Gospel of Mark: - Meal with a Message

Highlight of the year. After all it was, look at verse 12 of chapter 14, the first day of the Feast

of Unleavened Bread, or better known as the Passover. It was a week-long celebration of

eating and drinking to commemorate the rescue of God's people from Egypt almost 1,500 years

before. And every year without fail from that first time, that rescue was remembered with a special

meal. And for the disciples and for Jesus, it was no different. Look at the rest of verse 12. During

the Feast, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him,

where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover? You see, central to this

amazing meal was what was called the Passover lamb. It was the tradition for each family or each

gathering to go and get a lamb, sacrifice that lamb, and then eat part of it later on that evening

in a celebratory meal. Now that might be strange to us, but thankfully the meaning of this meal is

explained for us in the book of Exodus. So put your finger there in Mark, or hold your place there in

Mark, and go to the book of Exodus, which is at the beginning of the Bible. Again, I'm sorry, I haven't

got a page number, so Exodus chapter 12 is what we're looking for. It's right at the beginning,

Exodus 12 · chapter mention

Genesis, and then Exodus. Has somebody got a page? It's page 68.

So just to give a bit of context, Exodus. It simply means exit or departure, and it's all about God's

people being rescued, having been enslaved for 400 years under the tyranny of Pharaoh, and God had

promised to free his people to rescue them, and this is how it happened. It all revolved around a meal.

So Exodus chapter 12 verse 3. So follow along, we're going to, well, up on the screen you'll see the

Exodus 12:3

verses that we're going to be looking at. So I'll read them. Exodus 12 verse 3. He says,

Exodus 12:3

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month, each man is to take a lamb

for his family, one for each household. Verse 6. Take care of the lambs until the fourteenth day of

the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

Then they are to take some of the blood from that lamb and put it on the sides and on the tops of the

door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. Now what would they do that for? That sounds a bit

gruesome and a bit strange. Well, we're told in verse 12. Because on that same night, God says,

I will pass through Egypt and will strike down every firstborn, both men and animals.

And I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood, well, that will be a sign

for you on the house where you are. And when I see the blood on the door frames, I will pass over you.

And no destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

So, verse 17. The command was given to celebrate this feast of unleavened bread or Passover because

it was on this very day that I brought your divisions, your people, out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a

lasting ordinance for the generations to come. Now look at verse 26.

So this is what they were to celebrate. And when your children ask you, so when they were all sitting

down having this meal and a child asks, what does this meal mean? Why are we celebrating it?

Verse 27. Then tell them it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who passed over the houses of the

Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians. Then the people bowed down

and worshipped.

Go back to Mark's Gospel, chapter 14.

So you see, every year, for the last 1500 years, this Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread

was celebrated. But this time, everything would change. They would never eat this meal in the same way

ever again. You see, this meal is not about the death and blood of a lamb. This meal is about the blood

and death of Jesus. The death of the lamb that we read about in Exodus was simply there to prepare us

for the coming death of Jesus Christ. So as Jesus shares in this meal with his disciples,

he tells us four things about his death. He uses this meal to teach us four things about his death.

First of all, the plan of Jesus' death, the reason for Jesus' death, the meaning of his death,

and the purpose. So the plan, the reason, the meaning, and the purpose.

So first of all, the plan.

This meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples was all planned and prepared for in advance.

So look at the end of verse 12. They say,

where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?

So Jesus sent two of his disciples,

telling them,

go into the city,

and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.

Follow him.

And say to the owner of the house that he enters,

the teacher asks,

where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?

And he will show you a large upper room,

furnished and all ready.

Make preparations for us there.

You see, clearly Jesus has everything worked out.

This is no chance meal.

This has all been planned and prepared for in advance.

The man who they're going to meet,

carrying the water jar,

they're going to kind of just meet him.

Coincidentally,

not.

All part of God's plan.

The conversation with the owner who already has the room prepared.

So before they even sit down to eat with Jesus,

Jesus wants us to know

that he is in complete control

of everything that is going to happen to him

in the next 24 hours.

Verse 16.

The disciples left

and they went into the city

and found things

just as Jesus had told them.

So they prepared the Passover.

