Sermon
delivered on October 4th, 2015
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
First Lord's Supper Service
Text: Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
On the night before Jesus was
crucified on the cross, He ate supper with His disciples. They had many supper together but
this one is not just another supper. This is the last supper that our Lord had
with them before He was betrayed and later died on the cross.
Our Lord perfectly knew and
understood that, that this would be His last supper with His disciples before
His crucifixion. He
was perfectly aware of what awaits Him at the cross. I can only imagine how
heavy our Lord's heart was, that night. In fact, Mark records,
Mark 14:34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death:
tarry ye here, and watch.
It is with this setting that our Lord
instituted the ordinance that we call the Lord's Supper or Communion Table. We
are commanded in the Scriptures to do this as often as we can and until His
second coming.
As far as we can tell from the
earliest records, the church did what Jesus said.
Acts 2:41 Then they
that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added
unto them about three thousand souls. 42: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers.
I - What the Lord's
Supper is not
We need to understand first of all,
that the Lord's Supper, like Baptism, is not just another church tradition or a
meaningless religious ritual. It was an ordinance full of meaning and significance.
Secondly, it does not convey grace to
the participants, that is, it does not wash away sins. It is not a way of
salvation. It has nothing to do with entrance to Heaven.
The New Testament teaches very
plainly that we are not saved by works but by faith.
(John 3:16; Acts 16:30; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:26)
Some
might ask and wonder why then did Jesus ordain the Lord's Supper? If salvation
is by grace through faith, why institute an ordinance that cannot save? Why institute an
ordinance that cannot wash away sins? These are good and valid questions. This
morning I want us to consider the purpose of the Lord's Supper.
Though
the Lord's Supper cannot save, do not think that Lord's Supper is not
important. The Lord's Supper is not to be taken lightly.
II - What the Lord's Supper is
1. A time of remembrance
On
that evening meal with His disciples, He took the break ...
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and
gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
Isn't
it sad that we who have been redeemed have to be constantly reminded of God's
grace shown in Jesus Christ? It is a sad truth, that we are prone to forget.
This is one of the the results of the Fall. We forget
things. What's worst is, we forget good things and we remember bad things. We
can remember funny jokes and silly nursery rhymes we learned when we were kids
but we easily forget the helpful sermons of God we just heard. We forget the
many good things that people did to us but we remember the one single bad thing
that they did to us.
What
are we to remember?
The
main purpose of the Lord's Supper is to remind Christians of Christ and His
sacrificial death for sinners.
As
Paul said,
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come.
Whenever
you and I partake of the Lord's Supper, we proclaim the Lord's
death until He comes. The Lord's Supper looks back
to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The
Lord knows we need visual aids to remember Him and His death. The tools that
our Lord prescribed to His disciple to use are the following:
1)
The Broken Bread
Luke 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and
gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in
remembrance of me.
He
declared that the bread spoke of His body which would be broken.
Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied (horrified) at
thee; his visage (face,
appearance) was so marred (disfigured) more than any man, and his form more
than the sons of men:
When
those who crucified our Lord were done with Him, His appearance was so
disfigured that He no longer looked like a man.
There
was not a broken bone, but His body was broken and all His bones were out of
joint.
Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out
of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
2)
The Fruit of the Vine
Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup
is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
When
we drink the grape juice at the Lord's Supper, we
remember that Jesus' blood
was shed for us. The fruit of the vine spoke of His blood, indicating the
terrible death He would soon experience. He, the perfect Son of God, became the
fulfillment of the countless Old Testament prophecies concerning a Redeemer (Genesis
3:15; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53).
So
this is what we do whenever we hold the Communion table, we remember Christ and
His death.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come.
How
often should we hold the Lord's Supper?
Some
churches hold Lord's Supper every week; others monthly; others quarterly. still
others do it annually. The Bible does not tell us how often we should observe
the Lord's
Supper.
1 Corinthjans 11:25 After the same
manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new
testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of me.
