The Lord’s (Last) Supper (Mark 14:12-25) | 3/31/19
Mark 14:12-25 | 3/31/19 | Will DuVal
Last week we JUST started new series in the Gospel of Mark entitled “Rooted”, that we’ll be in for the next 6 months, so you’ve only missed ONE sermon and you can even watch it online today after you watch Kentucky and Duke both lose.
But this morning, and actually, for the next TWO weeks, because the more I dug into this passage, the more gold I uncovered until I eventually decided we just can’t cover it all today, so we’re going to split this passage up into TWO sermons, and we will unpack together a practice that has been at the very center of the church’s corporate worship for all 2,000 years of her history now. A custom that many of us have no doubt engaged in hundreds if not THOUSANDS of times over the course of our lives, but perhaps without the level of depth and understanding and intentionality that we are aiming for in our study these next 2 Sundays. We’re talking about: the Lord’s supper. Communion. The Eucharist. It goes by different names; I’M more concerned this morning with what it IS, and why we DO it.
Now, perhaps you HAVEN’T received communion thousands of times; perhaps you NEVER have. I am so especially glad you’re with us! Maybe you’ve got a lot of questions about the Christian faith and even the Lord’s supper itself – I hope we can answer those for you today. Or perhaps you’re NOT new to the church, but you haven’t given a lot of time or thought to the Lord’s supper because the church you grew UP IN didn’t. I pray this morning will inspire within you a greater appreciation for and LOVE OF this Table. I worked at a church through Divinity School that only took communion together once a QUARTER. 4 times a year. When I asked the pastor why, he told me he didn’t want it to become monotonous; he wanted it to stay “special” for people. I held my tongue but what I WANTED to ask him was: “Do you take the same approach when it comes to being intimate with your wife?” Let’s only touch 4 times a year to make sure it stays special?
I reject the notion that frequency and significance are inversely proportional; and YET, neither are they DIRECTLY proportional either. Observing communion every week doesn’t necessarily make it more important to you, does it? Many of you grew up in churches where you took communion all the TIME, where it was the FOCAL-point of your corporate worship, the CLIMAX of the service wasn’t the sacrament of the WORD – the preaching, but the sacrament of the TABLE. But perhaps it had become an empty ritual in your church. Why?
Well, “WHY?” is exactly the right question to ASK – it had become hollow because there WAS no “Why”. There WAS no intentionality and vitality to it. I want to recover that this morning, to REMIND you WHY we do this – Jesus said, as often as you eat and drink, do this... WHY? “In remembrance of me.” We are invited to collectively REMEMBER Jesus through this meal, and I am convinced that when rightly understood and properly valued, there is perhaps no better way to remind ourselves of our Lord and what he’s done for us than at this Table. So over the next two weeks, I will give you SIX (6) reasons from Mark 14 why the Lord’s Supper is so significant; and this morning, we’ll examine the first 3.
So would you stand with me as you’re able for the reading of God’s word, from the Gospel of Mark, ch.14, vv12-25; I’ll read them for us from the ESV:
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[c]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.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s Pray...
1) Observation #1 about this meal is that: The Lord’s Supper is SUPERNATURAL (vv12-16).
Let’s examine vv12-16 line by line. We’re told this is “the first day of Unleavened Bread”. Passover, when Jews remember God’s deliverance from their bondage in Egypt as recorded in the Book of Exodus, was a week-long festival, and it’s sometimes called the Feast of “Unleavened Bread”, because matzah is a STAPLE of the Passover meal. And we don’t have time to get into ALL the symbolism of Passover, but why the name itself? The name “Passover” reminds us of HOW God rescued His people: the 10th and final plague sent to break Pharaoh’s obstinate heart, was the Death of the Firstborn. God sent an angel of death to strike all firstborn children in the land of Egypt, and the way the angel recognized the Israelite households and “Passed – Over” them, was if they had sacrificed a lamb and spread its blood over the doorposts of their house.
Now, we left off in Mark 14:1-11 last week, when it was “two days before the Passover”, TUESDAY of Holy Week, and remember Jesus had been staying in Simon’s house in BETHANY, a little village 1.5 miles east of Jerusalem. Mark fast-forwards in v.12, and it’s the first day of Passover, so Thursday morning. We sometimes call it MAUNDY Thursday in the church; “Maundy” from the Latin “man-DAH-tum”, which means “commandment” and reminds US that Jesus commands that we observe this meal; he said, “DO THIS in remembrance. Trust me, you NEED this meal. This visible, tactile REMINDER of what I’ve done for you.”
