Come To The Table

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

My name is Ashley, and I get to serve as one of the pastors here.

I hope that your morning began like my morning with some leftover pie.

In this culture, many of us gather with family and friends to enjoy a meal, to celebrate Thanksgiving together, and to answer the question that Ryan just posed to all of you.

At my house, we have dubbed this holiday Spam's Giving.

Because about five years ago, I decided I was done making the turkey that nobody wanted.

And instead, we fry up our family favorite Spam.

You can see my little guy checking out what flavor he wants.

We serve traditional American Thanksgiving sides like marshmallow, sweet potatoes, and stuffing, alongside our traditional Filipino staples of rice and lympia.

We have family and friends over in our backyard for an afternoon of spending time together and sharing a meal.

I imagine that your day probably didn't include spam.

Maybe it did.

But sometime over the last few days, you probably did share a meal with people that you love, or at least tolerate.

This morning, we will continue our Thanksgiving weekend together with an invitation to come to a table.

Jesus himself is inviting you to his sacred table.

And my hope for our time together is that as we open the scriptures to hear what is so special about being invited to Jesus' table, that you would experience communion with fresh eyes and a deeper understanding of its power and meaning in your life.

So we're gonna start off in the book of Acts, a book of the Bible, all about the early church.

Acts 2 says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.

Now all the believers were together and held things in common.

They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all as any had need.

Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple and broke bread from house to house.

They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Breaking of bread is this term that includes both the Lord's Supper as well as eating a meal together.

Elsewhere in Scripture, the phrase describes both an ordinary meal sometimes, and sometimes it describes the Lord's Supper.

The people came together to share a meal and to take the Lord's Supper together.

In many Asian American churches, the practice of sharing a meal together is a regular feature of church life.

It's over these meals that true community building takes place.

This is similar to the community building in the early church.

The habitual practices of breaking bread and building community are connected.

The believers met with one another daily, enjoying the unity of the Spirit.

They ate meals and they observed the Lord's Supper together in their homes.

In their culture, eating together reflected a common commitment to one another and deep fellowship.

The Lord's Supper began as a meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples at the time of the Jewish Passover.

This morning we're going to hear the words of Jesus and then be invited to come to the table together in this community.

To get a fuller picture of the meaning of the Lord's Supper, or what we often call communion, we will read the account of the first Lord's Supper in three of the Gospels.

The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are considered the synoptic gospels.

They cover many of the same stories, but each have different details that give us a fuller picture when read side by side.

It's sort of like when you ask two people how they met, and their stories are generally the same, but they each add different details into that story.

And by hearing both of them, you get to know more about what happened and what was said.

So as we go through these three accounts of Jesus introducing the Lord's Supper to the disciples, the details will be what give us a greater understanding of the purpose and meaning behind communion.

So to set the scene for us, it's Passover, where Jewish people gather to share a meal together, celebrating God's salvation of his people from slavery in Egypt.

In Exodus 12, the Lord is putting a plan in place to save his people.

So he instructed the people to spread the blood of a lamb on their doorframe of their homes, so that as he executed judgment on the Egyptians for enslaving them, he passed over the houses with blood on the doorframe.

The people were passed over and they were saved because of the blood of a lamb.

God gave them the instruction to celebrate the Passover.

The Lord said, This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord.

And then Moses instructed them, remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of his hand.

The people continued to remember how God rescued them by celebrating with this Passover meal year after year after year.

This is where we find Jesus.

He's gathered with his disciples for this Passover meal, as was their Jewish tradition of remembrance.

So we'll begin with the account in Matthew.

Matthew 26.

As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, Take and eat it.

This is my body.

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, Drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus took this bread that was served at the Passover meal, and then he gave thanks to God.

He then broke the bread into parts, distributed it among the disciples, and then instructed them to eat it with the words, This is my body.

The Passover dinner has specific rituals and words to it, but these words, this is my body, these were not part of that Passover ritual.