You see, this meal

that was so carefully planned

is reminding us and telling us

that the death of Jesus

is so carefully planned.

His death comes

at the same time

as the Passover meal.

It's intentional.

It's deliberate.

It's all part of God's amazing design

because through this meal

celebrated every year,

he wants us to see

that he

is the Passover lamb.

That God has planned

and prepared

this event,

Jesus' death for us

from before time began

for you

and for me.

This is no mistake.

This is part of God's

amazing design

for us.

Second,

the reason

for Jesus' death.

this meal

was meant to be

a time of great celebration.

Lots of eating,

lots of drinking,

friends and family

all gathering together.

I guess the nearest for us

would be like Christmas Day.

Full of laughter,

lots of fun,

all the stories

going on around the table.

And then Jesus spoke up

and look what he said.

Verse 18.

While they were reclining

at the table eating,

he said,

I tell you the truth,

one of you

will betray me.

One who is eating

with me.

You can imagine

the atmosphere.

It changes

just like that.

The eating stops.

The laughter

dies away.

And as the reality

of what Jesus

has just said

begins to sink in,

they all begin

to shuffle uncomfortably,

not wanting

to make eye contact.

Verse 19.

They were saddened.

And one by one

they said to Jesus,

surely not I,

not me.

And we can see them

all there around

the table,

Matthew,

no,

wouldn't be me.

Peter,

not I.

Thomas,

no.

Judas,

never.

John,

no.

One by one,

not me,

not me.

But Jesus

is insistent.

Verse 20.

It is one of the twelve.

One of them

who dips bread

into the bowl

with me.

We can hear

their thoughts.

One of us

going to betray

Jesus?

It couldn't be possible.

He must be mistaken.

We would never

fail him.

You see,

as we've seen

as we've gone

through Mark's

gospel,

the disciples

have refused

to accept

that Jesus

must die.

They couldn't

see a reason

for him dying.

Why would he

have to?

But tonight,

at this meal,

Jesus makes

the reason

crystal clear.

You see,

we have a rather

high view

of ourselves.

We like to

think of ourselves

as actually

being more good

than bad.

In fact,

we would back

ourselves every time

when it comes

to issues of

loyalty and

faithfulness.

I would never

fail.

But Jesus

sees us

as we really

are.

He sees

our hearts.

He knows

our true nature.

He knows

that we came

into this world

born to fail.

That's the effect

that sin has

on our lives.

We are born

enslaved,

captured to sin.

We can't help

but fail.

And we fail

our wives.

And we fail

our husbands.

And as parents,

we fail

our children.

And we fail

our friends.

and we fail

each other.

The reality

is we're all

moral failures.

And just

as Jesus

predicted the

failure of

Judas,

in fact,

all the disciples

would deny him

and desert him

and run away

from him.

So he predicts

the failure

of each one

of us.

It's not

if we mess

up,

but when

we mess

up.

And it's

as if

Jesus is

saying to

us,

as we

share in

this meal

with him,

let me show

you the real

you.

Stop all

this pretending.

no more

hiding behind

masks.

I tell you

the truth.

You will

betray me.

And failure

is serious.

Verse 21.

The Son of

Man will

go,

this is Jesus,

will go just

as it is

written about

him.

But woe

to that

man who

betrays the

Son of

Man.

it would

be better

for him

if he

had not

been born.

You see,

the problem

with our

failure,

of our

rejection

and our

turning away

from God,

is it

leads to

judgment.

It's wrecked

our lives

and it's

wrecked the

world in

which we

live.

And yes,

we can read

this and

think,

well,

Jesus knew

who was

going to

betray

him,

but that

doesn't

excuse our

personal

responsibility.

responsibility.

We can't

be blaming

others all

the time

and pointing

fingers and

saying,

well,

it was my

background or

it was this

or it was

that or

it was that

person.

We must

take ownership

of our

own personal

failure.

And that's

the reason

why Jesus

must die.

Jesus must

die so

that he

can deal

with my

failure

and for

your

failure.

Third,

the meaning

of Jesus'

death.

This meal,

which was a

great meal,

had lots

of roast

lamb and

herbs,

bread and

wine,

bread and

all of

the elements

and all

of that

part of

the meal

was designed

to remember

that special

night from

1500 years

ago when

God had

passed over

the land

of Egypt.

