The Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:1-26-29)

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The Lord's Supper

Spencer Cary

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.

John 2: The Wedding at Cana

John 2: The Wedding at Cana

Chet Phillips

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Transcript

All right, if y'all turn with me to John chapter 2, that's where we're going to spend some time tonight. We kind of have a week right here in the middle of, we just finished up our Idol series. We had the opportunity to share a meal with First Baptist West Columbia last week. And we'll be doing baptism gathering and then Easter. And so we just want to take tonight to kind of camp out in this one story, spend a little bit of time talking about it. So let's, if you don't have a Bible, Quentin and Isaac will help hand them out.

If anybody will just lift up your hand, we'll just hand you one real quick so everybody does have one. So we can all be on the same page. So it's John chapter 2. It'll be page, I don't know what page it'll be. It's on there if we, at some point you'll see what page, yeah, page 556, there we go. All right, I'm going to pray and we'll help him.

God, we pray that you would move in us to make us more like you. God, I pray that through your Holy Spirit you would show us more of your character, more of what you came to accomplish tonight as we study in John chapter 2. We thank you for your grace and that you do invite us to celebrate, that you do invite us to be a part of the celebration that you have begun through your grace. And so we praise you and we thank you. We love you in Jesus' name. Amen.

It costs, on average, $25,000 to get married or to have a wedding in the United States. The average wedding in the United States is $25,000. In Lexington County, weddings run usually between $18,000 and $31,000. That's crazy. I've had the opportunity recently to be a part and get to see a bunch of different weddings. And weddings are interesting.

So you're getting together to celebrate. Two people are getting married. You're celebrating love. You're celebrating, depending on if some of them are celebrating the covenant of grace that is Jesus and the church if it's a Christian wedding. Some of them are just celebrating this couple. But you're getting together to celebrate.

And there's a lot of different random traditions and things. I know I've been to weddings where people braid a cord or weddings where they set things on fire. They light candles and then those candles light other candles. And then they fall down and set plants on fire and stuff. So you set different things on fire at weddings.

But as far as traditions go, people pour sand. I performed a wedding. The first wedding I ever performed, they said, we don't want to do anything fancy. They were like, we want to get this over with. Because they were real uncomfortable in front of people. I said, that sounds great.

From the time they walked in to the time they walked out was 12 minutes. It was the best wedding ever. And it's really awkward to do a wedding. Because I have to stand still. Because usually I move around. So I have to stand still the whole time.

My leg got to shake and I couldn't make it stop. I have to read what I've written out. Because if I just say something stupid tonight, let me just be real with y'all. I can just stop and be like, take that back. Or I can just move on. And the only person I embarrassed basically was me.

Unless I said something theologically incorrect. If I say something really bad at a wedding, people remember that stuff. You can break friendships over it. But weddings, so I was at a wedding with all these different traditions. I was at a wedding where, it was my cousin. It was a Greek Orthodox.

He was marrying a Greek Orthodox girl. They put crowns on their heads. And had a stream that connected them. And then they walked laps around the table. I don't know what that was to symbolize. And I'm not sure my cousin did either.

Because on the third lap, he walked around like... Like he had no clue what he was getting himself into. I was at one where it was a Jewish wedding. So they did Mazel Tov. And they broke the thing. They have different ceremonies.

Different things you do at receptions. My cousin is a first generation Nigerian American. At Nigerian weddings, they do a thing where there's a dance. And everybody goes and puts money on them while they're dancing. And so they're dancing. And you're walking out and just like sticking money on their head and stuff.

There's that. At my brother's wedding, he's married to Elise who's Polish. And has a Polish background. And so he had to wear a necklace with like little babies on it. Little plastic babies. And they had to do this thing where you like had to pay to dance with them.

And then at some point, he could come back in and pay to dance. It was really... It's just that we have all these random traditions. And all these different things that we do to celebrate weddings. And what we're actually going to look at tonight in John chapter 2. Jesus is at a wedding.

He's come to take part in the celebration that people have celebrated forever. God oversaw the first wedding between Adam and Eve. And so we see Jesus in the very beginning of his ministry. Kind of what he's getting started in John chapter 2. John's written by one of his disciples. Close friend to his.

