•We will be coming together next Sabbath, for the purpose of celebrating the Lord’s Supper
•Communion is a joyous celebration, a high Sabbath, and not to be taken lightly
•It is a service that is rich in meaning
•We come together today to understand the meaning, so as we come together next Sabbath, we might receive the fullest blessing from God in partaking of the Supper
Mark 14:12-16
•The Passover meal had to be prepared
•Communion requires preparation: we are not to come to the Table without having prepared ourselves to partake of the meal
•But notice who did the preparing
•It was Jesus who had made arrangements for a room large enough for Him and His disciples
•It was Jesus who arranged for a guide to lead the disciples there
•It was Jesus who ensured the room was adequately furnished and the food was set out
•Later on, we realise Jesus had even prepared by not having a servant available to wash the disciples’ feet, in order that He might set an example of humility and service
•What did the disciples do for the preparation? They asked Him what to do, and they followed the plans He had arranged
•So it is in our lives: we do not come to this table through any planning or devising on our part
•We do nothing of ourselves to prepare for this meal
•Jesus has made all the necessary preparations for us to partake of the meal; all we must do is follow in what He has already done for us
•What preparations has Jesus made for us to come to the Table?
1. He has prepared a way for us to come to the table
Exodus 12:43
•No stranger was to eat the Passover meal
•In the Hebrew, this literally means “no foreign son” or “no foreigner”
•In other words, only those who were part of God’s family could partake of the meal
Ephesians 2:10-13
•The words “alien” and “stranger” in the Greek both carry the idea of being foreigners, being far away, estranged
•Again, the same concept is being referred to here; the concept of not being part of God’s family
•This is referring to each one of us
•Because of sin, we were cut off from God’s family
•But notice verse 13 – Because of Jesus, we have now been made a part of God’s family
John 1:12-13 reaffirms this concept of being brought into God’s family
•Through Jesus, we are made sons and daughters of the Most High God, making it possible to come to the table
2. He has prepared the meal for us
a) He has prepared the bread
John 6:27-35
•Just a little while earlier, Jesus had
performed a miracle in transforming two fishes
and five barley loaves into enough food for
over 5 thousand people
•The people were flocking to Him, we are told
in verse 26, because they wanted Him to
provide more bread for them to eat
•Often times we treat God as a vending machine
•We come to Him, tell Him what we want, and
expect Him to give it to us
•I’ve got a little quote in my office that
says, “God does not just give us what we
want. He gives us everything we would want if
we knew everything that He knows”
•So often what we ask of God is so trivial,
here today and gone tomorrow
vv. 48-51
•Life is unsatisfying if all we live for is
what we can get here and now
•The bread Jesus has prepared for us is bread
that will never leave us hungering
•His offer is bread that will bring complete
satisfaction, and in the end, eternal life
Mark 14:22
•The bread is His body
•In breaking the bread, He reminds us of His
sacrifice on our behalf
Isaiah 53:4-7
•The bread reminds us that He took the
punishment that was rightfully ours
•In a native village, it was discovered that
there was a thief in thier midst
•The chief decreed that whoever was caught
stealing in the village would be punished
with 15 lashes
•Late one night, the chief was awakened and
told that the thief had been caught
•To his horror, the chief discovered that it
was his own grandmother
•The villagers began to murmur, curious to
know whether the punishment would be
enforced
•Without hesitating, the chief commanded
that the 15 lashes be given
•Before the whip was swung, the chief stood
over his grandmother and exposed his back
•The bread that Jesus has prepared is the bread
of life
•He died for us so that we might live through
Him
b) He has prepared the wine
•Mark 14:24
•The wine – the juice of the grape – is
symbolic of the blood of Jesus
•Just as the grape must be crushed in order to
release its juice, so it was necessary that
Jesus be crushed; it was necessary that His
blood be spilled
•Why?
