Sermon Central
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The Supper Series
Contributed by John Harvey on Mar 4, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: The celebration of "The Supper" allows us to remember the sacrifice of Jesus for us.
The Supper
March 7, 2004
Theme: The celebration of “The Supper” allows us to remember the sacrifice
of Jesus for us.
Intro: Today we are going to look at and celebrate The Last Supper of
Christ. Many of you may come with some understanding about this
event or you may not know anything about it. If you recall the movie
“The Passion of The Christ,” you may remember that as Jesus is on
the cross, the disciple John reflects back on the event of the previous
night. He is putting together the teaching and words of Jesus with the
events at hand.
(Show slide from movie)
You may have heard of this before and you may refer to this as one of
following names.
The Lord’s Supper- This is a reference to the fact that Jesus is the host
of this party.
Eucharist- This is taken from a biblical word meaning thanks.
Communion- This is from another biblical word meaning fellowship
or close relationship.
A Brief History
The events of “The Passion” take place during the Jewish observance of Passover. This was and still is an annual celebration to remember when God
delivered Israel from being slaves in Egypt.
If you know that story, God brought 10 plagues on the Egyptians to convince them to let the Israelites go. The final plague was the death of the firstborn son. In order to escape this plague, the Israelites had to sacrifice a spotless lamb, cover the doorpost of their homes with its blood, and then cook and eat the lamb.
When the plague came through Egypt, none of the firstborn children of Israel died because they had followed the command of God. The Egyptians were so distraught that they begged the Israelites to leave.
This yearly celebration is the backdrop for the sacrifice of Christ.
The Final Meal:
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,’ he said to them. ‘I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.’” Mark 14:22-25(NIV)
The Bread
The bread is a representation of Christ’s body.
Jesus is communicating that his physical body will be sacrificed. He is going to become the lamb of sacrifice.
Why could Jesus be our sacrifice?
1) Jesus was without blemish- he was sinless.
“yet we have a high priest (Jesus) who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--- yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” I Peter 2:22
2) His body carried our sins.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
The Wine
The wine represents the blood of Christ.
The blood of Jesus is what removes our sins.
“the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” I John 1:7
“without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22
Jesus’ sacrifice allows us to receive God’s grace.
“In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died.”
The blood establishes the covenant between God and man that the sacrifice of Jesus is enough to cover our sins.
Conclusion:
In communion we remember the sacrifice of the past and anticipate the celebration of the future.
The communion is the good news from God. It represents the fact that Jesus paid the price to cover our sins and to allow us to receive the forgiveness of God.
Today, if you would like to receive Gods forgiveness for you sins, you must accept the sacrifice offered.
Christ died for our sins. Scripture says: “so Christ was sacrificed to take away the sins of many people.” Hebrews 9:28
If you would like to receive the gift Jesus has for you, you can do that by responding to the sacrifice of Jesus.
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know you sacrificed your life for me. I believe that your body and blood can cover my sins. I ask you to forgive me and give me a relationship with God. Please cover my life and forgive my sin.
Amen
