It's a very short account, but
here it is from Matthew. And as they were eating, I want
you to notice that. We'll come back to that later.
It'll be significant. As they were eating, Jesus took
bread and blessed it and broke 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. In other words, all of you drink
of it. For this is my blood of the New
Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until that day when
I drink it new with you in the Father's kingdom." And when they
had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives. This is one of the last things
that our Lord did before he was taken and put to death upon the
cross. So let's look at it today and
what it means and the place of it in the church. I begin by
saying, as you know, the Lord has given his churches two ordinances
that they are to observe. We call them one, baptism, and
the other, the supper of the Lord, as Paul calls it. in 1 Corinthians 11, and verse
20, the Lord's Supper, or the Supper of the Lord. And both
of them, baptism and the Lord's Supper, are observed with a view
to the death of our blessed Lord and Savior. Consider, if you
will, first of all, quickly, the ordinance of baptism. and
how it has a view to the death of Christ. In Colossians 2 and
verse 12, buried with him in baptism wherein you are risen
with him through the faith of the operation of God. Again, in Romans chapter 6, And
verse 4, Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, ye also should walk in newness of life. Now, as one said of these expressions,
they refer to the ordinance of baptism and its spiritual meaning
as people submit unto it in the name of Christ, because the elect
have died with Christ. and a burial assumes a death,
does it not? Death goes before the burial. And Gil wrote on Colossians chapter
2 and verse 12, their baptism in water was a lively representation
of their having died with Christ and died to sin in Christ. And
by the way, this would require, would it not, that baptism be
by full immersion, for nothing else can be a symbol of death
and burial. Now the other ordinance, and
the one we're interested in this morning, is the Lord's Supper. And we have this difference between
the two ordinances. that while baptism is administered
one time as one comes unto Christ and is experienced but once,
yet the Lord's Supper is to be repeated over and over again
and again. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter
11 and verse 25 and verse 26, as oft as you Drink it as often as you eat
this bread for it is done time and again in remembrance of the
Lord and to show forth the Lord's death until they come again.
So those two things are evident in the supper. One, it is to
remember him and his death. And two, it is to show forth
that death until he come again. Now we know from the Gospels,
the Gospels in the New Testament, that the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lamb of God, the Son of God, shortly before he was taken and
put to death, instituted this supper that we are commemorating
today. And this we have a record of.
You have it in Matthew chapter 26, 26 through 29. You find it also in the Gospel
of Mark chapter 14, 22 through verse 25. And you have another
account of it in the Gospel of Luke chapter 22 and verse 19
and 20. Now the Lord instituted the supper,
and he instituted it with elements of bread and wine, and that we
have very clearly in the scripture. Now these two things, the Lord
said, represented his body, that is the bread, and his blood,
that is the cup or the wine. probably using these elements,
which had been a part of the Passover supper, which they had
eaten. And as they were eating, as we
read, which would be the Passover supper, which the Lord prepared
and ate with his disciple. Now, the Passover supper was
kept by the Jew Every year and it was kept as a memorial of
the Lord in that night when he passed over in the land of Egypt
all of the houses that had the blood you remember up on the
doorpost are the lintel of the house if no blood was there then
God smote the firstborn in every house where there was no blood
in the land of Egypt and I was reading Spurgeon in his commentary
on Matthew, and he said that this was the last Passover that
our Lord celebrated and instituted the new memorial. Said he, the
Jewish Passover was made to melt into the Lord's Supper, having
them, as it were, one after the other, the Passover, and then
taking those elements and instituting the Memorial Supper for the church
and the people of God, the bread and the cup. Now, the Passover,
if we may think about that in a minute, because that's what
they had gathered to eat. And there's some question whether
the Lord celebrated two or three Passover during his earthly ministry. But the Passover was instituted
by God through Moses, and you have an account of it in the
12th chapter of the book of Exodus, when each house was to take a
lamb, they were to kill it on the set day, they were to cook
it, and they were to eat a lamb, putting its blood upon the doorframe
