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Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26, our text 
this morning, is the institution of the Lord's Supper. We looked 
at part one last week. We'll finish this section in 
verses 26 to 30, God willing, this morning, but I want to begin 
reading in chapter 26 at verse 1. Now it came to pass when Jesus 
had finished all these sayings that he said to his disciples, 
you know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son 
of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Then the chief 
priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled 
at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and 
plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill him. But they said, 
not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people. 
And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 
a woman came to him, having an alabaster flask of very costly 
fragrant oil, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the 
table. But when his disciples saw it, they were indignant, 
saying, Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have 
been sold for much and given to the poor. But when Jesus was 
aware of it, he said to them, Why do you trouble the woman? 
For she has done a good work for me. For you have the poor 
with you always, but me you do not have always. For in pouring 
this fragrant oil on my body, she did it for my burial. Assuredly, 
I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, 
what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to 
her. Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to 
the chief priests and said, What are you willing to give me if 
I deliver him to you? And they counted out to him thirty 
pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity 
to betray him. 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 God and 
our Father, we thank You for the written Word. We thank You 
that it's profitable to us for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
and for instruction in righteousness. And we pray now that the Holy 
Spirit, who gave us the Word, would take that Word and apply 
it to our minds, our hearts, cause us to receive with thanksgiving 
Your Word. And may your people grow in the 
grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And 
may all those who come here this morning that are outside of Christ, 
may this be the day of salvation. You taught your disciples, Lord 
Jesus Christ, that with men it is impossible to save a soul, 
but with God all things are possible. So we come to you and we plead 
sovereign grace and sovereign power and that majesty that you 
have demonstrated in creation and in providence and in redemption. 
We pray that you would open hearts to the truth of the gospel and 
cause the graces of faith and repentance to be exercised. May 
sinners look to Christ today and may they live. And do forgive 
us now for all of our sins and our transgressions. How we thank 
you for such a gracious and a glorious Savior. How we thank you for 
his perfect life of obedience to the Father's law. His death 
at Calvary, His substitute and sacrifice, and His resurrection, 
and His current session. God, we do look forward to that 
day when He comes again in glory to judge the living and the dead. 
And may all of us be found clothed in that righteousness which is 
imputed to us, received by faith alone. And we pray these things 
through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, here in Matthew chapter 
26, just a bit of a review. We know that this is the passion 
narrative, the section wherein our Lord is ultimately going 
to die. And He makes that declaration 
in chapter 26 at verse 2. He reminds His disciples of something 
He has said repeatedly. He has announced it in Matthew 
16, Matthew 17, and then again in Matthew 20, that He must go 
to Jerusalem, He must be tried at the hands of wicked men, He 
must be crucified, he must be raised the third day. So he reiterates 
that, or he emphasizes that. And on the heels of that, in 
verses 3 to 5, we see the religious leaders plotting his execution. 
They know they have to take him by stealth, by trickery, by deceit, 
because they don't want to cause an uproar among the people in 
that city at that time because of a great feast. Then there's 
that blessed story. In the midst of all of this betrayal, 
in the midst of all of the sin, in the midst of all of the mayhem 
and chaos, we get this snapshot of devotion, this woman that 
shows this love and affection and worship unto the Lord Jesus 
Christ. It's a beautiful picture. And 
once we leave that, then we're immediately confronted with the 
betrayal by Judas in verses 14 to 16. Now, in verses 17 to 30, 
remember the specific context is the Passover feast. It was 
the feast in Jerusalem at that particular time. Jesus tells 
his disciples to go and make ready, and Jesus does celebrate 
this Passover feast with the disciples here in verses 17 to 
25. And in the midst of this, he 
announces again the betrayal. The disciples are exceedingly 
sorrowful, and then they even question Jesus, is it I? Now, 
he had announced his betrayal, as I mentioned, on three separate 
occasions. Four, actually, up to this point. Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 
20, and then again in Chapter 26. But he had never told them, 
and it would be betrayal by one of them. by one of the twelve. One in their own ranks would 
deliver up the Lord Jesus Christ. And this brings that exceeding 
sorrow to their hearts. And then Jesus identifies, not 
to the knowledge of all the disciples, but to Judas specifically, that 
Jesus knows who it is who's betraying him. And then in the context 
of this Passover feast, our Lord institutes the Lord's Supper. 
Last week, we considered the setting of the Supper in verse 
26a. It was while they were eating 
Passover. Secondly, we are looking at the 
institution of the Lord's Supper, verses 26b to 29, and then we'll 
look at the conclusion of the Supper in verse 30. But last 
week we noted the administration. Christ uses symbols. Christ uses 
physical things. He uses bread and wine. He doesn't 
change these things. He doesn't transubstantiate these 
things. He doesn't make them change in 
terms of what they are, but rather these things represent, they 
signify, they symbolize, they demonstrate the truth concerning 
His broken body and His shed blood. for sinners. So he administrates, 
or he shows, or rather the administration of the supper, just like the 
Passover contained explanation for the bitter herbs and the 
lamb and all the things that were ingested at that feast, 
Christ does the same thing with the bread, with the wine, and 
we also notice that he gives it to his disciples. It's not 
an ordinance for conversion. It's not something that has an 
evangelistic reach, but rather it is an ordinance for the people 
of God. It is for the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. We 
saw that last week. Now notice in the second place, 
under the institution of the supper, the significance of the 
cup. And there are three things we 
ought to appreciate here with reference to the cup. Again, 
he doesn't separate the bread and the wine in terms of the 
body and the blood. But rather, he explains the significance 
of his death relative to the cup. Notice in verse 27, he took 
the cup, gave thanks, 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. And those three things 
we ought to appreciate with reference to the cup is first, the covenantal 
context. Secondly, the emphasis on substitutionary 
atonement. And then third, the redemptive 
benefit in view. this idea of the remission of 
sins, the forgiveness of sins. If you have come here this morning 
and you are not forgiven, if you have come here this morning 
and you have not believed the gospel, if you have come here 
this morning and you are alienated from God as a result of your 
sin and transgression, you didn't feel the thrill of singing stanza 
three in that last hymn. You know nothing of being able 
to say, my sin, oh 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. 
