The Last Supper

SCRIPTURE: Mark 14:12-26 (ESV)

DATE: 3-27-22

As always it’s a joy to be with you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main campus — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRODUCTION

Last week, we returned to the gospel of Mark and began part two of our “This is the End” series. Back in February — when we started back in Mark this year — Jesus was teaching on the end times — that was part one of our series. And — last week — we began the final days leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. So we find ourselves at a different end — the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. And — today’s passage — brings us to a practice Christians still do today — an act that the people of God participate in — something we do that Jesus established just before his death.

ANNOUNCE THE TEXT

If you have your Bible please turn with me to Mark chapter 14. We’ll be looking at verses 12-26. Here are the words found in Mark chapter 14. Beginning in verse 12.

“And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.

21 For 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.” 22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mark 14:12-26 ESV)

SERMON INTRODUCTION

After the sermon — at both of our campuses — we’ll be taking the Lord’s Supper. The meal we see Jesus establish in our verses for today. A meal — the bread and the cup — reminding us of the sacrifice Jesus has made for our sins. A meal — however — that goes beyond simply reminding us of a historical fact that all of Scripture has been preparing us for — Christ’s death and resurrection — for this is a meal that is itself a gift of grace to us from God.

You see, in the Lord’s Supper grace is offered to us. Us as individuals — yes — but us corporately as the church as well. That’s why the Lord’s Supper is something we do together and not alone. This is a communal meal — something we do with other Christians in a local congregation. It’s what makes the church unique and distinct from all other kinds of gatherings and organizations — including Christian organizations. For where the Word of God is rightly preached, and the sacraments — baptism and the Lord’s Supper — are faithfully administered, and where church discipline is properly exercised — there you find a true Christian church.

So we’ll allow this text — from Mark’s gospel — to help us to think more deeply and biblically about the meal we’ll be taking later in the service.

THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PASSOVER MEAL

But let’s begin by seeing how the Lord’s Supper is the fulfillment of a previous meal in Scripture — the Passover meal. We’re in verse 12.

These verses remind me of something we came across in Mark’s gospel last year. It was during this same week of Jesus’ life — but earlier in the week — when he was about to enter Jerusalem. If you remember — Jesus — in order to fulfill Scripture — sent some of his disciples out to go find and untie a donkey and bring it to him so he could ride on it into Jerusalem. All the disciples had to do was tell the donkey’s owner that Jesus needed the animal and everything would work out fine and dandy.

It was a display of the providence of God — something we talked about last week — where God is orchestrating everything going on in our lives and everything here in Jesus’ life — so that — Scripture would be fulfilled.

And — in our verses — Jesus sends Peter and John — we know which disciples Jesus sends out because of Luke’s gospel — but — honestly — it’s hard for us to grasp the monumental nature of the task they’ve just been sent out to accomplish. As I’ve mentioned in other sermons in this series — this week of Passover is a big deal for the Jewish people. Like a really huge, big, ginormous deal. The population of Jerusalem would explode with visiting Jews coming to the city to celebrate the Passover.

Remember the part of the Christmas story — where there’s no place for Mary and Joseph to stay in Bethlehem — well — Jerusalem — during Passover week — would’ve had a similar “no place to eat the Passover meal” kind of deal going on.

All that to say — finding a location to eat the Passover meal would’ve taken some pre-planning. And for Jesus — and his crew of disciples — the room would need to be fairly large — as it needed to accommodate a dozen or so people. It’s like trying to find a table for 10 at 6pm on a Friday night with no reservation and — caveat — you’ve got no time to waste waiting. So a 10, 20, or 30 minute wait just won’t do. You need a place to eat your meal and you need it right now.

And — not only do you need enough space to eat the meal — there’s all of the meal preparation that takes quite a bit of time. One Bible scholar explains, “On the eve of Passover…work normally ceased at noon and the ritual slaughter of the Passover lambs began around 3:00 p.m. as the heads of the household brought their animals to the temple. The priests sprinkled the blood against the base of the altar and offered the fat on the altar. The animals were dressed with the legs unbroken and the head still attached to the carcass and returned to the worshipers. Because of the great number of people, the slaughter had to be separated from the place of eating.

The only stipulation was that the lamb had to be eaten in Jerusalem, whose borders were expanded to accommodate the crowds. Worshipers returned to their homes or wherever they could find a nook or a cranny to spit the lamb on a stick for the late evening meal. This took place in the evening (after sunset) on …the first day of Unleavened Bread.”