John chapter 1. John's basically explaining that God became a human. So he says God became a human. He came and dwelt among us. And then Jesus recruits a couple of disciples. He starts getting people to follow him.

He actually gets two from his cousin, John the Baptist. Two or three from his cousin, John the Baptist. And then they kind of recruit some friends. So at this point Jesus has had disciples for all of about five days. Week tops. And he's got about five of them.

So he's got five guys following him around and starting to begin this journey of following Jesus and seeing what this looks like. So that's where we are. John chapter 2 verse 1. On the third day, they don't really know the third day of what. I think it's the third day from the last thing that happened. So he's had disciples for about three days.

But it could be the third day of the wedding. It could be the third day of the week or the month. It just says the third day. So on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

Okay. So Jesus' mother was there. We find out later that she's pretty intimately related to the goings-on at this wedding. So we don't know if she's related to someone in the wedding party or if she's just a close family friend. But she kind of knows behind-the-scenes things.

So it seems like she's somehow related. But it also says that Jesus and his disciples were invited. So it wasn't just like the, hey, mother of Jesus, you're invited and anybody else you want to come. It actually says specifically that Jesus and his disciples were invited. Now weddings at this point were a big deal.

So they, I mean, it was like a week-long celebration. And so it was a big deal. You would invite, basically the whole town was invited. You'd invite all your friends, all your relatives. But it's kind of funny.

Scholars and different people who write commentaries and stuff on this, some of them I've actually heard, they try to figure out why Jesus was invited. I've heard the theory that it would have been good to invite a prominent local teacher to your wedding. Maybe that's true. But Jesus wouldn't have been a prominent local teacher at this point. He had five disciples he'd recruited the past week. And some of them he stole from his cousin.

So he wouldn't have been a prominent local teacher. But it is kind of funny that people, we genuinely, people have a hard time kind of figuring out why Jesus would have been invited. People say maybe he was related or whatever. But I, bear with me, just want to put this out there and don't get mad at me. Maybe, maybe Jesus was fun to be around. It's crazy talk.

Walk with me here though. Maybe Jesus was fun to be around. Maybe he was enjoyable. I know, for some reason, it's crazy, we don't ever think about that. We just don't. The Bible doesn't really have a whole lot of jokes that Jesus makes.

Although, if you want to talk, I think there are some that I think are quite funny. Usually when he's fussing at religious people, he pops off with some pretty funny stuff. But it's not like him just telling knock-knock jokes to people and those kind of things. And we just really don't think about it. But I think he was enjoyable.

There's something in our brains, and I don't know why this is. We think that God would become a human and that as a human, God would be boring. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The God who invented galaxies and molecules, who thought and spoke into existence everything that we know. Monkeys, giraffes, zebras, the duck-billed platypus. He invented these things.

Steak, bacon, the idea to wrap one of those around the other one. He came up with this. The God who invented these things, who came up with laughter. The concept of laughter, which is basically where things don't fit together in our brains, and our brain kind of trips over itself, and then we just exhale a bunch of air, and that process releases chemicals in our brain. Like we just blow air out of our mouths. And some of us throw our nose, and you probably should stop it.

Just open your mouth. You're going to snort. It's going to be awkward. But he came up with this process, but he would become a human, and he'd be boring. Like his disciples would walk over to each other and be like, oh my goodness. All right, now I'm following Jesus because he's the Messiah.

But if you ever had him corner you and just talk and talk and talk, it's a good thing he invented sleep. Otherwise, I'd feel real bad for falling asleep while he was talking to me. Like, it doesn't make any sense. So I just wanted to put that out there. Jesus is at a celebration with friends who he ends up giving nicknames to. Just put it in your brain.

Maybe he was enjoyable to be around. Not a party animal, but we see him at parties and celebrations all the time. We see him engaging in celebrations, and going to parties, eating with people. He gets accused of being a drunk and a glutton. Not because he was, but because he was hanging out with people who were. And because he wasn't yelling at them and fussing at them.

He was gracious and kind and hospitable and enjoyable. So he's at a party, being humble and gracious and kind and hospitable. And he's got his disciples with him. So, verse 2. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples when the wine ran out. Okay, that's a problem.

