Let me read my text again, verse
19 of Luke 22. And he took bread, and gave thanks,
and break it, and gave it unto them, saying, This is my body,
which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Now there are many memorials
of Christ our Lord. The heavens declare the glory
of Christ our Lord. David said, When I see the sun
and the moon and the stars which thou hast made, what is man that
thou art mindful of him? Our Lord Jesus Christ invited
us to consider the lilies of the field. He said, they toil
not, neither do they spin. Yet Solomon in all his glory
was never arrayed like one of these. He invited us to consider
the sparrows, the tiny birds of the air. He said, not one
of them falls to the ground without your heavenly Father. The Bible
is certainly an instrument of divine revelation. It is a memorial
of our Lord. Christ is the Bible. Foolish
is the man who can read the Bible and not see Christ. Ignorant
is the man who can read the Word of God and not see Christ and
His glory. The Holy Spirit brings before
us sweet thoughts and memories of Christ. Our Lord said, When
the Comforter is come, He will take the things of mine and show
them unto you. He shall not speak of Himself,
but He shall glorify Me. You could perhaps name many more
memorials of Christ and things which remind you of our Savior
and bring sweet, precious thoughts about Him, His wisdom, His power,
and His grace. But there are none, not even
the heavens, not even the lilies, not even the Bible, not even
the Holy Spirit. Quite like this memorial which
He ordained, Our Lord Jesus Christ gave this
supper to his disciples and he said, this do in remembrance
of me. There is no memorial quite like
the Lord's Table when remembering the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And here in the Bible, in the
text which I read tonight, we have full directions for observing
the Lord's Table. You see how it was done? You see what it represented,
the directions are plain and clear and they're very definite.
Christ said, this do, not something else, this do, in remembrance
of me, not for any other purpose. Now those two things I want you
to remember clearly this evening, this do, not anything else, the
broken bread, and the cup of wine, this do, drink ye all of
it, take ye, this do, not something else, not adding anything else,
this do, in remembrance of me, not for any other purpose. It
is not for any other purpose. It is not to unite the church
in harmony. It is not to discipline the church.
It is not to save the soul. It is not to bring people into
fellowship. It is not to exclude others and
have our own church supper. This do in remembrance of me. That's the sole purpose of this
table, in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no
certain time given. He said, as often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup, Paul wrote, you show the Lord's
death till he comes. There's no certain day given.
As oft as you eat this bread and drink this cup. And not all
men are to come. You can't remember one whom you
do not know. This do in remembrance of me.
The scripture says, let a man examine himself and see that
he understands the table of the Lord. See that he can rightly
discern the table of the Lord. See that he can properly judge
the table of the Lord, and so let him eat. A. A. Reese wrote this, in memory
of thy cross and thy shame, my Lord, I take this supper in thy
name. This juice of grape, this flower
of wheat, my outward man doth drink and eat. Oh, may my inward
man be fed with better wine and better bread. May thy pure flesh
and thy precious blood supply my spirit's daily food. I thank
thee, Lord, who died for me. O may I live and die to thee. Three observations before we
take the table of the Lord tonight. The first is this. As I said
a moment ago, the main object of the Lord's table is a personal
memorial. Turn with me to I Corinthians
11. In I Corinthians chapter 11, the Apostle Paul is giving
to the Church the instructions which he received from the Lord
concerning the Lord's table. And he says in I Corinthians
11, 23, I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered
unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was
betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks,
he broke it and said, Take ye, this is my body, which is broken
for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner
also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup
is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye, as oft as you drink
it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death until he
comes. It's not his doctrines that we're
celebrating. It is not his commandments which
we're remembering. It is not his benefits that we're
celebrating. It is his person. This do in
remembrance of me. Remember him with concentration
of thought. Remember him with deep emotion
and gratitude. Remember him as the trust of
your heart. I think there are many preachers
and churches who have taken away from the significance of this
table by making a position of argument. I believe in talking
about what we define as closed communion, as the authority of
the When we begin to argue and debate about when the table should
be eaten, when the church is in proper condition and worthy
to take the table, when we do all of these things, we take
away from the significance of the Lord's table. This do in
remembrance of me. As often as you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death till he comes.
