The Lord’s Supper

Good morning, everyone. Please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

We're nearing the end of our series in the Gospel of Matthew, which we started a year and a half ago.

Matthew chapter 26, we're in verses 17 to 35.

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, you love your church. You love us and you gave your only Son for us.

And Lord, I confess I don't feel that I am up to the task of conveying the depth of your love in Jesus pouring out his blood for the sake of many, for their forgiveness of sins.

Would you please make that amazing spiritual reality come home and pierce your people's hearts this morning?

Exalt your Son.

And in Him be glorified.

Speak to us in the reading and preaching of your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Please stand if you're able. Let's honor God together by standing as I read from God's Word.

Matthew chapter 26, verses 17 to 35.

Matthew 26:17–35

Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying,

Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?

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.

And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.

And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.

And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, Is it I, Lord?

He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.

The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.

Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi?

He said to him, You have said so.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said,

Take, eat, this is my body.

And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying,

Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant,

which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine 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.

Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night.

For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.

Peter answered him, Do they all fall away because of you?

I will never fall away.

Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.

Peter said to him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.

And all the disciples said the same.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

We all expect our enemies to hate us, to hurt us.

But we don't expect our family and friends to do that.

And that's why it hurts more when that happens.

Maybe you were falsely accused or wrongly blamed for something that you're not responsible for at your workplace.

And a coworker of yours that you consider your friend, who knew the full truth, didn't come to your defense.

Didn't tell the manager what really happened.

Maybe you confided something in your friend, a trusted confidant, only to discover later that the deeply personal things that you have been sharing with this person is being gossiped about and whispered behind your back.

And damaging your name and your reputation.

Maybe you had a BFF or a brother, sister, someone that you knew would always be there for you.

Until they weren't.

You came upon some hard times.

Financial hardship.

Prolonged sickness, illness.

Some public relations crisis, relational issues.

And then when you needed them most, they were gone.

Nowhere to be found.

Maybe you had a boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance, husband, wife that you loved, you trusted,

only to learn later that that person's devotion to you was a farce.

They were lying to your face and cheating on you over and over again.

Some of you have been betrayed like this.

But perhaps more importantly, all of us have betrayed like this.

Because we have all betrayed God.

God says in Ezekiel,

I was your God and Redeemer.

I brought you into the promised land flowing with milk and honey.

And yet you betrayed me and ran after every God you can find upon every hill.

In Hosea, he says,

I was your husband.

But you left me and whored after other gods.

In Isaiah 1, verse 2, he says,

Isaiah 1:2

I am your father.

I raised you up.

I brought you up.

But you have rebelled against me.

Is it any surprise then that we humans

backbite and betray one another?

We're old hats.

Old hands.

Old hands.

We're all experienced.

We've all done this to God.

When we have so betrayed God by turning away from him and sinning against him

and being treacherous ingrates in our lives toward him,

will he ever take us back?

Do we dare hope for forgiveness,

for redemption and reconciliation?

That's what this passage is about.

In this morning, Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas,

his abandonment by the 12,

and finally his denial by Peter.

Dramatically and comprehensively,

Jesus is betrayed by those who are closest to him.

But there's a divine purpose behind all of this,

and that is this.

Jesus' blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.

We're going to first talk about how Jesus was betrayed,

and then we'll skip ahead to how he was deserted and denied,

and finally we'll talk about how his blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.

Verse 17 tells us that this took place on the first day of unleavened bread.

This is a reference to the feast of Passover or the feast of unleavened bread.

According to Exodus 12,

the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered just at twilight of the 14th day of the first month of the year

in the Jewish calendar.

So after slaughtering the lamb at twilight on that day,

in Jewish reckoning the day stretched from sundown to sundown.

So after twilight it would go into the new day,

the next day,

that evening they would eat,

that night they would eat the Passover.

And that would begin the beginning of the seven-day feast of unleavened bread.

So in our reckoning it would be Thursday evening to Friday morning of,

Friday afternoon of Holy Week,

and that's where we're at.

When it was evening it says in verse 20 that Jesus reclined at table with the twelve.

But during this festive occasion,

Jesus makes a startling announcement in verse 21.

