Jesus in the Garden (Matthew 26:30-46)
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Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. We're going to be in Matthew 26 verses 30 through 46. That's on page 486 in a blue Bible that is around you. If you don't have a Bible at home, we encourage you to take that blue Bible with you.
That is our gift to you. We want you to have a Bible that you can read on a regular basis. There are moments in life that absolutely punch you deep in your soul. There are moments where you endure an immense amount of suffering and loss and grief. There are moments in life where you feel so overwhelmed by life itself, by the moment, by the things that you face. This has happened a few times in my life.
One that sticks out the most was my freshman year of college. My freshman year of college, I remember I was in my dorm room. I was taking a nap. I woke up to a bunch of missed calls. I called my father back and found out that my brother-in-law had passed away. I called my brother after that.
He confirmed that he had passed away, that he had actually taken his own life. And when all of that hit, I just felt completely overwhelmed and grief. I remember getting in the car and driving to my sister's house and walking in and seeing her and just the agony of that moment, embracing her and all of the pain that came with that was so surreal. And I also remember in that moment, I remember questioning God from a place of frustration and anger that was just, why? Why would you let this happen? Why would you let this happen to my sister, to my niece, to my nephew?
Why? And this frustration, this anger and this questioning the character of God that just said, why? Why? There are moments that all of us will walk through in life where we endure suffering and loss and grief and pain. And some of you may have been through this and even gone through that and questioning the character of God and asking, why? The reality is, is that you will face moments like this.
If you have not suffered, you will. It is a guarantee in life. Everyone suffers. It is as sure as death and taxes, you will suffer. That is a part of the reality, this side of the fall. You will face situations in your life that absolutely just throw gut punches at your soul.
But as Christians, we have a different approach to this. We have a different understanding. The Bible says a lot about this. Therefore, we have a different response that we are called to in those moments. And my hope is, is that this morning, as we walk through what is a very heavy passage, that we would watch Jesus as He prepares for the moment of the cross. As He prepares for suffering.
And my hope is that we would learn and that we would glean from Him so that we would be able to suffer well. Which is the hope for any Christian in the midst of suffering. So it is heavy. Let me pray. And then we will jump into this passage. God, I pray that you would help us be present this morning.
I have no doubt that there is an immense amount of suffering, even right now in this room, that people are walking through, that people are facing. God, I pray that we would be able to learn. I pray that we would listen. And I pray that you would mold us and shape us to be a people that suffer well by the power that you give us. In Jesus' name, amen. Alright, verse 30.
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Okay, so this is the transition from last week. Last week, the past two weeks, we're at the Passover meal. And then Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper. We walked through that last week. And at the end of this meal, they sing a hymn.
They sing. And I just want to point that out. That Jesus leads the disciples in singing. That singing is good for your soul. It sings truth deep into your soul. So maybe the person that doesn't like to sing when we're together on Sundays, whether it's for your self-conscious, or maybe it's prideful reasons, or you're a dude and you're like, I don't sing.
It's just not what I do. It's just not manly. Which if you think that, one day you can meet the King of Kings and tell him he was effeminate for leading the people in singing. No, it's good for us to sing. And he sings as they close out this moment. And they head to the Mount of Olives, which is a hillside that sits just above the city of Jerusalem.
So it's a hillside that a lot of pilgrims who were coming in for Passover would have camped out. And he takes them to the Mount of Olives. It's verse 31. Then Jesus told them, this very night you will fall away on account of me, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. So again, we've been seeing this.
Jesus is making it clear. This is going to happen. I am going to suffer. I am going to the cross. And he says, and you are going to abandon me. Which had to be a little bit of a shock for the disciples.
Thinking, no, this can't be possible. But he quotes, this is not just going to happen. It's been prophesied. Zechariah 13, 7 from the Old Testament is this prophecy that says that the shepherd is going to be struck. And when the shepherd is struck, the sheep will scatter. Fearfully scatter and abandon him.
He says, but 32, but after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee. Now there's two things. One of them is very obvious from this. He is declaring that he's going to rise. He's saying that his death is not the end. That resurrection is going to happen.
So that's the clear thing that we see on the surface. But what I love buried in this is a picture of how good our great shepherd is. That in this moment, he just said, you are going to abandon me. You are going to leave me. And he says, but don't worry. When I rise, I will meet you in Galilee.
That I am going to. It's this picture of he sees their failures and still he restores them. I love that we have a good shepherd that restores those even when they are faithless. So, verse 33, Peter hears this and he disagrees. Peter replied, even if all fall away on account of you, I never will. Which that's Peter.
We've seen it over and over again. He's all in. Like he's just full hearted. Doesn't even realize he just put the other disciples down. If they fail and fall away, I won't leave you, Jesus. I'm in.
And then Jesus says, truly, I tell you. Jesus answered this very night before the rooster crows, you will diseminate me three times. That when the sheep scatter and they abandon him, Peter will have even a more tragic abandonment. He's going to deny him three times what you're going to see in the next few verses. He's going to abandon him. Verse 35, but Peter declared, even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.
He's defiant. And all the other disciples said the same. So, Peter, bold in his stance, I'm not going anywhere. The other disciples were like, no, we would not abandon you, even though it's going to happen in just a few hours. Now, what happens next is one of my favorite moments in all the Gospels. It's one of the most powerful moments in the Gospels.
And it's unbelievably helpful for us to look at and examine and to see what happens next. Because it gives us incredible insight in how to be people who respond well and prepare well for suffering. So if you've ever been in a situation where you have suffered, if you've ever grieved the loss of someone or death, if you've ever wrestled with deep sin, if you've ever faced adversity, if you've ever felt overwhelmed by life in general, this is a helpful passage for us to pay attention to and examine. Verse 36. Then Jesus went to them to a place.
Went to them to a place called Gethsemane. This is the Garden of Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray. So with the reality of the cross setting in, gets his disciples together. And he takes them a little further into the garden. He says, I need to get away to pray.
And then verse 37 says, And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. That's Peter and James and John. The three that he spent more time with. He takes them in further into the garden. He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and watch with me. Jesus is sorrowful. He is troubled. He is in deep distress. To the point of sorrow and anguish. That it's the point of death.
And he tells them, Stay here. Stay near him. I'm going to go further into the garden. And what he is going to do is, he's going to have some solitude before his heavenly Father. Verse 39. And going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And this is where we get to see the why behind why he is so sorrowful, even to the point of death. Why he's in such deep distress. It has to do with the cup that he just mentioned. What is the cup that Jesus speaks of? Well, first off, you've got to take it in the context of what he just quoted.
He quoted Zechariah 13.7, which is a prophecy where God is speaking. It is God speaking, saying that He is the one who will strike the good shepherd. Zechariah 13.7 says, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me, declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. I will turn my hand against the little ones. That is God the Father saying, I will strike the Son.
That God and His sovereign plan brings this about to where Jesus is the one who will be struck. And it is God the Father's plan to do so. The cup that is mentioned here is the cup of suffering that has been prepared for Christ. It is a cup of suffering. The cup was referenced in Matthew 20, just a few chapters back. In Matthew 20, James and John are having an argument over who is going to sit at the left and right hand of Jesus in what they thought was going to be this political movement.
Their mom gets involved and tries to argue on their behalf. And then finally we get to a response where Jesus answered. He said, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? They said to Him, We are able. He said to them, You will drink my cup.
But sit at my right hand on my left. It is not mine to grant. The cup is the cup of suffering. He says, You will drink my cup. James later on in Acts 12 is beheaded for his faith. John is the only disciple that is not martyred.
But later on, history tells us that he was thrown into oil to be boiled alive. He somehow survives that. We don't know how. And then ends up in exile on the island of Patmos where he dies. It is the cup of suffering that God prepares. It is also, not just the cup of suffering, it is the cup of God's wrath.
