Transcript

Good morning. Let me pray and we'll begin our time.

Our Father, thank You that You are wonderfully sovereign and in control of all things. All things are indeed in Your hands and the whole course of the universe and human history are ever guided by Your flawless order. We bow our heads to worship You and to confess with our lips that You are God. Moreover, out of Your infinite goodness You sent Your son to save us. Therefore, we can call upon You, not terrified by Your supreme power, but as our Father who wields His power for our good, who grants us the permission to draw near and even call Him own Abba Father. We thank You for the richness of the salvation You've given to us in Christ. We pray that as we continue to look to Your word that You would ever more teach us. Help us to see just what a wonderful God You are, as You have revealed Yourself to us in Jesus. We pray that You would teach us this morning. Bless our time together. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The next passage to be read is Matthew 26:17-30 and the main idea here is the Last Supper. But of course, just the reference to “the Last Supper” doesn't give us much to meditate on, so I want to point out a truth that emerges out of this passage, which is that Jesus willingly gave Himself for His people. The key verse is found in verse 28. There, Jesus says this about His own lifeblood, “this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Jesus explains the import of His impending death, that it is meant to be a source of forgiveness of sins for the people of God. There are four parts to how the Last Supper comes together, down to its conclusion. There's first the preparation. Then there is the identification of the betrayer. Then there is communion. And then there is a song that is sung. We'll go over these four parts. First, the preparation. Verse 17 reads, “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread [that would dovetail with the day of Passover] the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?’” And Jesus said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” Now this sounds very strange, though it isn’t brand new. Just at the outset of the week, the disciples saw something similar when they were to find a stranger with a donkey and her colt, and all they had to tell him was that the Master needed his animals. So, the disciples went ahead and did this: “The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.” In a sense, this was just another day in the wonders of life with Jesus for the disciples. So the Passover room and a meal were prepared in an extraordinary way.

Then the mealtime comes. And at the meal Jesus identifies the betrayer. This is part two. So Matthew continues in verse 20, “Now when the evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, ‘Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.’ Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ And He answered, ‘He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, 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.’” Now, this declaration of woe and wish that Judas had not been born, these may at first just sound harsh, but this is actually a consistent view of God toward sin and evil in the world. This is what we find in Scripture. Sin and evil are indeed grievous in the sight of God. What Jesus declares here is reflective of the heart of God that we find described as early as Genesis 6 at the time of the global flood. There in Genesis 6:6, Moses writes, “The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth.” He regretted making man. “And He was grieved in His heart.” Jesus also had the same heart of God that grieves sin. This is then followed by an interesting exchange with Judas. Verse 25: “Judas, who was betraying Him, said, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’” He is saying this, along with the other disciples. Then Jesus responds to him, “you have said it yourself.” That expression is an idiom of affirmation. Jesus was affirming that Judas was indeed the betrayer. This was an open identification of the betrayer. That there was an open identification is also seen in John 13:26, where Jesus explained to the disciples that the betrayer would be the man who receives the morsel dipped in wine. And then Jesus, right after having said that, He dips the morsel and hands it to Judas. This was an open identification of the betrayer. Now, it was at this juncture that Judas leaves the upper room, before the communion is instituted. This is to say, when Jesus says, “This is my body which is for you,” He actually did not say this in the presence of Judas. This is, of course, because Judas’ sins are not actually paid for. This was because Judas was not a believer. Jesus would not affirm the payment for Judas’ sin. So then, it is with His true disciples that the Lord then institutes communion.

This brings us to the third part of communion. At some point in that Passover meal, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Now Luke (Luke 22) as well as Paul (1 Cor. 11) tell us that Jesus intended these things to be done in remembrance of Him. This is really important, because Jesus wasn't telling them that the bread and the drink would become His actual body and blood or something strange like that. His intent was symbolic and that the elements should be consumed in remembrance of His sacrifice on their behalf. Communion was meant to be a memorial. The other thing that is emphasized here, as it is in every account of the Last Supper, is the New Covenant. In verse 28, Jesus said, “This is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” With Jesus' lifeblood, He established a new way of relating to God, a New Covenant. Think of the covenant as a wedding. It is a new relationship that is entered into with a promise/pledge. In the New Covenant, God promised forgiveness of sins for His people and that He would give them the Holy Spirit to make them into a new people who would obey Him, who would hate sin, who would love righteousness, who would seek to please God and keep His word. You can read more about the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, and Hebrews 10. Jesus’ death on the cross, as Jesus anticipated, would begin this new way of relating to God. Then, at the end, Jesus declared of the future Kingdom of God, because the New Covenant culminates in the Kingdom of God, which will come with Jesus’ second coming. Jesus had just talked about this two days prior in Matthew 24 and 25. Jesus affirms that the Kingdom of God is surely coming, and that all those who take part in the New Covenant will enter into that Kingdom. And Jesus’ promise is that we will dine together with Him in that Kingdom. This is an astonishing hope that we have. One day we will feast at the table in the Kingdom of God with King Jesus Himself. Then the Passover meal comes to an end, and they conclude their time with a song.