This is not a doctrinal issue, it's a personal issue. This is
not a table to remember commandments or discuss commandments or talk
about benefits. It's a time to remember the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're to remember Him, the person
of Christ, the work of Christ, the mercy of Christ, the love
of Christ, with concentration of thought. We're to remember
Him as the object of faith. We're to remember Him as the
joy of our life. We're to remember Him as the
Lord of our conduct. We're to remember Him as the
representative of our person. We're to remember Him as the
rewarder of our hope. We're to remember Him. We're
to talk about Him. I think the shed blood and the
broken body of Christ as it's viewed in the broken bread and
the wine is remembered by the believer in a threefold way.
Now this is, when I come to the table of the Lord by way of personal
testimony, when I come to the table of the Lord and when I
remember Christ, when I take this bread and take this wine,
I view Christ and remember Christ in a threefold way. First of
all, my eye of faith sees Him in the eternal counsels of God. That's right, I see the crucified
Lamb, I see the crucified Savior, I see the bleeding substitute,
I look back before the cross, beyond the cross, and I see Him
in the eternal counsels of God as the Lamb slain. I see Him
as my surety and substitute way back yonder before the foundation
of the world. Turn to Hebrews 13. Let me read
it to you. In Hebrews 13, verse 20, now
the God of peace has brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the everlasting covenant. The first mention of His blood
is not 2,000 years ago at Calvary. The first mention of his blood
is not back yonder when the Passover lamb was slain and the blood
put on the door. The first mention of his blood
was not back yonder when Abel came with the sacrifice of blood
and put it on the altar, which was accepted by God. The first
mention of his blood was not in the Garden of Eden when God
announced to Eve that her seed would bruise the serpent's head,
but the first mention of Christ's and Christ's sacrifice and Christ's
blood for my sins was back yonder before the foundations of this
world were ever laid in the wisdom of God. Back in the eternal councils
of old, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in a covenant
of mercy drawn up by His wisdom and for His glory, established
Jesus Christ as my substitute and as my Lamb's sacrifice for
my sins. And when I take this bread and
this wine, I see Christ, I view Christ in the counsels of old. Turn to Hebrews 7, verse 22,
talking about the priesthood of the Old Testament. And then
it talks about Christ's priesthood. Christ is our priest. Christ
takes his blood into the Holy of Holies. And it says in Hebrews
7, 22, By so much was Christ made a surety. of a better covenant,
not the covenant God made with Adam or with Moses or with David,
but the covenant He made with His Son. And they truly were
many priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason
of death. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. He's always been our priest.
He's always been our sacrifice. Because He has an unchangeable
priesthood, without beginning or ending of days, without mother
or father, He is able to save them to the uttermost that come
to God by Him, seeing He ever liveth, not just from now on,
but from now back. He ever liveth to make intercession
for them. In the suffer I see Christ in
the eternal counsels of God as my substitute. Before I was born,
before my Father was born, before Adam was created, before this
world came into being, I see that everlasting covenant of
mercy and Christ the surety, Christ the priest, and Christ
the sacrifice. I not only see Christ in the
eternal counsels of God as our Savior dying on the cross for
our sin, but I see Him in this table, secondly, on the tree.
Turn with me to Galatians 4. In Galatians, the fourth chapter,
the Scripture tells us, "...in the fullness of time." Galatians
4, verse 4, "...in the fullness of time, when God's appointed
day had come, God sent forth his son, his substitute, his
sacrifice, his lamb, made of a woman, formed in the womb of
a virgin woman. And she brought him forth, and
he was made under the law, and she brought him forth under the
law to redeem them that were under the law, that they might
receive the adoption of sons. He took my flesh and my bones."
