Turn with me to Matthew 26. Matthew
26. This is the last time that the
Lord and his disciples would eat the Passover together. People refer to this as the last
supper. They would eat together after
this again. Our Lord and his disciples ate
together again after this moment, but this was the last observance
of the Passover together. And this is where the Lord gave
the ordinance and the instructions for what we call the Lord's table. So look with me at verse 17 here,
it says, now the first day of the feast
of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying unto him,
Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?
And he said, Go into the city to such a man and say unto him,
The master saith, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover
at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus
had appointed them, And they made ready the Passover. Now, the last time we were here,
we looked at verses 14 to 16, where Judas made a covenant with
the high priests to betray the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. And we saw God's sovereignty
and his absolute control in all of that. And I want us to notice
His sovereignty and His absolute control in this too. Turn with
me over to Luke 22. This is Luke's account of the
same moment, and I want us to notice the details that our Lord
gave in this. Luke 22, verse 7. Then came the day of unleavened
bread when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter
and John saying, go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat.
And they said unto him, where wilt thou that we prepare? And
he said unto them, behold, when you are entered into the city,
there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him
into the house where he entereth in. And you shall say unto the
good man of the house, the master saith unto thee, where is the
guest chamber where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?
And he shall show you a large upper room furnished. There make
ready. And they went and found as he
had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. He said,
as soon as you walk into this city, where they were, he said,
a man is going to walk right in front of you, holding a pitcher
of water. And he said, he is gonna take
that picture of water into his house, his master's house. This was the servant of a man
who owned a particular house. And he said, the man who owns
that house has a large upper room and it's fully furnished. He said, you tell him that you
are going to kill a lamb and you're gonna cook it And you're
going to set a table for dinner in that guest suite of his house. And he is going to say to you,
okay. And that's how it went. And it's
because that's how our Lord controlled for it to go. His sovereign hand
is over everything. Turn over to Isaiah 46. Isaiah 46 verse 9 says, remember the former things of
old for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there
is none like me. And let's remember there's only
one God. Father, Son, and Spirit, these three are one. If we want
to see God the Father, look at Jesus Christ. We want to see
God the Spirit, look at Jesus Christ. All the fullness of the
Godhead is seen in one person, one God. Jesus Christ is the
fullness of the Godhead bodily. So verse nine says, remember
the former things of old, for I am God and there is none else. I am God and there is none like
me. declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying,
my counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. That doesn't sound like the Jesus
that is being preached today, does it? This one from ancient
times. He said, I already know everything
that's going to happen because I order it to be so. Verse 11,
calling a ravenous bird from the east. the man that executeth
my counsel from a far country. Yea, I have spoken it, I will
also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also
do it. He said, where I will in purpose
for a bird to fly, that bird flies. And what I will in purpose
for a man to do, that man does, and that's so. Our God was ordering and controlling
every bit of this, all of it. Go with me now back to Matthew
26. Matthew 26, verse 17. Now the first day of the feast
of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying unto him,
Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?
And he said, Go into the city to such a man and say unto him,
The master saith, My time is at hand. And what a line that
is. We could stay there for a while.
My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at thy
house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus
had appointed them, and they made ready the Passover. Verse
20 says, now when the even was come, he sat down with the 12,
when the evening was come. Our Lord gave the instructions
on how to observe the Passover back in Exodus 12. Don't turn
there, but that's where he gave the instructions on how to observe
the Passover. And Israel observed the Passover
for years and years and years. And he said, this is what he
told them there. He said, I want you to take a
lamb and kill it in the evening. And he said, I want you to eat
the flesh of that lamb, roast with fire in that night. He said, all of this is to be
done in the evening. And then he said for seven days
after that, you're going to eat unleavened bread every evening. Why the evening specifically? I don't know. I don't know. But that's what he said. So that's
what they did. He gave the instructions for
the Lord's table to be observed in the evening as it was done
with the Passover. The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians,
our Lord did this the night he was betrayed. That's why we observed
the Lord's table in the evening. Now, here's what I want to say.
We are not under law. And we are not trying to fulfill
the law by doing it that way. It's just, that's how our Lord
said to do it. So that's how we do it. We're
not under the law to meet here on Sunday. We are not under the
law to meet here on a Sunday. We could meet here any day of
the week. If my understanding is right,
this Passover, this was Thursday night. So why Sunday? Why do we all not go to work
and show up here together on Sunday? It's because our Lord
said first fruits. He said first day of the week.
So that's what we do. I've been asked before, why do
we observe the Lord's table on Sunday night? That's the reason
why. That's why we do it. Verse 20, it says, now when the
even was come, he sat down with the 12, And as they did eat,
he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray
me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to
say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He
that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray
me. According to John Gill, he said
it was their custom to make a thick dipping sauce out of fruit, nuts,
bitter herbs, and spices. They would grind it in a mortar
and they would make this sauce to dip their bread in. Including
our Lord, there were 13 men sitting at this table, and it's unknown
whether there was one dish for the entire table, or whether
there were multiple dishes on the table and two or three would,
you know, whoever was sitting next to each other would dip
out of it. Either way, what our Lord said to them was, the one
who will betray me is sitting at this table right now. Verse
21, as they did eat, he said, verily I say unto you that one
of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful. They were sorrowful. They were
sorrowful. Number one, to hear that he was
going to be betrayed. Number two, to hear that it was
going to be by one of them. Number three, to realize the
wickedness of their own hearts to the point that each one of
them said, it's probably me. Each one of them said, It's probably
me. Lord, it's me, isn't it? Lord,
is it I? Verse 22, they were exceeding
sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord,
is it I? And he answered and said, he
that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray
me. The son of man goeth as it is
written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the son of man
is betrayed. It had been good for that man
if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him,
answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou
hast said. Eleven men said, Lord, is it
I? Before Judas did. 11 men, he
was the last one. He heard all of them say it. And then he mimicked what they
were saying. And we all need to be warned
that there is no salvation in lip service. There is no salvation
in lip service, saying what we're supposed to say. Repeating what
we've been told that we're supposed to say, or they're all saying,
and I guess I need to say it too. There is no salvation in
lip service, none whatsoever. Men and women can talk a big
talk about their religion, but God is looking on the heart.