When the cup is spoken of in the Old Testament in passages like Isaiah 51, 17 and Jeremiah 25, 15. It is God's wrath, the cup of wrath that is poured out. And that is what's being referenced here. It is the cup of God's wrath and it is an immense amount of suffering. And that is what Jesus is about to drink. An immense amount of suffering for the sins of man.
He will, in the next few hours, be beaten. He will be tortured. He will be nailed to a cross. And there is a crazy amount of physical agony and suffering that is involved in this. But it is not just that.
It is that He is going to be bearing our sin on the cross. And it is not even just that. It is that this perfect fellowship that He has had with God the Father for eternity is going to change in this moment. Because on the cross, He says, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? He calls out to the Father in agony. The physical and spiritual suffering.
He calls out and He hears nothing but the wrath of God poured out on Him. He has had this fellowship with the Father that will change in this moment. All of that is what He is preparing for. That is the cup that awaits Him. That is what He is trying to get ready for. And then it says, as He is anticipating this and going a little further, He fell on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me.
If it is possible, Jesus says, take it. He doesn't want to suffer. He doesn't want that there is a part of Him that is very human. He doesn't want to suffer in this way. He doesn't want all the pain and suffering that awaits. But physically and spiritually that awaits Him, He doesn't want to go that route.
But He prays one of the most helpful prayers in all of the Scriptures. He says, Yet not as I will, but as you will. Not as I will, but as you will. in this moment of deep distress, He prays what He taught in the Sermon on the Mount. That Your will would be done. This isn't what I want for myself, but Father, this is what You want. Not my will, but Your will.
I don't want to suffer in this way. But God the Father does because He wants to rescue wayward sinners. And our only hope is Jesus to take steps in faithfulness and to take steps towards the cross. So, Jesus, anticipating all of this, falls on His face before the Father in deep distress. And He doesn't just do it once. He does this repeatedly.
Verse 40 says, Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. Couldn't you men keep watch with Me for one hour? He asked Peter. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. It's not just prayer.
It's persistent prayer that Jesus models for us. That He needs to keep going back. And He's telling the disciples, No, you need to prepare yourself. You're not going to be ready when temptation comes. What a self-aware thought that the flesh is weak. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
It's something that we need to have so clearly in our own minds. Sometimes the Spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Therefore, we need to go back to the well of God's strength in prayer. He gets away again. 42, He went away a second time and prayed, My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done. Praise again.
It's not possible. May Your will be done. Pray some more. Verse 43, When He came back, He again found them sleeping because their eyes were heavy. So He left them and went away once more and prayed the third time saying the same thing.
And we're on into the night. He keeps going back. He keeps praying, preparing to face what He is about to face. And through prayer, He is going to find the strength to take steps forward in faithfulness. And He is going to bear the sins of humanity and take on a punishment that no one has ever endured or will endure. Verse 45, Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting?
Look, the hour has come and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go. Here comes my betrayer. It is time. Jesus will be arrested and He will be taken towards the cross. The disciples will abandon Him in fear as Jesus steps forward in faith.
Now, how does this help prepare us for suffering? What can we learn from this that would help us be better sufferers? I think there are five things that we can learn from this, from Jesus in the garden praying. And the first is that God ordains and purposes suffering. That God ordains. He chooses that we would suffer.
It is an uncomfortable truth that we don't like as Western American Christians. We don't like this idea that God and His sovereign plan allows and ordains suffering to happen. It's something that we just rather ignore because just generally in our culture, we don't like the idea of suffering in any form or fashion. I was reading an article by Tim Keller. He's a pastor that we look up to immensely. He wrote it in the Atlantic this week.
Tim Keller is, he has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I follow him a lot and just reading and listening to him and it just, it doesn't sound very hopeful. And he wrote this article on facing death and suffering and he, in one part, quotes a memoir from a doctor. This doctor practiced medicine in India and in America and he's comparing the two different systems of medicine, the two different people groups and the two, how we respond differently to suffering. And he quotes this doctor in his memoir. He writes, in the United States, I encountered a society that seeks to avoid pain at all costs.
He wrote in a recent memoir. Patients lived at a greater comfort level than I had previously treated when he was in India. But they seem far less equipped to handle suffering and far more traumatized by it. He's making an observation that in India where they have more suffering, they seem to be better prepared for it. That in America we're more insulated from, we're more guarded against, we don't like to think about the aspects of suffering and death. And when it hits us, we're far more traumatized by it.
And then Tim Keller diagnoses this with his own thoughts. He says, our beliefs about God in an afterlife, if we have them, are often abstractions as well. If we don't accept the reality of death, if we, we don't need these beliefs to be anything other than mental assents. He says, for us, it really just becomes mental agreements with the idea of suffering. That we can hear about it, read about it, absorb that idea, but it's just, it's more of an abstract concept for us. It's not something that's concrete.
Because we're so guarded, our culture doesn't like to look at suffering, doesn't like to face the aspects of death. We insulate ourselves from it. It's a downer. Death and suffering, it's just something we don't want to look at. Like I start the sermon off with a heavy story and it's like, oh man, this is one of those days. We don't like to deal with this.
It's just an abstract concept. And what this passage calls us to do is to stare deep into it and reckon with this idea of suffering. And not just suffering itself, but the purposes that are behind suffering, the mysterious purposes. Now when we look at Jesus and why He suffers on the cross, why does Jesus take the full cup of God's wrath? Why does God purpose that His Son would take on the greatest suffering that anyone ever knew or will know that skeptics will call this is divine child abuse? Why is this?
It is because our world is marred by sin. It is broken. It is because we are broken. It is because we hurt one another. It is because we hurt ourselves. It is because we rage against God in our own rebellion.
We spit on His good will, on His good pleasure. We wreck one another. We wreck this world. And that type of rebellion has a cost. And we are not able to pay that cost. So God in His deep love comes.
He comes to pay the cost for us and to pay the penalty to rescue us and redeem this world. That is why Jesus had to suffer in the garden. That is why He had to suffer. And that is what He is preparing for in the garden. So why does God allow us to get sick?
Our loved ones to die? Why do we suffer? We get some answers. We live in a fallen world. We live this side of the fall and sin and death are a reality. And sometimes we get more answers behind why Jesus suffers than we do at times.
Maybe it is to prepare us for greater things. That is a little bit of what 1 Peter is getting at. There is some sanctifying aspects of suffering that prepares us for greater things. Maybe it is that our suffering gets to be the comfort to somebody else. When you go through something that is difficult and you come through the other side that you get to be a comfort to someone else who is walking through it. Sometimes we get those answers.
Through prayer, discernment, the scriptures. Sometimes we just don't know. We don't get all the whys behind why we suffer. But there is one clear thing that we see. There is some very good news in the midst of this. The good news that comforts us in the midst of suffering is that God is not distant.
God is not distant. Jesus sympathizes with our suffering. That is the second thing I think this passage helps highlight. Jesus sympathizes with our suffering. He is not unable to understand what you are going through. We don't pray to a God who is distant and removed from the aspects of suffering.
Look at 37. It says, In taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful. Even to death, remain here to watch with me. He knows what it means to suffer. He is able to empathize with the struggle.
He has been here. He has lived it. You have been in a situation where somebody, you endured a loss of some type. Somebody died. People just feel like they have to say something. They will be like, I am so sorry.
A couple years ago, I lost my dog. It is like, oh no. this isn't going to go well. You cannot relate in this moment. I want to as quickly and awkwardly end this conversation because it is just not helpful. You have people that try to commiserate. It is like, no, you don't get this.