Some of you just throw little parties, and you know that's a problem. It's a bigger problem here. Weddings in this day most likely lasted a week, and you invited all kinds of people. So when the wine ran out, which was the predominant drink that people would drink, you would drink water, but the water wasn't always sanitary. So a lot of times, most people just, you would drink wine.

It was a very common drink to have. But when the wine ran out, it basically meant send everybody home, party's over. Celebration has ended. We're not having this feast anymore. The feast has ended. Everyone has to go home.

And they're in an honor culture, which we don't understand. We do not have an honor culture. The most honor culture stuff we have is southern, like, hospitality. Like, you don't talk back to your parents. You say, yes, sir, no, ma'am. You hold open doors.

You give up your chair for ladies. Like, those kind of things. That's about as close as we get, but we don't really have this notion of being cursed or being dishonored. I mean, like, I crack jokes on my dad when I'm hanging out with him. I don't go over the line because he's big and can get intense. But we have that kind of a relationship.

But that wouldn't have happened here because of the way they treated patriarchs, the way they treated. And so the closest thing I know of when I think about an honor culture is Japan. Japan has an honor society. Maybe less now as they've had more Western influences. But I remember watching 2010 when they had the earthquake and the tsunami.

And everybody was just, it was bad over there. And they would bring in water trucks. And I remember watching a water truck and then seeing a picture of Japanese people in a single file line that just went, looked like miles. And everybody would think, that's absolutely crazy that they would just get in a single file line. That's just what they just do because it would be dishonorable to do anything else, to form a mob around it and assault each other. So they just lined up.

And my wife and I, we like documentaries, especially stuff about war. I was watching something about World War II. After Pearl Harbor, the United States rounded up Japanese people, put them into camps. Because really, the U.S. was like, we don't know if this is going to be a problem. Like if they're going to side with Japan and just start causing problems on the U.S. So they didn't.

And it ended up, wasn't a good plan and was kind of a bad way to handle it. But they would go to those camps and recruit people, recruit soldiers to join the U.S. And they did. They'd show up and say, who wants to join? And they'd say, I do. And the Japanese soldiers ended up being some of our best troops.

They didn't send them to the Pacific. They sent them into, but the generals used to fight over who got the Japanese because they were such good soldiers. I watched one where a guy volunteered, wasn't in one of those camps, volunteered. His dad was dropping him off at the train station. He looked at his son and he said, this country has let us live here. They've let us have a job.

They've defended and protected us. They've given us a life. Do not dishonor this country. He said, you don't come home before you dishonor this country. And that was what he told his son when he dropped him off. That's more akin to the culture that we have here.

So to run out of wine ended the celebration. But more than that, it began your marriage in dishonor. That's how you started off was taking a step forward in your relationship in dishonor. So it was a big problem. So when the wine ran out, feel some weight to that.

It wasn't just, oh, the party's over. And it wasn't just, well, the party that was going to last till midnight has to end at 10. It was the celebration that would have lasted a week. It's cut in half. It's stopped days early. We have to announce to our guilt, to our shame, that we've messed this up, that we didn't prepare well, and that we're going to have to end the celebration.

You can all go home. So that's kind of what's going on. So it says, So this is the mother of Jesus talking to Jesus. She said to him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.

His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. I love this. Our God became a human who had a mama. That's crazy. He didn't just zap down here. God decided to give honor to infants, to give honor to the whole system that he had designed.

And our God became a human who lived as a child and who had a mother. And we get this instant. There's only like two or three in the Gospels where we get to see him kind of interact with her. And I love this. So she shows up.

He's got his disciples there. Because we find out later they're there. And she says, They're out of wine. And he says, Woman, what does this have to do with me? Now, just for the record, That's not disrespectful. You could say woman.

Like if I said that at my house, That's a good way to get slapped. Like my mom telling me to do something. Woman? No, that's not how that works. But in their culture, This wasn't like a disrespectful term.

It'd be kind of like when you say, Yes, ma'am. But he says, What does that have to do with me? And he says, My hour has not yet come. Basically meaning, It's not time for me to show everybody that I'm the Messiah. It's not time for me to just step in and do these kind of things in front of people. This wedding that you're part of is not my public proclamation that I'm God.

