Why Remember?

Tonight, we are on what seems like holy ground as we consider together the centrality, significance and purpose of the Lord's Supper, communion, the Eucharist, the breaking of bread.

This central ordinance handed down by the Lord Jesus himself as a means of grace to his church is not just a gracious provision from our God, but also the flashpoint of dispute.

It is certainly true that the four words, this is my body, are the most controversial and divisive within the history of the church.

It is the interpretation of that phrase that sees the core difference in doctrine and practice between the Catholic and the Protestant church.

The Catholics literally interpret the phrase, this is my body, as that of transubstantiation, that during the elevation of the bread and the wine, the substances are miraculously transformed into the actual body and actual blood of Jesus Christ.

This became their practice in 1215 at the Lateran Council.

Thus, in the Mass, Christ is really physically present.

The result being that grace is imparted to those present.

In Roman Catholic theology, every time the Mass is celebrated, the sacrifice of Christ is repeated in a real sense.

The Protestants, on the other hand, believe that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper do not change into the body and blood of Christ.

Rather, the bread and the wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ.

Christ, therefore, is spiritually present in a special way as we partake of the bread and wine together in faith.

It is a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice once for all for us on the cross of Calvary.

It is a looking back to the past, a celebrating in the present and a hope for the future.

However, even within the Protestant tradition, the frequency, focus and meaning, means of celebrating communion is multifarious.

And our purpose this evening is not to catalogue, not to comment on the rights and wrongs of each,

but to dig into the Bible's teaching and see how it informs our thoughts as to this fundamental privilege we have been given in Jesus Christ.

In Acts 2, they write this.

They, that is, the early church devoted themselves.

They devoted to themselves.

This was their focus.

This was the things that they were passionate about doing together.

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

So whatever conclusions we draw, if we are to follow the pattern of the fledgling church at the beginning of Acts,

we must be devoted to this.

The Lord's Supper is not an optional extra.

It is not a peripheral affair.

It is not a sideshow event for the church of Jesus Christ.

It is absolutely integral to the health, worship, and communal life of the congregation,

as it is locally expressed in the local church.

In his large book, Peter Leinhart, Blessed are the Hungry, is the title of the book, writes this.

The Lord's Supper is the world in miniature.

It has cosmic significance.

Within it, we find clues to the meaning of all creation and all history,

to the nature of God and the nature of man,

to the mystery of the world, which is Christ.

It is not confined to the first day for its powerful seven.

Though the table stands at the center, it stretches out to the four corners of the earth.

That book that Leinhart writes is about 370 pages long.

And the last paragraph says,

I have only managed to write a short treatise on the depth of significance there is present in the Lord's Supper.

And we have about 25 minutes.

So all I want us to do is to go through 1 Corinthians 11 verses 17 to 34.

1 Corinthians 11:17–34

And I have five perspectives, five views that I think the Lord's Supper gives us.

Five things that we see as we celebrate this together.

So let me read 1 Corinthians 11 verses 17 to 34.

1 Corinthians 11:17–34

Paul writes this.

In the following directives, I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.

In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you.

And to some extent, I believe it.

No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat.

For when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.

As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you?

Certainly not in this matter.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread.

And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,

This is my body, which is for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying,

This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this whenever you drink it in remembrance of me.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner

will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

But everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ,

eat and drink judgment on themselves.

That is why many among you are weak and ill,

and a number of you have fallen asleep.

But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves,

we would not come under such judgment.

Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord,

we are being disciplined,

so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

So then, my brothers and sisters,

when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.

Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home,

so that when you meet together, it may not result in judgment.

And when I come, I will give further instructions.

The Corinthian church, when Paul writes, is about 10 years old.

It is a church of great giftedness.

If you've ever read 1 Corinthians, they are very gifted.

Paul says that you have been gifted spiritually in every way in his introduction.

It is a greatly gifted church, but it is also a church in grave danger.

It is suffering from factionalism, gross immorality,

and serious confusion on certain issues.