Truly I say to you,

one of you will betray me.

The disciples are probably staring back at Jesus,

trying to figure out,

is he joking?

And then they realize,

they see the sorrow in his eyes,

and they realize,

oh no,

he's for real.

They look around like,

I mean,

who's in this room?

It's just us.

The twelve.

One of you will betray me.

Very sorrowful they become,

and they begin to say to him and after one another,

is it I,

Lord?

Surely not I.

And Jesus answered,

he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.

If you have no idea what that means,

that's because that's exactly the way it's supposed to be.

They've all,

they're all dipping their hands in the same bowl.

It's one of them.

But it's a deeply painful statement nonetheless.

There are many things that we do with strangers, right?

We will ride on the subway with strangers.

We will watch a movie next to strangers.

You know,

some of you are more comfortable with doing things with strangers than others.

But we don't usually invite strangers to our homes.

We don't usually eat with them,

invite them to our family meal.

Eating together,

especially in the intimacy of our own homes,

goes beyond acquaintance.

It signifies friendship,

trust,

fellowship.

He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me

will betray me.

This is not a hygienic,

sterile meal

where everyone has their own dish,

everyone has their own cup,

and everyone has their own dipping sauce.

No,

this is,

there's a lot of double dipping going on.

It's a family meal.

He who has dipped his hand with me.

Can you pass that bowl over?

David wrote in Psalm 41,

Psalms 41:9

verse 9,

even my close friend in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread,

has lifted his heel against me.

Those who eat your bread

are close friends in whom you trust.

Jesus is saying,

my friend,

friend,

my confidant,

my close advisor,

my trusted disciple,

one of you

will betray me.

But even this shocking betrayal

is no surprise to our sovereign God.

Jesus says in verse 24,

the Son of Man goes

as it is written of him.

But woe to that man

by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would have been better for that man

if he had not been born.

Hundreds of years before Jesus,

even a thousand years

before Jesus' death,

in Isaiah 53,

Psalm 22,

Daniel 9,

Zechariah 12,

among other places,

God's word prophesied

that the Messiah would be killed.

Zechariah 11 prophesied

with remarkable specificity

that the Lord would send a shepherd

to care for his people

with favor and union,

but that his own sheep

would betray that very shepherd

and reject him

and sell him for

30 pieces of silver.

Which was what we saw last week.

All of this was already written of him

that he would be betrayed.

The Lord God has already

sovereignly ordained

the betrayal of his own son

and the death of his own son.

It is written,

but nonetheless,

the man by whom Jesus is betrayed

is responsible for his treachery.

He'll be held accountable

and his judgment so severe

that it will have been better

for that man to have never been born.

There's no turning back for Judas.

He plays a singular,

unrepeated role

in the death of Christ.

Judas already knows,

of course,

that he is the one.

He's already made the pact

with the chief priest

as we saw in the passage

Ed preached last week.

He's agreed to sell Jesus

for 30 pieces of silver.

But while the other 11 disciples

are going around,

surely not I.

Is it I, Lord?

Is it I, Lord?

Judas can't just hang back.

That looks really suspicious.

Right?

So he also approaches Jesus

expressing his incredulity,

protesting of his innocence.

Is it I, Lord?

Lord?

I assume that this is happening on the side.

It's a side conversation

because Judas doesn't want to be exposed

before all of the other disciples.

And also because we know

from John 13, 21 and 29

that the other disciples

didn't know at this time

that Judas was the one.

They don't find that out until later.

So Judas,

his heart palpitating,

probably his hands trembling

and his voice cracking,

but still with cold,

hushed determination,

asks,

is it I,

Rabbi?

And Jesus' answer is in the affirmative.

You have said so.

It is as you have said.

You said it.

And don't miss the key difference

between Judas and the rest of the 12.

The rest of the 12 ask what?

Is it I,

Lord?

Judas alone asks,

is it I,

Rabbi?

Rabbi is the Jewish term for teacher.

In the Gospel of Matthew,

Jesus' disciples,

those who truly know him

and follow him

and love him,

never address him

as Rabbi or teacher.