For those who have had forgiveness of sins, for those who have experienced 
the cup of God's blessing, for those who have been washed in 
that blood, isn't it a glorious thing to declare, my sin, not 
in part, but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no 
more. Certainly that's why we praise 
the Lord. Praise the Lord! If you have 
not been forgiven, if you are not a Christian this morning, 
if you are not a believer, my purpose is not to pick on you, 
it's not to out you, it's not to expose you, but it's rather 
to present the truth as it is in Jesus. And the hope and the 
prayer and the desire today is that you would hear the gospel, 
you would hear the good news, you would hear how this forgiveness 
of sins is to be got, and that by God's grace, you would get 
it. By God's grace, you would believe. 
By God's grace, you would exit this morning singing with us, 
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. This 
is why God's people ought to look happy, because our sin, 
not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and we bear 
it no more. Praise the Lord. Brethren, joy 
peace, comfort, stability, thankfulness, gratitude, all ought to flow 
from our appreciation of what this cup signifies. But in the 
first place, there is a covenantal context. Notice what Christ says. This is my blood of the new covenant. And last week, we developed this 
a little bit. I think it bears repeating. Turn 
to the book of Exodus, in Exodus chapter 24. Exodus chapter 24 
is the background for our Lord's statement here in Matthew 26. The Lord is inaugurating a new 
covenant. The Lord is initiating a new 
covenant. Well, a new covenant presupposes 
or assumes an old covenant. This new covenant is ratified 
in the blood of Jesus. Well, the old covenant was ratified 
in blood as well, and we see that at Sinai in Exodus chapter 
24. Remember the giving of God's 
law, formally in terms of the Decalogue, which simply means 
Ten Commandments. You ever hear the word deca? 
It means ten. Log means words. So decalogue 
means the ten words or the ten commandments. God gives the commandments 
in chapter 20. He then gives application for 
those commandments in Israel's life in the land in chapters 
21 to 23. But that decalogue or those ten 
commandments were foundational in terms of Israel's national 
covenant with the Lord. So in chapter 24, this old covenant 
is ratified by blood. Notice, specifically in verse 
3, so Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord 
and all the judgments. And all the people answered with 
one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has said, we will 
do. You hear what they're saying? 
All that the Lord has said, we will do. Now, if you have ever 
thought about the Ten Commandments, even for that long, and you have 
thought about yourself, you'd have to admit this was a bit 
of a presumptuous assertion, to confirm that you're going 
to do all that the Lord has commanded. Do all of you do that? Do any 
of us do that? Do we ever master God's commandments? But you see, this is an aspect 
of this Old Covenant. There was a legality involved. It was a republication of the 
covenant of words. It was, do this and you will 
live. You need to appreciate this covenant 
in light of Matthew 26. Notice in verse 4, Moses wrote 
all the words of the Lord. And he wrote, rose early in the 
morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and 
12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he sent 
young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings 
and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses 
took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood 
he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the 
covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, 
All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient. And 
Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, This 
is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with 
you according to all these words. You see the difference? In Matthew 
26, this is the new covenant in my blood, Jesus says. The idea being is that Jesus 
has been the obedient one. Jesus has been the one who has 
sworn to the Father all that the Lord has said, I will do. There's a difference between 
that old covenant arrangement and this new covenant arrangement, 
and it's still binding today. When I say this Old Covenant, 
I don't mean, you know, the Jewish temple and the sacrifices and 
you need to, you know, follow the feast days and all that, 
but that principle of works, that idea that if you resist 
or reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you are admitting to God that 
I'm going to go it alone. I'm going to try to get into 
your presence based on my own merits. Now, maybe you've never 
vocalized that, or you've never verbalized that, or you've never 
theologized in quite that way, or you've considered these covenants 
in this way, but think with me for a moment. If Christ inaugurates 
this new covenant, and it's in His blood, and it secures the 
forgiveness of sins, it secures all the things that this cup 
represents, and you reject that, or you resist that, or you do 
not believe that, you are essentially saying with those persons in 
Exodus 24, all that the Lord has commanded, I will do. Let 
me just break the news to you. You're already done. None of 
you have done that. None of you have kept any of 
the law in that manner. Remember that God's demand for 
compliance with his law isn't do the best you can. It's very 
popular today. He did his best. You know, the 
kid out there that played right field that couldn't catch a ball, 
he couldn't throw, he still gets a trophy. Now, if that's your 
kid, I'm sorry, don't burn the trophy, but it used to be, you 
know, you did well and you got rewarded for it. Now we just 
look at it as he did his best. That's not how God operates. 