This teaching on the Lord's Supper in chapter 11

is part of the central block of the letter

where Paul is correcting and arbitrating

between various factions within the church

who see differently on various matters.

These issues are seemingly prompted by a letter

written to Paul by the Corinthians

asking for his clarification.

The beginning of this section is chapter 7, verse 1,

Isaiah 7:1

where Paul starts it,

now for the matters you wrote about.

He's seemingly going through them now

and addressing their various concerns.

And throughout this section,

Paul is giving a good but style of argument.

He wants to affirm something,

but then say, but also remember this.

On these issues where there is such a divergence of opinion

within the church,

he doesn't want to further polarize

by saying you must do it this way

and all these guys get the hump.

So he says, it's good,

but trying to bring the different sides together

to a point of at least understanding.

So for example,

on the matter of celibacy in chapter 7,

he says, it is good for a man

not to have sexual relations with a woman.

He is promoting celibacy.

And then he says,

but since sexual immorality is occurring,

each man should have sexual relations

with his own wife

and each woman her own husband.

He is therefore affirming marriage.

He says, yes to celibacy,

but also yes to marriage.

Or on the gift of tongues in chapter 14,

I thank God I speak in tongues more than all of you.

He affirms that gifting.

But in the church,

I would rather speak five intelligible words

to instruct others

than 10,000 words in a tongue.

He says it's good,

but I affirm this

and I affirm this.

Like the Aldi advert.

But I like this one

and I also like this one.

He's trying to bring them together.

However,

when we start this section

in chapter 11, verse 17,

he doesn't say this is good,

but

he says this is all a catastrophe.

Look at verse 17 again.

In the following directives,

I have no praise for you

for your meetings do more harm than good.

When you come together,

it is explosively wrong

and there is more collateral

than there is blessing.

He then goes on to do

what I think points out five views.

He gives us five things

that we should be aware of

as we come to the Lord's table,

as we come to take communion,

as we do the Lord's supper together.

And this, I think,

is the first view we get.

A view of the one body.

The first thing I think

Paul wants us to understand

as we do this

is the one body.

This is the first place

Paul goes in his critique

of the practice of Corinth

in the first five verses.

He says some people come

and they eat

and they get drunk

and people come later

and they're hungry

and they wonder what's going on.

It is not the Lord's supper

you are celebrating, he says.

And I think a bit of cultural information

helps us understand

what's at the real kernel

of this critique.

Corinth is under Roman control.

It works on a 10-day week.

During that 10-day week,

they have two days off,

one at 5 and one at 10.

The early church is running

on a Hebrew 7-day week.

And therefore,

the days off in the Roman calendar

and the days off

in the Jewish calendar

hardly ever align together.

The normal practice is

that the church is meeting

on working days,

which helps to explain

why they normally meet

either early in the morning

or late at night.

And so,

when it comes to the breaking of bread,

a thing they would normally remember

late at night,

people turn up for the meeting

at different times.

So, for example,

if you're a wealthy aristocrat

who doesn't go to work,

you think,

oh, I'll turn up to church

about 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

And who else turns up

at 2 o'clock in the afternoon?

Well, all the other wealthy aristocrats.

And what do you bring

at 2 o'clock in the afternoon?

Well, you bring a lovely picnic.

And you have a bit of table fellowship together

before the Lord's Supper

is celebrated in the evening.

And you have a wonderful time.

Bit of caviar, perhaps,

some langoustine,

a lovely pinot grigio

to wash it all down.

2 o'clock.

And you're having this wonderful

love feast together

of table fellowship.

You turned up at 2.

Well, the next people to turn up

are the business people.

They've worked at 9 to 5,

5 o'clock, clocking off time.

Let's go straight

to the church meeting.

Well, your wealthy aristocrats

have been on it

since 2 o'clock.

And their table fellowship

is in full flow.

But the business people

come along.

They bring a slightly

smaller packed lunch,

which is probably

not from Waitrose.

Let's go for Sainsbury's.