It's the unbelievers,

it's the scribes,

the Pharisees,

the Herodians,

the Sadducees,

the lawyers,

the people who doubt Jesus

and disbelieve Jesus

and discredit Jesus,

they're the ones who call him teacher

or rabbi.

The title teacher

or rabbi in and of itself

is not derogatory.

The term rabbi

in the original Hebrew

means my great one.

Apply to anyone else,

it's an honorific,

but apply to Jesus,

it is woefully inadequate.

It's deficient.

It's even offensive.

In fact,

for us to consider

and call Jesus

merely our teacher

is offensive.

Jesus is the eternal

son of God.

He is the savior

of the world.

He's the king of kings

and lord of lords.

Some of you here

are not yet followers

of Christ.

You might concede

that Jesus is a great teacher.

His ethical teachings

about loving our neighbors

and as we love ourselves,

his teachings about forgiveness

have formed the very foundation

of Western civilization.

You might even concede

that he is a great prophet

or a miracle worker.

He healed many

and prophesied

of things that came true.

You might concede

that Jesus is a great man,

maybe even the greatest human being

that ever lived.

He started the biggest religion

in the world.

He has the most adherence

in the world.

Billions have claimed

to follow him.

His impact on world history

is unparalleled,

but even if you admit

all of that,

that only gets you

as far as Judas.

It's not enough.

Jesus Christ must be your Lord.

Maybe you call yourself

a Christian,

but Jesus is nothing more

than a great therapist.

Someone to give you a pep talk

and make you feel safe

and comfortable

and good about yourself.

Maybe you think of Jesus

as a great coach,

someone who can help you

fulfill your potential

and achieve your goals

and succeed in life.

But that too

will only get you

as far as Judas.

It's not enough.

Jesus Christ must be your Lord.

Romans 10, 9 does not say

if you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is a great teacher,

you will be saved.

If you confess with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised him

from the dead,

then you will be saved.

To confess Jesus

as your Lord

is to submit

and surrender your life

completely to him

as the Lord

of heaven and earth.

It means to renounce

every other person's

claim upon your life

as a claim to lordship

and control in your life

including yourself.

It means to renounce

your own control

over your own life

and to pledge allegiance

to Jesus Christ alone.

We fool ourselves

into thinking

that we can rule

our own lives.

We're capable rulers

of our own destinies,

but in reality

every single person

in the world,

rich or poor,

successful or failures,

we have all,

every single one of us

made a ruin

of our lives.

We don't know

how to rule ourselves.

There is no one righteous,

no, not one.

Our spiritual hollowness,

our spiritual deadness

impeach us.

We must stop

masquerading as kings

and abdicate the throne

and submit to the lordship

of Jesus Christ.

To submit to the lordship

of Jesus Christ

means to deny yourself

as Jesus taught

earlier in the gospel,

to deny yourself

and to take up your cross

and follow him,

to lose your life

for his sake,

no longer living for yourself

but for him.

Later in our service,

we have the privilege

of baptizing four new people

who are making

that very commitment

and pledging allegiance

to Jesus today.

That's what baptism represents.

when you are submerged

under water,

you are baptized

into Christ's death.

You are being buried

with him

by baptism

into death.

And then when you emerge

out of that water,

you are raised

to new life

with Christ,

raised from the dead

with Jesus Christ

to walk in the newness

of life.

All is gone.

You're now a new creation

in Christ.

Then,

afterward,

we can say,

as Christians,

I have been crucified

with Christ.

It is no longer

I who live

but Christ

who lives within me.

The life I now live

in the body,

I live by faith

in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave himself for me.

That's what Christian life is.

That's what surrender

to the Lordship

of Christ is.

And what is,

then that means

God can tell you

anything he wants.

God can tell you

to go.

He can tell you

to stay.

God can put you

to prosperity.

He can put you

to poverty.

He can ordain

pleasure and comfort

for you.

He can ordain

suffering and loss

for you.

He can set you

on a platform.

He can set you

aside in obscurity.

He can make you

praised.

He can make you

criticized.

That's what it means

to confess

with your mouth

Jesus,

not me.

Jesus

is

Lord.

Is Jesus

Lord in your life?

Is he your

master?