Just doing your best will not secure your place in heaven. 
Just not going to that strip club or just not smoking that 
illegal substance or drinking from that bottle, that's not 
gonna secure your place in heaven. All that the Lord has said, we 
will do. That's what you commit to when 
you reject Jesus Christ. That's what you commit to when 
you reject the gospel. Now, there might be a third option. 
There are those persons who couldn't care less. I think that, you 
know, there's many of those among us couldn't care less about law, 
about gospel, about God, about righteousness. They just do whatever 
it is they want. But I'm assuming this morning 
that your place or presence in this place this morning at least 
tells me that you know something about God. You know something 
about man. And I'm here to tell you that 
if you try and approach God based on you, you're going to fail. You've already failed. You see, 
it's the blood of the new covenant that you need. It's the blood 
of the new covenant that secures our place in heaven. It's Christ's 
redemptive work on behalf of sinners. The fact that he obeyed 
God's law every step of the way. The fact that he dies as a sacrifice 
and a substitute at Calvary's cross. The fact that he was raised 
the third day. The idea being is that all those 
who look to Him in faith will receive benefit. They will receive 
blessing. They will receive everything 
He secured in His life and His death and His resurrection. As 
we looked at several weeks ago, as the Apostle says in Romans 
4, Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses, and He was raised 
for our justification. Sinner, do not try and go it 
alone. There's many instances where 
this can work in your life. You know the old story where 
the man and the woman are driving and they're lost, and the woman 
says, pull into the gas station and ask, and the man says, absolutely 
not, I don't want to sacrifice my manhood at the altar of looking 
like I'm lost. Why do we do that? I mean, come 
on, ask somebody for help. But you could find your way in 
the midst of that. You might find the right road 
and secure your position firmly. This is not something you want 
to do alone. The Bible tells us God is holy, holy, holy. The Bible tells us that those 
angels who are in the presence of God have six wings. With two of the wings they fly, 
with two of the wings they cover their feet, and with two of the 
wings they cover their faces. Why is that? because God's holy, 
holy, holy. I realize it's commonplace in 
much of Christian preaching today to just preach God as our buddy 
and as our friend. Now there's a sense where Christ 
is indeed a friend of sinners, and in this we greatly rejoice, 
but we've lost something of the holiness of God. We've lost something 
of the fear of God. We've lost something of the sense 
of the prophets who said that God is too pure to look upon 
any evil. There's no approving of wickedness 
with our God. You as parents, I as a parent, 
got lazy. We turned the other way instead 
of appropriately disciplining our children. There's no turning 
away with God. There is no winking and pretending 
that it just didn't happen. A famous catechism in the history 
of the church asks the question, what does every sin deserve? 
The answer is telling. Every sin deserves God's wrath 
and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. So 
you might try to find your way to a particular destination without 
a gas station attendance or without a GPS, and you may make it, but 
you're not going to get to heaven apart from Christ. Not only because 
the Bible declares it to be the case, I am the way, the truth, 
and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me, but 
because of the covenant. You're gonna try to approach 
God in your own works? You're gonna try to approach 
God with your own merit? You're gonna try to approach 
God as having accomplished all that God said perfectly, exactly, 
entirely, and perpetually? You can't do it. So my encouragement to you today 
is to give up. Give up trying. Wave the white 
flag. Surrender on the field of battle 
and look and live. Look to Christ. That blessed 
analogy that Jesus gives us in John 3 holds true today. He said, just as the serpent 
was raised up in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted 
up. And the serpent, or the persons 
that were bit by those fiery serpents, they looked and they 
lived. That's the analogy. That holds 
true. The answer of the gospel, the 
glorious truth of Christianity is not try harder, do more, and 
be better at whatever it is you're attempting, but look to Christ 
and live, because this is my blood of the new covenant. If we reject that, if we resist 
that, we do so to our own peril, and we end up in hell. So as 
Joshua would say in that covenant ratification ceremony in Joshua 
24, choose you this day whom you're going to serve. Or as 
Elijah says with reference to Baal, if Baal is God, then worship 
him. But if Yahweh is God, then worship 
him. If you believe there is a God, 
and the fact that you're here indicates that that's probably 
the case. If you believe that you're a 
sinner, you might say, well, I'm not like that John Newton 
or that Apostle Paul, but if you have a view of your sin, 
there's one answer for you today. Look to the one who said, this 
is my blood of the new covenant. Look to him who was raised on 
the cross. Look to Him who was crucified. 
Look to Him who secured benefit for all those whom the Father 
had given Him. Look to Him and Him alone for salvation. That's the significance of the 
covenantal context in this instance. Notice the language as well of 
substitutionary atonement. When Christ went to the cross, 
and again this is popular today, isn't He a wonderful example? 
Yeah, He's exemplary to be sure. Isn't that just demonstrate great 
love at the cross? Yeah, John 3, 16, God so loved 
the world that he gave his only begotten son. Shouldn't we just 
all try harder like Jesus, that man who went to martyrdom for 
the good of mankind? You know, all those things have 
truth to them, but it guts the gospel ultimately if we press 
those things and we moralize the truth as it is in Jesus. 
The great display at Calvary isn't moralism, it's substitutionary 
curse-bearing. It's that God made Him who knew 
no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness 
of God in Him. The doctrine of substitution, 
the doctrine of penal substitution. Christ satisfied divine justice 
by His death. That's the truth that this cup 
contains. Notice the text. For this is my blood of the new 
covenant, which is shed for many. This is the language of substitutionary 
atonement, the idea of shedding. This is a word of sacrifice. 