And they're sitting down.

And it's quite a cheap burlough,

but there's lots of it.

And so they start tucking in.

Now, the last people

to turn up would be the slaves.

About half the Roman world

is considered a slave.

And there's a multitude

of different slaves,

from the footwashers

to the private tutors

and household managers

in the aristocrats' houses.

They turn up last.

They probably turn up

with nothing.

And so by the time,

later on in the evening,

it finally comes round

to this pinnacle moment

of celebrating

the Lord's Supper.

You've got the wealthy people

who are well fed

and full of the grigio.

The business people

who have tucked in,

eaten their fill,

and are by no means

going thirsty.

And then the slaves

who come in last.

Hungry, tired, and thirsty.

And so when they come

to the centrality of this meal,

rather than show

the oneness of the body,

it really only shows

the divisions there are

amongst them.

That they've turned something

that was so central

into an absolute farce.

Something that's meant

to celebrate

how they are one

in Christ Jesus

has really become

a place for people

to exhibit

their own wealth,

their own selfishness,

selfishness,

with absolutely no regard

for others.

And this goes against

what the Lord's Supper

is meant to be.

The Lord's Supper

is supposed to be

the centre and symbol

of the church's unity together.

That it is,

in what we remember

at this point,

the cross of the Lord Jesus,

that everyone finds

a place together.

We sing that song,

I think we're going to sing it later,

beneath the cross of Jesus,

I find a place to stand.

As everyone's humbled

under grace,

they're unified together.

And yet when they come round

to remembering the cross,

because of all that's proceeded

during the afternoon

and later on into the evening,

only goes to show

just how divided they are.

As those that have been

on the Pinot Grigio

sing Waltzing Matilda

in a raucous way,

and everyone else

is drowned out

by the rumbling stomachs

of the slaves

that have just wandered in.

Back in chapter 10,

verse 16,

Paul draws this parallel

even tighter.

He talks about

what goes on

at the Lord's Supper

about being a participation

in the body

and blood of Christ.

In verse 14 onwards.

That word participation

could also be,

is normally rendered fellowship.

So what is the church?

It is the fellowship

of the body

and blood of Christ.

It is those that are brought

into fellowship together

by all that this represents.

And yet when the Corinthians

get together,

it looks anything

but a fellowship

closely knitted together

by this.

So as we take communion,

the first view we get

is of the one body.

It is of our oneness

that we all come to the cross

wretched,

helpless,

and hopeless

and we stare at one

who won for us.

No room for boasting,

no room for pride,

no room for division.

We all get there

on the merit

of someone else.

And therefore,

what we celebrate together

is to be the centre

and symbol

of our unity.

unity.

That in this,

we have fellowship

with God

but we also have fellowship

with each other.

This is to be

a glorious pinnacle

of our communal life

together.

And so as I come

to the end of my time

at Brunsfield,

one of my biggest regrets

is that we've never managed

to find a way

to all take communion together.

As a whole church.

Now I don't think

our

10 o'clock service

and our 11.30 service

is anything like

what we see in Koret.

I don't think

I've ever seen

a Pinot Grigio

at 10 o'clock.

I don't think

it's that same thing.

But if this is to be

the centre

and symbol

of our united life

together,

then it is painful

to think

that we've never

quite managed

to do it all together.

Whether we've

managed to make

communion

the centre

and symbol

of our unity

as one.

So I ask you

as I ask myself

as I ask all of us

together,

do we love

our traditions

or our freedom

more than we love

Jesus

and want to celebrate

and put on display

the unity

that is all of us

all together

through his son

centred and symbolised

by the Lord's Supper.

I have no answers

to that.

I have no agenda

behind that.

I just think

that as I've read

this this week

there's been

a chiming

between the way

that we do it

and what it is

meant to symbolise

and to be

the pinnacle

of our unity

together in Jesus.

And as I said

at the beginning

I think it is

for the health

and flourishing

and prosperity

of the church

because it's

so important

that we get it right.