Then Mark says, “it was the first day... when they sacrificed the Passover lamb”, and we run into an issue. The Synoptic Gospels – synoptic means “seen (optic) together (syn)”, because scholars view Matthew, Mark and Luke as joined together in a way that John isn’t – The Synoptics share MOST of the same stories, in MOSTLY the same order, whereas John often differs. And the timeline of Holy Week is a case in point:
Matthew, Mark and Luke clearly portray Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples here as a PASSOVER meal. The disciples ask in v.12: “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”” So, they’re preparing to eat the Passover meal together Thursday evening.
But in JOHN’S account, Passover that year fell on FRIDAY. In John 18, after they ARREST Jesus the next day, the chief priests march him to Pilate’s house, but they don’t ENTER, why? “So that they would not be defiled [by the house of a Gentile], but could eat the Passover” later that night (v28). On Friday. So which is it? Thursday or Friday, Or does the Bible contradict itself?
Well, it turns out the ancient records attest to TWO Passovers that had come to be observed by 1st c. Jews – one on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan by GALILEAN Jews, and the other on Nisan 15 by JUDEAN Jews. And there are all sorts of explanations why: Jerusalem was so crowded that the Temple priests had to spread out the sacrifices, or Galileans counted days from sunrise to sunrise whereas Judeans counted from sunset to sunset. But what I want us to appreciate is God’s supernatural intervention in the course of HISTORY to allow Jesus to simultaneously do TWO vitally important things here with regard to the Passover:
On the one hand, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus is able to consummate this 1500-year old tradition of Passover and effectively bring it to an END, just as he does the Temple, the sacrificial system as a whole; in eating this Last Passover supper with His disciples, and in the very words Jesus uses to IDENTIFY Himself WITH the meal in a shocking new way, Jesus is proving that He is actually the FULFILLMENT of Passover. Just like He’s the fulfillment of the OT prophecies, and the fulfillment of the OT Law. That is CRUCIAL – do you see that? That’s what we get from the Synoptics. Jesus, as a Galilean, observed Passover on Thursday.
AND YET, in JOHN’S account, with his distinctive emphasis on Jesus’ TRIUMPH over his enemies – Judas, the religious leaders, and ultimately, Satan and Hell and death itself – see, John knows the more CONFLICT in the story, the better. That’s what makes for a good story. So John highlights the vantage point OF those Judean chief priests who recognized Passover the following day on FRIDAY night. Why is that important? Well because now Jesus is NOT ONLY the fulfillment of Passover in a general sense, but when is he crucified according to John? “It was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour... They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”” (John 19:14-15). Jesus is killed in preparation for the Judean Passover: and do you know how you “PREPARE for Passover”? You take your lamb to be slaughtered. In the Gospel of John, Jesus dies at EXACTLY the same moment as the Passover lambs are being slaughtered just downhill at the Temple. Imagine THAT visual, friends. You’re waiting in line with your lamb, drowning in a sea of sheep bleating and “baa-ing”, you hear their screams coming from inside the Temple as they’re slaughtered, one-by-one, THOUSANDS, TENS of thousands of lambs, and then all of a sudden the cacophony is drowned out by a single voice that cries out: “IT. IS. FINISHED.” He IS your once, for all time, Passover lamb. “BEHOLD the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. This can ONLY be of God’s own supernatural doing.
Even the way the disciples find the Upper Room is supernatural. v.13: Jesus sends two disciples - Luke tells us it was Peter and John - to go find a man carrying a jar of water; in ancient Palestine, only women carried water jars. Find HIM. FOLLOW him. He’ll lead you to ANOTHER guy, who’s already got this special room ready... but we haven’t heard anything about Jesus’ elaborate planning before this. Because he DIDN’T. This is supernatural. Jesus supernaturally orchestrates all these events to make sure he is able to eat this final meal with his disciples. Why?
Well, for starters, he had to keep the location secret because Judas is already looking for a chance to betray him. So he miraculously makes the arrangements on the spot so Judas has no time to sell him out.
