Scripture Reading

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 twelve. 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 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. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

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 triune God of absolute glory and majesty and power. We ask now that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider this passage 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 altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. 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 afresh in that precious blood, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Introduction

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 chapter one, 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 Mary, 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 chapter 20, specifically at verse 28. just prior to the Lord Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem to engage in that work 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 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.

Setting of the Lord's Supper

Well, as we focus this evening on verses 26 to 30, 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 chapter 12, verses 1 to 27.

And interestingly, it comes before the actual act. In the same manner, the supper comes before the actual act. So we have this 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, roast 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 Hillel. And the Hillel 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. Sixth, 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 Hallel, 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.

Institution of the Lord's Supper

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

Administration: Bread and Cup

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 churches 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's 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 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 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 Didache basically said that you were to excuse the unbelievers 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 has 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 6, 35, 41, 48, and 51. He indicates in John 10 that he is the door of the sheep. As John Gershner said, that didn't mean he had hinges on him. That didn't mean he had a doorknob 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 referenced as rock in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 4. So the use of metaphor, the use of analogy, the use 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 set 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 wit, 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 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 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 younger 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 disciples. 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 signifies the wrath and the fury and the judgment of God.

So we've 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 Gethsemane. He knows what awaits Him in Golgotha, and it is the cup of God's wrath and fury.

In chapter 20, when the sons of Zebedee 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. He'd 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 Zebedee, 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 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 laity. The only one that drank from the cup was the priest. The laity, the people of God, only got the wafer, they only got the host, they only got the representation, 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, verse 16. Now again, the passage is rich with symbolism. The idea of the cup, God's wrath, God's fury. which necessitates a 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 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 paragraph 6 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 to 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 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, yea, of gross idolatries.

For those of you who were 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 supposedly changed the bread into the body of our Lord, he then raises that up. He's got attendants on either side of the altar called altar boys. There's a thing of bells, and when those bells are rung, the idea 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 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 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.

Significance: Covenant and Sacrifice

So verse 28, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 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 Decalogue 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 Sinai, 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 with me. They're 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 old exodus of the 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 verse 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 offerings, they were real, they were legit, it wasn't like it was useless, but 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 Covenant. 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, verse 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 connotes a violent death, and in connection with Passover, recalls the slaughtered Paschal 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 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 Pentateuch, it's 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 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 seat.

There's a second animal, we call it the scapegoat. And what does the high priest do? The high priest lays his hands upon that scapegoat, and he confesses the sins of whom? 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 accrue from our relationship to our Lord. Paul says in Ephesians 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.

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, O the bliss 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 in his blood, he points 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 are under the law. We saw this morning in John 6, 38 to 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.

Anticipation of the Future Kingdom

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're 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 chapter 10, we see indication that he ate post-resurrection with his disciples. I think rather, the eschatological emphasis 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 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.

Conclusion: The Hallel and the Types

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 Hallel Psalms, Psalms 113 to 118. 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 Gabbatha and Golgotha, 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 halal 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 distress that falls upon the psalmist. Notice in 118, five and six, 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 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 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, O Lord. O 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 Gabbatha, and then to Golgotha.

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, we'll make a few lines of application and then we'll conclude. But there's also some anti-type stuff going on here. Remember, the Old Testament gives us types or prefigurements. Prefigurements 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 Psalter, 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 Ahithophel to David in 2 Samuel 15, 31. He was the Judas in the old covenant. Ahithophel betrayed King David. Thirdly, the plan of Ahithophel to capture David, according to 2 Samuel 17, 1 and 2.

Just like Judas, having truck with the religious leaders, taking their filthy money, and then betraying the Son of God, telling them, 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 Ahithophel. 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 Jesus. Now, there are certain superscriptions that indicate historical life events in David's reality, but those are typical points forward to the coming of the son of David.

Application

Now, in conclusion, in terms of the practice of the Lord's Supper, Chapter 30, paragraph 3 in our confession says this, and again, I think this is a good way to tie up or to bring into a nifty little package all that scripture says concerning this particular ordinance. It says in paragraph 3, the Lord Jesus hath in this ordinance appointed his ministers to pray, bless 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. I think the Salvation Army, they don't use the sacraments, they don't engage in those things. I don't know how they get around passages like these, 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 in 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 reality 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 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 symbols or the representations are appropriate. They're fitting. They're 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 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 in puritanese, 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 gonna 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 gonna miss tonight.

Well, somebody is gonna miss you. Sometimes people have said, what can I do to encourage you, pastor? Show up at church. That's it.

That's just nice. Not, yeah, they got to have everybody here because 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 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.

Presence of Christ at the Supper

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 questions 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 the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline. Have you ever thought that Jesus has promised his presence? Again, 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 afar off and to those who were near.

Well, Jesus never went to the city of Ephesus, but Paul did, and in the proper preaching of the Word of God, Jesus was present. That bit in Romans chapter 10, verses 14 to 17, How shall they 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 1, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 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 1815, moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault 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 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 chapter 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 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, koinonia, fellowship. What happens when we gather together for fellowship? We are in close proximity, one with another.

We are 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 koinonia or that one-to-one 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 gonna close soon, stick with me. My throat's on fire, so if you can just stick with me a couple more minutes, then we'll pray and off we go. And I'm not saying that for sympathy points, it's just the way it is. I know this is a bit more pedantic or didactic, but I think it's stuff we need to get in us.

Real Presence vs. Unbiblical Views

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 and 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 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 immense. 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.

The Supper as Gospel Proclamation

And then finally the power of the gospel and the Lord's Supper. This is the one time out of 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 verities 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 118, 5 and 6. We can understand Psalm 22, 1. We can understand Gethsemane.

If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, 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.

It's 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 receive, 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 participation in the benefits, that we have communion with this 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, or I don't know that's 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 the 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.

Closing Prayer

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 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.

Scripture References

• Genesis 9:4
• Exodus 12:1-27
• Leviticus 3; 7; 16; 17; 19
• 2 Samuel 15:30-31; 17:1-2; 17:23
• Psalms 22:1; 113-118; 118:5-6; 118:22-29
• Isaiah 53:12
• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• Matthew 1:18-21; 18:15-20; 20:28; 26:17-30
• Luke 12:50; 24:42-43
• John 6:35-51; 6:54; 10:9; 14:18; 15:1
• Acts 10:41; 15
• Romans 3; 10:14-17
• 1 Corinthians 10:4; 10:14-21; 11:24; 11:26
• Ephesians 1:3; 2:14-17
• Colossians 1
• 2 Timothy 4:1-2
• Hebrews 9:15
• 1 John 1:7
• Revelation 1:5