So the first view

I think we see

is of the one

body.

The second view

I think we see

is of the crucial

cross

verses 23 to 25.

I think

I discovered

this week

what is probably

the most shocking

thing

I've read

in the Bible.

That on the night

the Lord Jesus

is about to suffer

and die

for sinful humanity.

The night

where he gathers

his disciples

together

to celebrate

the Passover

something he says

I have been

eagerly waiting

to eat with them.

Before he

is rejected

by all of them

walks the lonely

cross all the way

up Calvary alone

where he's nailed

to a cruel Roman

cross to bleed

and die for each

of us

as the very

centre of

world history.

And what does

Jesus say to them?

Remember me.

Don't forget me.

Don't gloss

over me.

Don't take me

for granted.

Keep this event

front and centre

in your life.

That seems

outrageous to me

that somebody's

going to do this

most sacrificial

act

for each

of us.

And Jesus

the night

before it

happens

says don't

forget.

Jesus

our Passover

lamb

the ultimate

fulfilment

of all that

the Passover

symbolises.

Jesus

the one

whose blood

means that

God's wrath

against sin

will pass

over us.

Jesus

the one

who ultimately

redeems us

from the final

enemies of sin

death and Satan.

Jesus

who leads us

out of darkness

and slavery

into light

freedom

and the

promised

future.

And Jesus

before he

makes all of

that a reality

says don't

forget me.

Remember.

And to

help you

remember

I've got

some symbols

to serve

as an

aide memoir

which is

my best

French.

I've got

these symbols

to focus

your attention

and bring

you back

to the foot

of the cross.

Bread

is a symbol

of my

body

broken

for you.

Wine

is a symbol

of my

blood

shed

for you.

And he

says take

and eat

this regularly.

Take

and drink

this

regularly

so that

you don't

forget me.

So that

I don't

start to

drift

onto the

periphery.

So that

I don't

start to

become

something

that you

have a

passing

fascination

with.

in the

same way

Israel

were to

celebrate

the

Passover

once a

year

to

remember

all that

they

were

in

Egypt

and

all

that

they

now

are

by

God's

grace.

Jesus

says remember

this

often

so you

can remember

what you

once were

without me

what you

now are

because of

me and

one day

that you

will be

with me.

he says

do this

regularly

as a

constant

reminder

of all

that I've

done for

you on

the cross

because

you'll

forget.

And as

I thought

this week

I thought

I forget

all the

time.

The minute

I leave

here I

start leaking

gospel and

the cross

of the

Lord Jesus

moves from

here to

here to

here as

I go on

through my

working week.

from the

minute I

leave church

on Sunday

I all

too readily

think that

my acceptance

before God

depends on

my own

performance.

I all

too quickly

forget my

identity in

Christ and

start to

cleave to

other things.

In an

instant the

price Jesus

paid for me

from the

grip of sin

is overlooked

and the

lure of sin

becomes

incredibly

attractive.

Every week

every week

the cross

of Jesus

moves from

here to

the long

grass way

out left

and Jesus

knew I

would do

that.

He knows

you will

do that

and he

says I've

got these

symbols for

you to

help you

make the

cross front

and centre

in your

life.

Jesus

gives us

the Lord's

Supper to

give us a

regular view,

a reorientating

view of

Jesus Christ

and his

cross.

his death

for us.

We need

the Lord's

Supper to

do exactly

what it

says in

the song

Abide With

Me that

I'm still

rehearsing

round and

round in

my mind

to stop

me freaking

out.

Last

verse,

hold thou

thy cross

before my

closing eyes,

shine through

the gloom and

point me to

the skies,

heaven morning

breaks and

earth's vain

shadows flee,

in life and

death,

O Lord,

abide with

me.

that's what

we're doing

as we come

here.

We have a

view of

the one

body and

we have a

view of

the cross.

And the

third view

we get is

a view for

the unbeliever.

It's there in

verse 26.

For

whenever you

eat this

bread and

drink this

cup, you

proclaim the

Lord's death

until he

comes.

