CELEBRATING COMMUNION LUKE 22:1-23

CELEBRATING COMMUNION LUKE 22:1-23 Main idea The origin of our communion service comes from Jesus celebration of Passover. 1. PREPARING FOR COMMUNION (VS 1-13) Our preparation to celebrate communion ought to start before Sunday morning. A. Religious Leaders Prepare (1-2) B. Religiously Privileged Prepare (3-6) C. God Prepares (7-13) 2. CELEBRATING COMMUNION (VS 14-20) An in depth understanding of Passover will make communion more meaningful to us. A. Opening The Service (14-18) B. Recalling The Work Of God (19) C. Praising God (20) 3. RESPONDING TO COMMUNION (VS 21-23) Participating in the communion service ought to bring about results in the way we live our everyday lives. A. Hypocrisy (21) B. Judgment (22) C. Repentance (23)

Celebrating Communion Luke 22:1-23 This morning we will begin another section. Although this is still part of the Holy Week text that began with the Triumphal Entry recorded back in Luke 19:28, chapters 22 and 23 will be dedicated to the description of what is called The Passion of Jesus. The events described in chapters 22 and 23 will take place within a 24 hour period. Sometimes Christians forget that our roots and our Messiah are Jewish. In this morning s text, we will see the point in time that Jesus instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion. In fact the main idea of this morning s text is this. THE ORIGIN OF OUR COMMUNION SERVICE COMES FROM JESUS CELEBRATION OF PASSOVER. In other words, Jesus was celebrating Passover with His disciples when He described the work He was about to do. Jesus was the once and for all Passover Lamb. He also became the ultimate sacrifice for all the Hebrew sacrifices. There are a couple of things I would like to remind us of here. First of all, the Jewish temple was destroyed and has never been rebuilt. There has not been a religious temple sacrifice offered up by Jews for almost 2,000 years. Secondly, if we want to multiply our understanding of what Jesus did for us on the cross, it is worth reading through the Book of Leviticus trying to see all that Jesus means to us as a substitution not only for all the animals; but for us personally and for the church. If you need some help to study through Leviticus, you can find the sermons for the entire book; chapter by chapter, verse by verse; on our website. But on this particular night, Jesus and the Disciples were celebrating Passover. During the celebration, Jesus interpreted the elements used in the Passover ritual as applying to the work He was about to do on the cross. Just a side note; the Disciples never fully understood what Jesus was saying until Jesus finally rose from the dead. During Jesus new explanation of the elements of bread and wine, He said, Do this in remembrance of Me. In other words, this new interpretation of Passover is supposed to be celebrated by the Christian church until Jesus returns. The church refers to this ritual as Holy Communion. There are several accepted practices of this service. Roman Catholic churches celebrate this every day except for the Saturday that falls between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Episcopal and Lutheran churches end each worship service with a celebration of Communion. Many churches, like ours, celebrate Communion once a month. Further, there are three basic views concerning what happens to the elements during the ceremony. The first view is known as Transubstantiation. This view holds that during the ceremony, the bread and wine actually are changed into the body and blood of Jesus. The second basic view is known as Consubstantiation. This view holds that during the ceremony the person and presence of Jesus surrounds the elements. Jesus is in, around, and all through the elements and yet the elements remain bread and wine. The third basic view is known as the Symbolic view. In other words, nothing happens to the bread and wine. In fact the ceremony is merely symbolic. All three views are legitimate and can be defended biblically. Our church primarily holds the symbolic view. Just because we hold the symbolic view doesn t mean the ceremony is not powerful. I would like to give you my view so that you know what I am thinking when I preside over Communion each month. I do believe in the Page 2

