This evening, we've assembled
ourselves together for the purpose of worshiping the Lord. That's why we've come, to worship
the Lord in the hearing of his word. And on this particular
night, we plan to observe the Lord's table and in our observing,
I want us to consider these two verses of scripture that we just
read together. And as we consider the Lord speaking
on the night in which he was betrayed, I want us to take that
and consider just a comment or two on the words just I pray
that the Lord would bless his word to our hearts because we're
getting ready to do something that is not a suggestion. We're commanded this do in remembrance
of me. Our Lord is getting ready. to go to the cross. He's going
to be betrayed this night. On the night he was betrayed.
And he's sitting with his apostles. One of them is the devil, probably
at this point is already gone. But sitting in the midst of the
Lord is one that's going to betray him. One of them is going to
betray him. One of them, after his resurrection,
is going to hear the account of the other apostles that say,
we saw the Lord after he had been crucified. We saw the Lord,
he's risen. Thomas is going to say, except
I put my finger in the holes of his hand, put my hand in his
side, I'm not going to believe. Now he's sitting there, the Lord's
sitting there with him, and he knows him. And here he is getting
ready to institute this Lord's Supper. And the scripture says
in verse 19 and verse 20, and the reason I want to do this
is I want to give special attention to these words that he's saying.
It says, and he, he. You know, isn't it a blessing
to realize the surety of knowing of whom we speak? He, he. The bride speaking in Song of
Solomon 3, 1 and 2, let me just read these verses. Song of Solomon
3, 1 and 2. It says, By night on my bed I
sought him whom my soul loveth. I sought
him, but I found him not. I will rise now and go about
the city and the streets and the broad ways. I will seek him
whom my soul loveth. I sought him, but I found him
not. Who is she speaking of? None other than the Lord of glory,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Him. Him. Do you know where he
is? The scripture says, and he took
bread. He took that which set forth
himself, the living bread, the bread of God, the bread of heaven. In the Old Testament, the show
bread consisted of 12 loaves made without leaven, setting
forth the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took bread. And the scripture says, and gave
thanks, not only giving thanks for the
provision of the bread, but setting forth the thanks that he gave
for the father's giving him. For the father's will to be done. giving of himself, heavenly bread
who came down from heaven to do and save, do the will of the
Father and save his people from their sins, all according to
the covenant of God's grace. And here he is, the representative
of his people, their federal head. God made flesh. in submission unto his father. And as our representative, he
gave thanks. And the scripture says, concerning
that bread, giving thanks and break it. Setting forth his substitutionary
work. Here he is. God again in human flesh. He was made flesh that he might
die. God doesn't die. God cannot die. But a man can. And this man,
the bread himself, who gave thanks, broke that bread, setting forth
that he must suffer and pay the penalty of his people's rebellion
against the holy law of God. God is just. And he must exact
the precise judgment that is due. And the precise judgment
that was due was death. That's what it was going to cost.
He would be justly forsaken of God. He would be stricken of
God, afflicted of God, and the judgment would be upon Him, the
bearer of the sins of His people. Isaiah 53 verse 4, Surely He
hath borne our griefs, carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But here He is. He took bread, gave thanks, and
break it, and the scripture says, and gave it unto them. The benefit of His broken body
and the putting away of the guilt of sin is the gift of God. He gave it to them. For by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is by the grace of
God. It's the gift of God. It's not
earned. You can't earn it. It's given. So here he is, took bread, gave
thanks, break it, gave it unto them, saying, saying. You know how beautiful is the
fullness of the scriptures. When I looked at that word today
as I was preparing this message, I thought to myself, now, if
he would have just taken it and broken the bread, gave it to
him and didn't say anything. They'd have probably taken it
if he handed it to them. But the scripture sets forth
that he said something. The scriptures moved the writer
to pin that the Lord spoke. Faith cometh by hearing. and hearing by the word of God.
And here's the word of the Lord God himself speaking. And what does he say? This is
my body. Now obviously not his actual
body as some claim to say that they're able to say a few words
over a piece of bread and a cup of wine Let it become the actual
body. No, this is not the actual body,
but this is the symbolic representation. This is what we're going to do.