This is not

an in-house

ritual.

The Lord's

supper involves

proclamation,

it involves

heralding,

it involves

the announcement

of good

news.

This is a

visible

word.

I think

this can

perform a

miraculous

function in

the life of

the unbeliever.

prayer.

That if you

get this

right, this

really provokes

people to

consider who

the Lord

Jesus is and

whether what

he says he's

done, he's

done for

them.

That as we

have this at

the centre of

our communal

life, it

shows us that

central to our

Christian faith

is this event

that Jesus

lived, that

Jesus died,

and that Jesus

has risen again.

if you make

it really clear

at the beginning

that this is

what we do in

remembrance of

our Lord and

Saviour, you

point out that

you can't

remember someone

that you do

not know, so

therefore communion

is not for the

unbeliever, but

please stay.

And as we

take time to

remember, maybe

you would take

time to consider

who is Jesus,

what has he

done, and what

does it mean to

follow him?

And I know

from the experience

of friends that

as they come to

church and they

sit there and

the bread and

wine comes along,

it provokes them

to make a

decision, who

is Jesus?

Why did he

come?

Is he real?

Is he significant?

Do I have need

of him?

That it can be

this visible

word provoking

people to think

about eternal

things.

It shows those

visiting that the

very core of all

we believe is what

happens on that

hill at

Calvary, on that

day in history

where Jesus dies

for a sinful

world, that

everyone who

puts their

trust in him

will be

graciously gifted

eternal life.

That is what

we're all about.

And we make

that so central

in our lives

that we celebrate

it together at a

feast that Jesus

welcomes us to.

love.

It shows us that

this message we

remember, this

cross that we

gather around, is

about Jesus who

unites us, saves us,

frees us, forgives us,

and gives us hope

forever.

Also in this verse,

even just reading it

out, the unbeliever's

mind is blown.

For whenever you

eat this bread and

drink this cup, you

proclaim the Lord's

death until he

comes.

Absolutely intrinsic

in that second half

of the verse is the

concept of

resurrection.

Because how can

somebody who died be

coming again, had he

not been raised,

ascended, and stands

to come and welcome

us into eternal

things?

And therefore I

think it's clear from

1 Corinthians 11 that

this is a visible

word.

A visible word for

the unbeliever to

consider the claims,

to consider the

person, to consider

the gospel, to

consider the free

invitation of eternal

life that is uniquely

found in Jesus

Christ.

And if we explain it

well, we can

proclaim it without

saying anything.

In the bread and

the wine, the body

and the blood, the

suffering and the

death of Jesus

Christ.

A view of the one

body, a view of the

cross, a view for the

unbeliever.

Fourthly, a view of

yourself.

Look at verse 28.

Everyone ought to

examine themselves

before they eat of the

bread and drink from

the cup.

When we come to the

Lord's supper, it is a

time to do business

with God.

It is not some

empty ritual.

It is not something

that we just do.

It is not what we use

to just fill 15 minutes

at the end of a

service or an hour

on a Sunday.

It is a regular

opportunity for self

examination.

It is a time to

take an honest look

at ourselves, a

long look at the

cross and realise

afresh our absolute

need of Jesus and his

death for us.

It is a time to

assess where I am

failing and faltering

in my life and

apply the good news

of Jesus'

grace to every

corner.

It is a time where

we are confronted

time and again

regularly by our

need of Jesus

Christ.

Just as food and

water are to be the

regular sustenance

for the physical

body, so for the

spiritual body, our

regular need is

sustenance from the

Lord Jesus.

As I come weak and

compromised by sin,

the Lord's

supper invites me to

examine myself and

to bring the sin that

is lurking in the dark

recesses of my heart

into the healing,

restoring light of

Jesus Christ.

The Lord's supper is

a regular Rubicon

moment where my

confessed sin is

removed as the

truth of the gospel

is applied.