Jesus was rewriting the script to signify something new that God was doing.

His body, like the bread, would be broken.

Jesus was linking his sacrifice with redemption history when he declared this during that Passover meal.

The Jewish people associated their redemption from Egypt with eating the Passover meal because God had told them to remember.

Now, Jesus' disciples were to associate their redemption with Jesus' death, symbolized in this similar meal.

The Messiah, the Savior, was coming to save his people by his sacrificial death.

This is what Jesus is declaring as the new covenant.

To understand what's significant about this new covenant, we need a bit of understanding of the covenant given to the Israelites after the Exodus.

After God rescued his people from Egypt and gave them instructions for the Passover, he instituted a covenant with them.

He said, You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.

Now, if you will carefully listen to me and keep my covenant, you will be my own possessions out of all the people, although the whole earth is mine.

And you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.

Moses took the covenant scroll and read it aloud to the people.

They responded, We will do and obey all that the Lord has commanded.

Moses took the blood, splattered it on the people, and said, This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.

And they, Israel's elders, saw God and they ate and they drank.

God rescued the people from slavery in Egypt and was declaring them his people.

His part of the covenant was to hold the Israelites as his holy people, and their part was to listen to him and obey his commands.

This is the section of scripture where we see the Ten Commandments and the other laws.

This is where that comes from.

The covenant was made with blood.

We see Moses splatter the blood on the people and refer to it as the blood of the covenant.

The leaders saw God and they ate and they drank.

And now we go back to Jesus, celebrating the Passover in the book of Matthew.

The disciples are seeing Jesus, who is God, and they will now eat and drink.

Jesus says, For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

This declaration of Jesus is referencing a prophecy from the prophet Jeremiah, who told about this new covenant that was to come.

The disciples would have been familiar with this prophecy, and we're gonna read it this morning.

In Jeremiah 31, it says, Look, the days are coming, this is the Lord's declaration, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

This one will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

My covenant that they broke, even though I am their master, the Lord's declaration.

Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, the Lord's declaration.

I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God and they will be my people.

No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them.

This is the Lord's declaration.

For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

He says, I will be their God, and they will be my people.

This mirrors the covenant with the Israelites, but this time it isn't conditional on their obedience to his commands.

This time the Lord declares, I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.

And so Jesus declares, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus, who is called the Lamb of God, used his own blood for this covenant.

As we saw the blood of the Lamb rescue the people during the Exodus, as we saw Moses splatter the blood on the people to make the covenant with God, Jesus poured his own blood for the new covenant for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus invites us to come to the table, which is the table of forgiveness.

Jesus' table is the place of forgiveness.

As we take the Lord's Supper, we remember this new covenant that we are a part of.

He will be our God.

We will be his people.

This is where we can confess to God what we need forgiveness for and stand in gratitude of this grace that all of our sin and our iniquity is washed away.

Jesus sets this table for us.

He invites us to come to be forgiven.

And all of our shame is wiped away.

When we come to his table, we remember this great grace that God has on us because of Jesus.

But who's invited to this table?

While Matthew gives us the reason for the pouring of Jesus' blood, the account in Mark gives us the answer for who?

Isn't this a question that we ask?

We say, Well, what about that person or that group of people?

Jesus' forgiveness can't possibly include them.

We say, Not my Jesus.

Let's read the account.

Mark 14, as they were eating, he took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to them, and said, Take it, this is my body.

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.

He said to them, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.

Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus says, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many.

But God, how many?

Because there's some that I don't think should make it, who say that they follow you.

Possibly the most famous verse in the Bible speaks to this.

These are the words of Jesus.

And this morning we're going to see a little bit more context than we typically cite.

This is John 3, 14 through 17.

Jesus replied, Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

For God loved the world in this way.

He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Jesus said, everyone who believes in him, everyone.

The expansive nature of Jesus' heart is way bigger than we could imagine.

Or if we're really honest, it's way bigger than we would like it to be.