But at the

central part of

this meal,

when somebody

should get up

and start

rehearsing or

talking about

the events

of the past,

Jesus stands

up and he

begins to

tell the story,

but rather than

start talking

about a

lamb and

something that

happened in

the past,

Jesus begins

to talk about

himself and

the present.

Look at

verse 22.

While they

were all

eating,

Jesus took

bread,

gave thanks

and broke

it and gave

it to his

disciples saying,

take it,

this is my

body.

then he

took the

cup,

gave thanks

and offered

it to

them and

they all

drank from

it.

This is

my

blood.

You see,

Jesus is

wanting us

to make

the connections

that,

look,

that lamb,

that story

that we know

so well in

Exodus,

that lamb

that was

slaughtered

to protect

the people

and to

free the

people.

Can't you

see that

I'm that

lamb who

has come

to protect

you and

to free

you from

the judgment

that your

failure deserves?

Think back

again to

the story

in Exodus.

Remember

what we

read,

a lamb?

Each family

selected a

lamb and

then on a

particular night

that lamb

was slaughtered

and the

very act

of killing

that lamb

was symbolic

and significant

because the

people knew

that on that

same night

God was

going to

come and

he was

going to

pass over

Egypt in

judgment.

So when

that lamb

was killed

they knew

that this

was a

death in

place of

their death.

God's

judgment was

going to

come and

the firstborn

would die.

So God

was teaching

them that

look,

somebody

must die

for you.

Someone

must die

in place

of you.

And then

when they

took the

blood of

that lamb

and they

began to

paint it

on the

door frames

of the

door,

this is

what God

had said,

the blood

will be

a sign

for you

on the

houses

where you

are and

when I

see the

blood I

will pass

over you

and no

destructive

plague

will touch

you.

Now look

at what

Jesus does

and listen

to what

he says

at this

meal.

Look at

what he

does

and listen

to what

he says.

He takes

bread,

doesn't he,

in verse

22,

and he

breaks

that bread

and he

holds it

before his

disciples

and he

says,

this is

my body.

Just

as that

lamb

was broken

and ripped

apart,

torn apart,

slaughtered,

so I

will be

broken

and slaughtered

and torn

apart

for you.

And then

as Jesus

at the

meal,

he took

the cup,

a cup

of wine

and he

would have

poured

the wine

and he

passed

the cup

around

and as

he held

the cup,

what did

he say?

He says,

this is

my blood

which has

been poured

out for

you.

Just

as the

lamb's

blood

was put

on the

door frames

in faith

that when

God came

over,

they would

be protected

from judgment,

so he

is saying,

faith in

my blood,

faith in

my death

is going

to protect

you from

God's

eternal

judgment.

