourself confess your sin but look then immediately to our blessed savior the New Testament everywhere connects the Forgiveness of sins with the blood or with the death of our Lord Jesus you see this in Romans 3 Ephesians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 9 1 John Revelation it is all over the place so when Jesus inaugurates the New Covenant and his blood he points out out that Chief blessing which is the forgiveness of sin and before we proceed if you don't know the forgiveness of sin may I exhort you to come to the Savior look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall live it is a Most Blessed reality that God did send forth his son born of a woman born under the law to do what to redeem those who were under the law we saw this morning in John 6: 38-40 Jesus says the very reason that I came into this world was to do the will of him who sent me what is the will of him who sent Jesus that we Sinners believe on Jesus and receive the Forgiveness of sins that we enter into eternal life that we know the joy and the Bliss of being saved and then notice we have then this shift to the Future verse 29 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 there is a future orientation as well in 1 Corinthians 11:26 for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do what you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes you've got past present and future all at the supper we in terms of the past reflect upon the doing and the dying and the rising of our savior in the present we commune with him in a means he's ordained for the church until he comes again in glory and as well it points us to that future reality until he comes again we are not going to see this life as the end we will pass into Emmanuel's land and enjoy communion with the Triune God World Without End Amen now in terms of deferment some of the fathers taught that this simply meant until after his resurrection because after his resurrection he ate fish and honeycomb with his disciples according to Luke 24 as well in Acts chap 10 we see indication that he ate post Resurrection with his disciples I think rather the es scatological emphasis is is underscored here the language of new and my father's Kingdom points to the consummation it points to glorification it points to the not yet we've already enjoyed what heaven has for us but we've not yet fully entered in to the blessedness and the blissfulness ass associated with the kingdom of God the language points Beyond Death on the cross to the Future Glory of Believers with Jesus Christ that's not unique to this particular section and again I think the Apostle kind of sends Us in that direction you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes it is that coming again when he will consummate the kingdom when he will bring us into that Heavenly Jerusalem and wherein we will live forever with our Lord and then finally note the conclusion of the supper in verse 30 verse 30 and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives again the Hal Psalms Psalms 113 to 1118 it rehearsed The Exodus out of bondage from Egypt Spurgeon made the comment was it not truly Brave of our dear Lord to sing Under such circumstances he was going forth to his last dread conflict to Gethsemane and to gabitha and golgatha yet he went with a song on his lips I think that's quite encouraging and may I direct you to Psalm 118 if in fact this is the case and I think everybody says it is the case that it was these Hal Psalms that were sung he would have ended with Psalm 118 or they would have ended with Psalm 118 notice in Psalm 118 there's this this distress that falls upon the psalmist notice in 1185 and 6 I called on the Lord in distress the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place the Lord is on my side I I will not fear what can man do to me this is what happens directly following the supper they then go to Gethsemane and there Jesus is arrested and there Jesus is delivered up and there Jesus is ultimately sent to the cross and he invokes Psalm 22 my God my God why hast Thou forsaken me so the building up to the event of the cross the the son of man is steeped in distress but notice how Psalm 118 ends it ends on a high note notice specifically we'll start at verse 22 the stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone this is quoted cited many times in the New Covenant applied specifically to our blessed savior this was the Lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes this is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it save now I pray oh Lord oh Lord I pray send now Prosperity blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord we have blessed you from the house of the Lord God is the Lord now notice this next language and he has given us light bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar you are my God and I will praise you you are my God I will exalt you imagine singing that with the sacrifice himself prior to his entrance to Gethsemane to gabitha and then to gotha imagine singing with the sacrifice who says bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar you are my God and I will praise you you are my God I will exalt you oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his Mercy endures forever so back to our particular passage just by way of conclusion in terms of exposition I make a few lines of application and then we'll conclude but there's also some antitype stuff going on here remember the Old Testament gives us types or free prefigurement free figments