Or do you

serve another?

If Jesus

is not your

Lord,

you will fall

away.

Judas'

situation is

unique,

so this isn't

an exact

parallel,

but Hebrews 6

speaks of those

who,

though they are

not of the

elect,

ultimately,

by their

association and

nearness to the

Spirit's work

among the people

of God,

they have had,

in a certain

sense,

tasted of the

heavenly gift

and the goodness

of the word of

God and the

powers of the

age to come.

And he says

that those people

sometimes fall

away.

such people,

God says,

cannot be

restored to

repentance.

In other words,

even now,

there are people

who resemble

Judas in some

sense,

people who knew

Jesus,

people who walked

with Jesus in a

certain sense,

who witnessed

his power and

wisdom and still

fell away.

most of us

have heard of

Billy Graham,

the famous

Christian evangelist.

But back in

1946,

Graham had a

friend and a

fellow evangelist

who was viewed

by many as

being even more

accomplished and

effective and

promising than

Billy Graham.

His name was

Charles Templeton.

But after the

preaching the

gospel internationally,

as an evangelist,

a decade later,

Templeton in

1957 publicly

declared himself

an agnostic.

Fifty years later,

Christian author

Lee Strobel got

to interview

Charles Templeton

and he asked

him,

how do you

assess Jesus?

At that point,

he says,

Templeton's hard

edge softened

and he took on

a much more

melancholy tone

and almost

nostalgically he

said,

Jesus was the

greatest human

being who has

ever lived.

He was a

moral genius.

His ethical

sense was

unique.

He was

intrinsically

wisest person.

He was the

intrinsically

wisest person

that I've ever

encountered in my

life or in my

readings.

His commitment

was total and

led to his own

death, much to

the detriment of

the world.

what could one

say about him

except that this

was a form of

greatness?

Strobel didn't

expect that from

someone who had

renounced and

publicly renounced

Christ all those

many years ago.

And so he pressed

it a little further.

You sound like you

really care about

him.

And Templeton

continued,

well, yes,

he is the most

important thing in

my life.

I know it might

sound strange,

but I have to

say I adore him.

Everything good I

know, everything

decent I know,

everything pure I

know I learned

from Jesus.

Yes, yes, and

tough.

Jesus, look at

Jesus.

He's tough.

He castigated

people.

He was angry.

People don't think

of him that way,

but they don't

read the Bible.

He had a righteous

anger.

He cared for the

oppressed and

exploited, and the

exploited.

There's no question

that he had the

highest moral

standard, the

least duplicity, the

greatest compassion

of any human being

in history.

There have been

many other

wonderful people,

but Jesus is

Jesus.

In my view, he is

the most important

human being who

has ever existed.

And if I may put

it this way, he

continued as his

voice started to

crack, I miss

him.

with that, his

eyes filled with

tears, and he

turned his head and

covered his eyes, and

his shoulders started

bobbing, and he

started heaving and

crying, until

awkwardly he waved

everything off and

called up to any of

you and said,

enough of that.

Templeton was a

Judas.

He died as an

apostate and a

betrayer of Christ

because even though he

spoke with such

passion and emotion,

such pathos about

Jesus, even though he

believed that Jesus was

the greatest human being

that ever lived, the

most important thing he

says in his life in a

kind of way, he never

confessed Jesus as

Lord.

I will return to the

most important Passover

meal in verses 26 to

29 later, but now

skip with me to verses

30 to 35.

After the Passover,

they sing a hymn as was

the custom, and then

Jesus has still more

surprising and sobering

words for his

disciples.

He says in verse 31,

you will all fall away

because of me this

night, for it is

written, I will strike

the shepherd, and the

sheep of the flock will

be scattered.

The word fall away is

the same word that

Jesus used earlier in

Matthew 13, 21, to

speak of those who

receive the word of God

with joy, but when

tribulation or

persecution arises on

account of the word,

immediately he falls

away.

It's the same word that

he used in Matthew 24,

Matthew 24:9

verse 9, when he said

that many will fall away

when they are delivered

up to tribulation and

are hated by the

nations for Christ's

name's sake.