You don't know what I am going through. Jesus doesn't have a dog story. He chose to come to this world and endure suffering on a regular basis and then suffering on a way that we will never comprehend. him. That is what the book of Hebrews gets at in Hebrews 4. We don't have a high priest who is unable to empathize us but one who is able to sympathize us in every way. He has come.
He has endured suffering so that we pray to God. It is not that we are praying to someone who is distant, who doesn't understand. No, he chose to. He chose to come into this broken world. He can sympathize with our suffering. That is one thing that we see absolutely here.
Third, we see that we don't need to be alone in the midst of suffering. Jesus could have, after the Passover meal said, guys, I'm going to go. I'm going to go to the Mount of Olives. Y'all stay here. He could have done that. He takes the disciples with him.
He takes them with him into the garden. He takes three that are close and nearby. And yes, he absolutely has solitude, which he does regularly, but they're right nearby. He could have chosen to do this alone, but he doesn't, because we're made in the image of a communal God. We are designed to be around one another. So you don't need to be alone in the midst of suffering.
It's not good for your soul. I've said this over the years, that when someone is suffering, when someone has endured loss, you don't always have to say something. You don't have to feel the void of silence. You can just be there. It's called a ministry of presence. You're just there.
You can cry with them. You can sit with them for hours in silence. A lot of times, they don't remember what anyone said, but they remember who was there. And that matters. The third thing we learn is we don't need to be alone in the midst of suffering. The fourth is that we are not sufficient to handle our own distress and suffering.
We are not sufficient in and of ourselves to handle our distress, to handle our sorrows and suffering. Jesus models this by praying. There are passages like this where we're trying to reconcile, which we can't because it's a mystery, that God is fully God. Jesus is fully God and he's fully man. The fact that he is in this moment in need, it's hard for us to wrap our minds around, that he's fully human in this moment. He needs the Father in his humanity.
He comes to him in deep distress, in deep sorrow, that the weight of the full cup of God's wrath that is waiting for him in just a few hours, it's right there. It weighs heavy on him physically. It shows up. So much so that in Luke's gospel, it adds that as he's praying humbly to the Father, an angel comes and ministers to him. He's in need in this moment. He models that we are not sufficient to handle this on our own.
We're not sufficient to handle our own distress, our own troubles, our own sorrows. Here's the deal. Many of us have a category for this, that we're not sufficient, we're not, we can't handle this all ourselves when it comes to the bigger moments of life, when it comes to being overwhelmed and huge, watershed, life-changing moments of suffering. But I want to speak to those of you that feel that sense of distress and overwhelming in everyday aspects of life. I just want to speak to you for a moment. For those of you that struggle with the general category that we have today, it's called general anxiety.
I just want to speak to you for a moment, because I think this passage also has a helpful way to think through this, that is actually good for you to process and think through. There is a categorical difference between distress that Jesus is enduring in the garden, and the category of anxiousness that is a spiritual mistrust of God that doesn't trust in His sovereignty, a need for control. Those are two different things. The Bible has different categories for those. Go back to verse 37. It says, In taking with them Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
The word for troubled there means deep distress. It is a different word than what we see for anxious that's used in the scriptures. So Philippians 4, Do not be anxious in anything but through prayer and supplication, make your request unto the Lord. That's a different word. When Jesus says, Don't be anxious about this life. That's a different word than this word for distress.
And here's the deal. If you looked at Jesus in this moment with our modern kind of psychological lens, you see Him praying in the garden. Probably, we don't know, probably, He's sweating immensely. Luke's gospel either says that He's praying and there's sweat that's like droplets of blood, meaning it's thick amounts of sweat, or He's so deeply distressed distressed. There's a rare medical condition where blood shows up in your sweat. It's hard to tell from the text.
Both of those means He's in deep distress. And with modern psychological lens, you look at that and say, oh no, maybe Jesus is actually anxious. But He's not. He's in deep distress. And here's why that's so incredibly important for you to understand. You have a physiological response, all of us.
I mean, if you saw a snake in a path, you would have physiological changes. If you saw a car slam on brakes in front of you, you'd have physiological changes that would happen. You would start to breathe heavier. Your heart would start to race. Adrenaline would spike. You would feel a cold sweat.
That's a physical response that you have to something that is difficult. Some of you have a more sensitive response to that in lots of things. You see your kid on top of a play set. They don't text or call like they were supposed to. You have a presentation that's due at work. You have an assignment that you've got to present.
And you feel that you wake up and you feel this feeling. This isn't the gray area here. But you feel this feeling of distress. And here's why this is so incredibly important for you to understand. When you read passages that say don't be anxious about anything, what you translate that is don't feel the feeling that I feel so regularly. And you've got to know yourself.
There's a difference between a feeling of distress, which is a physical, very human response that Jesus feels, and not trusting the Lord that leads to anxiety. What stands in the middle of that is the recognition and understanding that you are not sufficient to handle your own troubles. It is the fifth thing that we see from this. Choose the God who can handle your troubles and sorrows. That is what we see so clearly here. Jesus feels this distress in the garden.
But you know why does it lead to sin? Because He stops in that moment and He gets on His face and He prays. There's a difference whether you feel this on a regular basis or you feel this in the most difficult moments of suffering in life. what stands in the way between that being just distress and leading to an anxiety that does not trust the Lord is prayer. It's getting on our face in faith and praying, acknowledging that we can't handle this ourselves, but God can. So you have one of two options in this moment.
You can trust God or you can say that I'm sufficient in and of myself, that I can handle this myself. I was talking to Scott Hill about this this week. He's one of our older members. And he says really two responses. It's either this vertical response where you are praying to the Lord or it's more of a circular response. And I love that because I know exactly what he's getting at.
It's a circular response of just crazy. You feel this deep distress. You feel it coming on and then all of a sudden you don't go to the Lord. You want to deal with it yourself and you choose to deal with yourself and then all of a sudden it leads into this anxiety where you're not trusting the Lord. Your thoughts are consumed. But then that physically affects you, right?
And then you feel it and then it causes more distress. And it's this cycle where you feel distress and you try to handle it yourself and it leads to more anxiety and it goes on and on. And what God is trying to teach us to do is to break through that and humble ourselves before the Lord and pray from a desperate place. I mean, Jesus falls on the ground and prays desperately as a physical posture of deep prayer in the midst of distress. That sometimes you've got to fall on your face. In the most difficult moments of life, you've got to get on your face and pray.
That if you are overwhelmed at work, sometimes you need to pause, get on your knees at your desk and pray. Scott was talking about sometimes he just holds his hands out, that physically gets in a posture of prayer. Jesus in John 17 looks up to the Father and prays. One of the things I teach in counseling is deep breathing and I'll do deep breathing exercises, which I always tell people. It's very awkward to breathe with somebody deeply for two or three minutes. It feels very new agey, but I'm sold on it.
I think it is very helpful that there are moments whether you're tempted to look at pornography or you're tempted to fall more into a spiral of anxiety to just in those moments regulate your breathing. Because when you breathe a lot and you get more and more stirred up, your adrenaline spikes, your heart starts pumping and you can't think clearly. And I teach now, pause and just deep breathe. Learn to breathe deeply. And when you do this, it regulates your heart rate, starts to decrease, it floods your brain with oxygen, there's physical changes that happen within you so that you can think clearly.
And then I say, get on your knees and pray. And remember the gospel and rehearse truth and pray. There's some physical things you can do to get to a posture of humility before the Lord. Life is going to throw a lot at you. It is going to throw haymakers at your soul, which in boxing is a huge punch. That it's going to absolutely come at you.
And you have a fork in the road in all of these circumstances. If you are a Christian, you can, in that moment, come to the Father humbly in prayer. Or you can see that you are sufficient to handle yourself. And if you see yourself as sufficient, you will physically bear the weight of that, which will affect you physically. You will, like I've done in the past, question the character and the goodness of God. Or you can come to him humbly in prayer.
