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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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.