Earlier in verse 24,

Jesus said that the

Son of Man is betrayed

as it is written of him

in the scriptures, and

here in verse 31, Jesus

says that the way all of

his disciples will fall

away too is already

written in the

scriptures.

And he quotes Zechariah

Zechariah 13:7

13, verse 7, that

passage I mentioned

earlier.

The messianic shepherd

come to shepherd his

people, but he's

rejected, and God

himself strikes down

the shepherd and the

sheep of the flock

scatters.

And that too is a

heart-rending betrayal.

Jesus said to his

disciples, the 12, in

Luke 22, verse 28 to

Luke 22:28–30

30, you, you are

those who have stayed

with me in my trials.

And I assign to you,

as my Father assigned

to me, a kingdom that

you may eat and drink

at my table in my

kingdom and sit on

thrones judging the

12 tribes of Israel.

You are those who have

stayed with me in my

trials.

But even these, he

says, who have stayed

with him in his trials

up to that point, will

desert him precisely at

the lowest point of his

life, precisely when he

is the loneliest, precisely

when he is the weakest,

precisely when he needs

their support and

companionship the most,

they desert him.

He says in verse 56, then

all the disciples left

him and fled.

Imagine his sadness, his

loneliness.

No man has ever known

loneliness like Jesus.

But Peter's bravado once

again rears its prideful

head in verse 33.

I mean, he's saying

this while all the other

disciples are listening,

right?

Oh, don't they all fall

away, Jesus?

I, I, I, I will never

fall away.

Have you ever felt that?

You know, sinful, prideful

naivete.

Oh, Jesus, I will never do

something like that to you.

Jesus, I'll never do that

sin again, ever, ever.

Jesus says to him, truly,

I tell you, this very

night before the rooster

crows, you will deny me

three times.

But Peter does not back

off.

He thinks he knows better

than the master himself.

No, no, no, no, Jesus.

Jesus, even if I must die

with you, I will not deny

him.

I'll follow you to the

death.

But this very night before

the sun rises, Peter will

deny Jesus not once, not

twice, but three times.

And it's not even a simple

denial.

He denies Jesus with an

oath.

I do not know the man.

I swear it.

He invokes a curse upon

himself saying, I don't

know him.

At the crisis point of

Jesus' life, just when he

needed his closest friend to

stand up for him and

defend him, Peter and the

apostles are nowhere to be

found.

Peter, of all people, he

was the first disciple that

Jesus called to follow him.

He's a leader among the

twelve.

Peter's house in Capernaum

was the base of operations

for Jesus' ministry in

Galilee.

Peter was the one who made

the great confession saying,

you are the Christ, the

son of the living God.

Peter's the one who had the

faith, at least for a time,

to step out and to walk on

water and follow Jesus

there.

He's the one to whom Jesus

said, you are Peter and on

this rock I will build my

church and the gates of

Hades shall not prevail

against it.

Peter was with Jesus when he

went up on the mountain and

was transfigured in his

divine glory.

He saw all of that and he

who should have borne witness

to Jesus denied him.

Thankfully, this is not the

end of the story for Peter

and the apostles.

Judas never repents.

He never had genuine faith

in Jesus.

He was a child of the devil

all alone.

But the rest of the twelve

all repent of their cowardly

and faithless abandonment of

Jesus.

And it's also important for us

to remember that these

disciples, they are falling

away and denying Jesus

before his death, resurrection,

and ascension.

That means it's also before the

coming of the Holy Spirit in

power at Pentecost, empower

them for their witness, which we

now have the benefit of.

Once the Holy Spirit comes upon

them, they are empowered,

empowered, emboldened, and they

never again deny Jesus.

I believe this is the case for

all true spirit-empowered

Christians.

Jesus said in Matthew 10, 32-33,

So everyone who acknowledges me

before men, I also will

acknowledge before my Father who

is in heaven.

But whoever denies me before

men, I also will deny before my

Father who is in heaven.

Those who deny Christ before men

will not be saved.

For this reason, I don't think

true spirit-indwelled, empowered

Christians ever finally deny

their Savior.

This doesn't, however, mean that

we as Christians are never

cowed by fear or ashamed of the

gospel.

