1/12/14Sermon: “Our Passover Lamb Has Been Sacrificed!”
(1st Corinthians 5:1-11; 1st Corinthians 10:15-17; Luke 22:1-23)
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Today’s sermon is based on a section of Luke chapter 22 where we are given information about what we know as “The Lord’s Supper.” However, before we learn what Scripture says about The Lord’s Supper it would be helpful to examine the context in which this information about The Lord’s Supper appears.
For the past few weeks we’ve been in a section of Luke’s Gospel dealing with a time in Jesus’ ministry known as “Holy Week.” Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a Sunday and then went directly to the Temple where He continued to preach and teach.
The beginning of today’s Gospel reading occurs on Thursday of Holy Week. Listen again to these words: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” We are given three important pieces of information here!
The FIRST piece of information is that Passover festival is about to take place. This is important for understanding what The Lord’s Supper is – and I will be saying more about this later in the sermon.
The SECOND piece of information is that the Jewish religious leaders are still looking for some way to get rid of Jesus without upsetting the majority of the Jewish people who, at this point, still supported Jesus.
The THIRD piece of information is that one of Jesus’ own 12 apostles – a man named Judas Iscariot – agrees to conspire with the Jewish religious leaders in order to betray Jesus. In fact, Luke tells us that Satan himself entered Judas at this time.
Now, before we go on to talk about The Lord’s Supper and its connection with the Passover festival, I want to spend a little time talking about Judas. Later on in our Gospel reading Jesus says the following about Judas: “…the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”
Many questions arise when we hear what Jesus says about Judas. Was Judas beyond salvation because he betrayed Jesus? Since Scripture predicts that someone would betray Jesus, does this mean that Judas never had a chance and that God wanted Judas to be lost? How do we answer these questions?
First of all, even though Judas betrayed Jesus he was not a “worse sinner” than us or the other apostles. If you recall, the other apostles – including Peter – end up betraying Jesus in their own way. In addition, we’re all guilty of betraying Jesus because of our many sins of thought, word and deed against His Word.
My friends, the Bible is clear that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The Bible is also clear that Jesus went to the cross for ALL sinners – including Judas. Therefore, the reason Judas ended up in hell is that he did not believe Jesus was the Son of God and he would not trust in Him for salvation.
But doesn’t the Bible predict that some person would betray Jesus? Yes, it does. For example, in John chapter 17 Jesus says the following about His 12 apostles: “While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe … None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” The one “doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled” refers to Judas.
In fact, Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray Him. At the end of John chapter 6 we read these words of Jesus and then a commentary by John: “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil! (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)”
So, Jesus knew that Judas would reject Him and betray Him. In fact, the Old Testament predicted that someone would do this. Now, does this mean that Judas didn’t have a chance and that God forced Judas to reject and betray Jesus? No!
You see, we have to distinguish between God’s permissive will and His foreknowledge. Simply put, God wants ALL sinners – and that includes Judas – to be saved. Jesus died for ALL sinners – including Judas. Now, having said that, Scripture also teaches that God permits people to reject His salvation. In other words, even though God wanted Judas to be saved, God permitted Judas to reject Him.
However, we must not forget about God’s foreknowledge. You see, because God knows everything – including the future – He knew in advance that Judas would choose to reject Jesus.
Therefore, God did not force Judas to reject Jesus. Instead, Judas chose to reject the salvation that Jesus wanted to give Him – and Jesus knew in advance that Judas would do this.
This is so important for us to understand. We must believe that God loves us and wants ALL sinners to be saved. God would have forgiven Judas if he had repented and trusted in Jesus as the other apostles did.
However, if we cling to our sin and refuse to trust in Jesus for salvation, then we will end up in hell just like Judas – and we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
With that understood, let’s go on to examine the connection between the Passover festival and The Lord’s Supper. You may have noticed that the title for today’s sermon is: “Our Passover Lamb Has Been Sacrificed!” Our Gospel reading begins by saying that the time of the Passover was approaching. Why is this detail important?
If you recall your Sunday School studies you will remember that the Passover was instituted by God during the final plague on Egypt – which you can read about in the Book of Exodus.