That's kind of how he responds. So his mom comes. And you know his disciples are watching this. Because it's always interesting. Like you ever go hang out with your friends, And you see them kind of interacting with their parents. And you just like, It makes you kind of uncomfortable.

But you're always like watching to see how they interact. And so sometimes it's just weird. Like I remember being at my friend's house sometimes, And they would talk back to their parents. I would just get like, Oh, like so uncomfortable. Because like, You talk back to my mom, My dad might just appear. I don't know what would happen.

He'd just jump out from behind something. But some people would talk back to their mom, And I'd be like, Dude, that's your mama. Shut up. Just do what she told you to do. Like I will leave if I need to leave. Or when people get fussed out by their parents in front of you.

And they're like, Yes ma'am. Yes ma'am. And you're just like, Like you're behind her. So his disciples are watching him as he interacts with his mom. And so she says, They're out of wine. He says, What does this have to do with me?

And then, I love this. So this is the interaction. They have no wine. Jesus said to her, Woman, What does this have to do with me? It's so great. He's 30.

It's just the way moms act. Like my mom could come to my house and be like, You need to clean your room. And I'd be like, Yes ma'am. That's just how it works. So he says, They have no wine.

Jesus says, What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. She didn't even respond to him. He says, What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.

And she looks at him. She looks at the servants. And she says, Y'all do whatever he tells you. And she walks away. And you know, The disciples were like, And they've got to be thinking, How on earth is he going to supply wine? They heard this news.

They're like, Well, party's over. The celebration has ended. This is a bad deal for them. But she's asking him to supply wine. And you know, They're thinking, How is he going to do this? Like, But she's just put it on him.

They're out of wine. Do your thing. And she walks out. So Jesus is just standing there. I can just kind of imagine him just looking at her. She walks away and being like, I don't even know.

Looks at his disciples. They try to act like they weren't laughing. Like, so. Alright, so. So, Then Jesus, So his mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. Now there were six stone water jars there For the Jewish rites of purification.

Each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, Fill the jars with water. Okay. So, Now I'm making this up. But this is just how I see it in my head.

She's walking off. Jesus is sitting there. And he's going to do this, But it's not a big public thing. And he looks over and he sees these six stone water jars For the Jewish rites of purification. These stone water jars were designed for them to wash their hands And do some ceremonial washing. To, What they were trying to do was uphold the law Of the clean laws, Clean and unclean laws, Which were given by God in the Old Testament To show the Jewish, The Israelite people, That they were not clean.

To teach them that sin defiles us. That sin separates us from God. That we cannot, In our sinful state, Just approach him. So it was to teach us how often we make ourselves defiled. And even if you were living up to the clean laws, When you came to the temple, You still had to have a sacrifice on your behalf. You still, In the tabernacle, Had to have a sacrifice on your behalf.

And so what it meant was, You can be as clean as you want to be. You still need a sacrifice. So these laws were designed to point to Christ. That in our religion, We will never clean ourselves up enough. And our sin does defile us. Well what they had done, What the Jewish people had done, Was they had added layer upon layer upon layer, Lump upon layer, On top of this.

And so, These ceremonial washings, Jesus didn't do. His disciples didn't do. And he didn't do. He did the ones that were prescribed in the law. He lived under the law. But he didn't do these, Because we see in Luke, At one point he goes to a party, A dinner party at a Pharisee's house.

And they're all washing their hands, Doing the ceremonial stuff. And he just goes and sits at the table. And it's like, They're all looking at him like, How on earth is he going to eat, If he doesn't wash his hands? And then they get in a big argument. And it's great. And it doesn't say he leaves.

So I assume he just started touching things, With his unwashed hands. It's like, Give me some of those potatoes. I don't know. I'm making that up. But it doesn't say he leaves.

I assume he stayed and ate with them. So he doesn't do this. He doesn't do this. This was added on top to prove How good and how religious they were. So it would be similar to when someone's like, I've never watched an R-rated movie.

It's like, Well, that's good. That doesn't earn you points or anything. And Gladiator was great. So Terminator 2 is pretty good. Like, I don't know. You may want to bend that one a little bit For some of them.

It's okay if people feel convicted To do some of that. That's fine. But it doesn't add points. And it doesn't, You don't pile up your religious duties To prove to God that you have worth. That doesn't happen. And so that's what this was.