You can get on your face and cry out to him. And you can echo the same prayer of Jesus. Not my will, God, but your will be done. I don't want to lose this battle of cancer. I don't want to lose my job. I don't want to wreck my career.
I don't want to fail this test. I don't want to lose this child. I don't want to lose this parent. But not my will, God. Yours be done. That's the model that Jesus gives us.
That we get to come to the Father and pray. In the midst of distress, in the midst of trouble, in the midst of all the swirling suffering that surrounds us. We get to choose the path of Christ and fall in the same line that he did. And I thank Jesus that he chose the path that he chose. I thank Jesus that in that garden as he's praying and he's overwhelmed and he's sweating and he's physically weak that he chose to get up and go to the cross. Because that's the only hope that we have.
The only hope we have is Jesus on the cross. And my hope for us as Christians is we'd see what Jesus did. And that we'd follow the same path in prayer. Matt's going to come up. And I want us for a moment to reflect upon the things that are happening in our life. The things that that are heavy for us.
That are burdensome for us. The troubles that we face. The suffering that's in front of us. And I just want us to do that. I want us to pray. Maybe you need to get on your knees in front of your chair.
Maybe you hold your hands out. But I want us to pray. If you are not a Christian, I want you to see that the God of the universe did not leave you in a world that is so filled with brokenness and sin. He didn't leave you. He came for you. He loved you so much that he got up out of the garden and he went to the cross for you.
So that you don't have to be alone. So that you would have a God who stands in the heavens and hears your prayers and knows what you are feeling. We don't always get the responses we want. There are times we will pray and God says, no. But the path of faith is acknowledging that ultimately God's will is best.
So if you are a Christian, I pray that you would, that would be so clear for you this morning as you pray. If you are not a Christian, I pray you would be so overwhelmed by the love of Christ that you give in to him and believe. Let me lead us in prayer and then take a few moments in silence before we respond in singing. Lord, this world is so painful. we feel sin deep within us. We see it all around us. We see the hurt.
We see the pain of death and suffering and loss. And it is overwhelming. And that is okay. Because you are able to handle it. God, I pray right now that the Christians in this room who are struggling that they would respond in prayer not just now but for a lifetime they would respond in choosing the path of faith and trusting you and they would lay their burdens before you. And you would comfort them.
You would comfort us. You'd be near to us. You'd be gracious to us. And God, I pray if there's anyone here that does not believe this that has not trusted in you may your overwhelming love be so clear right now in this moment that they would believe. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
The Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:1-26-29)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We're going to be in Matthew 26, verses 26 through 29 today. Today we are going to look at the moment that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.
So we call this an ordinance. All right, this is something that God has ordained, that Jesus has ordained for us to practice as the church. So we have taught this a few times over the last few years. And we've come at it really hitting it, really the most important parts of it as we've walked through it. Today we're going to walk through this a little bit differently. We're going to give a little more background on this.
So if you love taking notes, today is your day. So we are going to look at this. There's a lot of significance and a lot of debate over the Lord's Supper. So I want to walk through the text in Matthew today and see what the Bible teaches us. Then I want to walk through historically how the Lord's Supper has come about.
The reality is that y'all have opinions on communion or the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper, even how you call it. You have opinions, you don't even know that you do, but that comes from a historical progression and how the church has approached this over the last 2,000 years. So we're going to walk through that. And then I want us to just get real practical at the end and show what we believe about the Lord's Supper and how we practice it. So let me pray and then we'll jump straight in.
And God, I thank you that you've given us this tangible, beautiful practice that we get to keep and remember what the gospel means to us. God, I pray that you'd help us understand this more deeply this morning. You'd help us be present. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so verse 26.
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink of it, all of you, for 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 again of this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Okay, so this part of the meal really builds off of what we were talking about last week. And I hinted at this. This is the Passover meal.
So he has the disciples together in a room to take the Passover meal. So in order to understand the significance of the Lord's Supper, we need to understand Passover and what that means. All right, so Passover comes from the book of Exodus. This is something that was at the forefront of the Jewish calendar. So the Jewish calendar, right at the beginning, you celebrate Passover.
This is a meal of remembrance. It's their Independence Day. It celebrates the biggest redemptive moment of the history of the Israelites, really the formation of the covenant people of God. So, go back to Exodus. You remember Prince of Egypt, the movie? Take your mind there.
It's a classic. You should see it. Go back to Exodus. The Israelites have been slaves for over 400 years in Egypt. 400 years they've been slaves. And God says, no more.
He raises up Moses. He sends Moses to Pharaoh. And Moses goes to Pharaoh and says, let my people go. And Pharaoh says, no. And then one by one, God starts to enact judgment on the land in the form of plagues. So he turns the Nile River into blood.
He sends gnats and locusts and boils and all kinds of things. And at every turn, Pharaoh says, no. I'm not going to let your people go. Then finally comes the last plague. And Moses comes to him and says, if you do not let the people go, he will take the firstborn son of every house in the land. He will kill every firstborn son.
And Pharaoh says, no. So God tells Moses to go and tell the people. He tells the people that they need to take a lamb and slaughter the lamb. So he tells the Israelites, slaughter a lamb and take the blood of the lamb and put it on the doorpost and the lintel, the very top doorpost. Put it all over the door. And when I come through to enact my judgment, I will pass over your house.
Meaning he will not take the firstborn son of the house that has the blood of the lamb on it. So they do this. They slaughter lambs without blemish. They take the blood. They put it on the doorposts. The Lord comes through at night.
And he takes the firstborn son of every house of Egypt. All the Egyptians lose their firstborn son, including Pharaoh. And at that point, Pharaoh says, get out. And they're free. After 400 years of being slaves, they are finally free. He tells them to prepare a meal.
It's of unleavened bread. It's a quick meal for them. And then he says, remember this. You're going to have a celebration. It's called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That every year at the beginning of your calendar, you're going to remember what I did.
That I saved you. That I redeemed you from being slaves in Egypt. That I saved you. The blood of the lamb saved you. All of that. And then what comes out of that throughout the rest of Exodus is God really forming his covenant people.
All of that history. All of that theology. All of that significance is packed into this meal. Jesus takes that and then says, all right. This is a new meal for my new people. Established on a new covenant.
All of that significance rolls up into this meal. Because in just a few hours after Jesus does this, he is going to the cross. And what is significant about this is that Jesus is going to become the Passover lamb. That the bread and the wine that he has out for them will be his body and his blood. His body will be given just as the lamb was sacrificed. His blood will be shed so that they will no longer be slaves to sin.
They won't feel the power of death through belief in him. That's the significance. Jesus becomes the Passover lamb. And he's holding this meal out for them to remember this. In fact, Luke adds this. He says, do this in remembrance of me.
That the church is commanded to remember the work of Christ. Not just that happens at the cross. But also, he says, he will not drink of this again until they are with him in his father's kingdom. The picture is when all things are made new. This is between the cross and the final wedding feast. When God, when Jesus returns, it makes all things new.
So this meal, we've taught this before. It's a meal of tension for a people in tension. Between the work of Christ on the cross and his blood that was shed for us so that we'd have faith in him. And also, the day when he comes back and makes all things new. That when we take the Lord's Supper, we remember his death. And we remember that sin will no longer remain.
That that is what we get to celebrate as the people of God. As we take part in the Lord's Supper. It is a practice for us to remember that we live in a kingdom that has come, but has not yet been consummated. Has not yet been finished. Alright, so. That's what's packed into the significance of this meal.
And he says, do this in remembrance of me. And the church did this. We see this very early on in the book of Acts. It's in Acts 2. After Peter preaches the Sermon of Pentecost. And 3,000 plus people come to know Jesus.
