The Lord’s (Last) Supper pt2 (Mark 14:12-25) | 4/7/19
Mark 14:12-25 | 4/7/19 | Will DuVal
This morning we’re in week 3 of our sermon series “Rooted” through the Gospel of Mark, and this morning is part 2 of a study, specifically, on the LORD’S SUPPER, from Mark ch.14.
Now if you are completely new to the Christian faith, we are SO glad you’re with us this morning. But maybe this language of the “Lord’s supper” or “communion” sounds totally FOREIGN to you. All this stuff about bread and wine - or is it crackers and grape juice? - you don’t know WHAT it’s all about. Well, let me assure you that you’re in good company. NONE of us understands the depths and the richness of this meal, but it shouldn’t stop us from trying. THAT’s what we’re after this morning - we want to be more INTENTIONAL in our worship. And that’s actually the easiest way to summarize the Lord’s supper for you; the purpose of this Table is to draw our focused attention BACK time and time again to the cross, so we can worship Jesus more whole-heartedly as we remember on the lengths to which he went to save us.
So let’s recap our first THREE bullet points from last week – Mark 14 teaches us SIX crucial things about communion – and we got halfway through them. We said the Lord’s Supper is:
#1 – SUPERNATURAL. Even the way Jesus orchestrated the events of vv12-16 was supernatural, to avoid Judas’ plotting long enough to institute this first communion meal. Moreover, God supernaturally intervened in history to allow TWO final Passover observances, to prove that Jesus was not ONLY the LORD of Passover, but our Passover LAMB as well. By the way, but did you notice what food is conspicuously ABSENT from Mark 14? The LAMB! The single most important Passover food isn’t mentioned in ANY of the 4 Gospels. Why didn’t Jesus use the LAMB to symbolize his body, slain for us? On Thursday morning when he SHOULD have been at the TEMPLE taking his lamb to be slaughtered for supper that night, why is Jesus still OUTSIDE the city, v13? I can’t prove it, but I think this was a VEGETARIAN last supper. I imagine the disciples whispering to each other, “Did he forget the lamb?! Were you supposed to pick it up? It wasn’t my job!!...” But Jesus was reinforcing the point that HE is now our new Passover lamb. Finally, and lest communion be MERELY a historical remembrance of God’s action in the past, we saw that God actually wants to do something supernatural in our own hearts in the PRESENT. Not in our BODIES. This meal isn’t supernatural in a PHYSICAL sense – the elements don’t literally become Christ’s body and blood. But Paul DOES say in 1 Cor 10:16 that “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”. So in a SPIRITUAL way, we participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus at this table. We CALL it “communion”, because we commune with him in this meal. It’s supernatural, because JESUS is supernatural. And it’s his meal. The LORD’S supper.
#2 – It’s COMMUNAL. It’s primarily about communion with JESUS, but it’s also about communion with one ANOTHER. Paul says: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (1 Cor 10:17) This meal bonds Christians together in unity and fellowship like nothing else. Think of all the other identity marks of inclusion, of belonging that you’ve experienced in other communities: your Costco card, your sorority handshake, your alma mater’s fight song, the Pledge of Allegiance. They all PALE in comparison to this one. Because your new identity in CHRIST is the most significant, foundational part of your ENTIRE identity – even more than a Delta Gamma, than an Auburn Tiger (sorry, Emily ), than a CARDINALS’ fan, than an AMERICAN, than a DuVal, a ______, a _______, you are NOW, a child of GOD. And AT this table, Jesus reminds us that He has knit us together as a spiritual family.
Finally #3 – the Lord’s supper is CONFESSIONAL. The disciples were “sorrowful” as they realized that one of them would soon betray Jesus; “Is it I, Lord? Is it I?” they asked. So too when we observe the Lord’s supper, we confess not only the hypothetical possibility that we are capable of betraying Jesus, but the spiritual reality that we have ALL stabbed in him the back already, hundreds, thousands of times. We’ve ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And as we are reminded at this Table of our need for a Savior, we should experience a mixture of JOY, Yes - that Jesus HAS saved us, praise God!; but also of SORROW that our sin made it necessary for him to die in order to do so.