It was for them to ceremonially walk under. Look at how blameless I am. So I imagine, He's thinking, How am I going to supply this wine? He sees these jars And he gets this look on his face. And he cracks the smile. And the disciples don't know What that smile means yet.

They've only been around for about a week. The smile is, I'm about to tick off religious people. I think he cracked that smile a lot. I think he had this look in his eye like, Okay, now this could work. And so he tells them to fill it up. They fill it up.

And it says that there are Six stone water jars there For the Jewish rites of purification. Each holding 20 or 30 gallons. So they fill these up to the top. He says, Take that out And take it to the master of the feast. And it says that that water turned into wine. So Jesus Took six stone water jars, Filled them up to the top, And turned them into wine.

This teaches us a few things. One is, Jesus just made 120 gallons of wine. That's 619 bottles. I did the math. That may not connect well with us. That's 150 boxes.

Is that better? Y'all received that a little better? 150 boxes of wine. He didn't do this. This wasn't like a one night kegger thing. What this shows us is They had way underestimated How much wine they were going to need For this celebration to last an entire week.

So that's what it's telling us. He supplies what they needed. And maybe even above what they needed. But it wasn't like, Let me do some ridiculous thing For this one night. It wasn't that. So he supplies what was needed.

He makes all of this into wine. Steps in. And continues the celebration for him. Now, I've had the opportunity Because I like this story. To be able to talk about this With other groups before. And other churches.

And I used to get invited To go speak at churches On some Sundays and stuff. I would always at this point Kind of point out that What I would say is this. I would say, We're not going to get into Whether or not That wine was alcohol Or not alcohol. Or whether it was capable Of making somebody drunk. We're not going to get into How that plays out. Because that's not the point of the story.

And it isn't the point of the story. But, This is the first time I've had the opportunity To talk about this With my church family. That was actual wine Capable of making somebody drunk. It was actual alcohol. Still not the point of the story. And it is not to Highlight or key in On alcohol at all.

And I know that alcohol Can be destructive And cause problems. I know that In a very real way. But, It was actual alcohol. And so that shows us That God doesn't tempt us To sin. We know that from James. He's not tempting us to sin.

I love what Martin Luther said. Martin Luther said, Men can go wrong With wine and with women. Are we going to outlaw women? That's kind of a helpful way To think about that. Because that's true. God designs these things That are good And for our joy.

And we know from scripture That getting drunk is not okay. Very clear about that. But wine is actually a gift And it's made for joy And all these other things. And so he does make wine. I just wanted to point that out. If you want to talk more about that Would be happy to have that conversation.

That is not the point Of what's happening here. So he makes this wine. And so he sends it out. He says, Fill the jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, Now draw some out And take it to the master of the feast.

Nobody knows what a master of the feast is. And all the stuff I read, It's like, Your guess is as good as ours Is basically what commentaries say about it. There's no real parallel To anything else in history That they know of. So what we do know Is that he was in charge of something But he didn't know That they were running out of wine apparently. Or that they were out. He may have known they were running out.

He didn't know they were out. But he was in charge of Basically like overseeing this ceremony. So, Now draw some out And take it to the master of the feast. So they took it. When the master of the feast Tasted the water Now become wine And did not know where it came from Though the servants Who had drawn the water knew The master of the feast Called the bridegroom And said to him So, Okay. Getting married He calls the bridegroom Which is just the groom.

This guy, The bridegroom Is having a rough time. I want you all to feel this with me. Getting married Is rough. It's hard. It's basically the worst. Being married is great.

Getting married is the worst. Like the process, The two day process That you go through Where you're dressed up In an outfit You would never wear ever And stuck up in front of people And you have to recite things And you mess it up And you're going to pass out And you don't feel good. Like that whole process, I assume it's good for females. I hope so. I hope my wife enjoyed our wedding day And our reception and all that stuff. It was, I was glad when it was over.

It wore me out. She's in Kid City Helping take care of people. So I told her I was going to tell her That getting married was the worst. And she said, I know, You've told me before. So, But it is. I remember the, We had our rehearsal dinner Which is the night before you like Practice getting married.