But more importantly, Jesus says in Luke 22:15 – “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Yes, to prove I’m the fulfillment of Passover, that is pivotal. And YES, to inaugurate this sacrament for the church; think about it: if Jesus gets betrayed on Thursday afternoon and doesn’t eat his Last Supper, communion - this beautiful way we get to remember and connect with Jesus every week - it wouldn’t EXIST for us today. But as much as anything, I think Jesus earnestly desired to share one more meal with them, and he supernaturally intervened to ensure it, because he LOVED the disciples. They were his friends. His family. His brothers.
#2 – And that’s the SECOND thing to note about the Lord’s Supper: this meal is COMMUNAL. (vv17-18a)
First of all, it’s about community with CHRIST. Sandy Wilson points out that Muslims don’t HAVE an equivalent to communion. Jews don’t HAVE a Lord’s supper. Listen, we ALL worship God as HOLY. We ALL bow down in reverence at God’s majesty and might. But at the Table, OUR Lord reminds us that he has called us FRIENDS, John 15:15. That’s who we EAT with: our FRIENDS. Family. It’s an intimate thing. That’s why I think every life group should share a weekly meal together.
But secondly, THIS Table doesn’t represent just ANY meal; THIS Table draws us together in true fellowship, koinonia is the Greek word: genuine, deep Christian community, with one ANOTHER, like nothing else can. I have fun dancing with y’all. Talent shows, after-church picnics – that’s all fun. But you can dance with people at the club. They host all sorts of fun events at my in-laws Country Club. Even our worship services as a church are for EVERYONE. The more the merrier; and you BETTER be bringing people with you – my wife stuffed 1,500 eggs last week so you could invite everyone you know to join us for Easter. Sundays mornings are for EVERYONE; but Sundays from 11:35-11:40 are for BELIEVERS. This MEAL is what separates the church, the saints, the Redeemed, the committed followers of JESUS, from the rest of the world. This MEAL is how we know who the church is. Who’s in and who’s out. Jesus said “I came not to bring peace but division”; the Lord’s Supper draws a CLEAR dividing line between the church and the world. The Reformers used to talk about “fencing the Table”, GUARDING the table, from those who would “eat and drink in an unworthy manner”, and thus, according to Paul in 1 Cor 11, bring GUILT and “drink JUDGMENT upon themselves” (vv27-29). You can do that in one of TWO ways:
As a believer, you eat and drink in an unworthy manner when you FORGET that communion is about community. This is a FAMILY meal. Communion, like the Christian faith in general, isn’t just about “you and Jesus”. We’ve got to see past our 21st c. Americanized, individualized context and realize that Jesus didn’t just die for YOU, individually; that is such a small, narcissistic, myopic gospel. Jesus died for US. He died to redeem a PEOPLE for himself. Communion isn’t just about you being close with GOD; it’s about being close with one another too. It is telling that both Paul AND Jesus emphasize not the VERTICAL dimension of communion – me and Jesus – but the HORIZONTAL aspect – me and YOU – when they warn against eating unworthily. Paul says to the believers in Corinth, “When you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.” (1 Cor 11:18) It’s become a race to see who can get to the Table first and you don’t “wait for one another” (33), and you’ve forgotten that half of the POINT of the meal is to draw you together in UNITY around the Table, to share a FAMILY meal because of our shared spiritual DNA: faith in Christ. Jesus goes so far as to say that IF in the midst of worshipping God, you realize you never fully resolved that issue with that brother or sister when you had that falling out, you ought to “ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matt 5:24) He doesn’t explicitly mention the communion table, but it’s clearly in view. He wants so much BETTER for us, for HIS family, HIS adopted sons and daughters, than family strife and conflict. He doesn’t want us looking like the dysfunctional family from the famous SNL “I drive a Dodge Stratus” scene. Jesus wants so much BETTER for US, than that kind of family dysfunction. In fact, it is in the CONTEXT of this Passover meal, that he utters those famous words from John ch.13: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (vv34-35)
The SECOND way to partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy, guilty manner, is to eat and drink as an Unbeliever. Friends, if that’s you this morning: if you have not confessed and repented and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of your sins, whether you’ve attended church your entire life or not, whether you went through Catechism and you know all the Bible answers or not, whether you have been unknowingly receiving communion in an unworthy manner up to this point or not, I want to be really clear with you: God loves you. WE love you. We are so glad you are here at West Hills. Come, learn with us. Sing with us. Grow with us. Keep asking your questions. But please do not eat and drink this meal. This is not for you. Not YET. Jesus said, ALSO in John 13: “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” (v8). John came baptizing with water; Jesus washes His followers with the HOLY SPIRIT, upon spiritual re-birth. He says: we must be TWICE born – once of water, your PHYSICAL birth when your mother’s water broke – and a second time of the SPIRIT. (Jn 3:5) If you HAVEN’T been, if you haven’t given your life to Christ and been spiritually re-born, you don’t yet have a share with him. You’re not yet in communion with Jesus, so taking communion is at best pointless, and at worst, drinking judgment on yourself.