the

disciples

sit

thinking

about

their

failure

that's

to come

and

looking

at the

bread

and

looking

at the

wine

and

thinking

about

the

lamb

that

was

slaughtered

and

looking

at

Jesus

who

is

going

to

die

for

them

because

Jesus

knows

as he

eats

this

meal

his

death

is

only

hours

away

and

at

this

meal

this

last

meal

that

he

shares

with

them

he

wants

them

to

see

that

he

is

the

lamb

slaughtered

sacrificed

for

us

that

his

death

was

a

death

in

place

of

my

death

and

your

death

and

when

Jesus

died

on

the

cross

when

he

hung

there

pierced

as we

sang

earlier

for

our

transgressions

the

judgment

of

God

it

didn't

pass

over

the

judgment

of

God

fell

on

Jesus

the

sacrificed

lamb

Jesus

on

the

cross

took

the

wrath

of

God

for

you

and

for

me

as

Jesus

hung

on

the

cross

he

was

treated

as

a

failure

for

us

of

all

the

things

that

we

have

gotten

wrong

of

all

of

my

failures

everything

Jesus

took

them

all

he

was

the

innocent

one

the

perfect

one

but

he

takes

everything

all

my

failure

all

my

mess

ups

and

the

promise

for

us

is

that

if

we

apply

that

blood

the

death

of

Jesus

to

our

lives

not

literally

nobody's

asking

that

we

paint

ourselves

or

anything

like

that

it's

not

that

it's

faith

in

what

Jesus

has

done

and

if we

do

God's

judgment

will

pass

over

us

and

we

will

be

protected

we

will

be

protected

from

hell

itself

and

eternal

separation

from

him

that's

why

Jesus

must

die

he

has

to

and

the

good

news

is

he

has

he

became

the

sacrifice

for

you

and

for

me

and

then

fourth

the

purpose

of

Jesus

death

this

meal

was

simply

a

great

occasion

after

all

it

was

a

meal

to

celebrate

their

rescue

to

remember

their

freedom

from

slavery

from

from

Egypt

now

look

what

happens

after

the

disciples

share

this

meal

with

Jesus

look at

what

they

do

verse

26

when

they

had

sung

a hymn

so they

have

eaten

the

meal

and

when

they

had

sung

a hymn

a hymn

of

praise

they

went

out

to

the

mount

of

olives

do

you

see

the

significance

there

they

went

out

that

little

phrase

they

went

out

the

word

that

is

being

used

there

is

the

same

word

exodus

it

means

departure

it

means

exit

and

Mark

the

author

is

wanting

us

to

get

the

connections

here

that

after

the

first

Passover

meal

back

in

Egypt

when

they

were

celebrating

together

it

was

the

departure

it

was

the

exit

to

go

into

a

new

life

a

brand

new

kind

of

life

to

go

into

the

promised

land

they

were

leaving

going

somewhere

new

they

departed

from

the

rule

of

Pharaoh

they

are

now

going

to

live

with

God

in

slavery

behind

and

that's

what

Jesus'

death

has

done

for

us

and

that's

what

he

wants

us

to

get

his

death

provides

the

exit

his

death

is

the

departure

door

to

free

us

from

our

slavery

to

sin

so

that

we

might

enter

into

a

new

kind

of

life

to

live

with

him

forever

you

see

this

meal

that

we're

looking

at

here

it

isn't

a

meal

belonging

to

another

culture

of

another

time

in

a

different

place

this

is

our

meal

this

is

our

exodus

story

and

through

our

trust

in

Jesus

and

his

death

for

us

we

have

been

set

free

we've

been

liberated

no

longer

bound

by our

failures

no

longer

bogged

down

and

swamped

by our

guilt

and

shame

instead

we've

been

set

free

living

in the

reality

of

God's

forgiveness

renewed

and

restored

people

children

of God

belonging

to him

never to

be

condemned

we've

been set

free

that's

why

Jesus

died

to

free

us

and to

give us

life

they

went

out

after

they

celebrated

the

meal

and

so

it

becomes

a meal

for

us

this

is a

meal

where

we

remember

Jesus

the

true

and

ultimate

Passover

lamb

the

one

who

sacrificed

his

life

for

us

this

is a

meal

the

invitation

goes out

to

all

people

that

they

would

all

share

in

this

meal

but

only

for

those

who

recognise

they

are

failures

and

need

forgiveness

only

for

those

who

put

their

trust

in

Jesus

the

invitation

is

out

there

for

all

but

he

says

only

share

in

this

meal

if

your

trust

is

in

me

if

you

know

that

I

died

for

you

and

let's

remember

as

we

come

together

now

to

share

in

this

meal

this

is

a

celebration

this

is

a

joyful

occasion

it's

to

be

a

good

time

a

happy

time

because

through

Jesus

we've

been

set

free

from

judgement

set

free

to

live

a

new

kind

of

life

this

is

our

meal

a

meal

to

celebrate

and

remember

so

before

we do

drink

and

before

we do

eat

of

this

meal

we're

going

to

sing

a

song

a

hymn

of

reflection

a

hymn

of

praise

behold

the

lamb

who

bears

our

sins

away

slain

for

us

and

we

remember

the

promise

made

that

all

who

come

in

faith

find

forgiveness

at

the

cross

we

share

in

this

bread

of

life

we

drink

of

his

sacrifice

as a

sign of

our

bonds

of

peace

around

the

table

of

the

king

this

isn't

made

up

this

is

the

meal

of

Jesus

to

remember

so

let's

stand

together

we'll

sing

and

we'll

reflect

on

the

meal

that

we

are

going

to

enjoy

eating

together