This brings us to that last part of the song. Verse 30: “After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” This, on the surface, might seem like a minor detail. But if you envision what's actually happening, it's quite significant. So what's going on? The disciples and Jesus leave the upper room to head to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is where Gethsemane is, where Judas and the mob of soldiers will come to arrest Jesus. And Jesus knew full well that this was about to happen. Given this, we’re told in John 13:21 that during this last meal, Jesus was distressed (“troubled in spirit”), because He knew that betrayal was just around the corner, as well as the cross that would ensue the betrayal. But get this: amid the fear and the pain of betrayal and the cross, Jesus actually sang a hymn to God. He actually sang to the Father as He headed for the place of His arrest and the cross. The book of Hebrews tells us something very striking about Jesus' attitude as He headed to the cross. He was not dragging His feet. He was not kicking and screaming. He went willingly, even joyfully, not because He loved the pain (He didn't; He expressed this in His prayer in the garden). But there was a motivation that could not be extinguished. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” Jesus was motivated by joy. Therefore, even amid the fear and the pain of the cross, Jesus actually sang a hymn on the way to the cross. What's the joy that would have motivated the Lord to go to the cross, if you would, even with singing? Well, I think there's at least four dimensions to this. Number one: Jesus' joy was found in the accomplishment of redemption for His people. The Lord loves the people of God whom God set out to redeem. And since His suffering was the payment for their redemption, He went through with it with joy in His heart. It was also the joy over His bride, because all who are redeemed will be joined together with Him forever in a holy matrimony in heaven. The people of God would one day be wed to Christ and they would become one forever and ever. If you can imagine the joy of a groom for His bride, this is the joy of the Lord as He went to the cross. He was laying down His life for the life of His bride (Eph. 5:25ff.). Thirdly, it is a joy of the exaltation which the Father will grant to Him after His death and resurrection. This was exactly what Jesus anticipated as He prayed in John 17, that God would glorify Him. Lastly, it is the joy of His Father's good pleasure. What Jesus longed to do all throughout His life on earth was to please His Father. In His prayer in Gethsemane, this was exactly what He sought: the will of the Father. And so there He is, at the end of the Last Supper, and He is singing with His disciples. Jesus faces the greatest difficulty in His life without protest but with singing of a hymn to God.

Well, what does this show us? This shows us that Jesus willingly laid down His life to redeem us and to share His glory with us. What can we pray about in light of this? We can pray to Jesus, thanking Him for the cross. And this Sunday at church, we're having another communion Sunday service in the evening, and this is something to give deep thought to as we celebrate the Lord's table. The Lord willingly laid down His life for us. How wonderful is this! This is our God. This is our God who made Himself known to us in His incarnate Son. And what we discover is that the Lord loves us. He has laid down His life for us with a willing heart. This is such a glorious reality that we find in Scripture. This is our God, so full of love and willing sacrifice for our good! This should lead us to worship and adore Him. Let's pray together and we'll close.

Lord Jesus. Thank You for going to the cross for us. You loved us. You did not want us to die in our misery, but that we would have hope and that we would have peace and the everlasting joy of heaven. You went to the cross knowing exactly what You were doing. No one tricked You, nor did anyone coerce You. You knew all along that You would give up Your body and blood. And that You would give them up to usher us into that New Covenant relationship with the Father, and that we might have new life in You. Thank You, our Lord. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for Your obedience to the Father’s will. Thank You for being the glorious Savior that You are. We praise You this morning. And in our hearts we continue to long for Your coming when You will establish Your Kingdom on earth. One day You'll make everything right. Everything that is wrong in this world, You will make them right. And so we long for Your coming. Until then, we ask that You would give us grace, strength, help, and encouragement every day so that we would endure and that we would continually seek Your face as Your people who trust in You for life and for eternal life. Thank You for Your great love for us. We worship You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

That is all for this morning. Lord bless you all, and I'll see you Friday morning.