prefigurement is what the Old Testament gives us they can be persons they can be places they can be Seasons they can be a whole host of things well David was certainly a type of our blessed savior in fact Brethren may I suggest when you read the alter you see it more about Jesus than David but with reference to David he met up with the same sort of travail that our blessed savior is undergoing in this section of his Earthly Ministry consider the departure of David to the Mount of Olives after his rejection as King 2 Samuel 15 verse 30 just like Jesus notice verse 30 in our text and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives consider as well the revelation of betrayal by ayapel to David in 2 Samuel 15:31 he was the Judas in the old Covenant ayapel betrayed King David thirdly the plan of ayapel to capture David according to 2 Samuel 171 and2 just like Judas having truck with the religious leaders taking their filthy money and then betraying the Son of God tell telling them tipping uh tipping their hand as to where he'd be located so they could come in and arrest him and then of course the suicide of a hell he hanged himself according to 2 Samuel 17:23 just like we see with reference to Judas the old Covenant is a Messianic document through and through it constantly continually and earnestly points us to the Lord Jesus Christ again when you read Psalms 1 to 150 think Jes Jus now there are certain superscriptions that indicate historical life events in David's uh reality but those are typical points forward to the coming of the son of David now in conclusion in terms of the practice of the Lord's Supper Chapter 30 paragraph three in our confession says this and again I think this is a good way to tie up or to to to bring into a Nifty little package all that scripture says concerning this particular ordinance it says in paragraph three the Lord Jesus hath in this ordinance appointed as ministers to pray blessed the elements of bread and wine and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use and to take and break the bread to take the cup and they communicating also themselves to give both to the communicants again just a minor shift or two with reference to our particular practice to bring us in line with the Bible and to bring us in line with our confession as well the confession goes on or goes back in verse or paragraph one in terms of the blessing of the ordinance the blessing of the sacrament it says the supper of the Lord Jesus was instituted by him the same night wherein he was betrayed to be observed in his churches unto the end of the world now Brethren this isn't practiced by everybody think the the Salvation Army they don't use the sacraments they they don't engage in those things I don't know how they get around passages like these but but nevertheless here we are so it says unto the end of the world for the Perpetual remembrance and showing forth the sacrifice of himself and his death confirmation of the faith of Believers and all the benefits thereof their spiritual nourishment and growth in him their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe to him and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him and with each other so Perpetual remembrance just like the Passover set before the children of Israel and their children the real it that Yahweh had delivered them out of bondage in Egypt in that Grand Event recorded in Exodus as well it's the showing forth of the sacrifice not the act of sacrifice this is not a sacrifice this is not an unbloody sacrifice this is not atonement this is a showing forth as well the confession says the confirmation of our faith in other words Brethren the householder God in turn terms of his church has ordained certain things for the benefit of his people we call them means of Grace it's not formulaic do this and get you know five units of Grace it's not quite like that there are conduits by which God fills the heart of his people with Grace we have corporate worship and in corporate worship we engage in prayer we engage in preaching we engage in the supper we engage in baptism so what does all that indicate it indicates that if the householder provides this for us we ought to use those things for our benefit and for our well-being in other words we ought not to stay away from the house of God when it comes to the means of Grace as well it speaks of spiritual nourishment and again the emblems or the the symbols or the the representations are appropriate they're fitting they are absolutely crucial eat this bread drink this cup that puts us in the context of food and drink what happens if we don't eat and drink we die that's what happens if we don't Avail ourselves of the co of the of the the means of Grace that the Lord God has ordained if we don't use those things that he's given to us if we don't improve upon those things that he has given to us that just means use them and pure knes it it it simply means that we're not going to thrive we're not going to flourish we're not going to live as well it promotes obedience not in the sense of a mercenary transaction okay I've received my bread I've received my wine I've got five units of Grace I'm going to go out and give five units of obedience no not that at all it's the guilt Grace gratitude Motif God in His Grace has removed our guilt through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and in gratitude we want to obey if you love me you will keep my Commandments well of course we love him because we've been Justified freely by his grace so the supper