Amen? And that’s only the HALF of it! So would you stand with me as you’re able for the reading of God’s word, from Mark 14, we’ll pick up in vv17-25:
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. Let’s pray...
#4 – The fourth attribute of the Lord’s supper we see here is that it is A PRECEPT of GOD (v21a).
Another synonym for “precept” is the word “ORDINANCE”. I had to use “precept” because it works with my alliteration this morning , but an ORDINANCE is:
1) an authoritative rule or law; a decree or command. 2) a public injunction or regulation 3) something believed to have been ordained, as by a deity.
And all THREE definitions are true of the Lord’s supper. Precisely BECAUSE it has been ordained by Jesus – “Do this in remembrance of me” – it is therefore an authoritative command for HIS people, and it serves as a public precept to be observed regularly by the church.
But even more important than God’s ordaining this meal of remembrance, was God’s ordaining the events of which it REMINDS us. Let me say that again: God ordained this meal for the church to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us. And yet, we hear in Mark 14, that God ALSO ordained Christ’s suffering and death itself. Jesus says in v21: “the Son of Man goes as it is written of him”. This is HUGE, friends: the cross was not an OVERSIGHT on God’s part. God didn’t fall asleep for a minute. The chief priests and scribes, Judas and the Roman soldiers, they all had a hand in it, sure – “WOE to the man BY WHOM Jesus is betrayed” – God’s sovereignty does not NEGATE human agency. And yet, Jesus himself tells us: that far from being a MISTAKE, an ACCIDENT, a SURPRISE; this awful thing that is about to happen to me: it was actually ORDAINED by God. WRITTEN by God. This plan of salvation was GOD’S plan, long before it was ever JUDAS’ plan; It was written of him... in God’s WORD:
in the OT – prophesied centuries earlier:
Ps 41:9 – “Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Jesus’ betrayal BY JudasZech 13:7 – ““Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;” Jesus quotes THIS prophecy to his disciples in Mark 14; “you will abandon me”
Isa 53:3-5 – “He was despised and rejected[b] by men,
a man of sorrows[c] and acquainted with[d] grief...
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities”That’s all JESUS friends. 600 years... 800 years... 1,000 years, in the case of David’s psalm, before Jesus’ death. God had WRITTEN the plan, in his word.
We hear it confirmed in the NT as well:
1 Cor 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” And when God writes it in His holy, unbreakable word, it’s as good as done. It is a BINDING PRECEPT. That’s why Isaiah wrote in the PAST tense: “he WAS pierced, he WAS crushed.” From God’s perspective, Christ’s sacrifice was as good as done 8 centuries before Jesus is even BORN.
Jesus himself said: “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected... and be killed” (Mark 8:31). He MUST suffer. MUST be rejected. MUST be killed. It’s not just that God brings us redemption IN SPITE OF the cross. God HIMSELF ORDAINED the cross as the very MEANS by which He CHOSE to accomplish our salvation.
Do you believe that, friends? CAN you bring yourself to believe it? It’s hard; this is a difficult truth; but MAN is it an important one. Because if you can believe that God would not only ALLOW, but actually ORDAIN Jesus’ crucifixion, that God ALWAYS has a plan, and no amount of human sin or scheming can DERAIL His plan, then I ask you: what greater suffering could you or I EVER face that would fall outside of God’s providence? If God has PROVEN that He is wise enough, powerful enough, REDEMPTIVE enough to orchestrate the greatest victory of all time out of the greatest injustice and HORROR of all time – the cross – then what awful thing could you or I EVER face that would prove itself OUTSIDE of God’s all-seeing, all-knowing, sovereign GOOD will for our lives. He PROMISES us:
Romans 8:28 – “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good” Not just IN SPITE of our suffering; but precisely THROUGH it. It is the very mechanism he wants to use to shape and conform us more into the likeness of Jesus
1 Pet 1:6-7 “you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith...”
See, if God’s purpose for us in this life was our earthly comfort, then God is a FAILURE. Could God better insulate you from pain and trials and heartache, ABSOLUTELY! But that is NOT his goal. His purpose is our SANCTIFICATION. The building and refining of our FAITH. To burn away the dross of doubt, insecurity, self-sufficiency. To make us more like Jesus, as we are forced to lean more and more on HIS strength in our weakness.