You see it often used in the Old Testament. You see it as 
well in the New Testament. What happened when they killed 
the animals? The animals' blood was poured 
out. The animals' blood was shed. 
Kids, do you realize that what a Sabbath day would have looked 
like if you would have grown up, you know, back in the Old 
Covenant? You'd get up on Saturday morning. You wouldn't have bacon 
and eggs. You'd go out to the flock. You'd 
find an animal that you loved. One of the best. Dad would take 
that animal, you'd go down to the tabernacle or the temple, 
you'd cut the throat of that animal while your hand was on 
its head, and then you would present it to the priest. The 
blood would be poured out. The blood would be shed. Sacrifice 
had been made. This is the language of the paschal 
lamb right here in our text. This is my blood of the new covenant, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Davies and 
Allison define the word this way. The ransom for many is made 
through sacrificial blood. This last fact is emphasized 
by the use of the verb. I'm not going to read it here. 
Pour out, shed is the English translation. A sacrificial word 
which connotes a violent death and in connection with Passover 
recalls the slaughtered Paschal lamb. Now there's some theories 
concerning this particular Passover feast. I mentioned It's tough 
to nail it down with certainty in terms of the calendar and 
in terms of when they observed. Some suggest that they didn't 
eat the lamb at this particular dinner. And they had no need 
to because the lamb was in the midst of them. Whether that theory 
has merit or not, it's certainly theologically accurate. Because 
Paul will tell us later in 1 Corinthians 5 that Christ, our Passover, 
is sacrificed for us. You see, substitutionary atonement. Now I know that word gets bandied 
about a lot. What's atonement? The basic meaning 
is cover. The basic meaning is to cover, 
and in this sense, sin. Sin is covered, not in part, 
but the whole. It's nailed to the cross. I bear 
it no more. Why? Because it's been covered. Proverbs speaks to this. He who 
covers his transgression will not prosper. In other words, 
if you try to cover your sin apart from the only legitimate 
means of cover, which is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
you're not going to prosper. You might hear a sermon and say, 
I need to stop doing this. I need to stop going here. I 
need to stop doing that. My parents are breathing down 
my neck, so I'm going to have to change the way that I live 
here. I'm going to have to hide it better. I'm going to have 
to be more deceptive. That's a covering by which you will 
not prosper. Listen to the rest of Proverbs 
28, 13. But whoever confesses it and forsakes it will find 
what? Mercy. Why? Because this is the blood 
or my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. The language proper used by Christ 
in this particular passage. So atonement means to cover. It means to deal with sin. And 
substitutionary atonement means this, that when Christ went to 
the cross, He didn't just go for anybody willy-nilly. He didn't 
just go generally and anybody who wanted to activate that cross 
work would just sort of flip a switch in their head and believe 
or choose or decide. No, Christ went to the cross 
for His people. Remember at the naming of Jesus 
in Matthew 1.21, we read, you shall call His name Jesus, for 
it is He who will save His people from their sins. Who's the His 
people? The His people are further identified in this particular 
text. The His people we see are the many in Matthew 20.28, the 
Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many. But notice, 
for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. The language proper used in the 
Lord's Supper indicates that. For many, broken for you. In 1 Corinthians 11, 24, a textual, 
you know, sort of variant there, it might just be for you. This 
bread is for you, for those who, by God's grace, are trusting 
in Jesus Christ. Now, there's some Old Testament 
background to this particular passage, Isaiah 53. You can turn 
there. Because Christ sitting at table 
with these men is filled with Old Testament. Christ is showing 
and demonstrating to them that He is the counterpart to that 
legal covenant at Sinai. That those who swore all that 
the Lord has said we will do and failed miserably, Christ 
is the one who swears and does do. Christ in the language that 
he employs in the institution of the supper reflects Jeremiah 
31, 31 to 34. It's a promise of the new covenant 
in that old covenant era. The prophets prosecuted Israel 
for their failure to be sure. They always brought messages 
of hope. messages of comfort, messages of encouragement. And 
in Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34, the prophet says that God will make 
a new covenant. And so Christ inaugurates this 
new covenant in his blood. But this language is substitutionary 
atonement. Notice in 53.12. Therefore, I 
will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide 
the spoil with the strong. 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. See, a few minutes ago I said, 
if you're a sinner here this morning and you haven't come 
to the Lord Jesus Christ, my purpose isn't to out you or to 
make you feel bad. Everybody in here that is a believer 
is a sinner. And I love this passage, especially 
the end of, well, you say especially. How do you say everything in 
the Bible that is absolutely beautiful? Do you say, well, 
especially? Somebody asked me recently, what's 
your favorite verse in the Bible? Where do you begin? There's 31,000 
of them. But notice what it says there. 