communicates that to us as well that we ought to obey and that it is then a bond and pledge of communion not just vertically but horizontally also it's communion with one another it's communion in the body of Christ it's communion with the people of God you think well I'm going to miss tonight well somebody's going to miss you sometimes people have said what what can I do to encourage you Pastor show up at church that's it that's just nice to not yeah they got to have everybody here cuz money none of that just come to church I don't need a parking spot I don't need a janitor I don't need my feet rubbed just show up why because as Paul said pastors are workers with you for your joy not Lords over your conscience workers with you for your joy I happen to know a secret it's not a secret but but your joy is found in using the means that God has ordained your joy is achieved by walking Faithfully with your God your joy is achieved by thinking much of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ your joy is achieved by doing what Jesus has called you to do it's not magic it's not Hocus Pocus it is rather simple obedience to the means that God has ordained I would say secondly we need to be mindful of the presence of Christ at the supper now Christ as the word of God Christ as the Divine son is everywhere present he is immense according to his divinity there's been question throughout the age of the church is Christ present physically at the supper well first of all he promises his presence with us we saw this in John 14:18 I will not leave you orphans I will come to you you know belgic confession in article 29 speaks of the three marks of the church and those three marks of the church are the preaching of the word the administration of of the sacraments and the exercise of church discipline have you ever thought that Jesus has promised his presence again not he's not everywhere present but he's promised his presence specifically in preaching in the sacraments and in discipline now I want to show that to you because I think it's significant when we discuss the question is Jesus present at the supper look at Ephesians 2 to see Jesus present in the true preaching of the word of God Ephesians chapter 2 verse 14 for he himself is our peace who has made both one and has broken down the middle Wall of Separation having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of Commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new man from the two thus making peace and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross thereby putting to death the enmity and he came and preached peace to you who were a far off and to those who were near well Jesus never went to the city of Ephesus but Paul did and in the proper preach of the word of God Jesus was present that bit in Romans 10: 14-1 17 how shall they hear him uh believe on him whom they have not heard well how do they hear of him or how do they hear him it's through the preaching of the word notice as well how Paul charges Timothy with that final corporate command in 2 Timothy 4:2 we know the statement preach the word be ready in season and out of season but notice in verse one I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead Christ is present Christ is there Christ is presiding as well we have Christ in discipline you can turn to Matthew 18 Matthew chapter 18 just showing that Jesus promises his special presence or blessing when the church is engaged in those things the church is supposed to be engaged in preaching discipline Sacrament notice in 18:15 moreover if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault before between you and him alone if he hears you you have gained your brother but if he will not hear take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three Witnesses every word may be established and if he refuses to hear them tell it to the church but if he refuses even to hear the church let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector assuredly I say to you whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven same language from 1619 and then notice in verse 19 again I say to you that if two of you agree on Earth concerning anything that they ask it will be done for them by my Father in heaven for where two or three are gathered together in my name I am there in the midst of them it's a general sense where that's true when the people of God are together the Lord Jesus is in their presence we cannot divorce this statement from the context when the church carries out biblical discipline when they're seeking God in terms of the disposition of a of an offender Christ is there in the midst of them and certainly Christ is present in the sacraments baptism repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin and then 1 Corinthians chap 10 to which we'll turn so we've got the promise of his presence specifically appended to those things the church is supposed to do and then the reality of his presence is seen in 1 Corinthians chap 10 notice in verse 14 therefore my beloved flee from idolatry I speak as to wise men judge for yourselves what I say the cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ you've heard that word coinonia Fellowship what happens when we gather together for Fellowship we're in close proximity one with another we're right there one with another so what ought we to conclude Christ is right there one with another notice a contrast in verse 20 rather that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God and I do not want you to have fellowship or