And we ate. And the groom's family Usually kind of puts that on. So we were at a barbecue place. That's right. Because we're, But I couldn't even eat it. It was the worst.

You know it's bad If I can't eat barbecue. Like I'm sitting there looking at it. And I just, My stomach was just like, I don't know how I feel about this. It's just like, Tying itself in a knot. And so, This guy has to go through this for a week. I only had like two days.

I had, You know, Rehearsal dinner. Rehearsal, Rehearsal dinner. Wedding. Reception. And then we were done. This guy's in the middle of like, A week long thing.

With family. And people coming in out of town. And all these friends you hadn't seen. Everybody wants to talk to you. And these people are arguing about decorations. And they don't even know each other.

And this grandmother keeps setting something up. And the other grandmother keeps taking it down. And like, It just becomes this big thing. And so he's in the middle of this week of this. And he's running out of wine. So he's about to start his entire marriage off.

This celebration. It should be this joyous occasion. He's about to start it off in dishonor. And that's a problem. He knows that at some point, So he's having these conversations. Because he was apparently related to how the wine was working out as well.

Because the master of the feast calls the bridegroom to talk to him about how he had planned out the wine. That's what he's about to have that conversation. So he calls the bridegroom. So the bridegroom knows this is coming. He's been having probably argumentative type conversations with his bride. We're running out of wine.

I know. I know we're running out of wine. We're really running out of wine. We're getting low. I know. I realize that.

We're about to be out of wine. What do you want me to do about it? Like, How do you want me to? Well, I want you to not have invited all your guzzly friends over. They're doing the fight and smile. You know, Because people are around.

So it's like, They got that going on. It's not a pleasant situation. And they're fighting and smiling. She's asking him to do things in the past. And that's how you know it's gone really bad. Like, When the only way to fix it is to have a time machine.

Like, It's like, I want you to have done this. I want you to have gotten more wine. It's like, That's not going to happen. Do we have anything constructive? Like, I can't go back in the past and have those conversations. It's like, You realize that's impossible, right?

Like, This isn't even helpful in this conversation. But anyway, So they're doing that. He knows at some point they're out. At some point he has to stand up and say, Hey everybody, Thank you for coming out for this joyous occasion. We didn't plan ahead well. We didn't prepare well.

I was not able to supply what was needed. I was not able to take care of this. And you all need to go home now. I'm going to begin my relationship with my bride in public shame, guilt, and dishonor. Thank you for being here. Party's over.

He knows that's coming. It's on the way. I don't know if they tried to water things down. I don't know what happened, but it's on the way. And then he sees Master the Feast holding a glass of wine. Let's do this thing.

It's over. So he comes walking up to the Master of the Feast. He's got a smile on his face, really ticking him off. Master of the Feast called the bridegroom, said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first. And he's thinking, Yeah, we did. And they drank it.

And when people have drunk freely, Too freely, some might say, Then the poor wine. Mm-hmm. Busted that out two days ago. It's gone too. But you have kept the good wine until now.

I did what now? I wonder if he tried to play it off. Yeah, that was a thing I wanted to do to kind of mix it up. I've been to these before, And they always serve the good stuff first, But I was saving it. It's got a good year. Like, I don't know.

I don't know if he just smiled and walked away. Like, I don't know if he's ever talked. So the Master of the Feast calls him over and says, This is the best wine we've served. Like, you did this wrong. You're supposed to serve the best wine first, Then the poor wine. And you busted out the best wine now.

This is the first of his signs. Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, And manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. Okay. So John calls this a sign.

He doesn't call it a miracle. It's a different word. So he, It's a different word in Greek and in English. But he uses the word sign. And what he's saying is, This shows us, He says this is the first of his signs, That he accomplished, That he did. And he manifested his glory.

What Jesus does in this, Is he teaches us something about his nature, And his character. And, He shows us ultimately, What he came to accomplish. So Jesus teaches us, Because it's a sign, He teaches us something about his nature, And his character, And ultimately what he came to accomplish. And whenever we learn, As believers, As people who follow Christ, When we learn something about the nature, And the character of God, It applies in both ways. It applies to what he came to accomplish. It also applies to how we follow him.

