This year, in keeping with the celebration of the 500 anniversary of the Reformation, for the Advent through New Year’s Eve services we have been looking at the main emphasis of the Reformation, which is the authority of the Word of God and the article of the confessions on which the church stands or falls, the article on justification by grace through faith in Jesus alone. We have been looking at justification in the way of the six chief parts of Luther’s Small Catechism and prayerfully we have been connecting this justification to our Christmas, birth of Jesus celebration and finally, this evening, our New Year’s celebration as well.
Today we conclude our series by looking at the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. In order to better understand the Lord’s Supper we will want to look at what Jesus was doing when He gave us His Holy Meal. When Jesus gave us His Holy Supper He was celebrating the Passover with His Apostles. As you remember, the Passover happened when the children of Israel were in Egypt. As God was rescuing them from their bondage of slavery in Egypt, when He sent the Angel of Death to kill the firstborn in Egypt, God gave the Israelites special instructions so that the firstborn in Israel might be spared. These instructions were given so that the Angel of Death would pass over the houses of the Israelites and spare their firstborn. Following their deliverance God gave the Passover as a meal of remembrance. During the Passover He gave them instructions for the celebration and this Passover meal which would become a precursor to its fulfillment in the Lord’s Supper.
God gave the instructions that on the tenth day of the month a lamb, a spotless lamb was to be chosen and then on the fourteenth day of the month the lamb was to be slaughtered at twilight. The blood of the lamb was to be caught and then painted on the doorpost and lintel of the door marking the house as a house in which the lamb was eaten.
The children of Israel were to eat the lamb roasted over fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were not to leave any until morning, but burn what was left and they were to eat it standing with their belt fastened, their sandals on and their staff in their hand. Later, after they had exited Egypt as they celebrated the Passover on a yearly basis they were to eat it in a more relaxed manner, not in haste, yet still consuming the lamb and drinking wine as well as unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
The instructions that God gave were so that preparation was made so that the Angel of Death that would be passing over Egypt killing the firstborn of every family would pass over the houses marked with the blood of the lamb, which was eaten in those houses marked by the blood. It was the blood of the lamb sacrificed for those in the house and the eating of the lamb that brought life to those in the house.
Fast forward to Jesus and the Maundy Thursday before His arrest, trials and crucifixion. As John the Baptist pointed out many times when He would see Jesus, he would say, “behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God conceived by the Holy Spirit, thus born in perfection, born of the woman, Mary, thus being completely human. Jesus is the Lamb of God chosen to shed His blood for all mankind.
Jesus shed His blood on the cross marking those of faith with His blood. As the painting of the blood of the lamb in Egypt on the door post and lintel in essence made the sign of the cross with the up and down and sideways painting, so with the trunk of the cross and the cross bar on which Jesus was nailed we are marked with the blood He shed.
During the Passover Seder there are three pieces of matzah or unleavened bread that are placed in a burse which is a pouch with three slots. The middle matzah is broken and half is hidden until it is later found and brought back. This middle matzah, which the Jews today cannot figure out what it means thinking perhaps the three matzahs mean Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, yet we rightly understand that the three matzah truly are God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This middle matzah, and if you have ever seen matzah it is a flat bread, a cracker which has holes pierced in it and has black burn marks or stripes, this middle matzah is Jesus who was broken, by whose stripes we are healed, who was pierced for our transgressions, who was buried, was risen, and given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins. This is the bread Jesus held, blessed and broke give it to His apostles with the words, Take and eat, this is my body given for you.
During the Passover Seder celebration four cups of wine are consumed. It is the third cup, the cup of redemption which is what Jesus took and gave to His apostles with the words, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” As the apostles ate the lamb, the unleavened bread and drink the wine they were marked with the blood of the Lamb so that the angel of eternal spiritual death would pass over them.
What does this mean? During the original Passover the children of Israel did not consume a symbolic lamb, they ate a real lamb. The lamb became a part of them, a physical part of them as they ate the flesh of the lamb. As Jesus gives us His Holy Supper from this Passover celebration when He takes the bread He tells us that it is His body. He does not tell us that it is changed into nor symbolizes His body but is His body so that we are not symbolically eating His body so that it has no affect on us but that we are truly eating His body so that it is a real physical part of us. When Jesus takes the cup of wine He does not say that it symbolizes nor is changed into His blood, but that it is His blood so that His blood becomes a part of those who drink His blood marking them with His blood. As Jesus says, and even if we may not completely comprehend, nor logically understand, yet we believe it is because Jesus says, this is, not this symbolizes, not this is turned into, but this is, with bread and wine, His body and His blood.
The importance of this bread and wine being the true body and blood of Jesus is that if it is not His true body and blood then we miss the important part of participating in Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection. Indeed, as we consume the true body and true blood we are participating in Him. His life, His perfect life becomes our life, our perfect life. His suffering, His perfect suffering, His complete suffering of eternal spiritual death becomes our suffering, our complete and perfect suffering of eternal spiritual death, the price for sin. His death and resurrection become our death and resurrection. His eternal salvation become our eternal salvation.
This is not a symbolic participation for what would a symbolic participation be? Indeed, how can one symbolically participate in something and expect it to be something that is real? Does one symbolically run a race or win a race? Does one symbolically eat a meal so that is sustains them in the flesh? Does one symbolically believe in Jesus as their Savior and if only symbolically does that mean that one only has a symbolic salvation and eternal life in heaven? No, this participation is a real participation, so that Jesus becomes one with us and we with Him.
As we eat His body and drink His blood we have forgiveness of sins. Our faith is strengthening, and we know we have life, eternal life.
And best of all, this sacrament is all gift. God gives and we are given to. We come to the table as sinners, confessing our sins and rejoicing in the forgiveness that He gives to us. We come to the table where He is the host and He is the very meal itself. We come to the table, we open our mouths, we are given the Lord’s body and blood, we hear the words, for you for the forgiveness of your sins and we know that He becomes a part of us so that we have forgiveness, life and salvation and we rejoice and respond in faith, “Amen!”
During Advent through Christmas and now as we are on the verge of a beginning a new year, we are reminded of the forgiveness of sins Jesus gives to us and our participation in Him through our eating His body and drinking His blood in His Holy Supper for the forgiveness of sins and with forgiveness is life and salvation.
How wonderful it is for us as Christians to begin and end a year pointing to Jesus. We come in our sin and we are pointed to Jesus who gives us forgiveness of sins. We are pointed to Jesus who has brought us back into a right relationship with Himself, who makes us just and right in God’s eyes. We are pointed to Jesus and we give Him thanks and praise for His good gifts and blessings. Indeed, we respond and say, to Him be the glory for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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