or the doorpost of their house. And this is called in Exodus
chapter 12 and verse 11, the Lord's Passover. It is the Lord's
Passover. And it was a standing ordinance
and a standing memorial of what God had done in that night until
Christ came and instituted the supper of the Lord, which came
in the place as a memorial. And as Paul wrote, Christ our
Passover is sacrificed for us. So that Passover typified or
symbolized the great sacrifice which was made by the Lord. Christ our Passover, Paul calls
him in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7. Now, the Passover
lamb in Exodus 12 was highly typical of the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world, as John said in John 1.29 and
1.35. And Christ, therefore, is the
true sacrificial Passover lamb. How was the Jewish Passover lamb
typical of Christ, the Lamb of God? that's very interesting
and the type is very close, so let us look at it. Let us count
some of the ways that that Passover lamb typified the Lord Jesus
Christ that was to come. First of all, we read about both
it and him, that it was chosen and appointed unto death ahead
of time. This lamb was taken ahead of
time. They did not wait until the day
that it was to be killed, but they chose them a lamb, a tender
lamb, a proper lamb from out of the herd, and some writers
say brought it into the house that it might be kept and protected. Now Christ was slain from the
foundation of the world, Revelation 13 and verse 8. He was foreordained
before the foundation of the world. First Peter chapter 1
and verse 20. It was not an aftermath. It was
a determinate plan of God before the world that Christ should
come, become incarnate, and die. Now another thing about the Passover
lamb, interesting and also typical of Christ, is that that lamb
was to be computed for a set number of souls. Exodus 12 and
verse 4. According to the number of souls,
a lamb for a house, in verse 3, make your count for the lamb,
in verse 4 of Exodus chapter 12. And it said here, according
to every man's eating. And we notice, none was to be
left over. If it was, it was to be burned
with fire. Verse 10, even as Christ also
gave his life for a set number of people, and none of them shall
be lost. Again, the tithe continued. In
Exodus 12 and verse 5, your lamb shall be without spot and without
blemish, a male of the first year. In Leviticus 22, 20 and
24, You see that again. The lamb
was not to be sick, or have scurvy, or blind in one eye, or broken
bone, or crippled, or any such thing. The lamb was to be an
absolutely perfect specimen of lambhood. Even so, in Hebrews
9 and verse 14, Christ offered himself without spot unto God,
and the margin has it without fault. Christ offered himself
without fault unto God. And in 1 Peter 1 and verse 19,
Christ as a lamb without spot and without blemish. In other
words, our Lord was a perfect sacrifice as no physical blemish
was allowed to exist in their land. He could not have a blemish
of any sort that disqualified him from being a lamb for a sacrifice. And so, no moral blemish was
found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was without sin. He knew no
sin. He was perfect in every aspect. Even his humanity was impeccable,
2 Corinthians 5 and 21. He was that holy thing born of
God, Luke chapter 1 and verse 35, and is called the Son of
God. And Christ is our Passover, 1
Corinthians 5 and verse 7, so that he passes over rather than
smiting us under condemnation. Now, the New Testament memorial
supper instituted by the Lord, as we read, has two elements
in it. That is, it has two material
elements that we use in the supper. Again, one, the bread first. Secondly, the cup or the wine. The bread the Lord said this
take and eat and then he had this is my body and Luke in his
gospel 22 19 as which is given for you and Paul is in 1 Corinthians
11 and verse 24 says, which is broken for you. This is my body,
which is broken for you. And that's in some of the manuscripts. On the other hand, of the cup
we read, he gave them the cup and he told them, all of you
drink of it. This is my blood which is shed
for many for the remission of sin. Now what was in that cup? Was it water? Was it grape juice? Or was it wine? Two times we
read, it is called the fruit of the vine. Matthew 26, 29,
Mark 14, and verse 25. Now, the Jews drank wine in the
Passover supper, and it's very likely that our Lord used some
of that to give them as representative of his blood in the Lord's Supper. Now, what are we to make of the
Lord saying of the bread and of the wine, this is my body,
this cup, not the container, but the content, is my blood
of the New Testament, drink ye of it. The bread is my body,
the cup is my blood. And we remember the Jews not
only killed and roasted the Passover lamb, but they ate it in Exodus
12, 8 and 9. They all had a lamb, they killed
it, they roasted it, and they ate it. And we read there something
we ought not to miss, that it was seasoned with bitter herbs. When they took that lamb, it
was seasoned with bitter herbs. Now, not raw were they to eat