And place faith in Jesus. It says, and they devote themselves to the apostles' teaching. And the fellowship. To the breaking of bread and prayers. Now, the breaking of bread is significant. It just said they're taking part in meals together.
But that's not just what's being taught here. The breaking of bread is language for taking part in the Lord's Supper. So we kind of see in the New Testament that they would have had a meal together. And they would have taken part in the Lord's Supper. We see it again in Acts 20. In Acts 20 verse 7.
It says, on the first day of the week. When we gather together to break bread. That's not just eating a meal together. That is significant. They gather together on the first day of the week. Which is Sunday.
That's why we gather together on Sundays for worship. And they broke bread. They took part in the Lord's Supper. We're going to see a little bit later. And walk through 1 Corinthians 11. To see some more biblical.
How we should practice this. How we should not practice this. But that's how it begins. And then from there. It's really a 2,000 year history. Of the church developing this.
And thinking more thoughtfully about it. And trying to figure out how to practice it. So that's where we are. That I want to move to now. The reality is. Is that we have opinions on this.
We have opinions on this. Because history has an impact. On the way that we think about the Lord's Supper. First. This may seem tedious. If you don't like history.
Just bear with me for a few moments. But the reason that we. If you have any church background at all. There's a reason you have an opinion on this. My dad reminds me regularly. That I was Christian Lutheran.
He's a very proud Lutheran. He says you're a Christian Lutheran. I said yes I know. You've told me. 10,000 times. So.
I was Christian Lutheran. And the Lutherans. The Lutheran church. Has a different take on this. Than others. Eventually landed in a Presbyterian church.
And I walked through. Confirmation. In a Presbyterian church. So Presbyterians. Methodists. Catholics.
They'll go through something called confirmation. That it prepares them. It confirms their faith. So that. They can take. So that we can take the Lord's Supper.
And Presbyterians have a take on this. That is different. And then one time. I was with a buddy of mine. Who's Catholic. I went to mass with him.
And. I just followed him up there. And they called the Eucharist. So I followed him up there. I took part in the Eucharist. They served real wine.
And drank that. And thought. Oh this is. This is different. And then. Later on the ride home with him.
His mom is the sweetest lady. And she looked at me and said. Don't ever do that again. She said. You are not Catholic. You don't.
You know. Come with us. But don't ever do that again. And I was a little offended. And thrown off. But I appreciate that.
Because she understands. That the way they practice it. Is different. And I should not have taken part of it. And I never will take part in it. Ever again.
Fast forward a little bit later. I became a Christian. In a Methodist church. That's where I came to know Jesus. Methodists have a different take on this. And now I'm a Baptist pastor.
And we have a different take on this. So maybe you didn't follow me. Through the tour to denominations. But. If you have any background. At all.
There's a reason. If you have any opinions. There's a reason. So. Alright. Much of the debate.
Over how to practice the Lord's Supper. Hinges on one word. One very big word. Take. Eat. This.
Is. My body. Tens of thousands. Of pages. Have thought. Of thought.
Have been spent on. That word is. What does is mean? Is it. Jesus is saying. This is literally.
My body. Which has a different weight to it. Or. Is it. No. This.
It's figuratively. This. This is my body. And there's some. Some metaphorical usage here. That's where the.
The range of debate happens. Is on that. Word. And denominations. Are very. Very.
Very. Very. Much split. On what is. Means. So.
I'm going to walk through. Quickly as possible. From the early church. To today. So. The early church fathers.
Alright. This is second. Third. Fourth. Fifth century. All had.
Pretty vague notions. And understandings. Of what that word meant. At least that's what their writing says. They were. Basically.
To summarize it. They thought. That Jesus. Was somewhat. Spiritually. Present.
In. The bread. And the wine. Kind of. It just. It was.
General. Fuzziness. Augustine. One of the early church fathers. Who. When I googled.
A picture of Augustine. I could not resist putting a picture of Kanye up there with him. Augustine. For the five of you that appreciate Kanye. Even when he's crazy. Augustine.
Had. Had a lot to say about it. And still. In all of his writings. Was just. Real fuzzy on it.
Just yet. Jesus is present. In. Kind of. The bread. And the one.
So. The early church fathers. Had things to say about it. It was real mysterious. It wasn't real. Well defined.
Then. Fast forward. Seven hundred years. The Catholic church. Started to develop this. Further.
And further. And further. Until you get to. 1215. The year 1215. In 1215.
The church. The Catholic church. At the fourth. Lateran council. Finally had a position on this. They said.
This is what we believe. We believe in. Transubstantiation. That is a big word. Okay. But just transubstance.
Is what you need to see out of that. That when. This is what Catholics believe. That when you take the body. And the bread. And the wine.
It literally becomes. The body. And the blood. Of Christ. Literally. It.
Transubstances. I say transforms. But they would. Take issue with that. That it becomes. As they're drinking.
And as they're eating. The literal body. And blood. Of Christ. That was their position. They cemented finally.
After years of thinking about it. And if you want to nerd out. About how that came to be. With Aristotelian philosophy. We can do that later. I'm not going to bore.
The rest of you. But. That's the reasoning. That they came to. And they got really aggressive. About it.
Very quickly. Very quickly. They started to. They forced this. On the western church. This understanding.
That if you. As you're handling. The bread. And the wine. You are getting ready. To handle the literal.
Body. And blood. Of. Christ. To the point where. They started.
Stopped giving it. The wine. To lay people. Because they thought. If it got spilled. Oh no.
We're going to mess this up. Completely. And it just got crazy. And guess what? Some people. Did not like this.
Some people. You could say. Protested this. Some of those protesters. Were called. Protestants.
So if you're wondering. Why we're called Protestants. It's because we're the OG protesters. Okay. That. That is what they began to do.
One of them's name. Was John Wycliffe. John Wycliffe said. The church has. Lost its mind. This is crazy.
The Bible does not teach this. The early church fathers. Do not agree with this. What are we doing? He taught a lot of things. He's one of the reasons why.
Bible translation came into being. We have so much to be thankful for. From John Wycliffe. And the Catholic church. Appreciated him so much. That when he died.
They unearthed his body. And they burned his bones. We had Twitter. They had unearthing and desecrating bodies. That is what they did. They were very mad at his teachings.
So. This began to turn to a movement. Of protesters. Of Protestants. And one of them was a very ornery. German monk.
Who really was the biggest protester of all. And his name was Martin Luther. Martin Luther comes along. And we have so much to be thankful for. About Martin Luther. Luther.
He taught things like. Sola Scriptura. Which is Latin for. Scripture alone. It is the reason why we go. The Bible.
That's our understanding. That's our authority. Of how God has spoken. The Catholic church looks to. Doctrines and teachings. Of the church.
And we say. No. The Bible. What does the Bible say? He's the reason why we believe in faith alone. Which is sola fide.
It's the idea that we're not saved. By our works. You hear that all the time here. We're saved by. Faith in Jesus. It's not faith and works.
No. Faith. There's so many things we're thankful for. That Luther helped shape us. The reason that we're here. In this room today.
By God's sovereign plan. Is bringing about people like Luther. He said. No. However. Luther didn't get very far from the Catholic church.
On the teaching that comes with the Lord's Supper. That's why Lutherans are kind of seen a little bit. As diet Catholic. Catholic light. They look very similar. In a lot of ways.
Which would make Luther roll in his grave. But that's the reality. I found out. Like a month ago. That my grandmother. On my dad's side.
Was Catholic. Never knew this. And I was like. That's crazy. He said. Yeah.
So when she married your grandfather. And. And. And. And. She wanted.
You know. It was easy for her to become a Protestant. Because he was Lutheran. It was the easy jump. And I was like. Oh.
