#177 Lu. 22:14-20 THE PASSOVER SUPPER AND THE LORD'S SUPPER Introduction: In our text last Sunday we studied about the preparation for the Passover Supper. In our text today we will study about the eating of the Passover Supper and the establishment of the Lord's Supper. Let me point out to you that neither of the four gospel writers record all about this event. All write something about it, but nobody writes all about it. Therefore, it is not possible from any one gospel account to give the whole picture. Another thing I should point out is that when you try to piece all the information together from all sources, it is difficult to do so in the proper time sequence. I. Getting the time element straight in our minds Before we get started in our text for today, I would like to give you a brief sketch of the time sequence in which it took place. First, there was the preparation. The preparation began about three in the afternoon. One thing I failed to mention last Sunday about the preparation is that the lamb had to be slain at the temple and the blood of the lamb had to be poured at the base of the brazen altar. Thus the lamb would not only provide a meal, but it would provide a blood sacrifice. Peter and John made the preparations. After all the preparations were made, about dusk dark Jesus and the other disciples came and joined them at the place where they were to eat the Supper. When the time came to start, the head of the group, which was Jesus in this case, would preside. It is my understanding from the Gospel of John that after a few preliminary remarks, Jesus arose from the table and washed the feet of His disciples. The foot washing was not mentioned by anyone other than John. Also early in the proceedings, the leader of the group would relate the story of what had happened back in Egypt when the first Passover took place. He would explain that the Passover lamb had been slain and the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the doorposts. He would explain that it was the blood of the lamb on the doorposts that spared the children of Israel when the Death Angel passed through the land at midnight. It was, thus, the blood of the lamb that brought deliverance to the whole nation of Israel. The gospel writers do not say that Jesus gave this explanation, but it is to be presumed that He did because each group leader would make such explanations. Also early in the proceedings the leader, which was Jesus, would explain the significance of the elements used in the Supper. It is here that the words of Jesus would be significantly different from those of other leaders. Oh, the others would do a good job of explaining as far as they understood. But the knowledge of Jesus in this matter was so much greater than that of others that we can be sure His explanations were much greater. He would explain the significance of the sop. The sop was bitter substance made from fruits and spices and pictured the bitterness of the bondage in Egypt. This much any of the leaders could say. But it also pictures the bitterness of the bondage to sin which every lost sinner is in. This is something that other leaders might not understand. He would explain the significance of the lamb. The leader in most groups would relate that the blood of the lamb pictured the necessity of a blood sacrifice in order for Israel to be delivered. However, Jesus would also point out that the lamb pictured His own suffering and death. The lamb represented Jesus. Jesus had already told His disciples repeatedly that He would be put to death at Jerusalem. At the Passover Supper He would explain once again that the death of that lamb pictured what was about to happen to Him on the cross. He was about to be put to death. Just as the death of the lamb was necessary for the deliverance from Egyptian bondage, even so the death of Jesus was necessary for deliverance from sin. He would explain that the bread, which was broken in the process of the meal likewise represented His death. It represented the breaking of the skin of His body by the nails, by the whips, by the thorns and by the spear so that His blood would be shed. He would explain to them that the juice of the grapes pictured His own blood which would be shed in order for lost sinners to be saved. Without the shedding of blood there would be no remission and there was no other blood under the sun which could take away sin. It was necessary for His blood to be shed. After these explanations the meal would be eaten. The cup, containing the fruit of the vine would be passed several times in the process of the whole Passover Supper. It was at some point of time after these explanations were given that Jesus announced that one of the twelve apostles would betray Him into the hands of the chief priests and elders. Judas would betray Him. After that Judas left to go and make contact with the chief priests to lead them to Jesus. It was after Judas left that Jesus took the bread and the fruit of the vine and instituted the Lord's Supper. Now I hope you will keep that order of events in your mind because Luke is not going to follow that order altogether in his record. He is not going to mention the foot washing at all and he will not follow this time sequence altogether. It was not his purpose to set things in order according time sequence. Rather it is his purpose to set things in order according to subject matter and this he does very well. II. The observance of the Passover Supper Now let's get to the text. V. 14, "And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him." The Greek word which here is translated "sat" means "reclined." They did not sit in chairs with their feet under the table. They reclined on couches. That is what Jesus did and that is all the others did. V. 15, "And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer." Here we get