And — in our verses — if you notice — it’s the first day of Unleavened Bread. The day when — all that you just heard — is supposed to start taking place. And Jesus’ disciples ask him, “Hey Jesus, where are we going to eat the Passover meal? It’s kind of late to get started on the preparations, don’t you think?” But Jesus isn’t worried. For here we see — once again — God’s providence at work. This wasn’t poor planning on Jesus’ part. He knew that his Heavenly Father was orchestrating all of the details so he and his disciples would eat the Passover meal together. So he sends out Peter and John to begin the preparations for the meal.

And his instructions to them are pretty simple. Go out and you’ll find a man carrying a jar of water — which — though seemingly random to us — was the detail that would’ve been a really big clue for Peter and John as women often carried jars of water — not men — in this culture. So a man carrying a jar of water was the ultimate blues clue so they knew they had the right guy. And they’re to follow him into a house and tell the owner of the house that the Teacher needs a room for the Passover meal. That’s it — that’s all of their instructions. And Mark tells us that Peter and John found everything exactly as Jesus had told them — God’s providence at work.

But — you may wonder — what’s the big deal about this whole Passover meal? A great question. Back in the Old Testament — specifically in the book of Exodus — we see the establishment of the Passover meal. This was the time period when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and Moses had showed up on the scene to lead the people of God out of slavery and into the freedom of the Promised Land. And — part of their rescue story includes the Ten Plagues — you’ve probably heard of them.

The water turns into blood. Frogs take over the land — as well as gnats and locusts — along with five other plagues of judgment upon the people of Egypt. And then — on the evening before the tenth and final plague — the death of all firstborn sons in Egypt — God gives Moses instructions to pass on to the Jews.

They were to kill a spotless lamb. Put the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes. Prepare the rest of the lamb as a meal that they were to eat. And then — that night — when the angel of death executed the tenth plague — the death of all firstborn sons — the angel would pass over the homes that had the blood of a spotless lamb on its doorposts.

And — to mark this date of God rescuing his people out of slavery in Egypt — and rescuing them from the final plague of judgement as the angel saw the blood of the lamb and passed over their homes — this event was to be remembered each year in what is called the Passover — where they sacrifice a lamb and eat a meal — just like their ancestors did on that night in Egypt. And — it’s this Passover meal — that Jesus has sent Peter and John out to prepare.

And this is why I said — earlier — that all of Scripture has been preparing us for Christ’s death and resurrection. For he — Jesus — is the true Passover Lamb of God whose blood will be shed and used to cover those who put their faith in him so that God’s righteous and just judgment will pass over them — just like the angel of death passed over the Jewish homes in Egypt.

All of Scripture has been leading us to Christ’s death on the cross — his giving up of his body and blood for our sins. Before the Exodus story, Abraham led his son — Isaac — the son of God’s promise to him — up a mountain as a test of his faith. Will Abraham trust that God can fulfill his promise — which must come through his son Isaac — if Isaac is dead? And Abraham believed that God could do just that. And — instead of Isaac being killed — by the providence of God — it just so happened that an animal was caught in the thicket and was sacrificed in Isaac’s place.

Going even further back in Scripture — back to when Adam and Eve rebelled and sinned against God — God returned to the Garden of Eden to find them — yet — because of their sin — they were hiding in shame.

And what did God do for them in his grace and kindness? To cover their nakedness and shame an animal was killed — blood was spilled — and God covered them in garments made from the animal skin.

All of Scripture has been pointing us to a death that God has destined to take place — the death of his firstborn Son — the Lamb of God — whose life will be given to take away the sins of the world.

THE FULFILLMENT OF SCRIPTURE

And — as Jesus is preparing to give his life as the true Passover Lamb — we find another fulfillment in our verses — the fulfillment of Scripture that Jesus will be betrayed by one of his disciples. We’re in verse 17.

“And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.

21 For 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.”” (Mark 14:17-21 ESV)

To help put ourselves in this moment — in this room with Jesus and his disciples — we need to understand that often meals like this were happy times. Friendships were formed and deepened. They would remember and celebrate their people’s history and how God had intervened on their behalf time and time again. So there would be a good, positive vibe in the room — to which Jesus dumps a cold bucket of water on when he says that someone in the room is going to betray him.

Talk about sucking all of the oxygen out of the room. And what’s the response of the disciples? Sorrow. Another Bible translation says they were saddened. Another that they were distressed. Another that his comment stunned them. And they all asked him, “Is it I?”

If you’d have been in the room — with Jesus — would you have considered that it might be you — that you might be his betrayer — the one he was speaking about? All of his disciples wondered just that. Men who’d followed Jesus for three years. They’ve seen his miracles. Witnessed things they wouldn’t have believed if their eyes had not seen. Yet they all wonder if they would be his betrayer.