He bore the sin of many and made intercession for who? For transgressors. Doesn't Christ say this in Matthew 
9, when the Pharisees are upset that this man eats with sinners? He says, I didn't come to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Or that instance 
where Christ stops at the foot of that sycamore tree, and he 
tells Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, because I'm going 
to eat dinner at your house tonight. And all the people on the ground 
are grumbling, and they're whining, and they're complaining, and 
they're murmuring, and Christ says, you've missed it. By a 
long shot, the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which 
was lost. If you're a sinner here this 
morning, find great comfort in the reality that Christ bore 
the sin of many, and He made intercession for transgressors. He didn't come for the beautiful 
people. He didn't come for the spotless people. He didn't come 
for the noble people, because there ain't none. All have sinned 
and fall short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, 
no, not one. Notice in verse 6, all we light 
sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his 
own way. And there's that substitution 
at the end of verse 6 again, and Yahweh has laid on him the 
iniquity of us all. Notice substitution all throughout 
verses 4 to 6. Surely he has borne our griefs 
and carried our sorrows, yet we esteem him stricken, smitten 
by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. 
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes 
we are healed. You see, Christ was a public 
person. Christ was a covenantal head. Christ stood for us. That's the beauty of the new 
covenant. And on that cross, He took the 
wrath and fury of God that we deserve. So yes, there's an example 
to be had at the cross. Yes, there is love to be enjoyed 
at the cross. Yes, there is a demonstration 
of a martyr's death at the cross. But the foundational, fundamental 
issue with reference to the cross is that this is the place wherein 
God is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus 
Christ. That cross publishes God's righteousness 
as well. It demonstrates that He held 
His law intact, that one, a champion, a representative, obeyed it, 
and then that champion and representative died in our place and satisfied 
divine justice. There's a lot of good things 
going on in this cup in Matthew 26. And then notice, with reference 
to the redemptive benefit, For this is my blood of the new covenant, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. That little 
phrase there, for the remission of sins. I used a word several 
weeks ago, I think I'm teaching or preaching, and I know one 
of my sons quite likes that word, boon. Boon, boon is a good thing. You get married, and that's a 
boon to your existence, right? You're married. Life is better, 
exponentially. Now, I don't mean for all you 
poor single people out there. That sounded bad, sorry. Life 
can be, as long as you marry the right person. It's a boon, 
right? or you get a new appliance that's 
a boon to your existence, or you get a new way to do something 
in your workplace that's a boon to your existence, I submit that 
forgiveness is a chief boon of gospel blessing. In other words, 
there is nothing really, anything better than pillowing your head 
at night, having been forgiven of your sins. Is there? I mean, as Christians, we get 
the privilege of gathering together, and that's a blessing. We get 
to see each other and encourage one another and carry each other's 
burdens to the throne of grace. We get to intercede, we get to 
pray, we get to clean the church building together, all those 
fun things, right? But what is it, brethren, when 
you lay awake at night, thinking, musing, meditating upon your 
God that puts a smile on your soul? My sins are forgiven. dealt with me in mercy. God has 
been kind. My sin has been covered. My sin has been atoned for. My Savior bore my wrath. He satisfied divine justice in 
my place. Perhaps we ought to meditate 
upon that concept or think through that concept before worship so 
that as we sing, we sing. When we sing Psalm 130, if thou, 
Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But 
there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. Praise 
God. Christ holds this out as a great 
benefit and blessing that this cup brings. It is the remission 
of sins. Westminster, Shorter Catechism, 
number 33, justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein 
He pardoneth all our sins. The New Testament everywhere 
connects the forgiveness of sins with the blood of Jesus. You 
see it in Romans 3, Galatians 1, Ephesians 1, Colossians 1, 
Hebrews 9, 1 John 2, Revelation 5. All these passages connect 
our forgiveness with the blood of Jesus. Imagine the disciples 
at this particular Passover, as Jesus transitions from Passover 
to Lord's Supper. Now they know Jesus, they've 
walked with Jesus, they've seen Jesus, they've watched the demonstration 
of the miraculous, they've heard his teaching, they've witnessed 
all these things. But these men weren't ignorant of the Old Testament. 
When Christ uses these words, what's he bringing together? 
I am what Exodus 24 couldn't provide for the people. Not because 
the law's bad, but because we're bad. I am the one that Jeremiah 
was looking forward to. I am the suffering servant of 
Isaiah 53. Now, he doesn't announce it that 
way. I mean, if we accomplish something, we like everybody 
to know it. You know, Facebook post, hey, I helped somebody 
over in across the street today. Please pray for them. How about 
just pray for them? Jesus isn't doing that here. 
He's not, you know, parading himself. But these men's ears 
were steeped in Exodus, steeped in Jeremiah, steeped in the prophet 
Isaiah, as he strings together these benefits that the cup holds 
forth. I would imagine their hearts 
were warmed, encouraged, blessed, strengthened. He is, in the language 
of Paul in 2 Corinthians 1.20, all the promises of God are yea 
and amen in Christ. That remission of sins, that 
forgiveness of sins. Matthew Henry makes this observation. He says, the new covenant which 
is procured and ratified by the blood of Christ is a charter 
of pardon. We like our charter of rights, 
don't we? I'm not suggesting we shouldn't. 