The blood of the new covenant is poured out for many.

Jesus invites everyone to come to his table.

The table is wide enough for everyone, and everyone is invited.

While I was on sabbatical this summer, I attended multiple different churches and got to partake in communion at almost every single one.

I attended different denominations, so they practiced communion in different forms.

One had those tiny sealed cups that you have to peel it off and everybody took it at the same time.

One passed trays through the rows and you have to juggle all the pieces while you're taking them out of the trays.

One had each person come to the front, like in order to get the bread from the Reverend.

One even had this choose your own adventure cup, where one side you could go and sip from a communal cup, and the other side, if you didn't want to share germs with everybody else, you could dip it instead.

What was so beautiful about this experience was that the table was wide enough for everyone, even with our differing theology, because that's what makes up these different denominations.

But we all declare that we believe in Jesus, and so we are all welcome at his table and can live in community with one another.

And something I noticed as I was doing this week after week was that the mode, how we took communion, didn't actually matter.

Many of us have preferences on how we prefer to receive the bread and the cup, but that's not the main thing.

The mode doesn't matter as much as who is at the table.

Everyone is invited to the table.

And those who believe in Jesus are part of this new covenant.

This everyone includes way more people than we could imagine.

Everyone includes that family member that you have tension with or you no longer speak to.

It includes that coworker who just gets on your nerves day after day.

It includes the person with wildly different political opinions from you.

It includes that person who you have declared is living in sin.

It includes the person who hurt you that you have decided to never forgive because of the magnitude of harm done.

It includes the person who you hope to not run into at the grocery store because you want to avoid them at all costs.

Everyone really does mean everyone.

When we come to Jesus' table, it is an act of reconciliation with others as we acknowledge that Jesus invites even those we wish that he wouldn't.

Jesus invited everyone to the table.

And we begin to catch how expansive this many really is in Luke's account of the night.

So let's read.

Luke 22.

When the hour came, he reclined at the table and the apostles with him.

Then he said to them, I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he said, Take this and share it among yourselves.

For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

But look, the hand of the one betraying me is at the table with me.

For the Son of Man will go away as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.

So they began to argue among themselves which of them it could be who was going to do it.

As Jesus invited the many for the forgiveness of sins, he narrows that scope and he makes it personal.

That this blood of the new covenant is poured out for you.

Now he was talking to his disciples directly, the people at the table physically with him, but if we remember the many from Mark, that includes us.

It includes you.

Sometimes we wonder if we're good enough or qualified enough to be invited to Jesus' table.

We wonder if our sin is just too great for Jesus' forgiveness, and then we spiral in shame.

But notice who makes an appearance in this version of the story.

Jesus said, the hand of the one betraying me is at the table with me.

The very disciple who personally betrayed Jesus was part of this original invitation to come to the table.

Church, nothing can separate you from Jesus.

Nothing you have ever done or could ever do can take this invitation away from you.

Nothing can separate you from the love of God.

Nothing.

Jesus poured his blood for you.

To be part of God's new covenant, that he would be your God and you would be his people and he would forgive you and remember your sin no more.

Jesus invites you to the table.

You are invited to Jesus' table.

This invitation is personal.

It's not like being in a restaurant where you're an anonymous customer to the chef or some fundraiser dinner where the host doesn't actually know you or care about you, but instead they invited you to ask just to donate to their cause.

Jesus' table isn't like that at all.

It's more like an invitation to a meal in someone's home where they wanted to be with you.

So they invited you and prepared for you.

They found out what you like, what you don't like, what you can't eat, what you're allergic to, and they made a meal that you would love, that's catered for you.

And they did all this because they love you and they wanted to spend time with you.

That's what Jesus' table is like.

He wants you at his personal table because he loves you and he wants to share this great forgiveness with you.

When we receive the bread and the cup, it's a symbol that this new covenant includes us.

His blood was poured for us.

Paul in 1 Corinthians instructs us in this way, based on these words of Jesus.