Symbolic view. The word symbolic comes from a compound Greek word. The two root words are to throw and together. The literal meaning of symbol in Greek is to throw together. In other words a symbol throws two worlds together; the spiritual world and the physical world. When John the Baptist saw Jesus and said, Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, the Jews would have had all sorts of images flash through their minds. Of course the Passover Lamb would have flashed through their minds. However, the goat sacrificed for the nation s sins and the scapegoat led out to the wilderness would have flashed through their minds. When Jesus blessed the bread and wine, the Disciples minds would have flashed back to Egypt 1,500 years earlier when God sent Moses to set Israel free. Our minds should flash to our bondage to sin and slavery to Satan, our helplessness to fix that problem, the insurmountable odds we faced, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the grace of God. We should flash to the freedom we now enjoy based on the work of Jesus Christ. In the communion service, we are invited to allow God to throw the spiritual and physical worlds together that we might be touched and blessed. Something mysterious happens because the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that many of them were sick and indeed some died because they took Communion in an unworthy manner. Our problem today is that we don t spend a lot of our time living life intentionally. I often don t pay enough attention to what I am doing. However, I need to pay more attention because I can easily be fooled by the world and false assumptions. Let me give you an example. A pastor and his wife were riding through the country one afternoon. They were in apple country and as they passed a beautiful orchard, they noticed a man filling a bushel basket with apples. They stopped and climbed out of the car. They asked if they could buy some. The guy said, Just help yourselves. They immediately got some paper bags and filled them with the choicest apples. On leaving, they asked again, Are you sure we can t pay you? Oh no, he said, I m stealing them too. This couple really couldn t help it and I m sure they would have been mortified at that point; but I can see that there are many things in my life that may seem okay; but I can also see that I have to live more intentionally focused on Jesus. Let s take this time to examine our approach to taking Communion. Verses 1-13 invite us to examine how we prepare ourselves for Communion. OUR PREPARATION TO CELEBRATE COMMUNION OUGHT TO START BEFORE SUNDAY MORNING. The Roman Catholic Church advises their members to go to confession before receiving Communion. Personally, I don t often think about my heart and its readiness to celebrate Communion until the beginning of the service. The Jews of Jesus day and orthodox Jews today go through an elaborate system to prepare themselves to celebrate Passover. One of the major rules for Passover was that there can be no yeast or yeast products in the house. The family would carefully clean the house and make sure there was no yeast in the house. Two days before the Passover Celebration, the Page 3

family would conduct a ceremonial search for Leaven. Further, they would make sure to stay ceremonially clean by not touching anything unclean. They wanted to make sure they were ready and able to celebrate the holiday. All Jews would do these things and also have selected a lamb for the Passover. The lamb would also have to be pure without defect. 1. PREPARING FOR COMMUNION (VS 1-13) In verses 1-2 we see how the religious leaders prepared to celebrate Passover. Passover was one of their major feasts. In fact, Jews had to go to Jerusalem for three feasts during the year; Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. The chief priests would be busy sacrificing lambs and pouring out the blood on the altar. It was reported that 250,000 lambs were sacrificed during Passover. They should be preparing themselves for this holy task but we are informed that these religious leaders and the teachers of the Jewish law were plotting to kill Jesus in a way that would not incite the people to rebel against them. Instead of fixating on the holiness of the day and all that it represents, they are fixated on finding a way to get rid of Jesus. Many Christians are hateful, spiteful, and narcissistic. They are focused on the sins of others and have no idea how evil they are. Too many times, these people are in authority positions in the church. Too many times these people are the pastors and leaders of the church. Again let me give you some insight into the way I think and operate. I m not busy trying to find and expose your sins because I have enough sin in my own life to keep me busy. One of the things we should do as we prepare ourselves to participate in the Communion service is to examine our hearts and confess our sins. In this preparation we should ask God the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts. The prayer of King David is a great example: 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalms 139:23-24 / TNIV). It is shocking to me to think the priests, the ones who perform the rituals of sacrificing the lambs, were actually plotting on a way to kill Jesus. My desire is that none of us ever finds ourselves working against Jesus while thinking we are actually serving Him. The next example is even more tragic. In verses 3-6 we can see how even the religiously privileged can prepare for Communion while at the same time betraying Jesus. Let me summarize this section like this. The chief priests and teachers of the law were looking for a way to get rid of Jesus. Satan was entering and filling Judas. Judas was looking for a way to betray Jesus. During all this time, Jesus was preparing to redeem His people through His own suffering and death. Throughout the entire history of the church, scholars and lay people alike have tried to figure out how someone that was in Jesus inner circle and saw all that He did; could betray Him. There are many, many theories and explanations; but the Bible simply doesn t tell us. What we do know is this. Satan is always looking for someone he can enter, take control of, and use. In some way, Judas opened up his life in a way that gave Satan permission to Page 4

