This evening, on the anniversary of the Lord giving us His Holy Supper, I pray that we may see anew, Jesus giving us the Lord’s Supper connected to and surpassing the passing over of the angel of eternal spiritual death, flowing out of the celebration of the passing over of the angel of death in Egypt. This connection and completion of the celebration of the passing over of the angel of death and the given if the Lord’s Supper reminds us that, by faith in Jesus, we are children of Abraham, children of the covenant given in Eden, God’s holy nation.
First, looking back at the Passover. Every year, as a memorial, as a reminder, the children of Israel were instructed to celebrate the Passover. The Passover celebration was a commemoration of the Passing over of the Angel of death at the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The Lord, Yahweh, knows our limited capacity as human beings. He knows the children of Israel, His chosen nation, at least the nation He chose through which He would send the Savior and thus bless all nations. He knows their forgetfulness and so He instructs that this celebration should be carried out every year.
Because the children of Israel had been delivered from Egypt, and because there was no longer any need to rush the celebration, unlike the night in which they were delivered and they ate standing and rushing to get out of Egypt, now the celebration was slowed and the meaning of the events was emphasized. First, the house was cleansed. All yeast, which Jesus often used to described sin and how, as yeast permeates and affects the whole loaf, sin has a way of permeating and affecting our whole life and so the house was cleansed of all yeast.
Days before the Passover a lamb is chosen. The lamb had to be a healthy, wound free lamb, one without blemish. The lamb was the animal for sacrifice. The sacrifice of the lamb reminded the people that the price for sin had to be paid and the price was blood, death. Thus, the lamb had to be spotless to be a substitute. This lamb was a reminder of the lamb that was slaughtered and the blood painted on the doorposts, vertical and the lintel, horizontal, thus in essence making the sign of the cross on the house to protect those inside, to mark the house so the angel of death would “pass-over.” However, we know that none of the sacrifices throughout the whole Old Testament actually paid any price for sin they simply pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. And as Jesus described Himself as the Lamb of God, so all the lambs of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus.
Finally, after all the preparations were complete, the meal was served. The family gathered and ate the bread, the bitter herbs, and the lamb. There was significance in all the parts of the meal.
Fast forward to Jesus and His celebration of the Passover Seder with His disciples. At one point in the meal, Jesus took off His outer robe, wrapped a towel around His waste and began washing the disciples feet. He did this to show the disciples how they were to live and treat each other.
Later in the meal, Jesus announces His betrayal. Although Judas knew he was the one of whom Jesus was speaking, he asked Jesus, as did the others, if He was speaking about him, to which Jesus answered and gave him the bread in a jester of love and friendship. Interestingly enough, Jesus did love and chose Judas as His disciple. Jesus jester of handing the bread was a jester of love. Yet, later on in the evening, Judas “friendly” kiss was a kiss of betrayal, not love.
At one point in the meal, at the point of the sharing of the middle Matzah, Jesus re-instituted the Passover meal and gave us a new meal, a complete meal, a Holy Sacred Meal. Perhaps you might remember that before the meal one piece of Matzah, the middle piece of the three placed in the matzah bag, the middle piece was broken and half was hidden. Certainly we understand that this piece was Jesus who was broken, crucified, buried and raised from the dead. Jesus took the Matzah, the middle bread, gave a blessing, broke it and gave it new to His disciples telling them He was giving them His very own body to eat. Jesus did not say that what He was giving them symbolized, nor turned into the body of Christ, but it was His body. The bread is His body.
Then Jesus took the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption, blessed it and gave it to them anew telling His disciples that He was giving them His Holy Blood to drink. Jesus did not say that what He was giving them symbolized, nor turned into the blood of Christ, but it was His blood. The third cup of wine is His blood. The rest of the Passover Seder was completed with the singing of a hymn and then the group went out to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer.