God’s people were slaves in Egypt, and God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to free the people of Israel. But instead of repenting and trusting in God, Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to free God’s people.
Therefore, God started to send various plagues upon Egypt in order to humble Pharaoh and move him to repent. But Pharaoh continued to harden his heart. Finally, God sent the tenth plague upon Egypt which is known as the “death of the firstborn.” Simply put, God would send an angel to kill the firstborn male child in every home of Egypt.
However, God provided a way for His own people to be protected from this plague. God told His people to take male lambs without physical defect, slaughter them, and then smear their blood on the doorframes of their homes. When the angel of death came by he would “pass over” the homes marked with the blood of the lamb.
Now, why did God tell His people to do this? Why didn’t God just tell His angel to spare them? The reason is that God wanted His people to know that they were sinners, just like the Egyptians, and that they were not being spared because they were better people and somehow worthy but because they trusted in the Savior God promised to send for all sinners.
In other words, the blood of those Passover lambs pointed ahead to the Blood of THE Passover Lamb – Jesus, the Son of God!
In today’s Gospel reading we see that Jesus commands His disciples to prepare for the Passover. However, they are about to experience a Passover unlike any other in history. All Passovers before this one were the pictures, but the one on this night would give us the PERSON Himself!
Listen again to this part of today’s Gospel reading: “[Jesus said], ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.’ … And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’”
Here Jesus institutes the miraculous meal that will deliver the benefits of His suffering and death to individual Christians at various times and places. When we receive our Lord’s Supper in this place we eat and drink Jesus’ Body and Blood – the Body and Blood He gave and shed for us that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God.
The Lord’s Supper is for baptized Christians who repent of their sins and long for God’s forgiveness. Those who repent of their sin and believe Jesus’ words - “This is My Body for you! This is My Blood for you!” - receive forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life in God’s love.
However, Scripture is also very clear that people should NOT receive the Lord’s Supper if they do not take their sin seriously or if they do not trust in Jesus for salvation.
In our first reading the Apostle Paul rebukes the Christians in Corinth because they allowed a man to take the Lord’s Supper even though he refused to repent of his sexual sin but, instead, was proud of it. Paul then says: “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast — as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Did you catch that? Paul said that our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed! Paul is speaking of Jesus’ death on the cross for us – and the benefits of that sacrifice are given to us in the Lord’s Supper.
However, we mock Christ’s sacrifice and sin against His Body and Blood if we take the Lord’s Supper while affirming the sin in our lives. That’s why Paul goes on to say this: “… I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.”
Please understand. When Paul says “you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler” he does not mean that we can’t be friends with unbelievers or that we should not try to witness to them. Instead, he is saying that we should not have church fellowship with people who claim to be Christian while rejecting God’s Word and affirming what He condemns.
In the same way, when Paul says “With such a man do not even eat” he doesn’t mean that we can’t invite an unbeliever to our home for lunch. Instead, Paul is speaking of the Lord’s Supper. Simply put, we should not take the Lord’s Supper with people who claim to be Christians and yet affirm and celebrate various sins that God condemns.
This is one reason we practice “Close Communion.” We want all who come to the Lord’s Supper to be baptized Christians who have been instructed by God’s Word – and especially the meaning of the Lord’s Supper – so that they repent of their sins and long for God’s mercy. Those who receive the Lord’s Supper in repentant faith will receive God’s mercy and also be given strength to amend their lives.
In today’s Gospel reading we heard how Jesus instituted the first Lord’s Supper – and this is the same Lord’s Supper we continue to receive in this congregation whenever I speak Christ’s words over the bread and wine.
You can come to this holy meal with all the guilt and shame of your sin and know that you have a Savior who will welcome you with words of love and mercy: “Take eat, this is My Body given for you! Take drink, this is My Blood shed for you.” The Lord’s Supper is for broken sinners who long for mercy and for God to help them live a new life.
My friends, we get to receive this blessing because Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. God’s Son suffered and died for ALL your sins – past, present and future – and He delivers that salvation to you personally in His Holy Supper so that you might have peace and hope and the strength to live as His people in this world.
Amen!