1 John 1:7
•The cup was prepared – the blood of Jesus was
shed – so that you and I could be made clean;
so we could be made right with God
•In preparing the cup, Jesus has prepared the
way for each of us to be free from the guilt
of sin, as well as the power of sin in our
lives
•According to Scripture, the only way sin could
be dealt with was through the shedding of blood
•Let us never forget that it was our blood that
was supposed to be shed
•Jesus came and took that death penalty upon
Himself, so that through His shed blood we
could be pardoned
3. He has prepared for the enemy’s presence
•Psalm 23:5
•This has to be one of my favourite verses in all of Scripture
•The image it creates is one that thrills me: the image being so richly treated in the presence of those who have sought to destroy me
•Most of us know the story of Cinderella
•The movie Ever After is based on the story
•There’s a scene from that movie that I believe perfectly captures the image being created in this passage
•Near the end of the movie, the main character,
Danielle, is sold into slavery by her
stepmother, who hopes to be rid of her once and
for all
•At the same time, the prince, whose heart
Danielle has captured, realises his love for her
and sets out to find her
•He does, and they are married
•The mother and her daughters know nothing of
what’s happened, when they’re summoned to the
palace for an audience with the royal family
•They believe the prince is going to select one
of the daughters as his wife
•When they arrive at the palace, the mother
discovers that the girl she had treated so
harshly is now the prince’s bride
•What I love so much about the scene is that the
whole court of the palace is present for this
•Everyone stands witness as the girl whom the
stepmother had so cruelly treated is announced
as the new future queen of the kingdom
•Needless to say, the mother is shocked speechless
•Just consider the irony of the plot: just when it looks as though evil has won, goodness prevails
•And it doesn’t just prevail, it trumpets its victory in the very presence of evil, for all to see
•This is exactly what Jesus has done in preparing the table
•He has invited the enemy to come to the table, not to partake, but to watch
•The devil has always made it his number one objective to destroy each and every one of God’s children
•Like the wicked stepmother, the devil has sold each of us into the slavery of sin
•We would have been there forever; but God, out of His love for us, sent His only Son down to rescue us
•Not only to rescue us; but as we saw earlier, to make us sons and daughters of God
•We have become princes and princesses in His court
•We have been invited to sit at the table with Him
•And all the devil can do is watch:
•Watch as those whom he polluted with sin are
washed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ
•Watch as those whose lives he tried to destroy
are fed with the bread of life everlasting
•Watch as those whom he tried to steal away from
God and sell into slavery are declared to be
God’s children, heirs to His eternal kingdom
•It’s no fun to be on the outside looking in; but that’s exactly where Satan is when we come to the table that Jesus has prepared
•The table that is prepared is a table of victory; the meal is a celebration of Jesus’ victory over the evil one
•It is a celebration of the victory that each of us finds – the sonhood and daughterhood that each of us receives as believers in Jesus Christ
John 13:21-30
•Something important should be noticed here
•Judas came to the table, but you’ll notice that he was not allowed to finish the meal
•In fact, before the meal was completed, Jesus commanded him to leave
•In verse 2, we are told that Judas had already purposed in his heart to betray Jesus
•After that, we are told that the devil came into him
•It was at that moment that Judas was banished from the upper room
•You see, even though Judas was invited to the table, he had not come by faith
•Evil was still with him; he allowed it to control him
•Because evil was still with Him, he was forced to leave
•Friends, evil cannot abide at the Lord’s Supper
•It can watch from the outside, but it cannot sit with us
•What a blessed assurance for us as believers
•We can be sure that when we come to the table, we are accepted by God
•And no matter what kind of life we have lived, no matter what mistakes we may have made – when we come to the table with faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ, that evil is commanded to leave!
•Next week, we come together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper
•We come together to celebrate the great work He has done in giving His life for us
•We come to a table that He has prepared
•Because He has made the preparations, our only responsibility is to submit to His work
•May each of us, this week, purpose in our hearts to accept the preparation He has made, and come to the table
•If you find yourself alienated from God, a stranger to His family, then accept the preparation that Jesus has made for you to come to the table
•Accept Him as your Saviour and Lord
•Accept Him as the only One who can reconcile you
to God
•Accept the sonship or daughtership offered to you
•Accept your place at the table
•As you come to the table, accept the bread He offers
•Recognise that the bread you’ve been seeking up
to now is empty and unfulfilling
•Recognise that your seeking after earthly gain
will amount to nothing
•Recognise that the bread of Jesus Christ – the
life He gives – is the only bread that brings
everlasting satisfaction
•As you come to the table, accept the wine He offers
•Accept the cleansing offered by His blood
•Accept the truth that because He was crushed,
because His blood was shed, you can be free from
the condemnation of sin
•Accept the truth that because of His shed blood,
you can be free from the control of sin
•As you come to the table, accept the victory He offers
•Approach the table in faith
•Receive the freedom from slavery Jesus has
purchased for you
•Receive the assurance that as you sit at the
table, your past is not welcome; it is banished,
never to haunt you again
•Receive the new life, the new hope, the new joy
He brings as you receive Him into your life
(Prayer)