This evening we want to take a closer look at what Jesus has given His disciples and us, what does this mean? According to the ceremonial law, the sacrificial system, a lamb was brought by the family for sacrifice. The family would lay their sins on the lamb, which was an unblemished, spotless lamb. The priest would sacrifice the lamb, keep part for himself and burn or rather barbequed the rest of the lamb.
After the lamb was done, the family ate the sacrifice, very much like they did when the angel of death passed over in Egypt. They participated in the sacrifice as it became a part of them, literally, through their eating of the lamb. In Egypt the blood was painted on the door post and lintel, in Israel it was sprinkled on the altar.
Jesus, true God, was born as a true man, perfect and holy. He lived perfectly for us, in our place, fulfilling all God’s laws and commandments perfectly, even fulfilling all God’s promises and prophecies concerning the Messiah, perfectly. After living in perfection, Jesus took all our sins and all the sins of all people, of all places, of all times, upon Himself. He who knew no sin, became sin for us, and then He offered Himself as the sacrifice. He was crucified. He shed His blood.
Today, just as the children of Israel participated in the sacrifice of the lamb which pointed to the once for all sacrifice of the Savior, Jesus, just as they ate the lamb, so too, today, Jesus invites us to come and eat and drink Himself. When we come to the Lord’s Supper, we come to eat and drink Jesus, and so we come to remember which means to actually participate in His sacrifice, in His life, suffering, death and resurrection so that His life, His suffering, His death and His resurrection are ours.
So, just as the angel death passed over the children of Israel and did not kill the first born of Israel, so the angel of eternal spiritual death, Satan himself, passes over us today. Death and the grave have no power over us. We need not fear death because Jesus has defeated sin, death and the devil and His defeat is ours.
When we fail to understand, to see the Lord’s Supper for what it truly is, for what the Lord accomplished and is giving to us through His Holy Meal, our eating His body and drinking His blood we miss all the good gifts and blessings He gives and we risk bringing God’s judgement on ourselves, as Paul warns. So, we see the importance of knowing what we are doing at the Lord’s Supper so that we are given the good gifts and blessings our Lord has to give. And as He blesses us with His good gifts and blessings, then we know and we have the certainty that our sins are forgiven and that we have the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
First, looking back at the Passover. Every year, as a memorial, as a reminder, the children of Israel were instructed to celebrate the Passover. The Passover celebration was a commemoration of the Passing over of the Angel of death at the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The Lord, Yahweh, knows our limited capacity as human beings. He knows the children of Israel, His chosen nation, at least the nation He chose through which He would send the Savior and thus bless all nations. He knows their forgetfulness and so He instructs that this celebration should be carried out every year.
Because the children of Israel had been delivered from Egypt, and because there was no longer any need to rush the celebration, unlike the night in which they were delivered and they ate standing and rushing to get out of Egypt, now the celebration was slowed and the meaning of the events was emphasized. First, the house was cleansed. All yeast, which Jesus often used to described sin and how, as yeast permeates and affects the whole loaf, sin has a way of permeating and affecting our whole life and so the house was cleansed of all yeast.
Days before the Passover a lamb is chosen. The lamb had to be a healthy, wound free lamb, one without blemish. The lamb was the animal for sacrifice. The sacrifice of the lamb reminded the people that the price for sin had to be paid and the price was blood, death. Thus, the lamb had to be spotless to be a substitute. This lamb was a reminder of the lamb that was slaughtered and the blood painted on the doorposts, vertical and the lintel, horizontal, thus in essence making the sign of the cross on the house to protect those inside, to mark the house so the angel of death would “pass-over.” However, we know that none of the sacrifices throughout the whole Old Testament actually paid any price for sin they simply pointed to the one ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. And as Jesus described Himself as the Lamb of God, so all the lambs of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus.
Finally, after all the preparations were complete, the meal was served. The family gathered and ate the bread, the bitter herbs, and the lamb. There was significance in all the parts of the meal.