it, and not boiled in water. That's important. They did not
eat it raw, and they did not eat it by being boiled in water. How then? Roasted by direct exposure
to the fire. That lamb was roasted with fire
and they also used unleavened bread. Numbers chapter 9 verse
11 and 12. With unleavened bread and bitter
herbs. And they were not to break one
single bone of their Passover lamb. Not one bone. That lamb
was to be broken Exodus 12 verse 46 numbers 9 and verse 12 and
referenced in John 19 and verse 36 not a bone of him shall be
broken and when that soldier came with that ax or that Club
or whatever to break their bones The body of the Lord was already
dead, and they break not his bone that the scripture might
be fulfilled, John 19 and verse 36. So when the Lord tells his
disciples, eat and drink, this is my body, this is my flesh. How are we to take that? There's some pretty wild notions
in the world today about this. This is my body and this is my
blood. Is it as literal body and blood? Is it his actual flesh and blood? Are we cannibals when we partake
of the supper of the Lord? Add to that. Let's go to John's
Gospel chapter 6, and I want to read verse 53. through verse
56 from the Gospel of John. John 6 and again verse 53, Then
said Jesus unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except
ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, drinketh
my blood, hath eternal life, I will raise him up at the last
day. For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, drinketh
my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Now, I may be sorry
that I brought this text before us this morning, for it is a
difficult one, owing to the different meanings that have been attached
unto it. Nor do I say that John 6 is a
reference to the Lord's Supper. For that matter is not under
discussion here, and it had not yet been instituted. So the Lord said, the expression
that resemble those of the Lord's supper in our text that we read,
that resemble them about eating and drinking, this is my flesh,
this is my blood. And then to have him say to that
crowd, except you eat my flesh, drink my blood, You have no life
in you. We have to believe that these
things are figurative John 6 and 53 again Except you eat and drink
you have no life in you see how the Lord prefaces this verily
verily are Except, truly, truly, unless, he said, you eat and
drink, you have no life in you. Verse 54 again, who eats and
drinks has eternal life. That is, my flesh and blood. Verse 56, he that eats my flesh,
drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I Him now, let's put this
in its context. This was a follow-up of our Lord's
miraculous feeding of the 5,000 from a little boy's lunch and
the Lord declares himself after that I am the bread of life verse
35 I came down from heaven verse 38 and I'm the living bread,
John 6 and 51. Now, what does the Lord mean
when he speaks of eating my flesh and drinking my blood as a means
of having eternal life? Well, if we go back to John chapter
6 and verse 40, in that chapter, John 6 and verse 40, he saith
unto them, And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on
him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the
last day. Now look at verse 47. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting
life. So in these texts, Believing
on Christ is one and the same thing with eating and drinking
the flesh and blood. It is not a literal, physical
act. but it means to have faith and
to eat. You see the woman also at Jacob's
well talking about drinking the water of life, but it was not
the water in a cup out of Jacob's well. John chapter six is a very
rich chapter in the New Testament and it deserves our study from
time to time, but Let's go back to the Lord's Supper and the
significance of the bread and of the cup. And the giving and
the instituting of the supper, hear me now, marked a transition
as part of the bringing in of the new covenant. The Passover
was typical, therefore it was temporary. The Passover was in
types, It was a memorial that was kept yearly in remembrance
of the night that God smote the firstborn of Egypt. But he did
not let the destroyer smite where the blood was on the door. And in Exodus 12 and 24, you
shall observe this thing for an ordinance forever. Exodus 12 25 in Canaan you shall
keep this service I did the Passover in the upper room a transition
occurred here Matthew 26 and 25 and as they were eating as
They were eating mark 14 has it and as they did eat Luke 21
20 after supper And in John 13 and 2, supper
being ended. Now, the supperment was not a
regular meal. It was not a banquet. It was
not a gathering of friends or a wedding hosted by a family. Rather, it was the Jewish Passover. They had eaten in the upper room,
the Jewish Passover. And that supper was ended, or
was drawing to an end when our Lord did what he did. For remember,
it was called eating the Passover. A roasted lamb it consisted of,
unleavened bread, bread and wine, herbs, and they were asking our
Lord Where to eat the Passover let me quote John Gill so when
