Saturday, April 08, 2006

Communion with the Savior

Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, `The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' " So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me." They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?" Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:14-30).

This Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week. It is the anniversary of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the Savior of the world. Next Friday is the anniversary of Jesus’ condemnation as the greatest sinner of all time and His subsequent execution by the powers of this world. The following Sunday is the anniversary of Jesus’ triumph over sin, death and the powers of darkness. But there is one other very important anniversary this coming week. Thursday evening is the anniversary of the very first Communion service. And so I would like to reflect on what the institution of the Lord’s Supper means to us today.

Our text tells us that Jesus celebrated the first Communion service on the Jewish holiday of Passover. The timing was no accident. Jesus fully intended for the celebration of Holy Communion to replace the celebration of the Passover. Indeed, the Passover instituted by Moses was intended to prepare God’s people for the greater celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which would be instituted by Jesus. The Passover was merely a shadow of the greater celebration that was to come.

You recall the history of the Passover. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt and God sent Moses to free them and lead them to the Promised Land. But Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, was a hard man, not easily impressed or intimidated. Through Moses, God sent nine plagues to Egypt, punishing the nation for holding God’s people captive. But the tenth plague was the worst. God sent an angel of death to Egypt. In one night, every first-born living thing in Egypt died, from first-born calves to the first-born son of Pharaoh himself. But God spared His own people. God had Moses tell the people to sacrifice a perfect lamb and spread its innocent blood on the doorframes of their homes. When the angel of death saw the innocent blood, it would pass over that house and spare the family and animals within. While this was going on, the family was to eat the body of the sacrificial lamb—they were to eat it quickly, without fancy spices or preparation, because in the morning they needed to be ready to leave the land of their slavery. In the morning, grieving over the loss of his eldest son, Pharaoh would keep them prisoner no longer. And so the yearly Passover meal reminded the Israelites of two things: that innocent blood would protect God’s people from the judgment of death, and that immediately following their eating of the sacrificial lamb, they were set free from slavery.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. Jesus celebrated the first Lord’s Supper on the anniversary of the evening when the Israelites of Egypt spread blood on their doorframes and ate of the sacrificial lamb. Jesus is the ultimate perfect, innocent lamb. Jesus’ blood would be poured out on the cross in only a few hours’ time, just as the Passover lamb’s blood was poured out. But Jesus’ blood is greater than any lamb’s blood. Each family had to sacrifice a lamb to protect them from the angel of God’s wrath; Jesus’ blood was of such value that it met the need for every family throughout history. And this protection from God’s anger came by faith in God’s promises. God promised the Israelites that if they followed His instructions given through Moses, they would be spared. The Israelites believed that for the sake of the lamb’s blood, they would be saved. They received God’s mercy by putting their faith in God’s words. So it is with Jesus’ sacrifice. God promises us that we will be spared His wrath, for the sake of our Lamb’s blood—Jesus’ blood. John writes, "the blood of Jesus…purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). And we receive this gift of purity by faith in Jesus, as Paul writes in Romans 3:22; "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Like the Israelites, we too receive mercy by putting our faith in God’s words.

There is a similar relationship between the eating of the Passover meal and our eating of the Lord’s Supper. When an Israelite ate of the body of the lamb, he ate in confidence that rescue from slavery was very close. When we eat of our Lamb’s body, we eat in confidence that rescue from slavery to sin is coming to us. The Lord’s Supper is a means for us to receive God’s grace. Like Baptism, Communion brings us the gift of forgiveness for our sins. When you walk away from the altar, you walk away free of sin and protected from God’s anger because sin no longer rules you. When you receive holy Communion with faith in God’s promises, you receive the blood of Jesus that purifies us from all sin. When we are purified by Christ, God does not look upon us in anger, He looks upon us in forgiving love.

Do you really receive Jesus’ body and blood in Holy Communion? Jesus said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Jesus did not say, "this represents my body, this represents my blood." He said, "This is My body, this is My blood." Many churches today don’t believe that the bread and wine of Communion are anything other than what they appear to be. That is why it doesn’t matter to them who joins them in celebrating Communion—after all, it’s only bread and wine. But we take Jesus at His word; when He says that His body and blood are found in the bread and wine, we believe Him. It is true, we can’t see or taste Jesus’ body and blood, but that proves nothing. We can’t see or touch angels or the Holy Spirit, yet we believe they are real because Jesus tells us that they are. Since Jesus tells us that He shares Himself with us personally in holy Communion, we trust that this is so—just as we trust that we are saved by the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross 2,000 years ago.