communion or coinonia or that onetoone interaction with demons with Christ the communion that we have in his blood is a participation of communion or fellowship with him in his person now that then brings us to the manner of his presence we're going to close soon stick with me my throat's on fire so if you can just stick with me a couple more minutes then then we'll pray and and off we go and I'm not saying that for sympathy points it's just the way it is I I know this is a bit more P pedantic or dactic but I think it's stuff we need to get in us so there is an unbiblical view with reference to the presence of our Lord Jesus in the supper and that would be represented by Roman Catholicism ISM in the doctrine of transubstantiation and it's represented in Lutheranism as well in the doctrine of consubstantiation both of these error with reference to christology both of these particular groups argue that Christ is physically present in the supper in other words they make the Flesh of the Son of God divinized they say it's ubiquitous that means it's every everywhere present you see that creates a huge problem for us that's not a property of Flesh that's not a property of any flesh so if Christ is to assume or rather Christ is to heal us he has to assume our humanity and that Humanity has limitations that humanity is not ubiquitous that humanity is not imense that humanity is not everywhere present so there is christological heresy involved in invoking transubstantiation or consubstantiation I would suggest that the biblical view is real presence Christ is here when we take the supper he is here by the spirit just like he promised in John 14:18 I will not leave you orphans I will come to you that's right after having introduced the spirit of Truth whom the world does not know neither can they receive but you know him and he abides with you forever so Christ is uniquely present in the supper by the power of the holy spirit so we have a real presence with a real Christ at a real communion celebration wherein we fellowship and participate with our Blessed Redeemer King and then finally the power of the gospel and the Lord's Supper this is the one time out of the the the proclamation of the Church where we all become preachers as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes this is a corporate Act of proclamation concerning the varities of Christ's Gospel Life Death Resurrection as well the symbolic representation of the Gospel the broken body the shed blood communicate to us in a sensible way the Grim reality that faced our master when he went to the Cross we can understand Psalm 1185 and 6 we can understand Psalm 221 we can understand Gethsemane if it is possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless L uh father not my will but thine be done we enter into the brutal reality of what the Son of God went through on our behalf to save us from our sin and then as well we see the legitimate response to the gospel is not eat the supper and be saved some in the history of the church have taught that the supper was a converting ordinance come to the supper and this is how you get saved no it is grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone it is Faith it is belief it is received it is rest upon that one alone in whom there is salvation the supper communicates that we take the bread we take the Cup by faith understanding that it represents to us the broken body and the shed blood that we have particip a and the benefits that we have communication uh communion rather with his person and we enjoy it on John 6:54 in fact turn there we'll end here John 6:54 many have seen this sacramentally the last part of John 6 eat my flesh drink my blood I don't know that that's the first import I don't know that's the the primary reason but it sure helps to shed some light on rest of scripture when it comes to this particular theme notice John 6:54 whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day I think that's the figurative or the metaphorical way of telling them once again what he says clearly in verse 40 this is the will of him who sent me that everyone who sees the son and believes in Him may have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day remember this is the bread of life discourse Jesus had multiplied the loaves Jesus had multiplied fish and Jesus had fed their hungry bellies and it's at that vantage point that he then asserts that he is the bread of life he is the bread come down from the father he is the bread that gives life so what kind of an appropriate metaphor would he use oh I don't know how about eating my flesh and drinking my blood again using the symbolism or the analogy with which we're very familiar we've got to have bread we've got to have drink or we die we've got to have faith in Jesus or we die we got to receive Jesus and rest upon him in faith or we die Augustine said for to believe on him is to eat the living bread he that believes eats all of that communicated To Us by the supper of our blessed lord well let us pray Our God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the institution of the supper we pray for your blessing upon our local church that we would see the the value the import the necessity of this and help us God to regulate our conduct according to the scriptures we ask now that you would go with us be with us in this coming week cause your face to shine upon us draw near to us keep us by your grace and For Your Glory and we pray in Jesus name amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation e e e