And just as the

first Passover meal

was celebrated before

the actual wrath of

God passed over,

so we eat this in

confidence that the

judgment God will

bring on us and will

be passed over us

because of their

sacrifice.

The Lord's supper

reminds me that I

am more sinful than

I can possibly imagine

but more loved than

I could ever dream.

And it brings those

two and superimposes

them on and gives me

confidence to go

another week.

It's a delicate

balance to get right.

We're not examining

ourselves in endless

introspection, building

this feeling of

disqualification,

unwelcomeness, and

being crushed by our

sinfulness.

It's not about coming

in an unworthy manner,

as in with sin present

in our lives, because

none of us would come.

It's about having a

right view of ourselves

as sinners and coming

with an absolute

confidence that our

greatest need in life is

Jesus Christ, who is

the only remedy for that

sin.

We're not coming to

examine ourselves so as

to disqualify ourselves.

We're coming to examine

ourselves in order to

see our sin, which is the

only qualification to

come to this table.

And so the unworthy

manner is to come with

unconfessed sin, to come

in a blasé manner, to

come unthinking or

indifferent, to just go

through the process as if

it was just another meal

with another group of

people.

The way we examine

ourselves is to see

our sin and our need of

Jesus and bring those

two together so that we

might know cleansing.

And as Paul ramps up in

the rest of the chapter,

there's real implications,

there's a real warning if

we get this wrong.

If we rush in, if we don't

consider, he talks about

people who take it

arrogantly.

I don't think he's

particularly applying it to

those that do it

ignorantly.

He's doing it to those who

do it arrogantly, those

with unconfessed sin,

those who are sitting,

breaking bread with people

where there's real rupture

in fellowship.

And he says there's a real

warning that God takes

this so seriously that he's

ready to pour out temporal

judgment on people in the

form of discipline who

hold this too lightly so

it was not to care.

A warning of weakness,

illness, and some of the

saints in Corinth have even

died by getting this wrong.

Just seeks to show how

passionate God is about

remembering his son together.

We need to be very clear.

There is not always a

straight line between sin

and ailment.

There really isn't.

A lot of it just comes as a

result of being fallen people

in a fallen world.

And yet God is so sovereign

he's able to redeem that

even for his own glory.

But there are times where

there is a straight line.

Where we get things wrong and

God is so passionate about

what we're getting wrong.

He'll bring discipline in our

lives to get it straightened

out.

Just ask Ananias and

Sapphira back in the

beginning of Acts if you

don't think that's true.

Scarily, sometimes the

judgment is not always

discipline in the form of

illness.

Sometimes it can be God

withdrawing his hand of

discipline and leaving us to

our own foolishness to reap

our own destruction until we'll

come back.

I think we see that in the

life of the prodigal son he's

able to sink all the way to

the bottom.

In order that that will be the

discipline that will make him

turn and come home.

Paul is very clear here though

that the Corinthian church has

suffered God's judgment because

they treated this too lightly.

They didn't examine themselves.

It just became another thing they

went to.

Another thing they did, they were

more concerned about bringing

their packed lunches to the

feast than they were about

bringing their sin to the cross.

It gives us a view of ourselves

and finally, it gives us a view of

the future.

One of the things that Peter

Leinhart does in his book is he

traces the idea of eating with God

throughout the Bible and it's quite

exciting.

In Eden, before the fall, every meal

was eaten with God.

It's the epitome of their intimate

fellowship together.

A place you didn't have to say grace

and give thanks to God because you

could just give thanks to God because

he was there.

However, what happens at the fall?

We get independent eating.

We get Eve eating.

We get Adam eating.

Eve was the first woman in history

who discovered that self-indulgent

eating led to not having the right

thing to wear.

The story of the Old Testament then

becomes the story of humanity

eating alone.

There are glimpses.

Abraham eating with the mysterious

figure Melchizedek in Genesis 14.

Moses, Aaron and his sons and the

70 elders eating in God's presence

on Mount Sinai in Exodus 24.

The glimpse of consuming the tithes

in celebratory thanksgiving in the

presence of the Lord is a regular

cycle in Deuteronomy 14.