That makes a lot of sense. And the. The reason it does. Is because of his teaching. On the Lord's Supper. And that is consubstantiation.
Big word. Consubstantiation. Which answers the question. Does the bread. And the wine. Become the literal.
Body. And blood. Of Christ. And the answer is. Yes. Maybe.
No. Kind of. Sort of. General position. Of the Lutheran church. On this.
So literally what they say is. It teaches that the body. And the blood of Christ. Are present. In. With.
And under. The elements. Under. And with. The bread. And.
The wine. Is that. Is that. Is that clear. Clear. Clear as mud.
I mean. Like I said. Did you put cyanide in the punch. You said. No. No.
I didn't. It's not. It's not. It's not cyanide in it. It's just. In.
With. Under it. It's just. We're fine. You go. Wait.
What? Exactly. And that is what the Protestant movement said. They said. No. You did not go far enough.
We are. We are. We are completely ditching this. And the Protestant movement. Went even further. And one of those men that came along.
That. That fought that. Was named. Zwingli. Zwingli. I will not pronounce his first name.
Because it is Swiss. And I'm not going to try. But. Zwingli came along. And he debated Luther on this. He agreed with Luther on all these other things.
But not this. He said no. He presented something called the memorial view. The memorial view. And that view. Is that the.
The bread and the wine. Is a sign. It is a symbol. That when Jesus said. Do this in remembrance of me. That's all it was meant to be.
Was a sign. Was a symbol. To remember what Jesus has done. That Jesus. After his death. Ascended to.
The right hand of God. That is where he is. He is not. All up in the elements. Around it. With it.
Transformed. No. It is a sign. That helps us remember. What Jesus has done. So after that.
I'll give you one more. Along came a man named John Calvin. And the fact that none of you. Jumped that joke. Means. This is the wrong room.
Maybe later. All right. Calvin. Came along. And he said no. It was kind of a middle ground.
Between Lutherans. And Zwingli. He said no. He called the spiritual. Presence view. All right.
The spiritual. Presence view. This was. Saying no. It's not just a sign. It's not just a sign.
But also. No. It's not this in with around. No. Jesus is present. Really in a mysterious way.
My professor summarized the position this way. He said the bread and the wine are still symbols. But not empty symbols. Although the elements do not become the body and blood of Christ. They are a sign that Christ himself is really present. He would say things like no.
Jesus is divine. He's not just confined to being at the right hand of the Father of God. He's omnipresent. It means he's everywhere. So no.
He absolutely can be present. But ultimately I appreciate this one thing that Calvin said. He said it is a secret too lofty for either my mind to comprehend or my words to declare. And to speak more plainly. I'd rather experience than understand it. So he just left a lot of mystery.
That Jesus is somehow present in it. But we just don't know fully. Now okay. That's a lot of history all at once. And that's a lot of taking all at once. But the reality is that if you're Catholic.
Or Catholic background. Or Baptist. Or Anglican. Or Presbyterian. Or Methodist. Or any of that background.
It flows from that long progression of history. The reason you have opinions on it. Comes from this. So. Given all of that. And given how we walk through the scriptures.
And the importance of it. We're going to see in a moment. We want to handle this meal carefully. And reverently. And thoughtfully. Like we want to understand this.
And as good Baptists. Our approach is. Yes. History is nice. What does the Bible say about this? That's the drum we beat.
What does the Bible teach on this? So. I wanted to. Give us just six very practical. This is. We as a church.
What we believe about the Lord's Supper. And how we practice it. Just these are questions that we've gotten over the years. And I just want to be able to walk through this together. And how the Bible approaches this. Alright.
So. So. Six things that we believe about the Lord's Supper. Alright. So. And all those positions that I gave.
And all the different views on the Lord's Supper. And how you believe what it is. We are. Memorialists. And. Jesus is present in the moment.
So. We. We as a church. Our approach is. Is a little bit in a squishy middle ground. Between believing.
What Zwingli taught. Which is a classical Baptist position. That it is a sign that helps us remember. And. But we're not as far as the spiritual presence.
That. That. That. That. That Calvin taught. Either.
We're somewhere in the middle. We believe. That when Jesus said. This is my body. He did not mean that literally. You know how we know this?
Because he said. I am the door. I am the vine. And I don't look at doors in our church and go. Maybe. Maybe he's present.
We don't do that. It was clearly a metaphor. I mean Jesus is giving the bread and the wine. Literally. It's. It.
It. He's detached from it. The experience itself. When he instituted this. He gives it away. He is not saying.
I am literally. This bread. And this wine. I don't know how you get to that. Biblically. And we don't.
Believe that. But also. We believe the Holy Spirit. Is doing something. Very unique. Very mysterious.
There's a lot of gravity. Given to the moment of communion. We believe that Jesus. Absolutely. Is present in the moment. I agree with Calvin.
We don't. Think he's just confined to the right hand. The Father of God. He's with us. When we're. When we're.
Worshipping. He's with us. As we're sitting with the authority of God's word. He's with us. As we take. The Lord's Supper.
And remember. What he has done for us. So we're in the middle ground. Between the two. Realizing this helps us. Remember the work of Christ.
And he is with us. As we take. The Lord's Supper. All right. So. The next two big questions we get.
Is on who can take the Lord's Supper. And. Who can administer it. Who can actually give. The Lord's Supper. And in order to understand.
Those questions. We have to go. To what the Bible teaches on this. And the case study that we get. That teaches us. How to take the Lord's Supper.
How not to take the Lord's Supper. Is. First Corinthians 11. First Corinthians 11. Gives us that case study. Of how this went terribly wrong.
In the church. Of Corinth. So. First Corinthians 11. Verse. 20.
You guys are doing great. I know there's a lot. When you come together. It is not the Lord's Supper. That you eat. For in eating.
Each one goes ahead. With his own meal. One goes hungry. Another gets drunk. What. Do you not have houses.
To eat. And drink in. Or do you despise. The church of God. And humiliate. Those who have.
Nothing. What shall I say to you. Shall I commend you in this. No. I will not. All right.
So what is he getting at there. Because we just jumped into. A situation. One of the fruits. Of the gospel. Is.
Unity. Unity. Unity in the body of Christ. It shows up again. And again. In the New Testament letters.
It is why. That we wrote a song about it. As a church. We care. About. Unity.
Because God. Cares. About. Unity. Unity matters. And here is what the church of Corinth.
Was doing. They met in homes. For worship gatherings. Homes of richer. Christians. The richer Christians.
Would start. The meal. Would start. The part of the Lord's Supper. And they would eat. And be filled.
And they would drink. So much. That they got drunk. That when the poor Christians. Showed up. There was.
Nothing. They had nothing. To take part in. They used. Hear this. They used the Lord's Supper.
As a way. To divide. People. In the church. Brothers and sisters. Based on their socioeconomic class.
Based on who had money. And who did not. It's absolutely. Wicked. That not only. That Christians.
Would be separated. In different classes. When it comes to who has money. And who has not. But that they would use.
The Lord's Supper. To do that. God. Was not pleased. At all. Fast forward.
Down to verse 27. Whoever. Therefore. Eats. The bread. And drinks.
The cup. Of the Lord. In an unworthy manner. Will be guilty. Concerning the body. And the blood.
Of. The Lord. And that is a warning. That applies directly. To that church. And how they were misusing it.
That applies broadly. To the. To the rest. Of the church. That if you. Do this.
In an unworthy manner. That's the heart. Why people debated this. For so long. That's the heart. To do this.
In an unworthy manner. You just have to understand. The context. Of what he's getting at. You do this. In an unworthy manner.
You will be guilty. Verse 28. Let a person. Examine. Himself. That is why.