enter. Judas had access to Jesus itinerary and he could arrange a time for Jesus to be arrested when no crowds were present. I have no idea what would cause Judas to betray Jesus but I do know this. God is always looking for people to use and Satan is always looking for people to use. Let s stay alert and humble. Judas was in Jesus inner circle. Being in church, being a pastor, being a leader, doesn t really mean anything. Humbly following and loving Jesus is what causes us to stay connected. Let me just throw this out for you to ponder. King David did more bad things and caused much more suffering to Israel than did King Saul. However in the end, God rejected King Saul and said that David was a man after His own heart. Peter had to be rebuked by Jesus more than once and Peter even denied Jesus and yet in the end Judas betrayed Jesus and hanged himself. Peter was forgiven, restored, and made the head of the church. If you remember, when a woman anointed Jesus with some expensive perfume, it was Judas who had a negative comment: 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 Why wasn t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year s wages (John 12:4-5 / TNIV). Judas seemed to be interested in doing the right thing but the dead giveaway was that he was focused on evaluating Jesus behavior. Here Judas was looking for a way to betray Jesus. He was looking for an opportune time to turn Him over. I have seen too many times that people have overestimated their own holiness and their own importance and led people astray. People have destroyed local churches while claiming to serve God. Just because people talk religiously and appear to be religious, don t let that fool you. What I am more concerned about this morning is us. Let s never get to the point where we become proud or arrogant; especially when it comes to matters of holiness. One of Jesus inner-circle is making plans to betray Him. The chief religious leaders of the day are plotting to get rid of Jesus. Jesus, on the other hand, is preparing to sacrifice Himself so that human beings could be saved, redeemed, and brought back into a right relationship with God. In verses 7-13 we are reminded that God prepares to meet us in Communion. In Israel, there were two separate feasts. First there was the Passover and then the week that immediately followed was called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. By the time Jesus came on the scene, the two feasts had been combined into one feast that lasted for eight days. Passover celebrated the event in which God set them free. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was meant to remind them how to live free with faith in God. Verse 7 seems to have a double meaning. It was Passover. The lambs would be taken to the temple, inspected by the priests, sacrificed, the blood poured out on the altar, and the lamb taken home to be prepared to be eaten as part of the Passover meal. Passover would be celebrated as it had for almost 1,500 years and it was time. But let s think about this from our perspective and from Jesus all-knowing perspective. Jesus knew this was the time for Him to lay down His life. His time is now. This march to His destiny started back in Luke 9:51. At that time Luke said that Jesus set His face towards Jerusalem. Now Jesus will become the Passover Lamb. When the Angel of Death saw the blood on the doorposts of the Hebrew houses; he passed over and did not take any lives. When God looks at us, He no longer looks at the ugliness of our sin but the blood of Jesus that covers us. Page 5