Paul had to remind even Timothy in

2 Timothy 1, 7-8, God gave us a

spirit not of fear.

But of power and love and

self-control.

Therefore, do not be ashamed of

the testimony about our Lord, nor

of me, his prisoner, but share in

suffering for the gospel by the

power of God.

Because it is normal, it's human

to be tempted to be ashamed of

the gospel when because of the

gospel you preach, you are

persecuted.

And because of the gospel you

preach, your closest associates

and your mentors and teachers are

in prison.

And so Paul has to remind him, don't

be ashamed of the testimony.

Even Paul has to ask the saints in

Ephesus to pray for him in Ephesians 6, 19-20

that words may be given to him and

opening his mouth boldly to proclaim the

mystery of the gospel.

that he may declare it boldly.

Why does Paul ask the church of Ephesus

to pray for him to preach with boldness?

Because sometimes it's hard for him to

preach with boldness.

Have you ever hidden the fact that you

are a Christian who goes to church from

your coworkers, peers?

Were you ever part of a group where

God's word was being reviled, ridiculed,

God's people being ridiculed, and then

you just looked away and fidgeted and

didn't say a word?

Have you ever been in an engrossing,

deep conversation with a friend where

there was a golden opportunity to share

the gospel, it served to you on a silver

platter, and then you just fumbled it?

Didn't share the gospel.

Do not be ashamed of the gospel.

It is the power of God for salvation for

those who believe.

Do not be afraid of those who can judge you

in this life only, but not in eternal life.

Those who can kill the body, but cannot

kill the soul.

Caleb, where is Caleb?

He's getting baptized today.

There he is, Caleb.

Because Lucas invited him to our church

to Bible study and share the gospel with him.

Andy, Sandy, AJ are getting baptized today.

It's amazing.

Their whole family, three of them are getting

baptized together like the Philippian jailers

family, which sometimes happens as units.

Because David shared the gospel with him.

How can people confess Jesus as Lord

when they don't know who he is?

When they don't know what he has done for them?

How can they confess Jesus as Lord?

And how can they come to know this wonderful Savior

unless someone tells them?

If we are honest with ourselves, all of our lives

are marked not only by our evangelistic triumphs,

but also by our tragic failures.

We've all been cowards, haven't we?

We've all been silent when we should have stood up

for Jesus and spoken up for him.

Like the 12 apostles.

In verse 21, Jesus said to Judas, the 12th disciple,

truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.

And then verse 34, Jesus says to Peter, the first disciple,

truly I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows,

you will deny me three times.

From the first to the last, from the greatest to the least,

they all fail Jesus.

Like we have all failed Jesus.

But perhaps even more shocking

than Jesus' prediction of their betrayal and denial

is his prediction in this passage

that his 12 disciples, minus Judas,

will one day feast with him in the kingdom of his father,

in the kingdom of God, in verse 29.

Isn't that surprising?

They all deserted him at the moment of his greatest need.

How do you treat people who treat you that way?

Betray you like that.

Do you invite them into your inner circle again?

Do you confide in them?

Do you trust them?

Do you celebrate them?

Do you lavish them with gifts?

Jesus promises them in this very passage

where he says, you will betray me.

You will deny me.

You will fall away from me.

You will leave me.

I will drink and feast with you in the kingdom of God.

How can you say that?

This is Jesus' last supper

before he goes to the cross to die.

Moreover, it's a Passover meal

which in Exodus 12, verse 3,

Exodus 12:3

it stipulated that you should celebrate this

within your own household.

It's a family affair.

And yet, Jesus does not go back to Mary and his siblings.

No, he chooses to eat the Passover with his disciples.

And in a parallel passage in Luke 22, 15,

he tells them,

I have earnestly desire to eat this Passover with you

before I suffer.

Jesus is forming a new family,

a new spiritual family,

consistent with what he said earlier

in Matthew 12, 59 to 60,

when he gestured toward his disciples and said,

here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of my father in heaven

is my brother and my sister and my mother.

And in this new spiritual family,

inclusion is determined

not by the blood of shared ancestors,

but by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Giving them a cup of wine,

Jesus says,

drink of it,

all of you,

for this is my blood of the covenant

which is poured out for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus has predicted his suffering and death

three times so far already

in the Gospel of Matthew,

but he never told us

why he would suffer and die.