"As
oft as ye drink it", implying that it is an
ordinance that is to be partaken of often. But there is no clear command
whether to do it daily or weekly or monthly or annually. I believe the Lord gives
us liberty and flexibility in the timing and frequency as to how often we
should commemorate the Lord's death.
The
Bible simply does not tell us how often to partake of the Lord's
Supper. But we are commanded to do it frequently. And that is what I am led to
do. I would like us to do it as frequent as we can but not so frequent that we
lose its meaning.
As
of now, I am led to do it quarterly or during special occasions as I am lead by
the Spirit.
2. A time of celebration
It
is true that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of a death, but
it is not a funeral. It is a celebration. We have to remember Jesus did not
remain dead. We observe this memorial consciously aware that death did not hold
Jesus in the tomb forever. Jesus has conquered death. We can remember Jesus' death with rejoicing that He has
triumphed over sin and death!
There
are certainly some very sorrowful aspects to His death, but the bigger picture
is that His death is the best news possible. It shows how much God loves us—so much that He
sent his Son to die for us, so that our sins may be forgiven and we may live
forever with Him.
Coming
to the Lord's
table and having communion should be a celebration, not a funeral.
3. A time of self-examination
Paul
gives us a word of warning. He warns us not to take the Lord's Supper in an unworthy
manner.
1 Corinthians 11
27: Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup
of the Lord, unworthily,
shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
29: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth
and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the
Lord's body.
Then
he went on by saying that because some have taken the Lord's Supper in an
unworthy manner, many of them are weak and sickly and even sleep that is died.
30: For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many
sleep. 31: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32:
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be
condemned with the world. 33: Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry
one for another. 34: And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not
together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
Paul
warns us against partaking the bread and the cup "unworthily or in an unworthy manner." We are guilty of
this if we allow the Communion table to become a dead and formal ritual
and forget the tremendous price our Saviour paid for
our salvation or to come to the Lord's Supper with unconfessed sin.
In
keeping with Paul's
instruction, we should examine ourselves before eating the bread and drinking
the cup.
28: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that cup.
"An
unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and
know my thoughts: 24: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting.
When
we examine ourselves, we often find sin. This is normal—it is not a reason
to avoid the Lord's Supper. What we need to do
is go to God through Christ for forgiveness for He alone can take our sins
away. Remember ...
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous: 2: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
4. A Time of Expectation
Luke 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to
eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16: For
I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God. 17: And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take
this, and divide it among yourselves: 18: For I say unto you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Jesus
Christ said that He will not eat the bread and will not drink the fruit of the
vine until the kingdom shall come. He is referring to what is about to happen,
namely, His crucifixion and death. But His words also point to the hope of the
kingdom of God. There is always a note of hope or expectation in the
celebration of the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
The
Lord's Supper is temporary in that we will share in it only until He comes. When He comes,
there is no longer need for symbols of His body. When He comes, He
comes as bridegroom for His bride and will take her to the great banquet feast.
There all His people will see and enjoy Him, face to face! And that day
will come when we all get to Heaven!
But
meanwhile, we are till on earth, and we must do as
the early church did, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.
III - Closing Thoughts
Every
time we participate, we should be mindful of the great meaning involved in this
ceremony. Jesus Christ gave us this simple "Lord's Supper" to help us
remember Him and His death.
There
are deaths that are worth remembering such as the death of Adolf Hitler, Sadam Hussein's, and Osama Bin Laden's. These deaths are
not worth remembering. But the death of
our Saviour is infinitely worth remembering. "We
must remember Him because He is the most valuable Person in the universe. We
must remember His death because it is the most important death in history." - John Piper
Because
His death gave us hope and life and forgiveness. As we partake the Lord's Supper, remembering Christ
and His great selfless sacrifice for us, may God so work in our hearts that
we would have a renewed appreciation and love and devotion to Him. May He
awaken to the glorious reality of Christ's love and sacrifice for us!
May
God bless these meditations into our hearts!
AMEN!