Fast forward to Jesus and His celebration of the Passover Seder with His disciples. At one point in the meal, Jesus took off His outer robe, wrapped a towel around His waste and began washing the disciples feet. He did this to show the disciples how they were to live and treat each other.
Later in the meal, Jesus announces His betrayal. Although Judas knew he was the one of whom Jesus was speaking, he asked Jesus, as did the others, if He was speaking about him, to which Jesus answered and gave him the bread in a jester of love and friendship. Interestingly enough, Jesus did love and chose Judas as His disciple. Jesus jester of handing the bread was a jester of love. Yet, later on in the evening, Judas “friendly” kiss was a kiss of betrayal, not love.
At one point in the meal, at the point of the sharing of the middle Matzah, Jesus re-instituted the Passover meal and gave us a new meal, a complete meal, a Holy Sacred Meal. Perhaps you might remember that before the meal one piece of Matzah, the middle piece of the three placed in the matzah bag, the middle piece was broken and half was hidden. Certainly we understand that this piece was Jesus who was broken, crucified, buried and raised from the dead. Jesus took the Matzah, the middle bread, gave a blessing, broke it and gave it new to His disciples telling them He was giving them His very own body to eat. Jesus did not say that what He was giving them symbolized, nor turned into the body of Christ, but it was His body. The bread is His body.
Then Jesus took the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption, blessed it and gave it to them anew telling His disciples that He was giving them His Holy Blood to drink. Jesus did not say that what He was giving them symbolized, nor turned into the blood of Christ, but it was His blood. The third cup of wine is His blood. The rest of the Passover Seder was completed with the singing of a hymn and then the group went out to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer.
This evening we want to take a closer look at what Jesus has given His disciples and us, what does this mean? According to the ceremonial law, the sacrificial system, a lamb was brought by the family for sacrifice. The family would lay their sins on the lamb, which was an unblemished, spotless lamb. The priest would sacrifice the lamb, keep part for himself and burn or rather barbequed the rest of the lamb.
After the lamb was done, the family ate the sacrifice, very much like they did when the angel of death passed over in Egypt. They participated in the sacrifice as it became a part of them, literally, through their eating of the lamb. In Egypt the blood was painted on the door post and lintel, in Israel it was sprinkled on the altar.
Jesus, true God, was born as a true man, perfect and holy. He lived perfectly for us, in our place, fulfilling all God’s laws and commandments perfectly, even fulfilling all God’s promises and prophecies concerning the Messiah, perfectly. After living in perfection, Jesus took all our sins and all the sins of all people, of all places, of all times, upon Himself. He who knew no sin, became sin for us, and then He offered Himself as the sacrifice. He was crucified. He shed His blood.
Today, just as the children of Israel participated in the sacrifice of the lamb which pointed to the once for all sacrifice of the Savior, Jesus, just as they ate the lamb, so too, today, Jesus invites us to come and eat and drink Himself. When we come to the Lord’s Supper, we come to eat and drink Jesus, and so we come to remember which means to actually participate in His sacrifice, in His life, suffering, death and resurrection so that His life, His suffering, His death and His resurrection are ours.
So, just as the angel death passed over the children of Israel and did not kill the first born of Israel, so the angel of eternal spiritual death, Satan himself, passes over us today. Death and the grave have no power over us. We need not fear death because Jesus has defeated sin, death and the devil and His defeat is ours.
When we fail to understand, to see the Lord’s Supper for what it truly is, for what the Lord accomplished and is giving to us through His Holy Meal, our eating His body and drinking His blood we miss all the good gifts and blessings He gives and we risk bringing God’s judgement on ourselves, as Paul warns. So, we see the importance of knowing what we are doing at the Lord’s Supper so that we are given the good gifts and blessings our Lord has to give. And as He blesses us with His good gifts and blessings, then we know and we have the certainty that our sins are forgiven and that we have the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven. To Him be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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