When we. Present the Lord's Supper. We say. Take a moment. Don't just come up here. Flippantly.
Don't just come up here. Just because it's part of the process. It's what we do. No. Take some time. And reflect.
To think upon your own sin. To remember what your sin. Cost. Remember how good the gospel is. That Jesus. Died for our sins.
To remember your sin. And remember your. Savior. That's what we say. Examine yourself. To check your own heart.
To understand. The gravity of this moment. When we come and take the Lord's Supper. Let a person examine himself then. And so eat. Of the bread.
And drink. Of the cup. For if anyone who eats. And drinks. Without discerning the body. Eats.
And drinks. Judgment. On himself. That if you do this. Not reverently. If you don't discern.
Your own heart. If you don't do this. In a way that honors this. You'll bring judgment on yourself. Verse 30. That is why many of you are weak and ill.
And some have died. And catch what he said there. Weak. Ill. Some of you have died. Some people would be like.
You know. I don't like the Old Testament God. Because he's really violent. And people get struck down. I like the New Testament God. Because I like.
I like Jesus. Because he's. He's loving. He never would do any of this. And it's like. I don't think you've read the Old.
Or the New Testament. That God is abundantly loving. And gracious in the Old Testament. And also. God brings the hammer down. In judgment.
In the New Testament. That the New Testament church. Did this. Some got weak. Some got sick. And some.
Died. There's a lot of. That. This is why the church. Has been so. Paranoid.
In a good way. Sometimes not. In trying to understand this. Because this. Matters. Immensely.
We don't want judgment. To be brought upon us. In how we take this. So. When you understand that. And walking through.
Kind of all that. And understanding. Of how to take part. In the Lord's Supper. To do this reverently. To understand.
When you. When you get there. Then you can answer the question. Who can take part in this. And who can. Administer this.
So the second one. Who can take part in this. Christians. Walking in faith. And repentance. Can participate.
In the Lord's Supper. So. The Protestant church. Has largely taught. This meal. Is a meal.
For. Christians. It is a meal. For Christians. If you are not a Christian. We even say this.
When we do it. When we present it. Well if you are not a Christian. Well we do not want you. To take part in this. Part of it is.
Is we don't want you. To bring judgment. Upon yourself. But other part of it is. Is why would you take something. And miss the meaning completely.
This is a meal. For the people of God. To remember. And understand. What it means. So.
Protestants. Of largely greed. No. This is a meal. For Christians. Baptists.
Well we have some. Even more positions. On this. You might be thinking. Seriously. There are more.
Positions on this. Yes. There are. I don't know if you know this. Baptists have a lot of positions. On a lot of things.
From drinking. To dancing. We have lots of positions. We are like the SEC. Of denominations. It just means more.
For those who watch the SEC network. All right. Baptists. Real quick. Three different positions. The first position is.
Something called. Closed. With a D. Communion. And that idea is. Is that for anyone.
To come and take part. In this Lord's Supper. You have to. Be a baptized. And when we say baptized. We mean.
That you must. Believe in Jesus. And then be baptized. Which is the. Bad position. Position of baptism.
That you must be. Baptized as a believer. And be a member. Of this exact. Local church. That is closed communion.
Nope. That's not us. That's. That's. That is. That is a minority position.
But that does exist. The next position. Is called. Closed. Without a D. Closed.
Communion. And that is. The idea. That you can be a Baptist. At another church. As long as you've been.
Baptized after belief. Come. Take part in the Lord's Supper. That is who can take it alone. We also. Do not agree.
With that position. If you want to talk more about that. And why we believe that. We can. We don't have the space for it now. We do not agree.
With that position. The last position for Baptists. Is called. Open communion. And that is what we believe. Open communion.
Says that if you are a Christian. If you believe in Jesus. If you are not. We had a caveat. If you're not. Under church discipline somewhere.
Meaning you're in good standing. You're not running away from Jesus. That if you believe in Jesus. I don't care what your position is on baptism. Come and take part in this meal. Because that.
Listen. I'm not going to disunify you. Because you have a different take on baptism. That would be treating you like you are not a Christian. And that's not what we're going to do. If you believe in Jesus.
Come. Take part in this meal. And if you want to talk about that later. We can. That is our position as a church. If you're a Christian.
Come. Take part. Third. It deals with who can administer it. We believe it is wise. For pastors and those under our authority.
To administer the Lord's Supper. So. We believe it is wise. I use that word intentionally. Wise. Not mandating.
This is how things have to be done everywhere. For our church. We believe it's wise. The Catholic Church. Placed. A very heavy emphasis.
On clergy only. Clergy. The only ones that can handle it. And that makes sense. If you understand their theology on it. You're handling the literal body and blood of Christ.
So. Protestants have rejected that notion. And there's disagreements. On who can actually handle it. Some believe. No.
It only has to be a pastor. Others will say. No. It can be. It can be a deacon. Others can say.
No. Whatever. Two or three are gathered. It doesn't matter. We can take it. We wouldn't hold to that.
Either. Some believe. It can only be done on Sundays. As we gather for worship. Others would say. No.
It can be done in homes. Which is what the early church did. They would have a meal together. Because we do see the Lord's Supper. Was. You know.
Attached to. A fellowship. Meal event. And they would take the Lord's Supper. Here's what we believe. We believe.
That the normative. The normal pattern. Of how we practice the Lord's Supper. Is us as pastors. Presenting the Lord's Supper. And then us taking this together.
But we also believe. It is very special. And y'all. It is very good. When this happens. Occasionally.
In our groups. That we authorize our group leaders. Our group leaders are deacons. That we trust them. That we trust them. To correctly handle.
The Lord's Supper. There's a lot of beautiful. Gospel. Forgiveness. And repenting of sin. After a fellowship meal together.
When it happens in. The home. So we authorize our community. Group leaders who are deacons. Yes. On occasion.
Do this in. Your home. But the normative pattern. Is us coming together. And presenting this. Because we want to make sure.
That we are doing this. In a way that honors. And gives reverence to that. If you want to talk more about that later. Also. I'll be around to talk about that as well.
All right. The next question is. How often do we do it? That's the fourth thing we'll get into. We believe. It is.
We believe in regular. Regular observance. Of the Lord's Supper. We believe in regular. And I would add. Almost weekly.
Observance. Of the Lord's Supper. Now. There are a lot of churches. Lots of churches. Even.
Lots of Baptist churches. That do it quarterly. And some of the heart behind that. Is. Everything we just talked about. And revering it.
In a way that we won't want to do it. So often. That we would lose. The value. And the meaning. So.
So. If you do it too much. Then you'll. You'll miss out on. All the. All the.
It's supposed to mean. You'll just. It'll just be this ritual. That you go through. And I understand. I understand that critique.
But we look at passages. Like 1 Corinthians 11. When it says. When you come together. Which gives. The.
This is happening regularly. We look at the book of Acts. Where it seems they came together regularly. And see. This is actually a regular part of worship. And y'all.
We need. The gospel. Every week. To be reminded. Of the gospel. When we come and worship together.
And this is a very tangible. Reminder. Of how much we need Jesus. Of how much we need. Repentance of sins. Of how good.
His grace is. So we shoot for. Regular observance. We have. You know. Reasons that we haven't done it regularly.
One being. A global pandemic. We haven't done it. In a year. Actually. Like a year.
Maybe. I think this week. Or next week. Because we just said. No. It's not wise for us.
In this period of time. To be doing this. But as the pandemic. Is waning. We're going to. To be.
Starting to bring this back in. Around. A monthly ish. Over the coming months. We'll be doing this. Until we get back to.
Regular. Weekly. Doing this. And then other times. We'll have prayer. Instead of this.
Sometimes we'll do baptism. Instead of this. But we want to. Regularly come. And take part. In the Lord's Supper together.