the Paschal Supper was concluded Christ entered upon the institution
of his own supper Unquote he took bread and he broke it and
some scripts say that he blessed it He might have prayed over
it. He gave it to the disciples then
telling them take and eat This is my body and Luke 23 and verse
19 adds, which is given for you. Paul says broken for you, the
body that God prepared him in the incarnation. Hebrews chapter
10 and verse 5, that body in which he would bear the sin of
his people, which he would be scourged, a crown of thorns on
his head and a spear in his side and nails in his hand and in
his feet. And at last, a spear plunged
into his side. This is the one that Isaiah said
would be bruised chapter 53 and verse 5 Stripes would be laid
upon him. He would be numbered with a transgressor. He would be brought like a lamb
unto the slaughter And he would be put to grief. His soul would
make an offering for sin. Here's what one wrote. Christ
broke the bread as a symbol of his body, which was to be broken
by blows, scourges, thorns, nails, spears, and to be separated for
a time from his soul and die as a sacrifice for the sins of
his people. Our Lord would bear the curse
of the law. The sword of divine justice from
Zechariah would be unsheathed against our blessed Lord and
God would require of him as our surety, the price of our debt. Thus, as they ate the broken
bread, they were to remember that it was an emblem of his
body, quote, broken for you, unquote. And then, likewise,
the Lord took the same manner the cup, giving thanks. He passed
that cup to his disciples, telling them, drink it. This is my blood
of the New Testament, shed for many for the remission of sin. Now, the word translated testament
here in the King James is translated also covenant. And that might
be the closer word, especially in the book of Hebrew, the same
word translated testament is translated as covenant. We notice
that Matthew uses the explanation for drink this cup, for this
cup, the blood of the covenant being shed for the remission
of sin. Now, what covenant does our Lord
refer to when he said or connects it unto the covenant? The first
covenant was dedicated with blood. Exodus chapter 24 verse 8 Hebrews
9 18 through 22 But that was the blood of animals of bulls
and of goats and of lambs and such like and was typical but
inferior to the blood of Christ that he was shared the blood
of Christ and the blood of the everlasting covenant Hebrews
13 and verse 20 This is the covenant which is eternal and was made
between the father and the son Concerning the saving of the
elect sometime called the covenant of grace other times called the
covenant of redemption and so it is a Contrast between the
blood of beast and the blood of Christ and between a temporary
covenant and an eternal one, and between type and substance
or reality. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission." Hebrews 9.22. Under the law, almost all
things were purged with blood. Just about every sacrifice that
was made, particularly in relation to sin, was by blood. Sometimes cleansing was by a
washing. It is true. But moral depravity
required bloodshed, a death, a sin offering. No other way
will God save sinners. and by the blood of his incarnate
and blessed son. And this death we show and remember
when we partake of the supper of the Lord. Let's consider what
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10 15-17. We were on this a few weeks ago,
and when we were dealing with idolatry. But let's look at it
again. And that would be 1 Corinthians
chapter 10, because there is a point that Paul makes here
in this place. And the verses are verse 15 through
17. Listen to it as he reasons. I speak as to wise men who judge
you what I said. The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, being many, are one bread
and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Now, to dissuade them, from participating
in the heathen feast and idolatry, Paul asked them, judge what you
will say. That the cup we're drinking and
the bread we are eating is the Lord's Supper. And it is done
in a religious and a spiritual way. It is to commemorate the
sacrifice of Christ. We bless the cup, we pray over
it, then drink it as a symbol of the blood of our blessed Lord. We do the same again with a cup
and the bread. We bless it, then we partake
of it as being a symbol of the blood and the body of our Lord. For no other reason do we eat
and drink it but to have communion and fellowship and remembrance
with one another and with Christ. They're not for refreshment.
They're not to satisfy hunger or thirst. They're not to put
grace in the soul, but they are to remember our Lord and to have
communion and fellowship. Therefore, only one, and I'll
say this in closing, with a saving interest in Christ should take
the supper. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11,
27 through 30, He warns them against partaking unworthily
of the supper of the Lord. And so let each examine themselves
as they come to partake of the supper of the Lord.