Sermon monologue for Sunday, February 2, 2003

Matthew 26:17-30

Good Morning. Thank you for allowing me to come and share with you this morning about the last supper that we shared with Christ. You see I was there with Jesus the night we observed together that last supper. You have just now read about it in your scripture passage.

I want to share with you a first hand account of that meal. And also five observations about that Supper that I hope will help you in the celebration of the observance this morning.

v. 17-18

There must be a time of preparation before participation.

When we last partook of this with Jesus, it was the time of the feast of unleavened bread. This was an eight-day feast that began with the observance of the Passover.

I remember that we began to inquire to Jesus where we would observe the feast so that we could begin the preparations. You see there was a lot of work to be done for the observance of the Passover meal. For us to observe the Passover meal we would have to obtain

• Unleavened bread
• Spices
• Fruit
• A lamb

Jesus told us that there was a certain man in the city that we are to go to and inform him that his "time is at hand" and he would show us where to go to get started with the preparations.

The room that we had borrowed needs to be searched for any traces of yeast, or crumb of bread and be removed. You see yeast represented the evil influence in Egypt that the Israelites were to leave behind as they made the great Exodus. Yeast came to represent the influence of sin and there could not be any at all in the room.

Just as we had to prepare for the Passover meal that day, you must make preparations for the Lord's Supper. You might ask how do we prepare to observe the Lord's Supper? You need to start with a prepared heart. The sin must be removed from your lives through confession and repentance. You need to examine your own heart and make sure it is ready for participation.

No person should enter lightly into the observance of the Lord's Supper. Let me ask you are you ready to partake this morning?

v. 20-25

This means that you must take time for self-examination of your life.

I remember while we were eating, Jesus interrupted the meal with a statement that startled all of us at the table. He said, "One of you will betray me." Now Jesus had told us that He would be delivered up, but we had no ideal that it would be one of us. Each man began to question himself. We were deeply and violently shaken by this news. We each questioned our own commitment to Christ.

Jesus knew who it was that would betray him. I think he told us that to allow us to question ourselves. This can be healthy if it is to bring us to a deeper trust of Jesus and not ourselves.

We were told to do this in remembrance of Him.

One of the things we remember during this time is His grace. I believe what we saw at the table that night was the grace of our Lord Jesus, offering Judas a chance to repent of the evil he had in his heart.

First, Jesus appeals to Judas from love and friendship. The Passover meal was to be observed by families. We had become a family with Jesus as the head. Each one of us had dipped his hand in the bowl including Judas as we observed this family feast.

The next appeal to Judas was a warning of the consequences for his actions. "Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born." Christ warns Judas that the consequences in his lack of a true relationship to Him would result in a fate so bad that it would be good if he had never existed than to face such a fate.

Finally, with all of us questioning Jesus, there was a direct identification of Judas by Jesus as Judas asks in His presence, "Rabbi is it I?" Jesus said, "you have said". You see Judas' problem is in his address to Jesus. Rather than call him Lord as the rest of us did, he called him Rabbi, meaning teacher. This was the problem for Judas; he did not see Jesus as Lord. At this point, Judas left the table and went to carry out his evil deed.

Allow me to ask, "Where do you stand with Jesus this morning?" Is He your Lord that is king or ruler, or he just a teacher to you?

v. 26-28

Time of renewing of God's covenant

Jesus again interrupts the Passover meal. This time He interrupts in order to transform it into the Lord's Supper. He takes the bread and he tells us that the bread now represents His body. Jesus said, my body, my life that I have lived, and all that I will give is being offered so that you might live.

He then took the cup of the fruit of the vine and said, this now represents my blood shed for many for the taking away of their sins. The shedding of Jesus' blood on the cross was to purchase all of our forgiveness.

We were to "take" the bread, which represented the body of Christ, and to drink the fruit of the vine, which represented the blood.

This was the new covenant that we were to remember and what we celebrate today. This represents the wonderful truth that we may have life and forgiveness. We can release the power of sin by receiving, taking by faith Christ's life and blood on our behalf. This is the strength that we must continue to feed upon, eternal life found through his blood.

v. 29-30

This should be a time of Celebration and a joyful anticipation of what is to come.

He told us that we will observe this meal again in God's Kingdom. Our fellowship will continue for eternity. This can only happen with Jesus' resurrection.

This morning, as we observe the Lord's Supper, there should be an anticipation of the day in which Christ returns and we will fellowship with him forever. As we prepare to receive from the Lord's Table, I ask you to take a moment and reflect on the Lord's message to us.