He took my place before the law. He took my guilt and my sin. He took my death and my hell,
and in this suffer I see him in human flesh on this earth
as my representative, as my federal hell, doing for me what I could
not do for myself, and bearing for me what eternal hell itself
could never be satisfied with me having borne it. I see him
in this supper, not only in the counsels of eternity as my surety
and substitute. I see him in this supper, not
only walking the earth in the flesh and dying on the tree and
buried and rising again, but I see him thirdly where he is
right now. This blood and this body which
was shed and broken for me is not only something I see back
in eternity on the tree, but I see it effective right now.
I see it essential right now. I see it necessary right now.
I see it essential and sufficient right now. Do you? Look at Hebrews
9. In Hebrews chapter 9. Yes, we preach the death of Christ
as being once for all. We preach the sacrifice of Christ
as being sufficient. But do you know that right now,
His blood maketh atonement for our soul. Right now, His blood
speaks like Abel's did from the ground. In Hebrews 9, verse 11,
But Christ being come, and high priest of good things to come,
by a greater and perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Look at verse 24. For Christ
is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which
are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself. Now,
right now, to appear in the presence of God for us, not yet that He
should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters into the
holy place every year with the blood of others. For then must
he often have suffered since the foundation of the world,
just took one death, just took one sacrifice. But now, once
in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself." Right now, Christ is in the presence
of God. There is one God and one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is now at the
right hand of God, pleading his blood. and pleading his sacrifice. Not my work, not my faithfulness,
not my love, but pleading his blood and his sacrifice. He bears
those nail prints right now at the right hand of God. He bears
the mark of the spear in his side right now at the right hand
of God. Now the second thing I want to
say about the Lord's table is this. First of all, it's a personal
memorial. It is to remember Christ. It's
not a ground for argument. It's not a ground for harmony
and accord and unity and fellowship of the brethren. It's the Lord's
table. And we come here to remember our Lord. We come here to concentrate
upon Him, to think upon Him, to rejoice in Him. Secondly,
first of all, some important facts about the supper itself.
It's simple. Now men have complicated this
simple service and in doing so they have denied what it represents.
It is only bread broken and wine poured forth. It's a simple ordinance. It is uncomplicated. It's just
like the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's uncomplicated. It's plain. It is broken bread. It is wine
poured from the cup. And even so, the gospel of Jesus
Christ, though blinded men cannot see its mysteries or understand
its greatness, it is very simple. He died for our sins. Secondly,
it's universal. Our Lord said, drink ye all of
it, not the elders only, not the deacons only, not the righteous
only, not the mature only, not the worthy only, but every believer. Drink ye all of it, every one
of you who are believers, who know Christ, who love Christ,
who can see what Christ did for you in this bread and wine. Drink
ye all of it. And thirdly, it's to be often
observed. This do in remembrance of me. This shows our tendency to forget
or to become taken up with less important things. And fourthly,
It is a memorial, it's not a sacrament. There is no saving power in the
bread. If a man comes to the table unsaved,
he'll go away unsaved. If a man comes to the wine unclean,
he'll go away unclean. If a man comes to the table an
unbeliever, he'll go away an unbeliever. It has no saving
power, it has no saving benefit, but it does have teaching power. We may not fully understand the
sermon which the preacher preaches, but it would take a pretty ignorant
person to miss the significance of this bread and wine. It has
teaching power. Now, last of all, in closing,
the Lord Jesus Christ invites you to his table. Roland Hill
was preaching one time for a church in England. It was a strict Baptist
church and they were observing the Lord's table. He was there
as the guest minister. He was sitting on the front row
waiting to preach the message and the church was observing
the Lord's table. The deacons came forward and
they picked up the bread and they picked up the wine and they
began to serve it in the congregation. And they passed by Roland Hill,
the great English minister, and he reached up to take the bread
and a deacon pulled the plate back and he said, I'm sorry,
Reverend Hill, you cannot come to our table. You're not a member
of our church. And Mr. Hill looked at him and
he said, well, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was your table.