a deep insight into the very heart of Jesus. He had known that He was headed for the cross. He had repeatedly told them so. Knowing this, it was His deep desire to eat this supper with these men before He went to His death. He looked upon then with deep love and He knew that all of them except Judas looked upon Him with love. It was therefore a comforting experience for Jesus to eat this meal with people whom He loved and who loved Him. V. 16-18, "For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come." Because He spoke similar words when He instituted the Lord's Supper we could easily mistake these words to be spoken about the Lord's Supper. However, the next two verses immediately following speak of the institution of the Lord's Supper and so these words have to be spoken about the Passover Supper. In the earlier years of His ministry Jesus had eaten the Passover with these men and He was eating it with them again now. However, this would be the last time He would eat this very meaningful supper with them. He would soon be leaving and would not return to earth again until it was time to set up His kingdom on earth. III. The institution of the Lord's Supper V. 19-20 "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." This is not mere repetition. If the other verses had spoken of the institution of the Lord's Supper, they would be repetition. But verses 16-18 spoke of the Passover Supper and these words in verses 19-20 speak of the Lord's Supper. The reason they are so similar is because the Passover and the Lord's Supper both speak of the death of Jesus. They both picture the physical body of Jesus being broken in death on the cross. They both picture the blood of Jesus which was shed on the cross. But even though the words sound much alike and even though they picture the same thing, they are two separate institutions. The Passover Supper belonged to Old Testament times picturing the future coming of the Christ and His future death on the cross. The Lord's Supper belongs to New Testament times and, from this time forward, will look back upon His death on the cross. The Passover Supper belonged to the nation of Israel, but the Lord's Supper belongs to each local New Testament church. It was not given to the public at large, but was given only to the membership of a local New Testament church. The Passover Supper was to be observed once every year, but only once every year. The Lord's Supper may be observed much more often. The only instructions concerning the frequency of the supper is that as often as you take it, take it "...in remembrance of me," I Cor. 11:25. IV. What Jesus said about His body and His blood But I want you to note what Jesus said about His body and about His blood as pictured by both suppers. In verse 19 Jesus said, "..This is my body which is given for you." That is, the broken bread pictured the broken crucified body of Jesus Christ. It pictured the body of Jesus which was crucified for lost sinners that they might be saved. Jesus said that the fruit of the vine pictured the shedding of His blood. In verse 20 He said, "This cup is the new testament of my blood, which is shed for you." The fruit of the vine looked like blood. That is, the grape juice looked like blood and it represented blood. It did not literally become His blood. His blood was still in His veins at that time. But the grape juice in the cup represented His blood. It pictured His blood that was to be shed on the cross. Jesus said, "...which is shed for you." The blood of Jesus was shed so that men could be saved. The blood of Jesus was shed so that a lost sinner could call upon Jesus and trust in Him and be saved. Now note the personal pronouns which Jesus used in these statements. In verse 19 Jesus said that His body was given for "you." It was shed for you. Again in verse 20 He said that His blood was shed for "you." I want every one of you who are still unsaved to note something right here. The since the body of Jesus was crucified for you and since the blood of Jesus was shed for you then this means that you can be saved. Jesus died on the cross so that you can be saved. Now that does not mean that you will automatically be saved. It does mean that you can be saved. But if you are going to be saved, you must repent of your sin and you must trust in Jesus Christ. In Acts 20:21 the Apostle Paul preached "...repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." Conclusion: Have you ever stopped to consider where you are going to spend eternity? Have you ever called upon the Lord Jesus Christ and asked Him to save your soul? If you haven't, then it is high time that you do so. If you keep going in your unsaved condition you could meet with sudden death and all of a sudden it will be too late for you to ever get saved. You will suffer forever in the fires of hell. But you can turn to Jesus now and stay out of that awful place. Won't you come and trust Jesus now? If you are saved, then perhaps you have already been baptized and united with a New Testament church. If you have then that is good. But if you haven't been baptized, then you need to consider that God wants you to be baptized and He wants you to be a member of a good Scriptural New Testament church. Perhaps some of you are saved and have already been baptized, but for some reason you are in need of a good church home. If you feel that God is leading you here, then we invite you to come this morning and present yourself as a candidate for membership. If you are saved, but you feel that you need to get your life turned around and you want to come and renew your commitment to Jesus to please Him and serve Him, then come and make your desires known. Our people will pray for you and help you. If you feel that you need to surrender to some special calling, then we invite you to come nd to make your calling known.