Now we don’t know exactly how they’re all processing Jesus’ words — we just have the question they all ask Jesus — but we can easily imagine the shock in hearing that one of them is going to betray Jesus. And we all know it’s Judas Isacariot — but — apparently it wasn’t all that obvious to the twelve. But Judas knew. And so did Jesus.

Thus — as we learn from Matthew’s gospel — when Judas asks Jesus if he’s the one who will betray him — Jesus replies in the affirmative. And Judas’ betrayal is in accordance with Scripture for — as Jesus says — “the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!”

We could turn to Psalm 41 verse 9 which states, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Or to Zechariah chapter 11 where we learn that the price of betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver. Yet — even though all of this was foretold in Scripture — Judas is still guilty for his actions.

And I know how we all want resolution when it comes to things being foretold — or predestined by God — and us being responsible for our actions — but there’s no nice and neat and tidy reconciliation of predestination and the free will of man in Scripture. God foreordained all of this to take place and Judas is guilty of betraying Jesus — which was destined to happen.

I’ll say that again. Judas is responsible for his actions — and — his actions fulfill God’s plan that was made before the beginning of time. Just as we are each responsible for our actions even though God knows everything we will or won’t do, is sovereignly working out all things for the good of his people, and has established his plan for all of his creation before time began.

And — one more thing — and this one is really Good News — Jesus is responsible for his actions too. I find it interesting how often people ask about whether or not Judas had free will — or was he just really unfortunate to be the guy who was picked to betray Jesus — we’re so interested in Judas’ actions and — yet — kind of ho-hum when it comes to what Jesus does.

Much of what we find Jesus doing — in the gospels — are things written about him in the Old Testament. Things prophesied about. Things spoken of long before he was born in a manger. Things he was destined to accomplish. And — yet — Jesus was responsible for his actions — it was his choice to obey the will of his Father or not. He understood temptation and yet refused to sin because of his love for his Father and his love for us.

What we’ve all failed to do — to love God so purely that we choose him over sin every single time — what we’ve all failed to do — Jesus chose to do. And — yet — Jesus coming to earth to be the Lamb of God — whose blood will be shed for the sins of many — was ordained before time began.

Thus — if you want to talk about the free will of man — the only free will I think worth talking about is Christ’s — for he freely gave himself up in love for us — thus doing for us what we’ve all shown we’re incapable of doing.

We choose disobedience. He chose obedience.
We choose rebellion. He chose submission.
We choose hate. He chose love.
We use our freedom for evil and wickedness. He used his freedom to die in our place and to set us free from our enslavement to our so-called free will.

THE FULFILLMENT OF THE NEW COVENANT

Which leads us to the fulfillment of the new covenant — Christ doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. It’s time to turn to the Lord’s Table. We’re in verse 22.

JOSH WILL TURN TO COMMUNION TABLE

“And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mark 14:22-26 ESV)

As I mentioned earlier — we’ll be taking the Lord’s Supper — communion — after the sermon. A meal that’s irrelevant to many in our culture. A meal that’s viewed — by some — as something you must eat in order to appease God’s judgment. And — for others — it’s a meal they don’t take because they feel unworthy of it.

It’s understandable why the meal is irrelevant to those who don’t believe in Jesus — honestly — why should it matter to them?

And there are many who live under the weight of trying to please God with their own religious works — thus skewing their view of this meal — making some afraid of it — which though wrong — is again — understandable.

Yet — what we find in Jesus’ words — here in Mark — and throughout the New Testament — is that this is a meal that’s both relevant to the people of God — yet it isn’t something that saves us. And — the truth is — this is a meal we’re all unworthy of taking — in our own righteousness — but through faith in Christ — we’re welcomed to this table of grace.

But — even with that being said — as a pastor — I find that there’s often much confusion about this meal. So let’s talk about what this meal is and what it isn’t.

There are four basic views of the Lord’s Supper that we find in Christianity. Given that this is a sermon — and not a lecture on the Lord’s Supper — I don’t have time to explain all of these views in detail — so I know some of you won’t be thrilled by how little time I give to explain each of the views— there’s just not enough time for that.

But my goal — here — is to explain to you the view I believe is most faithful to Scripture. So let’s dip our toes into some deep theological waters about the Lord’s Supper.

One view of the Lord’s Supper is called transubstantiation. This is the view held by the Roman Catholic Church. This view teaches that the bread and the cup actually become the physical body and blood of Christ. Afterall, look at Jesus’ words in our verses. He did say, “This is my body. This is my blood.”