I thought it was the Lord's table. The Lord Jesus Christ invites
all of his children to his table. He's the host. The banquet of
mercy is served up by one host, the Lord, not this feeble fleshly
minister, not these feeble deacons, not this feeble congregation
with all of its faults and failures. The Lord is the host. He invites
his children, known only to him, to come to the table. And the
apostle Peter comes to the table, though in a few days he'll deny
his Lord. But he's at the table. Thomas
comes to the table and takes the bread from the hand of the
Lord and the wine from the hand of the Lord, though he will in
a few days. Seriously question His Lord's
resurrection. It's not perfect men who come
to this table. They're not invited. It is imperfect
sinners who have a perfect Savior. That's who comes to this table.
I have seen men and women and young people refuse the bread
and the wine at the Lord's table, and they do it with a false piety
and a false humility. by saying, I'm not worthy. Brethren,
let me tell you this. If you ever decide you are worthy
to come, I beg of you, don't come. Because the day that you
think you're worthy to put your sinful hands on this broken bread
and drink it on the basis of your morality and your worthiness,
you'll be denying the very purpose of this table. Christ died for
sinners. He died for the ungodly. He shed
his blood for the lost. He came to seek and to save the
lost. And he lovingly invites his children,
failures all of them, sinful all of them, but he invites them
to come and remember not their works and not their worthiness,
but his mercy. I tell you, the more sinful you
know yourself to be, the more you appreciate what Christ is.
You'll deny me three times, but Peter, I want you to take this
bread and take this wine, and I want you to remember me. Thomas,
you're going to say, I don't believe he's risen. I believe
he's still in the grave. I don't believe he's risen. I
won't believe he's risen until I touch the nail prints and put
my hand in his side. Thomas, take the bread and take
the wine. You need it, and you remember
me. We may come to the table, though
we've forgotten him often. In fact, this is a good reason
to come. We may come to the table, though others may still be forgetful
of him, but we're not here to judge them. Brethren, I'm not
here to judge you. Paul said, it's a very little
thing that I be judged of you. I'm here to meet my Lord, aren't
you? I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to remember Christ.
And when I start judging you and questioning your worthiness,
I'm not thinking of our Lord. I'm thinking of my own righteousness. We may come, though weak and
unworthy and scarcely able to do anything commendable but remembering. That's all he said to do. If
he'd have said, serve me, I couldn't have come. But he said, remember
me. If he'd have said, work for me, I couldn't have come. But
I can remember. If he'd have said, honor me,
glorify me, I couldn't have come. But he just said, remember me.
I thought, I can do that. I can do that. When Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, he said, look! That's all he
said. And brother, that's about all
they could do. If he'd have told them to bring money, they couldn't
have come. If he'd have told them to heal
themselves, they couldn't have done it. But he told them something
they could do. And when the Lord ordained this table, if he'd
have told me to wait till I was worthy, I couldn't have come.
If he'd have told me to honor him, glorify him, serve him,
work for him, I couldn't have come. But he said, come on now
and sit down and remember me. And I said, I can do that. I
can do that. Oh, we may come, every believer. Every bud-bought child of God,
every ransomed soul, we can come. He said, come. Let us not fail
to come. If He invites us, let us come
and let us feast. This is not a funeral. Dismiss
all other themes from your mind, but Christ. Don't be burdened. Don't come burdened with regrets.
I don't regret that He died. I rejoice. Don't come burdened
with resolves. Don't come promising what you'll
do or what you won't do. That's what Peter said. He said,
Lord, me deny you? No, sir. These other fellows
might, but old Simon will stand with you. Well, they didn't and
he did. Don't come to the table with
your resolves and your vows and your promises and your resolutions.
Leave them outside and just come with a memory. That's what he
said. He said, take this bread and
eat it and this wine and drink it and do it in remembrance of
me. Don't come rebuking yourself
and rebuking others and regretting anything. Just come and remember
Him. Let us think on Him whose flesh is meat indeed and whose
blood is drink indeed. I invite the deacons to come
forward now and serve the Lord's table.