He is our example, And those who have the spirit of Christ, Dwelling in us, We are to follow him by his example. We're to grow to be more like Christ. That's what Christian means. It means little Christ. So when we see this, When we learn about the nature, The nature and the character of God, We learn how we ought to be.

So, Jesus steps in, Into the party, Into the celebration, And he brings the better one. That's who we're supposed to be as a people. We're supposed to take part in the regular rhythms of celebrations of our culture. To be a part of them, And to supply what's lacking. That's what he did. They were running out, And he supplied what was lacking.

So for us, That means we show up, We bring the better one. That's who we are, When it comes to celebrations and parties. That's Jesus' people. That means that, That doesn't mean necessarily alcohol. It means that maybe you show up, And you're, Hey, I'm hanging out. I'm going to be here with y'all.

I'm going to be gracious. I'm going to be humble. I'm going to be helpful. And when the night's over, I'm giving people a ride home. Because y'all are going to be here doing this anyway. I'm just going to supply what's lacking.

Someone who's capable of driving. Maybe it means, Hey, I'm going to show up. I'm going to be the guy who stays late and cleans up. I'm going to be the guy that helps make this mess go away. Maybe it means you show up with plates and plates of carbs. Maybe that's, Maybe that's what we do.

Like, I don't know. But we, We're Jesus' people. We show up hospitable, Humble, Generous, And we supply what's lacking. That's what he does. He steps into the situation, And he supplies what's lacking. He doesn't, In all religious cultures, The way people think about it is, The most religious people have climbed up on a mountain.

They've separated themselves. They, They don't even wear normal clothes. They, They, You know, Some of them don't even speak, And they, They sit and they just think about things. Or they, They, They kind of separated themselves from culture. The most holy, Perfect being that has ever walked on the face of the earth, Did not separate himself from culture. He stepped into it.

He stepped into the normal rhythms of everyday life. Jesus walked in celebrations. He shared meals with people. He walked through normal life. He didn't just float around. He didn't go up on a mountain, And make people come up to just hear his teaching.

He, He stepped into culture. And that's who we get to be as his people. We get to walk in the normal rhythms of everyday life, Making things better. We don't just do this at celebrations, Although we do this at celebrations. But we do this in normal life.

That's what we do in this city. Our community groups should be praying, And looking, And walking with each other, And trying to figure out, How do we supply what's lacking in our city? Is this school having a hard time making its grades? Well then we show up, And we help do tutoring programs. Is this area of our city never taken care of? Are these people not loved?

Well then we step in. Is this area, Do these people need to just know how to have a generic budget? Know how to pay their bills? Well we step in. We coach them up. We love.

We serve. We clean. That's us. That's Jesus' people. We just step into normal life, And try to figure out how to supply what's lacking. So he shows us something about his nature and his character.

That he's humble. That he's gracious. And that genuinely he just steps in and helps them. This was going to be bad for them. And just in his grace he just makes it okay. He saves them from dishonor.

But not only that, It shows us ultimately what he came to do. It's one of the reasons I love this story so much. See Jesus when he came to earth, He came to do exactly what he did here. He came in and we're lacking. We're not capable of solving this problem on our own. In this story, We're the bridegroom.

We're running on empty. Headed for shame. Headed for guilt. Headed for destruction. That's us. And Jesus steps in and he does two things.

He removes our pretense of religion. So he takes away their ability to ceremonially wash. You cannot wash your hands in wine, But you can continue a wedding celebration. You see Jesus steps in. He removes our ability to posture ourselves up in front of him. To justify ourselves through our own works.

He takes that away from us. And he invites us through grace. His freely offered grace into the celebration. He invites us into the feast. What he did in this story is what he came to do for us on the cross. The night before Jesus died, He took a cup full of wine and he says, This is the wine in the new covenant, My blood which is poured out for you.

And so Jesus went to the cross And he poured out his blood To supply what was lacking on our behalf So that we might have life. So that we might have joy. So that the pretense of our religion. So that all the things that we think we can put in front of him To say that we're worthy. That we're good. That we can do this on our own.

To be taken away forever. And to be freely offered to us Through grace. To enter into his celebration. The Bible begins. After God creates everything. He has the first wedding celebration With Adam and Eve.