And this MEAL, is a VISIBLE reminder, that we do not serve a high priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weakness. JESUS suffered the very WORST of it, FOR us, and God actually ORDAINED and REDEEMED every bit of it.
So take heart, brothers and sisters: if God can ordain and redeem the cross, he can ordain and redeem your suffering too. He is still sovereign & He’s still good.
#5 – The Lord’s Supper is A PICTURE of GRACE. It’s a PICTURE of GRACE. I want to walk through vv22-24 with you and show you why I think Jesus’ words here, that he uses to INSTITUTE this meal, actually retell the story of the gospel for us. Why every time I stand up on Sunday and recite these words before we take communion, why our minds and hearts ought to be FLOODED with images of what Jesus has done for us. Consider his words:
v22: “And as they were eating” – Now, the disciples are less than 24 hours from Jesus’ crucifixion; if they had any SENSE of what’s going on, they’d be too sick to their stomachs to eat. But they’re just carrying on, life as usual; not a care in the world or a clue about what is about to happen. Friends: that’s US – Rom 5:8, while we were yet SINNERS, just carrying along, life as usual, living totally for ourselves without a thought to spare for God. And into THAT situation, God stepped in. How?
v22: “He took bread” – Jesus took something PHYSICAL. He took a BODY. Christmas. The incarnation. Jesus calls Himself the “Bread of life”. And having TAKEN a body, and voluntarily left the perfections of Heaven, to come down and become a man, the perfect God-man mediator, 100% God – 100% man, the full embodiment of divinity AND humanity necessary to actually pay the debt we owed God... but before he does that, what did he do next?
v.22: “He BLESSED it” – this is SO important, and we sometimes forget it: if all Jesus had to do, was die and rise from the dead, God could have had him killed as a baby and saved everyone a lot of time; in fact, King Herod was chasing him all over JUDEA, TRYING to kill him as a baby, remember, but that wasn’t the plan. And for 14 of Mark’s 16 chapters, before Jesus’ death and resurrection, he LIVED to be our LORD.
To be a Christian, we say you must trust Jesus as your LORD and Savior; that’s not a redundancy. They’re not synonyms. YES - Jesus died for your sins, praise God. The FULL gospel is even better than that: He ALSO LIVED to be your LORD. And do 2 things: 1) Perfectly fulfill the Law of God that you and I could not, and 2) SHOW us THAT we do not measure up. Jesus’ life is a MIRROR for us, to hold OUR lives up against, and say, “Oh man – I’m in trouble. I don’t know how to live as I ought to, and even if I did, I’m INCAPABLE of doing it; I need THIS guy to live the life that I can’t, to satisfy God’s righteous demands FOR me.” On my behalf. And in return, I’ll give MY life BACK to him, Rom. 12:1 – as a “holy and pleasing sacrifice” in response to the ETERNAL life that he has offered ME.
And friends, that’s such a “BLESSING”, because Jesus is GOOD. He is perfect. He came that we might have life to the fullest. Dying to yourself in order to live FOR Him instead is the greatest blessing you will ever receive, because he knows how to bring us ETERNAL Joy, Peace, Hope, Purpose... that transcend the fleeting pleasures and circumstances of this temporary world. This is the paradox of faith: in LOSING your life for JESUS’ sake, you actually find it, and MAN, what a blessing!
So He LIVED to bless us... then what?
v.22: “He BROKE” the bread.
HE broke it. No one took Jesus’ life, John 10:18; He laid it down of his own accord. At any moment, he could have called down a legion of angels to save him. But this was God’s WILL, that his SON, be BROKEN, for US.
I’m not going to try and unpack for you this morning ALL that it means to say that Jesus was “Broken” for us. I will simply invite you back for our Good Friday service a few weeks from now, that will be entirely devoted to reflecting on the depths to which Jesus was broken for us. And having broken it, what does Jesus do next?
v.22: he GAVE IT TO THEM.