Jesus had already made preparations to celebrate both events; the yearly Passover feast and He has already prepared Himself to become the sacrifice for our sins. It appears that Jesus had covertly prepared for this celebration. As we read through this, only Peter and John will know the location of this celebration so it will be impossible for Judas or any of Jesus other enemies to lay for Him in wait. Peter and John are to look for a man carrying a water jug. It would be a little out of place for a man to carry water like this. Usually, carrying water jugs during the day in public would be women s work. They found the man and the man led them to the upper room. It came totally furnished; probably a table, reclining chairs, water, bread, wine herbs, etc. Everything was ready. Let us never forget that God has prepared the way for us. Because we were born into sin and because there is no amount of good works we can do to overcome that; we were all condemned to spend eternity in hell; separated from God forever. God sent Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus took on the punishment you and I deserve. All we need to do is surrender to Jesus in love. When we come to Him broken and humbled; He will apply His blood to our lives. His blood will cover the doorposts of our hearts and we will be right with God. Symbolically we are like the Hebrews when they were enslaved to the Egyptians. There was nothing they could do to free themselves. It took the wonderful grace and mighty hand of God to deliver them. It takes the wonderful grace and mighty work of Jesus to save us. We have seen that many religious people were preparing to reject and kill Jesus but Jesus was preparing to demonstrate His love for us. OUR PREPARATION TO CELEBRATE COMMUNION OUGHT TO START BEFORE SUNDAY MORNING. Let s learn to live lives of love and humility. Let s constantly ask the Holy Spirit to point out our sins and convict us of our sins. Let s learn to intentionally and consciously keep God in our minds. Our entire lives ought to be dedicated to God as preparation to celebrate Communion. 2. CELEBRATING COMMUNION (VS 14-20) In verses 14-20 we see a description of celebrating Communion. AN IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF PASSOVER WILL MAKE COMMUNION MORE MEANINGFUL TO US. I would like to hit the highlights of the Passover ceremony as we study through this section. Verses 14-18 describe the opening of the service. The entire evening includes a symbolic meal, a lot of food to eat as a real meal, and family worship. This is known as the Seder. The word Seder means order. There are 15 steps that guide the events of the evening. The highlight of the evening is the retelling of the Exodus event through readings, songs, and prayers. These are all written down and known as the Haggadah. Again, I will just be able to highlight some of the ceremony. You will notice that Jesus and the Disciples are reclined at the table. Today, there is a pillow placed near the left arm of the leader. Reclining symbolizes freedom and leisure. As slaves, the Hebrews were never allowed to rest. But now that God has set them free, they have the luxury of reclining. As the leader, Jesus made some opening remarks. First of all, He expressed His love for the Disciples by telling them that He eagerly desired to share His last Passover with them Page 6

before the great suffering that awaited Him. Secondly, this would be Jesus last Passover Celebration in this life. Lastly, there would be a new way for them to experience Jesus in the Passover. Jesus is going to show them a new way to celebrate that will find its final fulfillment when He returns at the end of time. There is a good practical lesson here for us. Jesus didn t leave this earth with any unfinished business. He spoke and acted out His love for the Disciples before He died. Please don t let any words or acts of love undone. Tell your husbands, wives, children, parents, mentors, and friends how much you love them. Tell them and show them. Make sure that when you die, everyone knows the love you feel for them. In verse 17 Jesus formally opened up the Seder with the first cup of wine and the opening prayer. During the Seder celebration, there are typically 4 ceremonial cups of wine. The first cup of wine symbolizes joy and sanctifies the dinner. That is the cup Jesus shares at this point. The second cup of wine follows the 4 questions and the retelling of the Exodus. The third cup comes after dinner. It is referred to as the cup of redemption and expresses the hope for the coming of Messiah. In fact, a child is sent to the door to see if Elijah is there. The hope is that the Prophet Elijah will be at the door, take his cup of wine, and announce the coming of Messiah. The fourth cup of wine is the cup of praise. Jesus has opened up the service and now the retelling of the Exodus would begin. To begin the ceremony, one of the family members would bring a pitcher of water to the table for everyone to wash their hands as a symbol of purification. This is the point described in the Gospel of John where Jesus washed the Disciples feet. Verse 19 recalls the work of God. There are several items on the table that have significance for this next portion. There is a bunch of green vegetables like parsley that is dipped in salt water. The greens represent springtime as does the boiled egg. The salt water represents the tears of the Hebrews suffering under bondage. There will be bitter herbs that represent the bitterness of life in bondage and a sweet paste that represents the bricks and mortar they had to use. But bread is central. The bread is baked without yeast because when the Jews left Egypt, God worked so quickly there was no time to let the dough rise. Also, yeast symbolizes evil. The bread is called matzah. Throughout the ceremony the bread is broken and dipped in these mixtures. These mixtures all represent the slavery and suffering the Hebrew nation experienced in Egypt. During this portion, the youngest person in the family asks the leader 4 questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, but on this night, only unleavened bread? On all other nights, we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night, only bitter herbs? On all other nights, we do not dip even once, but on this night, we dip twice? On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night, we eat reclining? The answers explain Israel s miraculous deliverance from their bondage to Egypt. It demonstrates God s work in setting His chosen people free. There is a piece of matzah that is broken in half. One half is wrapped in linen and hidden away. This piece is known as the afikomen. After the meal, children excitedly search the house to see if they can find it. The one who finds it receives a special award. Page 7