But I want to share the GOOD NEWS with you this morning, that far from being some exclusive thing we’re trying to KEEP you from this morning, there is absolutely NOTHING that would bring us more JOY as a church, nothing that would cause the angels in heaven to rejoice more, than if TODAY would be your first, legitimate Lord’s supper. Today can be the day of your salvation! Repent and believe in the gospel. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9) You can join the family today. The community of the faithful. If you’ve got questions about how to do that, please come find me in the back after the service, or one of the elders at the front, or kids, talk to your parents.
#3 – CONFESSION is exactly what it takes, and CONFESSION is exactly what this meal is ABOUT anyway. (vv18a-21) It is SUPERNATURAL, it is COMMUNAL, and it is CONFESSIONAL.
Notice the TONE of the meal, biblically. v.19 says the disciples were “SORROWFUL”. Why? Because Jesus just dropped a bomb in v.18; he’s already told them he has to suffer and die, but NOW he reveals that his betrayer will be a DISCIPLE. A FOLLOWER. A friend. His words take us back to David’s prophecy in Psalm 41:9 – “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Of him, Jesus says “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!” (v21). We know he’s talking about Judas. But I want you to notice something very interesting: Mark doesn’t name him. Matthew and John both call Judas out at this point, but Mark doesn’t, even though he KNOWS Judas will betray him. Why?
I want to suggest that Mark is inviting us once again to read OURSELVES into this story in a very personal, convicting, challenging, but ultimately redemptive way. In the same way that last week, we read ourselves into Jesus’ REJECTION by the priests and scribes, and his EXPLOITATION by Judas in vv10-11, Mark invites us this morning to identify with Judas again, to the extent that we ALL “betray” Christ, every single day. What is our sin, if not a BETRAYAL of Jesus?
Jesus just tells them that my betrayer is “the one who is dipping bread into the dish with me”; now, I don’t know if you’ve ever eaten a Passover meal before, but it’s pretty nasty. Lamb, stale-tasting bread, Manischewitc! , BITTER herbs... this meal is not delicious. But the one edibly redeemable part of the meal, is the Charoset; the sweet, pasty dipping sauce for the bread that is made of fruits and nuts. It’s delicious. So I’m guessing by the time this portion of the meal rolls around, the disciples have ALL been POUNDING that dipping sauce. They have ALL been dipping with him! That’s why they ALL ask him: “Is it I?” Is it I? (v19) See, friends, there’s a humility in recognizing it could be ANY ONE of us. In recognizing it’s not just a hypothetical possibility; it is our REALITY – we ALL betray him, in our sin. Jesus tells the disciples in v.27: “You will ALL fall away”; you’ll ALL abandon me in my hour of greatest need. Peter says: “Not me”. And Jesus says, “Ohhh, Peter – I’m going to make a SPECIAL example of you. Peter, the ROCK and pillar of the faith; the only disciple with enough faith to walk on water. You’re going to deny me not once, not twice, but THREE times before sun-up.”
Friends, the point is: even the GREATEST among us, the most faithful among us, is called to remember when we receive THIS meal, that we have ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That we ALL stand just as broken, just as guilty before a perfect God, and just as in need of his UNDESERVED grace, and that’s exactly what this meal is, what a “sacrament” is, it is a “visible means of grace”; an external, physical sign of an internal, spiritual reality.
But Jesus reminds us that “it’s only the SICK who come, asking the doctor”, the hungry who ask for the Bread of Life. If you haven’t yet come to recognize how spiritually STARVED you are trying to feed yourself, once again, this meal isn’t yet for you.
This meal is for the SORROWFUL, like the disciples in v.19. Those whose hearts have been BROKEN by the weight and guilt of our own sin. And YET, who have had our mourning turned to JOY (Jeremiah 31), by the only One who can take something as horrific as the CROSS and REDEEM it, and turn it into the greatest VICTORY in all of human history. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; BUT... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9) Friends, THAT is good news, for sinners, like you and like me. Let’s pray...