All right. Two more you guys. Should it be juice. Or should it be wine. That's a question we get sometimes. We believe it's wise.
For our church. To use juice. Now. Some people believe. That Jesus. Only drank.
Grape juice. That what they're actually drinking. In the New Testament. Is not wine. That is not true. It's not historically true.
Not even close. Thomas Welch. Invented grape juice. In the 1800s. That is why we have. Welch's grape juice.
He figured out. Literally. That's why. Welch's came from. Welch's came from. Thomas Welch.
Who was a Methodist. Who said. I want to have. Something that. That alcoholics. That wouldn't be able to take part in.
That we can serve. At our churches. And he figured out. The process. Of how to make grape juice. Without alcohol.
In it. Some on the other hand. Will say. No. Jesus used wine. Therefore.
We have to use wine. I came from a church. Before. Our church. Where they gave two cups. Someone was holding juice.
And wine. And it was your conscience. Whatever you wanted. You took part in either. Here's the deal. We believe as Baptists.
That it's a sign. It's a sign. That Jesus is present in the moment. But it is a sign. Therefore. We think juice is a very acceptable sign.
And we're not going to serve wine. Because it would. It would. It would violate the consciousness. Of some of the people in our church. And we're not going to do that.
Why. Why would we create disunity. In how we take this. We're not going to do that. Juice is completely. Acceptable.
And for the ones who serve only wine. I don't think you're thinking about those. Who may be addicted to alcohol. And your presence. So we believe.
No. Juice is absolutely acceptable. And if you want to have a discussion about. If it's bread. If it should be unleavened. Like pita.
Or should it be leavened bread. We can have that later. The church has had some things to say. But not a ton to say about that. We believe it's a sign. So it's fine.
Some people will go. Well can you do Oreos and Mountain Dew? No. That's dumb. We believe juice. Bread.
Alright. All of that. All 37 and 20. 37 minutes and 26 seconds. Of all of that background. Okay.
I think it's helpful. Have it in the back of your head. Okay. Because I think it's helpful to understand. Why you approach the Lord's Supper. Here's where we've preached entire sermons on.
And is the most important aspect of the Lord's Supper. It is this right here. The Lord's Supper. Is a unique act of worship. That gives us a tangible reminder of the gospel. That's it.
That's where we post up. Most of our time. Most of our thought. Is right there. It is a unique act of worship. That gives us a tangible reminder.
To remember the gospel. Every week we present it. Is an opportunity for you to think about. The sin. Maybe the sin that you fell into this week. And the sin that you feel shame over.
The sin struggles that are plaguing you. And we say remember. Remember that Christ died for your sins. That He loves you so much. That He didn't leave you in your sin. And your brokenness.
That He came and His blood was spilt. And poured out for you. So that you could have fellowship. And faith with Jesus. For the long haul. And it's not just that.
It is a reminder that. We live between the cross. And when all things are made new. And for those of you that are struggling right now. And your sin. It is a reminder for you to remember.
That this is not the end. That the sin that you feel so heavy. On your soul. That's not the final picture. One day Jesus comes back. And all things will be made new.
And when that day comes. Sin will be a distant memory. Your broken and failing body. Will be a distant memory. All we will have. Is beautiful.
Wonderful. Fellowship with the King. That is what this meal. Gives me a reminder of. And we get to come. Every week that we take it.
And remember. How good Jesus is. I'm going to close. With one reading. It's from the Heidelberg Catechism. It's like a 400 year old catechism.
Catechism is a question and answer style. It helps you understand. Truth. And I'm just going to read. From the Heidelberg Catechism. Because I think this is a great word.
To set us up. The question. That is presented. In the Heidelberg Catechism. Is this. How does.
The Lord's Supper. Remind you. And assure you. That you shared. Christ's one sacrifice. On the cross.
And in all. His gifts. Hear this. Here's the answer. In this way. Christ has commanded me.
And all believers. To eat this broken bread. And to drink this cup. With this command. He gave the promise. First.
As surely. Hear this. As I see. As I see. With my eyes. The bread of the Lord.
Broken for me. And the cup. Given to me. Y'all look. Upstairs. Look back there.
Look. Look at it. As you see it. With your eyes. As you visualize. His body broken.
His blood shed. So surely. His body was offered. And broken for me. And his blood poured out for me. On the cross.
Second. As surely. As I receive. From the hand of him. Who serves. Verse.
And hear this. Taste with my mouth. The bread. And the cup of the Lord. That as you eat. And drink this.
As you are literally. Tasting it. It is a. It is a. It is a way for you to remember. His body.
Was broken for my sin. That his blood was poured out. For my sin. How good. Is my God. Taste with my mouth.
The bread. And the cup of the Lord. Given me. As sure signs. Of Christ's body. And blood.
So surely. He nourishes. And refreshes. My soul. For eternal life. With his crucified body.
And poured out blood. Amen. The band is going to come up. We are going to take. The Lord's Supper. For the first time.
In a year. Now. Before I present this. Let me just give you. Some logistics on it. Because it is a little bit different.
If you have been here. With us before. We usually have. A bowl. Or basket. Of bread.
That you choose from. And a cup. That you can dip in. And right now. We are not going that route. By the end of the year.
God willing. We will get back there. But for right now. We have individual cups. Those individual cups. Were prepared by people.
Who washed their hands. I think they wore gloves. I wasn't here. Because I was doing something else. Were they wearing gloves. Chet?
Yes. They were wearing gloves. They had masks on. They put them very carefully. And those cups. They are clean.
They are sanitized. What I want you to do logistically. Is to come up as you are ready. Give some distance. Between the person. You and the next person.
Alright. Give some feet of distance. Grab two of those. Go back to your seat. Take part in the Lord's Supper. Put the cup underneath your seat.
When you are done. And when we leave for today. There will be a trash can out there. Please put it in the trash can. When you leave. Alright.
That is the logistics. Let me present this for us. On the night that Jesus betrayed. He took bread. And he broke it. He said.
This is my body. It was broken for you. And he took the cup. Which is the cup of the new covenant. He said. This is my blood.
That was shed for you. That as often as you eat. And drink this. You proclaim my death. Until I return. And that is what we get to do right now.
Some of you came into here. With burdens on your soul. Some of you have been dealing with sin. Some of you. Some of you. Some of you.
You have disunity with another Christian. Right now. That you have resentment with them. That you are struggling with them. I would actually. Invite you to not take part in this right now.
I would ask you right now. To remember the unity of the gospel. And maybe you need to leave this room. And make a phone call before. Before. But before you can take this meal.
I want you to be unified. With another brother and sister in Christ. But Christian. Come. Joyfully to the table. And remember.
That Jesus died for our sins. And how good is it. That by grace. We have been saved through faith. We don't have to earn his favor. But this reminds us.
Of how good he is towards us. If you are not a Christian. Please. Do not take part in this meal. I want you right now. To take part.
In Christ. I want you to believe in him. I want you to understand. That the God of the universe. Loves you so much. That he gave his life for you.
So believe. In him. For those of you who are Christians. Come forward. There are tables in the back as well. And for those in the back.
There are tables up there. Take part in the Lord's summer. Remember how good our Savior is. Let me pray. God I pray. That you would.
Help us see. Help us taste. And see. Right now. That you are good. That your steadfast love.
Was shown so beautifully on the cross. For our sins. That we come in repentance. That right now. We sit. In a moment of reflection.
That we come. To the table. God I pray. That you would help us. Understand this. And the gravity of this moment.
That you be with us. God I pray. There is anyone here. That has not trusted in you. Lord. May you help them.
See. You are worth it. We believe you are better than everything else. And may they believe it too. And may they trust. And believe in you.
In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.