We should like the right to speak our mind. We should like the 
right to bear arms. We should like the rights that 
we have. But we have a charter of pardon. I love that phrase. The new covenant, which is procured 
and ratified by the blood of Christ, is a charter of pardon, 
an act of indemnity, in order to a reconciliation between God 
and man. For sin was the only thing that 
made the quarrel, and without shedding of blood there is no 
remission. Hebrews 9.22. So Christ institutes 
the Lord's Supper. He highlights the significance 
of the cup. And then notice in verse 29, 
He anticipates the future. He anticipates the future. He 
says in verse 29, "...but I say to you, I will not drink of this 
fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it 
new with you in my Father's kingdom." Now, this essentially says that 
Christ is going to defer this sort of a meal together with 
His disciples until that day. Now, some of the early fathers 
thought it meant until after His resurrection, because He 
does eat with the disciples after His resurrection. He eats fish, 
He eats honeycomb. Peter specifically refers to 
us having eaten with Him in Acts 10.41. Some suggest that it's 
based on this, that in Matthew 27.34, He doesn't take the wine 
that was given to Him. I think that is probably reading 
more into this statement than needs to be. I think what Christ 
is doing is pointing his disciples to glory. Look at this. Look at what he's saying. This 
is my, or this is the cup of, or the new covenant in my blood, 
or my blood in the new covenant, or of the new covenant. So he's 
talked about his death. He's announced it several times 
that he's going to die. But what's he doing? He's telling 
them there's a glory to come. It's part of the Lord's Supper, 
isn't it? When we eat this bread, we drink this cup, what do we 
do? We proclaim the Lord's death. Till when? Till He comes. There's a future orientation 
involved in the supper and Christ institutes or demonstrates or 
confirms that reality in this particular instance. Look at 
the language again. 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. I suggest the language 
of new and my Father's kingdom points to the consummation, points 
to the glory to come. points to the reality that this 
Christ who died would be raised again. This Christ who was raised 
would sit enthroned at the right hand of the majesty on high. 
That this Christ enthroned at the right hand of the majesty 
on high would come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. 
And when he does that, he presents the kingdom to his father vis-a-vis 
1 Corinthians chapter 15, 20 to 28, and this brings us to 
that eternal age. It brings us to that consummation. 
It brings us to that time of ceremony. that time of messianic 
banquet, that time of great rejoicing, because Christ and His church 
are together forever. Jesus points to this feast in 
Matthew chapter 8. It's the same feast, I believe, 
going on here in this anticipation. Matthew chapter 8, which reflects 
Isaiah the prophet in a couple of places, chapter 25 and chapter 
65. But in Matthew 8, 11, Now, this is what I suspect he is 
saying. We're not going to have this kind of a meal together 
until the consummation. Till Christ has secured everybody 
that he died for us, benefit and redemption. Till Christ has 
judged the living and the dead. Till Christ has consummated the 
new heavens and the new earth. Remember I said with reference 
to Passover, they had four cups during the celebration, four 
cups of wine. Probably not, you know, the 64-ouncer from 7-Eleven, 
but they had cups of wine, and four of them. Those four cups 
are based on Exodus chapter six. There are four deliverance verbs 
used in Exodus 6, 6, and 7. God is going to deliver. God 
is going to redeem. God is going to bring out. The 
emphasis of the cups is on redemption. But Exodus 6, 8 looks forward 
to their settlement in the land. Why are they brought out of Egypt? 
They are brought out of Egypt to ultimately be placed into 
Canaan, to be placed into the land given by promise of God 
to Abraham. And Carson, I think, picks up 
this significance well. He says, just as the first Passover 
looks forward, not only to deliverance, but to settlement in the land, 
so also the Lord's Supper looks forward to the deliverance and 
life in the consummated kingdom. The disciples will keep the celebration 
until Jesus comes, but Jesus will not participate in it with 
them until the consummation, when he will sit down with them 
at the messianic banquet. Calvin says, thus we see how 
Christ leads his disciples by the hand to the cross and then 
raises them to the hope of the resurrection. So there is this 
orientation involved in the supper that points us to the future, 
and that is precisely the significance of verse 29. So there's the occasion 
of the supper, the setting of it, it's in the Passover meal. 
We see the administration, rather institution of the supper, with 
specific emphasis on the significance of the cup. Let's look at the 
conclusion quickly. Notice in verse 30, and when 
they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. When they had sung a hymn, they 
had went out to the Mount of Olives. Now, the hymn here is 
Psalms. Psalms 113 to 118, the Hallel, 
psalms of praise to God. That's why we sang Psalm 118 
at the outset of worship this morning. This is what Jesus would 
have sung. I don't believe in exclusive 
psalmody, but I certainly think the church needs to sing more 
psalms. We need to be singing the songs 
of Zion, the inspired scripture. Things that modern hymnists and 
older hymnists, I don't know if that's correct, writers of 
hymns, didn't always capture. They sang the halal, they sang. 
Probably here specifically, the conclusion of the Passover would 
have been probably 115 to 118. What's 115? It's basically a 
mockery of idolatry. What's 116? 116 expresses the fact that the servant 
would indeed keep his vows. What's Psalm 117, the shortest 
psalm in the entirety of the Bible? It's about Gentile inclusion 
in the covenant blessings of God. And then what's Psalm 118? It's not only, this is the day 
the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, but verses 
five and six specifically speak concerning the distress, the 
sorrow, the agony of the psalmist himself. These are the songs 
of Jesus Christ. This is the poetry behind the 
passion. And it's intriguing that Christ 
would have sang Psalm 118 as he marched forward to Gethsemane. Now certainly he's going to prophesy 
concerning Peter's denial in just a moment or in the next 
section. But the prayer before Gethsemane is Psalm 118. And 
that's beautiful, brethren. He distressed, or he is agonizing, 
but he is triumphant over it because he cast himself upon 
the mercy of his father. Spurgeon says, 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 Gabbatha. Gabbatha simply means judgment. 