Friends: There is an OFFER for you on this table this morning. LITERALLY. And the literal bread that’s going to be offered to you, “GIVEN to you”, symbolizes an even more real, spiritual offer that is available to you. Jesus wants to give HIMSELF to you this morning. He’s already given His BODY for you on the cross. That’s done. Finished. But His sacrifice FOR you isn’t applied TO you until you do what? What’s the last part of the gospel we’re missing, that is acted out for us in the Lord’s supper every week? What does Jesus INSTRUCT THEM to do now – notice that the disciples have been COMPLETELY passive up to this point. JESUS does all the action. HE took the bread. HE blessed it. HE broke it. HE gave it. But friends, ALL of that means NOTHING without what?
v.22: “He said, “TAKE; this is my body”. RECEIVE. LA-be-te, in the Greek. You’ve got to RECEIVE it, friends. It is by grace you have been saved through FAITH. Jesus has done EVERYTHING difficult that is required for your salvation – He has wired the whole house for electricity. But listen: you will still be in the dark unless you flip on the light switch. You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket. ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN! But it’s of absolutely NO value to you if you don’t cash it in.
Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” But friends: a gift does you NO good as long as it stays in the box, wrapped up; you’ve got to RECEIVE it, to OPEN it.
Finally, in vv23-24: Jesus takes the CUP and says, “This is my blood of the[c]covenant, which is poured out for many. ”
Hebrews 9 reminds us that: “not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood... Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Heb 9:18, 22)
And for 1500 years, “every priest stood daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which could never take away sins.” (Heb 10:11)
“But when Christ appeared... he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption... Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (Heb 9:11-15)
The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the INFINITE price that Jesus paid, to PURCHASE this unbelievable new covenant for us: His precious blood, for OUR eternal redemption. But friends, the covenant’s not for EVERYONE. It’s for those who are CALLED, Heb. 9:15. Jesus said “my blood is poured out for MANY,” in v24; MANY, not ALL. And as we’re reminded at this Table, of what Christ has done for us - He poured out his blood... his LIFE, LITERALLY, for us - there is a question before you and me this morning: Will WE, in response, in faith, take up OUR crosses, deny OUR selves, DAILY, give up OUR lives, even if only FIGURATIVELY, for him? Will we LOSE our lives in order to truly FIND them in Him?
John 6:53-55 “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”
That’s what this meal SYMBOLIZES. There’s nothing magic about it. You can come to church your entire life and eat all the crackers and grape juice you want. Jesus is talking about a HEART thing, friends. Have you FED on him SPIRITUALLY? Have you TAKEN His body, His blood, have you RECEIVED Him, and his FREE gift of grace, spiritually?
#6 - Lastly, The Lord’s Supper is A PREFIGURING of GLORY. It’s a PRECEPT of God. A PICTURE of Grace. And a PREFIGURING of GLORY.
Jesus says: “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.””
Paul makes the point even more explicit in 1 Corinthians: he says Jesus left this meal to be observed by his church as a CONTINUAL ordinance... Until When? “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:26)
This isn’t a PERMANENT ordinance, church. This meal is TEMPORARY. It’s meant to FORESHADOW a much GRANDER meal. One day this meal will be replaced. Because one day we will no longer need to be REMINDED of our Lamb; ONE day we will worship him FACE TO FACE. And on THAT day, EVERY knee shall bow, and EVERY tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And EVERY voice will cry out “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12)
He’s coming back for his Church, brothers and sisters. And on THAT day, we who are His Bride, will celebrate with Him the great Wedding Feast of the Lamb that will totally eclipse every other meal and party you’ve ever been a part of; just LISTEN to how THAT meal – that heavenly banquet table – is described throughout Scripture:
Isa 25:6-8 – “the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine...
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.”Matt 8:11 “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven”
And most beautiful of all, Rev 19:6-9 – “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready...
Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.””
So I end with one last invitation, friends: have YOU been invited. Let me clarify: you HAVE been invited. This morning you have heard the GOSPEL. In a moment, we will visibly respond to and remember and RE-ENACT the gospel. There is an offer, an invitation for you, on the Table this morning, not just literally, not just crackers and juice. A SPIRITUAL, ETERNAL offer. Will you receive it? Let’s pray...