This is not the actual body and blood of Christ. It's the symbols
that were given by the Lord. A body had been prepared him,
a body was framed for him. fit for Him, that He might die,
that He might live before God and men. A body was prepared
Him. He who knew no sin, He who grew,
and the Scripture sets forth, He
grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men. Those scriptures like that I've
said before, I can't grasp the depth of that, but we believe
it. If the Lord said it, that's the
way it is. And so here, this verse of scripture, back in Hebrews,
turn to Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10, verse five. Hebrews
10, five. Hebrews 10, five, wherefore,
when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Now, if you have a reference,
it's gonna reference Psalm 40, turn to 40, verse six to eight. Turn to Psalm 40, verse 68, six
to eight. Psalm chapter 40, verse six to
eight. What we just read out of Hebrews
actually was moved by, the Spirit of God moved the writer of Hebrew,
the Apostle Paul, to give interpretation of what this passage of scripture
in Psalm 40 said for. Psalm 40, verse six to eight,
says this. Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened. Burnt offering and sin offering
hast thou not required. Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it's
written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my
God. Yea, thy law is written my heart. So from before the fall in the
garden, the scripture says forth that the lamb was slain in the
eternal counsel and will of Almighty God. It was prophesied that he
would come and therefore being set forth in his word, his people
were looking for him. And here he is. Here he's walked
this earth and his earthly ministry now for over three years. And
here's the very fulfillment of God's promise. And he says back
in Luke 22 to his, Apostles, he said, this is my body. Here
I am. Then he said, which is given
for you. The sacrifice of himself was
a willing sacrifice. He said in John chapter 10, verse
17, 18, therefore does my father love me because I lay down my
life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me. But
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. When he said this commandment
have I received of my father, this is what he meant in John
17 verse 2. As thou has given him power over
all flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
has given him. Here's God. in human flesh, the
submissive servant of Jehovah, saying, the power that I have
to lay down my life, and the power that I have to take it
again. That commandment have I received from my Father. You
talk about submission. This is my body, which is given
for you. This is going to be a particular
sacrifice. He's gonna lay down his life
for the sheep. And then he said, the last part
of verse 19, this do, and that's what I meant a while ago. What
we're about to do is not a suggestion. This is a commandment. This do. This do in remembrance of me. Taking of the Lord's table is
not something we can give or take. Believers are commanded
by the Holy Spirit as often as you do it, as you do it, as often
as you eat a supper for the express reason of remembering His work
of redemption, a remembrance that is thankfully called to
our minds as we do this. In just a few minutes, Lord willing,
we're gonna take a little a little container and it's got a little
piece of bread, a little cup of wine. I'm gonna eat it. And
then he said in verse 20, likewise also the cup after supper saying, after eating of the Passover,
after supper, he was there to eat of the Passover supper. And this was going to be the
last time that the Passover supper was to be eaten. Now, I do understand
that there's Jews that still are observing the Passover and
the Lord ended it. He ended it. The Passover was
setting forth that the Lamb would come. The Lamb would be slain. I want you to look in this chapter
we're in. Luke 22, let's look at verses
15, 17. And he said unto them with desire,
have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer? I desire to eat this Passover. His time had come. And here's
the lamb. Here's the lamb. Here's the fulfillment
of that lamb that was slain in Egypt. and the blood was applied
to the doorpost lentil. Here it is. He said, I've desired
to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto
you, I will not anymore eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God. He's getting ready to go to the
cross. I'm not, this is it. This is the last of them. This
is the last supper, the last Passover supper. And he took
the cup, he gave thanks, and said, take this and divide it
among yourselves. This is for you. You take it. I'm gonna lay down my life for
you. So by eating of this last supper
before his death, a supper, as I said, that would be eaten no
more until it was fulfilled. kingdom of God. You'll be at
Calvary very soon. What he was saying that all the
ceremonies and all the rituals of the law were now coming to
an end. He's getting ready to finish
the work. All of these pictures, all of
the types, they're done. They're done. They beautifully
set forth the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. laying down of
himself, all those lambs, all those oxen, all those sheep,
all thousands and thousands and thousands of those sacrifices,
burnt offerings and all of the peace offerings and the wave
offerings and the meat offerings, on and on and on. Over, it's
over. Soon be totally given up because
he would give of himself. So he took the cup, the scripture
says, back in verse 20, likewise also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the New Testament
in my blood, which is shed for you. Oh, the preciousness of
the body and the blood. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Life,
the scripture says, is in the blood. The Father said, when
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. Without the shedding of
blood, there's no remission. There's no salvation. This precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ set forth in the cup that we'll
drink, that cup of wine. It's real wine. It's wine. It's
not grape juice. It's wine. That blood that was shed on Calvary's
tree was revealed here by the Lord to be all the merit and
all the foundation of the fulfillment of the blessings of peace and
pardon and righteousness and eternal life for the sheep of
God according to God's covenant of grace. His blood is gonna
answer. He will soon cry, it's finished,
it's done. Brethren, we've come this evening
to eat of the Lord's table, a blessed commandment that we are here
to obediently do. And when we eat of this table,
we eat of this table to remember him. And this is what I wanna,
have us remember just a couple of statements here. When he said
this do in remembrance of me, I want us to remember that concerning
this table, as coming to him for salvation, we come bringing
nothing to the table. We didn't bring anything to the
Lord to offer him for our salvation. It was by grace. This supper
tonight, we didn't have anything to contribute. This picture is
his broken body and his shed blood. Now, what are we going
to give? Nothing. Nothing. I want us to
remember that the Lord is the server. He took the bread. He gave it to them. He took the
cup and he gave it to them. It's his table and we partake
alike. I made the statement just a few
minutes ago. It's not according to our merit, but according to
his grace and mercy. I'll have mercy. Like I said,
Peter was sitting there Very soon the Lord's gonna tell him
after the Lord is gonna be betrayed that very night. He's gonna be
taken in. Peter's gonna start following
him, you know, as he goes. There's gonna be this one and
that one and this one's gonna say to Peter, your speech betrays
you. You were with him. You were with
him. I don't know the man. I don't
know the man. One of the accounts said he cursed.
I don't know him. And when he said that third time,
the cock crowed for the second time and he wept bitterly. Philip, same thing. We're all
alike. We're all sinners saved by the
grace of God. I want us to remember that these
elements are going to be received inwardly. We're going to take
this, we're going to eat that little piece of bread, we're
going to drink that little cup of wine and it will go into us
and it'll be part of us. Just as the Lord's life is received
within us, Christ in you, my spirit will I put in you. So here we'll have the Lord within
us and we are going to receive this personally. I can't drink
for you. I can't eat for you or you for
me. will eat personally and drink
personally. The Lord said, he that eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood, obviously by faith. Eating of
his flesh is to by faith believe that when he walked this earth,
what he did in this earth, establishing the righteousness of God for
his people is the righteousness in which we're robed. I love what Brother Scott said.
He said, the Lord said, when I see the blood, I'm glad I'm
not the one that he's depending on to see the blood. When God
sees it, I'll pass over you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood, to eat his flesh, to believe that the life he lived
is the life of righteousness for me, and drinketh my blood,
that when he died, he died for me. I lay down my life for the
sheep. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood hath eternal life. Listen to this. And I will raise
him up at the last day. I pray the Lord bless these words
to our hearts. I'm gonna ask them here.