He told us he would,

but never told us why.

This is the clearest explanation

and the most direct explanation

of the significance

and the purpose of his death

and it is this,

forgiveness of sins

for many.

The phrase blood of the covenant

comes from Exodus 24, 7 to 8

when the blood of sacrificial animals

was sprinkled upon the people of God

to consecrate them,

set them apart for God.

Now Jesus forms a new covenant community

a new kingdom of his people

and he sprinkles them

not with the blood of oxen,

with his own blood

to make us clean.

He takes this 1,500 year old tradition

of the Passover

and superimposes his own significance,

his own person and identity upon it.

He transforms it forever.

This is why the lamb,

which was the centerpiece

of the Passover meal,

is conspicuously missing

from the dialogue in this passage.

Because the real lamb,

the ultimate lamb,

the spiritual main course

is not missing,

it's Jesus.

Jesus is a Passover lamb

that will be slaughtered

once and for all.

that same very day.

This therefore marks

the last Passover,

last biblically sanctioned Passover.

Because after Jesus' death

and resurrection,

God's people celebrate

the new Passover

of the Lamb of God.

This last supper

was a Passover meal,

but the Lord's Supper

that Jesus is instituting

in this passage

is not meant to be celebrated

once a year,

only during the Passover.

No, it's meant to be celebrated

as often as we gather together.

That's what Paul says

in 1 Corinthians 11, 26.

For as often as you eat this bread

and drink the cup,

you proclaim the Lord's death

until he comes.

That's why he chooses the bread,

which is a staple

to institute the Lord's Supper.

He says of the bread,

this is my body.

This doesn't necessarily mean

that the bread

is the literal,

physical body of Christ

any more than Jesus saying

in John 10, verse 9,

John 10:9

I am the door

means that Jesus

is a literal,

physical door.

Jesus is the bread

that is broken.

Its fibers ripped apart

as we chomp and munch on it

and eat it

to derive nourishment from it.

The bread, in a sense,

dies so that we might live.

Likewise, the fruit of the vine,

the grape juice or wine,

they're picked off the vine

and then they're thrown

into shallow vats

where people literally walk on it

and stomp upon it

so that the juice pours out from it

and then to get the squeeze,

the rest of the juice out,

they press it

with heavy beams and stones.

That's what Jesus has done

for us on the cross.

Pressed, squeezed,

poured out

every last drop.

poured out,

not dripped down.

Poured out

for many,

for the forgiveness of sins.

There's an echo here

of Isaiah 53, 12,

that he bore the sin of many.

He was pierced

for our transgressions.

He was crushed

for our iniquities.

Upon him

was the chastisement

that brought us peace

and with his wounds

we are healed.

And this is why

Jesus can invite disciples

who desert him

and deny him

into the kingdom of God.

This is why

sinners like you and me

can join him

at his family table.

They mocked him

during his life.

Why does your master,

why does your teacher

eat with

tax collectors

and sinners?

Maybe you are very aware

of your sins today,

some of you.

you feel so unworthy.

How can I,

who failed him

yet again,

how can I,

who have sinned

and besmirched his name

yet again,

how can I,

how can I

dare

sin,

demand

or expect a seat

at the table

of the Lord?

God,

everywhere else

in the world

you need to

pay something.

You gotta

attain a high enough

GPA

to enter the

honor societies.

You need to

pay your dues

to join your clubs.

You need to,

you need to find something.

You need to do something.

You need to meet

some criteria.

You need to,

you need to,

the family table

of the Lord Jesus,

your only qualification

is the blood

of Jesus Christ

poured out

for the forgiveness

of sins.

So cling to that

today.

Renew

your resolve.

Cling to that

and that

alone

for your assurance

today.

Let's pray.

Father,

thank you

for the blood.

Thank you

for the blood.

Oh,

there is a

fountain

filled with blood.

Lord,

we sinners

plunge ourselves

in it

and find ourselves

cleansed

of all our sins.

We praise you,

Lord.

We thank you,

Lord.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.