God is looking on the heart. And going through the motions
will mean nothing in the end. There are religions all over
this world. There are false religions all
over this world that are built on going through motions. And
it will not save anybody. It will do nothing for no one.
If all we're doing is going through motions, there is no salvation
there. None whatsoever. A form of religion. It'll mean nothing in the end.
It's gonna mean nothing. Where God's salvation is, number
one, there's honesty in the heart. Where the truth is, there is
truth. Where the truth of God's word
is, there is truth in the hearts who hold that word. That truth
says, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I know I'm a sinner. I know that I'm capable of anything
and everything. I know that I'm capable of anything
and everything. I am not pointing the finger
at Him. It's me. Lord, is it I? It's probably I. Number one, there's honesty over
the total depravity of my own sin. Number two, there is a deep
sorrow over that sin. There's a deep sorrow over that
sin. There is a broken, contrite heart
over what I am and what I've done to my Lord. And I'm not
just talking about the past. I'm talking about right now. How sorrowful do you believe
Judas was about all this? How broken and contrite do you
believe he was over the sin he had committed against his Lord?
Look at verse 22. Notice that the disciples said,
They were exceeding sorrowful and began every one of them to
say unto him, Lord, is it I? What that means is God. That
means Jehovah bodily. My Lord and my God, is it I? Look down at verse 25. Then Judas,
which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, that means
honorable one, one who I'm going to show honor to. Is it I? You see the difference
there? Men and women in false religion,
they love to put on a show of false humility. There's nothing
but pride in there. There's nothing but pride in
there. But that's not the case when salvation comes to God's
people. Oh, there's still pride in there. but they're broken over it. They're
broken over it. They don't even try to hide it.
They expose themselves for what they are. They say, is it I? Is it I? And then they say, yes,
I know it's me. I know it's me. I know that in
me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I know that I'm
the chief sinner. I know I'm the worst sinner here.
Of everybody here, I know I'm the worst sinner here. I know that his death is because
of me. Why did Christ die on the cross?
I'll give you the answer. Gabe Stoniker. Some of you know me a little
too well. I know it was because of me. I know it was my sin that put
him to death on that cross. Oh, can you just see them asking
him this? I can envision them asking him
this over and over again, needing the answer. Not one time, Lord,
is it I? And then the next one goes, Lord,
is it I? And then the next one goes, Lord. I can see them bombarding
him, Lord, is it I? Is it me? needing an answer to the direct
question of my heart. Is it I? Is it I? He said, Judas,
you can go. And they were so concerned with
needing the answer to their question, they didn't even pay attention
to Judas. They didn't know what he was doing. When it says these men were exceeding
sorrowful, I can envision them with their heads down. I can
envision them, you know, head in their hands. at a loss for
words other than, oh, it has to be me. I can envision them
being ashamed to even look at the Lord. They know their hearts. They knew their hearts just like
you know your heart. Ashamed to even look at the Lord,
verse 26 says, And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and
blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples and said,
take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and gave
thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it. For this
is my blood of the New Testament, which you shed for many for the
remission of sin. In Luke's account, it's worded
that he said, this is my body given for you. This is my blood
shed for you. In their moment of desperation,
what he's saying to them is salvation is of the Lord. They're just
killing themselves. They're exceeding sorrowful. They weren't just sorrowful.
They were exceeding sorrowful. And what he said to them was,
your redemption for all of your sin is of me. Now the Lord willing, we're gonna
look at that in just a minute. We're gonna pick up right here
and see that salvation for all of God's people is of the Lord. It's of the Lord. They proved
by their actions that they did not deserve salvation. They were
not worthy of salvation. In reality, not one of the 11
there was any better than Judas. Look right here at verse 31. Then said Jesus unto them, all
ye shall be offended because of me this night, for it's written,
I'll smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered
abroad. But after I'm risen again, I
will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto
him, though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet
will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, verily I
say unto thee that this night before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also
said all the disciples. We say Peter said that. All of
them said that. All of them said that. Not me,
I'll never deny you. I'll never forsake you. Verse
55. In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, are you come out against a thief with swords
and staves? For to take me, I sat daily with
you teaching in the temple and you laid no hold on me. But all
this was done that the scripture of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Then all the disciples forsook him and fled, all of them. Every single one of them. He
was left alone. Thank God. He was left alone. All sinned against him, all denied
him, all forsook him, all turned their back on him. But to the
ones that he came to redeem, he said, this is my body broken
for you. This is my blood shed for the
remission of your sin. And that remission is of me,
that salvation is of the Lord. And that's what we're gonna look
at here in just a minute. All right, you're dismissed.