Because Communion presents us with Jesus personally, there is more to this meal than a mere historical celebration, like the eating of a Passover meal. Our Lord is truly with us, face to face, as we eat of His body and drink of His blood. Communion is more than a meal—it is a joining with the Son of God, who comes to us to forgive us and to strengthen us spiritually. This is serious business. In 1st Corinthians 11:26-31, Paul writes, "whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself…But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment." Paul warns us that the Lord’s Supper, when misused, can bring God’s judgment against the offender. This raises the very important question: how does one misuse the Lord’s Supper?

To begin with, consider Paul’s words: "For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself". What Paul means is that a person who wants Communion to be a blessing for himself must recognize the presence of Jesus’ body and blood. One must believe that Jesus comes to him in the bread and wine, just as Jesus promised He would. Communion is only a blessing from God to those who have faith in Jesus’ words.

This is why our church body, along many others, does not practice "open" Communion. We are God’s representatives on Earth. God expects us to show His loving will to those who do not believe. We are to help bring people to God, not drive them away. We do not bring others to God by allowing them to eat and drink God’s judgment upon themselves. If there is the slightest doubt that a person does not recognize Jesus in the bread and wine of Holy Communion, it is out of Christian love that we ask them not to come forward. When so many church bodies deny the divine presence of Christ in His Supper, one cannot assume that just because a stranger has been confirmed in a Christian church, that he will recognize the body of the Lord in the Sacrament.

But there is more to worthy participation in the Sacrament than only recognizing the presence of our Lord. Remember what Jesus does for us by means of the Sacrament: Jesus forgives us our sins and sends us home reconciled to the Father. Jesus forgives us our sins, and He does it in the most intimate way possible—by touching each and every one of us personally. What a tremendous gift of love! But what are the implications of this cleansing touch? What if I have committed some sin and am quite proud of it? If I go to Jesus for forgiveness, knowing that I have sinned and am not sorry, am I really asking for forgiveness? If I go to Jesus, comfortable in my sin, am I not really asking Him to bless my sinful ways? If I am knowingly, happily, living in sin, what am I expecting from Jesus when I ask Him for His body and blood, which were crucified because of my sin? Is this an act of love and respect towards my Savior?

Please understand: everyone who receives Christ’s body and blood is a sinner. You are a sinner, I am a sinner. It is because we are sinners that Jesus gives us Holy Communion. Jesus lived a life under Satan’s oppression, just like we do. Jesus knows how weak we are, how easily we can cave in to temptation. So Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper—He gave us this Sacrament, both to remind us that He has paid the price for our sins, and to strengthen our commitment to Him. Through the Sacrament, Jesus touches us. When Jesus walked this earth years ago, everyone He touched in love was forgiven, healed, made strong. This is what Jesus offers us through Communion. Jesus touches us to forgive us and make us strong, strong in the face of temptation.
This is why Paul strongly urges that we examine ourselves before participating in Communion. Each time that Communion is offered, you ought to ask yourself: Am I a sinner? Am I enjoying being a sinner? Do I need to change my ways? Do I need Jesus’ help in order to change? When you realize the danger of the sin in your life and your need for Jesus’ help, you are ready to come and share in His body and blood, found hidden in the bread and wine.

A few years ago, while I was in school training to be a pastor, I worked with a man who was openly gay. He asked me this: if he came to my Communion rail when I was ordained, would I commune him? I told him that it depended on his attitude towards his sins. If he was proud of his gay lifestyle I would not commune him, because the Bible teaches clearly that sexual union is to only occur between a married man and woman. But things would be different if he hated his sins. I told this young man that if he struggled to resist homosexual attraction, that if he was genuinely sorry for every homosexual thought or deed, Jesus was ready to forgive Him and would be only too happy to strengthen him through the Lord’s Supper. The holy Sacrament isn’t for those who are comfortable in their sins, but it is for those who hate being sinners and long for their Savior’s love.

This week we will celebrate the anniversary of the very first Holy Communion. Our Lord Jesus served the meal that night, and He continues to serve to all who come in faith to His altar. I pray that you will examine yourself this week. I pray that you will, by God’s power, reject your sins and come our Lord for forgiveness and strength. Jesus has forgiven you completely; come share in the joy that He desires to give you.

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