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

On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, This is my body, which is for you, do this in remembrance of me.

In the same way, he also took the cup after supper and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Jesus said, Do this in remembrance of me.

And Paul reminded the church of this.

I want to take us back to the instruction from the Lord about the Passover meal.

Moses said, Remember this day when you came out of Egypt.

The Passover meal that Jesus was at was remembering God rescuing his people.

And now Jesus, as Jesus is giving new meaning to this Passover meal, he says, Remember me.

The Israelites were given the instruction, celebrate it as a festival to the Lord.

And then Paul said to the church, proclaim the Lord's death.

When we come to the Lord's table, we remember and proclaim Jesus' death, which is the new covenant of the forgiveness of sins, declaring that we are God's people.

It's easy to forget that though, isn't it?

To forget that we're remembering and proclaiming.

We go through the motions, we come down the aisle, we take the cracker, we dip it in the juice, it starts dripping everywhere on our hand, on the floor, as we walk back to our seat.

We go back, we eat it, and we move on.

I hear sometimes that it can feel stale or routine after so many times of taking it.

And maybe it lacks some of its power when it's overdone.

Every single week, my best friend and I go out for chips and guacamole, just about every Thursday night.

And guess what?

It doesn't get stale.

We both look forward to it every single week.

And when we have to miss a week, we lament over text that we're not getting to do this together.

Every week we eat the same chips and the same guacamole, but the food isn't the point.

It's the connection with my friend that matters.

Here's what we need to remember as a part of the remembrance as we receive the bread and the cup.

This bread, it doesn't get stale.

It doesn't get stale.

Jesus declared that he is the bread of life.

So this bread is a proclamation of his body being broken and his death.

His body was given for us so that we could have life.

When Moses says remember, and then Jesus says remember, and then Paul says, remember, this bread and cup is the physical monument for us to remember the new covenant, that we are God's people, and he is our God, and he has forgiven our iniquity and remembers it no more.

That Jesus poured out his blood for many for the forgiveness of sins for you.

When we gather with God's people, the many included in this new covenant, we are invited to come to the table to eat and to drink.

And as we do this, it's a celebration of this new covenant and proclaiming Jesus giving his body and blood for many and for you.

So this morning, would you come to Jesus' table?

Come to his table where forgiveness is given.

Come to his table where everyone is invited.

Come to his table where you are loved and wanted, and your shame and your guilt are wiped away.

We're gonna close our service by having the opportunity to come to the table that Jesus is inviting us to and taking the Lord's Supper.

Once you have the elements and you're back at your seat, meet Jesus at his table.

Before eating, ask yourself a few questions.

First, where do I need forgiveness today?

What do I need to confess?

Then would you take a moment to do that?

Acknowledging that Jesus' table is the place of forgiveness.

The next question is, who do I need to forgive?

Who do I need to see is welcome at Jesus' table?

Because the table is wide enough for everyone, it's an opportunity for us to take a step toward forgiveness for people who have harmed us or others, noticing that at this table of forgiveness, they are also forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.

And lastly, receive the elements with gratitude.

Thanking God for being part of his new covenant and forgiving you and remembering your sin no more.

This is how I instruct my kids to take communion, simply to pray, thank you, Jesus, before they eat.

In this act of gratitude and remembrance, this is how the forgiveness table that Jesus sets for us becomes the Thanksgiving table.

The family of God is gathered around the table, giving thanks for what Jesus has done by pouring Himself out on our behalf.

Let's pray.

Jesus, thank you that you poured yourself out for us.

Thank you that you showed up for us and that you invited us to your table.

Thank you that you are our God and we are your people, that you have forgiven our iniquity and you remember our sin no more.

Jesus, may we remember and proclaim that this morning.

Amen.

Church, you're now invited to come to the table to remember and proclaim.

And then, like the accounts in Matthew and Mark, we'll end with singing a song of praise to God.

We hope you were blessed by this message.

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