If you hear me speak of Gabbatha, that is the judgment seat that 
Christ stood before the earthly rulers in. So he was going to 
his last dread conflict, Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha. Yet he 
went along with a song on his lips. It's our Savior. Carson, again, makes this observation. The hymn normally sung was the 
last part of the halal, Psalms 114 to 118 or 115 to 118. It was sung antiphonally. It 
probably wasn't the way we sing. It was probably more of a chant. 
They would chant the Psalms. Jesus as the leader would sing 
the lines and his followers would respond with hallelujah. Parts 
of it must have been deeply moving to the disciples when after the 
resurrection, they remembered that Jesus sang words, pledging 
that he would keep his vows. Psalm 116, 12 and 13. Ultimately 
triumph despite rejection, Psalm 118. And call all nations to 
praise Yahweh and his covenant love in Psalm 117. I think that's 
a beautiful observation. So you see this short verse, 
and when they had sung a hymn, when we know what that hymn is, 
and we know it's the content of that part of the Psalter, 
we see the prayers of our blessed Savior as he marches onward to 
Gethsemane. And then, in conclusion, they 
depart to the Mount of Olives. typically on our Wednesday night 
Bible studies. Those of you who can attend, 
you're encouraged and invited to attend. We go through the 
Old Testament. We started in Deuteronomy. You 
probably wonder why didn't you start in Genesis? Because I was 
young and naive. No, it's just Deuteronomy seemed 
to cap off the Pentateuch, summarize everything preceding that, and 
so we've gone from Deuteronomy and we're presently in 1 Kings. 
Well, one of the things that we typically try to do, and there 
is a pun here, is show the typical significance in these Old Testament 
passages. In other words, we look at David, 
for instance, when we're in 1 and 2 Samuel, and we see how he typifies 
the coming Lord Jesus. You understand that, right? Jesus, 
or David, was a king of Israel. He typifies in that the fact 
that Jesus, his son, is going to be a king of Israel. Well, 
it's nice to see some anti-typical fulfillment. In other words, 
there is something going on in this departure to the Mount of 
Olives in the passion narrative that is reflective of what had 
gone on in the life of David. Remember when David is rejected 
by Absalom. Absalom usurps the authority 
of his father, the king. He schmoozes people at the city 
gates. He gets a following. He promises all these good things. 
He'll hear your cases. He'll decide your cases. He'll 
be the guy that David isn't. So he starts an uprising and 
persons start to follow him and essentially David has to leave 
Jerusalem, the seat of his kingdom. It says that he ascended the 
Mount of Olives in grief and in sorrow. When he arrives there 
or on his ascent, somebody comes along and says, Ahithophel has 
betrayed you. Ahithophel has joined Absalom's 
rebellion. Ahithophel was one of David's 
closest associates. Isn't this precisely the movement 
that we find here? Jesus is going to the Mount of 
Olives with the knowledge of a closest associate having betrayed 
him. It's intriguing as well because 
in 2 Samuel 17, 1 and 2, Ahithophel has a plan to capture David. This is precisely what we find 
with Judas when he brings these godless men to lay their filthy 
hands upon our Savior. And then how does Ahithophel 
deal with all of this? He goes back to his house, he 
puts it in order, and he hanged himself. We have the anti-type 
of David played out before our eyes in the passion narrative. 
Brethren, to see these connections helps us to appreciate the unity 
of God's word, the consistency of God's word, the one authorship 
of God's word. Yes, there were several human 
authors, but all of it is of God the Lord. Our David, our 
Savior, our Lord, the one prophesied in 2 Samuel 7, is here doing 
everything that was decreed by the Father for Him to undertake. Well, in conclusion, we ought 
to appreciate the threefold orientation of the supper. On a churchly 
level, last week I suggested that if you're able, you should 
be here tonight Why would you miss the supper of the Lord? 
Why would you miss an ordinance given to us by God himself, by 
Christ our Lord? Christ, the head of the church, 
says, I want to give you something. Nope, don't want it. Amazes me. God says, I want to give you 
a day of rest. Nope, don't want it. I want to go to work today. 
What are you, crazy? God says you can take the day 
off. What is it with us and God's 
gifts? God offers sinners salvation by grace through faith in Christ. 
Nope, don't want it. Rather go to hell. God offers 
us one day of seven to come in from out of the world and to 
enjoy him. Nope, don't want it. Believers in confessional churches 
who subscribe to a 17th century doctrine, a body of doctrine 
which accurately reflects Scripture, for whatever reason, don't want 
the supper, but we tend to look at it as our service. In fact, 
we often refer to church as service. Tonight, the service begins at 
five. It will be our Lord's Supper service. Don't misunderstand 
that word, service. It's not our service to God that's 
on display in the supper. It's God's service to us. It's Christ's gift to us. Twice in the narrative of institution, 
He broke the bread and He gave. He took the cup and He gave. The supper tonight is not a reward 
for our obedience. The supper tonight is not because 
we've been great people over the past week and we deserve 
it. The supper tonight is when the 
householder, God himself, puts a bounty before us and bids us 
to come, to take, and to be refreshed. The supper is for weary pilgrims 
on their way. So hopefully we'll see you tonight 
at 5 p.m. for our Lord's Supper service, 
God's service toward us. The supper looks back to the 
sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the supper speaks to the church's 
present privilege of observing these things, and the supper 
looks forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. As often 
as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's 
death till he comes, right? It's a future orientation in 
the institution, 1 Corinthians chapter 11. We have seen and 
hopefully appreciate the covenantal context of the supper, but we 
ought to appreciate as well the specific focus of the supper. 