Jesus, his first miracle is at a wedding ceremony. And the end of the Bible, It ends with the wedding supper of the Lamb. Where Jesus, our groom, Takes his bride, his church, To himself. He makes us his. He tells him in the night before he's going to die, He says, I'm not going to taste of this again Until I taste it new with you in the kingdom. Jesus hasn't drunk anything, Any fruit from the vine Until he celebrates with us At the wedding ceremony, The wedding supper of the Lamb.

At one point, Jesus is going to crack the sky open. He's going to call us home. And that's when the celebration really begins. That's when the joy And the life really begins. And we, as his people, Are to be a foretaste of the kingdom, Which is a never-ending celebration With Jesus, our King. We're to be a foretaste of that.

We're to be the best partiers. If there's one thing that Christians are known for, It's for their ability to party. Am I right? Can I get an amen? Somebody. That is not true.

That is not what we're known for. But it should be. That's us. We have Jesus who stepped in And brings the better wine. Who steps in and supplies what's lacking. And ultimately, We'll have a celebration feast With him in heaven.

We're to be a foretaste of that kingdom. And we're the only people Who have something to celebrate. Jesus is alive. Our sin is gone. We are free. We have hope and life in him forever.

I don't have to prove my worth. I don't have to show the world that I'm good. I don't have to justify my existence. Jesus already has. We have something to celebrate. We should be the most partying people on the planet.

Because we actually have something to celebrate. We're not running from something. We shouldn't be caught up in debauchery. But we should be joyous, celebratory people Who walk in the normal rhythms of everyday life Celebrating because that's who we are. Because we've been freed up to do that. And we don't have to seek joy out of it.

We have joy given to us by Christ That we get to walk in. That's us. Now, There may be somebody in here tonight. You don't know Jesus. And you're saying, I feel way more like the bridegroom. I'm empty.

And I'm trying to fix a problem I can't fix. And it's just progressively gotten worse. I'm headed towards shame. Towards guilt and destruction. And all I want to let you know is that Jesus, on your behalf, Has already fixed the problem. I just want to be the master of the feast.

Just to call you over and say, Hey bro, I don't know if you know this. Here's what's already happened. Jesus had died on our behalf. He took our sin onto himself So that we might be free. So that we might have life and joy forever.

That our sin could be taken away. That he could be crushed for. And that we could be given life in him. When he rose from the dead, He conquered sin and guilt and shame forever for us. And he's invited us into, By grace, Not to clean ourselves up, But by grace to join him in the celebration. Next week, We're not going to meet here.

We're going to meet at 3pm at Willow Ridge Church. To celebrate the baptism of 8 people Who are part of our church family. 8 people who want to go public With the fact that Jesus has stepped in on their behalf. And supplied what was lacking. That he has taken care of the problem they couldn't fix. And to proclaim to everyone who is present.

That Jesus is God. And Jesus is King. And he has rescued and redeemed them. And made them his own. And we're going to lose our minds. We're going to clap.

And we're going to scream. And we're going to yell. And then we're going to have a party. We're going to eat popcorn and snow cones. And we're going to play games and celebrate. Because we have something to celebrate.

That Jesus is alive. That he does rescue. That he does redeem. And that he has made us his. And that we don't have to prove it. We don't have to earn it.

We are just caught up in the celebration through grace. That's what he's supplied for us in the cross. So that's us. Can that be us as a church? Can that be us as a church family? Can we be the best partying church in West Columbia?

Can that be us? Can we celebrate more? Can we infectiously invite other churches to take part in that? Can we infectiously invite other people who don't know Jesus to celebrate with people who do? Because we're the best at it. Let's do that.

Let's let that be us. Let's celebrate and lose our minds next week. And let's continue to keep doing that. Following Jesus in grace. Clapping, singing, dancing. And having a party until he calls us home to the real one.

God, we thank you. That through grace. You have invited us into the celebration. We didn't work it out on our own. We didn't earn it. We didn't achieve it.

We didn't knock it out. We didn't fix the problem. But you did. God, we thank you. And we praise you. And God, I pray that you would make us more like Jesus.

That we would celebrate well. That we'd be humble. Gracious. Enjoyable. That we would supply what's lacking. When it comes to our streets.

Our neighbors. Our jobs. Our city. We love you. We ask for more and more of your grace. And your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' name. Amen.