Let us think about all of this as Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples. The bread represented the vehicle that would hold the bitter herbs and all the dips that reminded them of slavery, bondage, and suffering. Then all of a sudden Jesus said, This is my body given for you. Even though the Disciples still didn t get it, we can see that Jesus would bear all the bitterness that sin causes in our lives. He would set us free by becoming our Passover Lamb. Jesus would be brutalized, tortured, and killed. He would be wrapped in a linen cloth and laid away in a tomb. When children find the afikomen, they are given a reward. When we find the risen Christ, we are set free and receive the reward of eternal life. The prophet Isaiah put it like this: 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6 / TNIV). Jesus went on to say that they should celebrate in this way in order to remember what He was going to do for them. Every time we celebrate Communion we ought to remember exactly what Jesus did for us. He took on Him all the bitterness of our enslavement to sin. He experienced all the suffering we deserve. In verse 20 we are invited to praise God. Notice, Jesus is now picking up the third glass of wine. We already said this cup of wine symbolized redemption and the hope of Messiah. Jesus is here claiming to be the Passover Lamb and the Promised Messiah. He now reinterpreted this glass of wine to refer to His sacrifice. From this point on, a right relationship with God comes from placing our faith in Jesus and surrendering our lives to Him in love. In the Hebrew system of sacrifice, the person would place his or her hands on the sacrificial animal s head. That would symbolically transfer the sin onto the innocent animal. At that point the animal s throat would be slit and the blood would be caught and sprinkled on the altar. On the original Passover night, the blood was applied to the doorposts of the house. The Angel of Death saw the blood and passed over. When we place our faith in Jesus, His blood covers all our sins and cleanses us from all iniquity. From the other Gospels we know they sang a hymn of praise and ended the service. I hope connecting the institution of the Lord s Supper as we celebrate it will mean a little more to you now. AN IN DEPTH UNDERSTANDING OF PASSOVER WILL MAKE COMMUNION MORE MEANINGFUL TO US. I would encourage all of you to read up on the Passover celebration in modern times and perhaps ask a Jewish friend to explain the Seder celebration to you. 3. RESPONDING TO COMMUNION (VS 21-23) Verses 21-23 remind us that there is always a response to communion. PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMUNION SERVICE OUGHT TO BRING ABOUT RESULTS IN THE WAY WE LIVE OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. As we can see in verse 21, hypocrisy is one of the responses to Communion. Again we are reminded that simply being and around Jesus didn t guarantee anything. Judas was a Page 8

hypocrite. He was an actor. I have too often seen people wave their hands in worship, cry, and become emotional in service; but haven t seen much change in their lives. I m sorry to say that over the years, I have become cynical to these types of responses. Celebrating Communion ought to break us. There should be not one hint of pride left in us nor should there be any bone of judgmentalism left in us. We ought to be filled with grace and love; love for God and love for one another. Verse 22 reminds us that there will come a time for judgment. We know that things ended up badly for Judas. We can easily fool others. I m a real sucker so it won t be hard for you to fool me. We can easily fool others and we can fool ourselves; but we can never fool God. Verse 23 describes the repentant attitude Communion ought to bring about in us. The Disciples became distraught and began to ask if they would become the traitor. We are invited to consistently examine our hearts. Maybe you are more holy than I am; but I can t come away from reading and studying God s Word without seeing how sinful and lost I am and how much I need the blood of Christ to cover me. PARTICIPATING IN THE COMMUNION SERVICE OUGHT TO BRING ABOUT RESULTS IN THE WAY WE LIVE OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. Celebrating Communion ought to profoundly change us and cause us to want to live better lives as a result of falling more and more in love with Jesus. THE ORIGIN OF OUR COMMUNION SERVICE COMES FROM JESUS CELEBRATION OF PASSOVER. I want to simply leave us with the Apostle Paul s warning to us about our attitudes when we approach Communion: 23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me. 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant between God and his people an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it. 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord s death until he comes again. 27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way (1 Corinthians 11:23-31 / NLT). Page 9