It's the death of Christ. Do this in remembrance of me. 
Why does God give us these things? Why does he give us these tangible 
signs? Because he knows us. We forget, 
don't we? I shared with you how Martin 
Luther said, I preach justification by faith every week because my 
people forget it every week. Can't you just get so caught 
up in your 60, 70, 80-hour work week and forget that you're a 
believer in Christ? I mean, you don't forget in terms 
of, you know, I'm an atheist or I love Satan, but you just 
get sidetracked, don't you? I mean, you're building widgets 
or you're digging trenches or you're doing whatever, and your 
employer pays you to do that and not meditate upon the glories 
of Jesus. It happens. So what does God do in his goodness 
and kindness? He says, eat the bread, drink the cup. Let these 
physical things be of special importance in terms of remembering 
Christ, remembering the redemptive work of Christ, the death of 
Christ, the redemptive benefits secured by Christ. Thirdly, we 
ought to appreciate the practical benefit of the Lord's Supper. 
It is a perpetual remembrance. Here I'm quoting from our confession. 
wherein the church shows forth the sacrifice in his death. It 
doesn't perform a sacrifice. We dealt with that last week. 
We're not actually sacrificing, but we are showing forth the 
sacrifice in his death. And it is also, here's what the 
Confession of Faith says, and it's certainly a biblical depiction. 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 I love this phrase, 
and with each other. Yes, the vertical. God serves 
us bread and wine. He serves us bread and wine. 
Serves the people of God together. We are engaged as one body remembering 
our blessed Lord. There is a vertical element in 
terms of the communion, but there's a horizontal element in terms 
of communion as well. It is greatly beneficial to the 
people of God and to the health of God's churches when God's 
people obey his commandments and take the bread and wine. 
It really is a good thing. So, again, hopefully you'll all 
be back on five o'clock tonight. And then I want to close with 
this observation, and this is actually close. The glorious 
gospel demonstrated by the Lord's Supper. This is my blood of the 
new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 
You can turn to John 6 for just a moment. John 6, the situation 
here is that Jesus feeds a great multitude and on the heels of 
that Jesus teaches concerning bread. The bread which came down 
out of heaven at the time of Moses, and Jesus uses that analogously 
to his appearance as indeed the bread of life. But notice what 
Christ says here specifically at, let's say, verse 47. Most 
assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting 
life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in 
the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes 
down from heaven that one may eat of it and not die. I am the 
living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of 
this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give 
is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." The 
Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, How can this 
man give us his flesh to eat? And Jesus said to them, Most 
assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son 
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever 
eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will 
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, 
and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks 
my blood abides in me, and I in him. Now in this teaching, he 
is not instituting the Lord's Supper. In this teaching, he 
is not in the context he is in Matthew 26. He's not sitting 
with his disciples saying, look, I'm going to give you a new ordinance. 
I'm going to give you something for the church to observe throughout 
our history. So this passage in John 6 is 
not teaching the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. However, in 
light of our doctrine of the Lord's Supper, it does bid us 
well to contemplate what he says here. Now when he says, eat his 
flesh and drink his blood, he doesn't mean literally. He doesn't 
mean we are to actually engage in the activity of cannibalism. Now listen, Christ here uses 
a metaphor, something we can all sink our teeth into. Something 
that we can all relate to. We've got to eat, we've got to 
drink, in order to have life. Try that experiment. Don't eat, 
don't drink, and see how long you continue. Actually, don't. 
Somebody always does something foolish. I mean, my son won't 
eat because... No, no, eat. But the idea being is that he 
uses a metaphor, an analogy, a picture, a figure, that we 
all know and can relate to, right? We have to eat, we have to drink. 
This is a metaphor, this is a figure, this is a description in vivid 
language of the statement of John 6, 40. Do not go home today 
not believing. Do not go home today rejecting. Do not go home today committed 
to this, all that the Lord commands I will do. No, rather cast yourself 
upon God's mercy through Jesus Christ. Look to that one and 
live. believe in Him, turn from your 
sins, and hear John 6, 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. It is the truth that salvation 
is by grace through faith in Christ. If you are not a believer 
this morning, believe. If you are not a Christian this 
morning, believe. If you are not a Christian this 
morning, look to Him and live. Listen to Christ's words, defining 
for us the will of the Father, that everyone who sees the Son 
Now, you don't see Him physically like they did, but you see Him 
through the preaching of the Word. Paul tells the Galatians 
this. You see Him through the preaching 
of the Word and believes in Him. That means exactly what it says. Believe everything the Bible 
says is true, specifically those things concerning Jesus Christ, 
His life, His death, His resurrection. Believe in Him. Note the result, 
may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last 
day. And after that, raising up of 
the last day, guess what happens? We sit with Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob at the Messianic banquet, and we feast with the church 
as a whole, and we feast in the presence of our beloved Savior. 
Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for Your 
Word, and we thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ, and this cup, 
this new covenant in His blood, how we praise You for the forgiveness 
of sins, how we praise You for Your mercy and Your grace, and 
how we pray today that in your sovereign power and grace you 
would save sinners to the uttermost. We ask that you would go with 
us, cause us to reflect upon these things, cause us to reflect 
upon the glory of the Savior, and I pray these things through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.