The second view is called consubstantiation — you didn’t know you were earning an honorary doctorate today in theology did you? This is the view held by those in the Lutheran tradition. In this view, the bread and cup don’t literally become the physical body and blood of Jesus — instead — the physical body and blood of Jesus “is in, with, and all around the bread and [cup].” What does that mean? Well it’s complicated. So we’ll just say that the physical body and blood of Jesus is still present in the Lord’s Supper — in some way — for this view — it’s just present in a different way than the previous view.

A third view is the memorial view — you find this in Baptist and non-denominational churches. In this view Christ is not present at all in the meal — at least not in any way different than he’s already present everywhere else. And the meal — as this view is titled — is simply a remembering of what Christ has done for us.

And — finally — there’s the covenantal or Reformed view. In this view Christ is not physically present — but he is spiritually present in the bread and cup. And this is the view that I believe is most faithful to Scripture. Here’s why.

The first two views remind us of something important that Jesus says. Again, he did say, “This is my body. This is my blood.” So — in some way — the bread and the cup are his body and blood, which means that something more than just us remembering is happening here. Yet — as we see in Paul’s words — to the Christians in Corinth — we’re told to eat the bread and drink the cup “in remembrance of” Christ. Here’s what Paul writes.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 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.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ESV)

So — there is a remembering involved — during this meal.

Now stay with me — we’re almost done swimming in these theological waters. One thing we must remember is that Christ is both fully human and fully God. And we cannot give divine characteristics to his humanity nor human characteristics to his divinity. What do I mean? Well Jesus’ physical body is located in one place — right now — just like his physical body was always located in one place at a time when he walked on earth. And where is Jesus’ physical body right now? At the right hand of the Father in Heaven.

His physical body is not omnipresent — meaning present everywhere at once. His physical body is in one location — in Heaven. So — for the bread and the cup to become the literal physical body and blood of Christ is to give divine attributes to his physical body.

Yet — in his divinity — in his Godness — Jesus is omnipresent — present everywhere spiritually. Thus — “this is my body and blood” can be understood to be his spiritual body and blood. Where he can be physically present — in Heaven — and spiritually present in all places.

Yet — the memorial view — would agree with us thus far. Where they fail to go — however — is in understanding that — Christ has promised to be spiritually present — not just everywhere — but has promised to be specifically present — in a unique way — in this bread — “which is my body” — Jesus says — and in the cup — “which is my blood.”

What Jesus is offering to us is an opportunity to feast on the grace he accomplished on our behalf in giving up his body and blood for us on the cross. Just like — when the Scripture is faithfully preached — grace is offered to you — in this meal — by the power of God’s Spirit — grace can be received and feasted upon — as you eat the bread and drink the cup.

Grace — the undeserved favor and blessing of God to his people. Grace — like the angel of death passing over the homes of those with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. Grace offered to his people — as they come to the table — the Lord’s table of grace. Remembering what Christ has done — yes! But feasting on and — as you eat and drink — experiencing the grace God offers to his people — grace made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross.

CONCLUSION

So what does all of this mean and why does it matter?

First, since God is offering us grace in this meal — then it’s not something you want to miss out on, right? It’s something we should be looking forward to — something we should schedule our lives around — the opportunity to come to the table with a grateful and thankful heart and feast on the grace of God.

Second, since God is offering us grace in this meal — we see how God has chosen to elevate the importance of gathering with the local church. This meal isn’t something we’re told to do on our own — it’s something we do together. For we are a people who have a common Savior — one Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of all who believe in him. The grace in this meal reminds us that our faith is communal.

And — finally — since God is offering us grace in this meal — then the spotlight is taken off of us and — as it should — the spotlight is put on Christ. Pressure is taken off of us — because of course none of us deserve to be invited to this table. But — in having put the spotlight on Christ — we find that he joyfully, lovingly, and kindly welcomes all — who believe in him — to come feast at his table.

Which means this is more than just a time of remembering — this is a time of feasting — feasting on the grace of Christ as we look forward to feasting with him — at his Heavenly table — for all eternity. And — now —as we prepare to feast on this meal of grace — let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, we give you thanks for your Son, Jesus. For his obedience and suffering during his life on earth, and for his giving up of his body and blood on the cross. Give us assurance that our sins are pardoned through his blood and may your perfect love drive out all fear. Fill our minds with your peace and turn our eyes to Heaven, where Christ is at your right hand interceding for us. And unite us with each other through your Spirit so — together — we serve you until our Savior returns. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION

Have feasted on grace today — may you now go in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.