All these partial glimpses

that show what they lost

through their sin at the fall.

Eating in fellowship with God.

Eating in perfect communion.

Once it was all the time.

Now these are sporadic anomalies

throughout the history of Israel.

And then the New Testament comes.

A new dawn rises.

And you particularly see in Luke's

gospel that God is eating with

people again.

In the person of Jesus Christ.

The second person of the Trinity.

He eats a lot in Luke.

He's endlessly being criticized because

he eats with sinners and tax collectors.

He has fellowship with the wrong people

around the table.

And then the pinnacle of these meals

with Jesus is in the upper room as

Jesus redefines the shadow of the

Passover in himself.

A meal he leaves with them.

And his church is a lasting reminder of

the new covenant he sealed with his blood.

And a continuing ordinance to celebrate

Jesus' special presence with them

in this sacrament.

However, this is only a temporal thing.

It's only a stopgap for the interim.

One day the fellowship of Eden will be restored.

The intimacy of a meal will once again

be an unbridled reality for everyone

who is in Christ Jesus.

For in the very symbolism of the Lord's

supper is the truth that Jesus is coming back.

We do this until he comes.

The certainty that Jesus will come to marry

his bride and in the new creation

partake of the fruit of the vine

at the wedding feast of the Lamb.

A place where the separation of sin

will be removed and face-to-face fellowship

with God will be our perpetual delight.

A place where the Lord's supper will not

be present because no one at that point

will fall failure of the sinner

forgetting the cross.

This will no longer be necessary.

This is sustenance for the saints

for the journey home.

The Lord's supper is a glorious thing.

An astounding privilege.

A meal of such theological depth and significance

that we haven't even scratched the surface tonight.

However, I hope that you have seen

what this shows.

These five different views.

It gives a view of the oneness of the church

as we eat together.

It gives a view of the centrality of the cross

and helps keep it front and centre in our lives

and to orientate all of our lives

towards the Lord Jesus.

It gives the unbeliever, those outside of Christ,

a view of their necessity to be inside of Christ.

What does Jesus say in John 6?

Unless you eat my body and drink my blood,

you have no part with me.

And that in a symbolic sense is what we do

around this table.

It offers us a view of ourselves

and demands regular self-examination

so that our sin can be brought to the cross.

And it is something that is dangerous.

We can't partake of it arrogantly or unthinkingly.

And it's a view of the future

where we're heading,

heading back towards intimate fellowship

in God's perpetual presence in the new creation.

I don't think we can end in a better place

than the Westminster Confession,

chapter 29, article 1.

I'm sure you were all going there in your minds.

It writes this,

Our Lord Jesus,

in the night wherein he was betrayed,

instituted the sacrament of his body and blood

called the Lord's Supper

to be observed in his church

unto the end of the world

for the perpetual remembrance

of the sacrifice of himself in his death,

the sealing of all benefits thereof

unto true believers,

their spiritual nourishment and growth in him,

their further engagement in

and to all duties which they owe unto him,

and to be a bond and pledge

of their communion with him

and with each other

as members of his mystical body.

Let's pray.

Father God, we're so sorry this evening

that we all too readily forget

about your Son

and his cross

and his death for us.

And Lord, we thank you so much

that you've given us this meal

in order that we may not forget,

in order that Jesus might not just fade

into the background,

but you've given us this meal

that he might have

the central significance

in each of our lives.

And so Lord,

as in a few moments

we celebrate this together,

help us to examine ourselves rightly

and bring our sin

to the cross,

knowing

that it is at the cross

that our sin was paid for in full.

Father, help us do business with you

in this time.

Help us to remember you appropriately,

worshipfully,

thankfully,

meaningfully.

And as we do that,

Lord, would you nourish us

and meet with us afresh.

Father, the only confidence

we have to ask any of this

is because of your Son, Jesus,

who loved us

and gave himself for us.

Father, help us in this time, we pray.

Amen.