The Lord's Supper audio (6MB)
Matt 26:17-30
The Lord’s Command to Prepare
It’s interesting to read the different accounts of the events around the crucifixion. Sometimes you pick up an interesting detail that’s in this account but not in the others. But equally instructive can be the things that are left out. In the case of Matthew’s account here, there are very few details given. In Mark and Luke the disciples are told to find a man carrying a jar of water, but here it’s just a certain man. In the other accounts two disciples, Peter and John, Luke tells us, are sent to prepare the meal. Here it’s a general command to all the disciples. It’s as though Matthew wants to cut down the detail so we’ll focus on what really matters. And what’s that? Look at the passage. Can you see what details are given?
Well, first of all Jesus is named twice, as well as being described as ‘The Teacher’. Matthew wants us to focus on Jesus as he institutes the Lord’s Supper. It’s not the meal that counts but the person behind it. That’s an important reminder for us Anglicans who can easily focus on the liturgy rather than on Jesus. But there’s also the comment about his time being near. In Matthew’s gospel there’s often a sense of Jesus being in control, of his authority coming through; and even here where he’s about to be arrested and put to death, even here when he’s about to play his part as the suffering servant, his authority is evident. He knows what’s about to happen. He won’t be caught unawares. “My time is near” shows he knows exactly what’s in store for him.
The other sign of his authority is that the disciples immediately obey. They go off and prepare the Passover meal.
The Lord’s prediction of Betrayal
When the time comes they sit down to eat and at some point in the evening Jesus drops a bombshell: “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” Matthew has told us that he’s sitting with the twelve, so it’s one of the inner group of disciples that he’s pointing to. So you can imagine how disturbing this would be for them. Who could he mean? But notice that they don’t immediately start looking around the room to see who it might be.
It’s been suggested that Jesus announced his betrayal like this for two reasons.
One reason Jesus says it here is because the disciples need to be challenged about their own commitment to him. Before he offers them this new sacrament of bread and wine they need to examine their own hearts to see whether they’re truly Jesus’ disciples. “22And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’” They’re forced by his statement to examine their own hearts to ask whether there’s any hint of betrayal there, any second thoughts. Will his arrest and execution change their minds about following him?
But the other reason he does it is to let Judas know that Jesus knew. He wants to give Judas the opportunity to repent. Do you remember how in John’s gospel we’re told that Jesus dipped a piece of bread in the dish and handed it to Judas? It was almost as though he was offering him one last chance to repent. And so it is here. Maybe if Judas knows he’s been found out he might change his mind.
Jesus answers the disciples question with an extremely poignant phrase. He says: “23The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.” It isn’t the Pharisees or the high priests who’ll betray him. It’s one of his close friends, one of those who’ve shared hospitality with him, who’ve been his intimate colleagues dipping their bread into the same bowl as him. I guess one of the worst types of betrayal are those of an intimate friend. And in this case the friend who’s being betrayed is also the Messiah. So Jesus adds: “24The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”
Notice that predestination is no excuse. God may have set this plan in place but Judas is still free to decide one way or the other. We can never use the excuse that the Devil made me do it, or that I was just fulfilling God’s plans. No, Judas is responsible and will bear the righteous punishment of God.
At that point Judas gets around to asking the same question that the others had asked, though he addresses Jesus differently: “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Perhaps he asks the question so his silence doesn’t appear to be guilt. But the way he addresses Jesus gives him away just the same. You see he doesn’t regard Jesus as the Lord, the way the others do. To Judas he’s just a Rabbi, a teacher and a disappointing one at that.
This is a word to us in a world that’s happy to see Jesus as a great teacher but no so happy to accept his claim to be Lord. To deny Jesus’ Lordship is not much different to dismissing him altogether. Other teachers might say, “Thus says the Lord…”; Jesus says “But I say to you…” This is the great difference between Jesus and every other teacher. He and his teaching are the same thing. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Jesus response is neither yes nor no. It’s simply: “You have said so.” He uses the same reply before the High Priest then Pilate during his trial. It’s as though he saying that they’ve condemned themselves by their question; by the fact that in their hearts they know the answer but aren’t going to change their mind anyway. If you know in your heart that what you’ve done or are doing is wrong then don’t ignore it, repent and ask for forgiveness. That’s why we stop before communion to confess our sins and ask God to forgive us.
The Lord’s Supper
The meal progresses to the moment when the bread is broken and passed around. At that point Jesus takes a loaf of bread begins to institute a new memorial for his people.
I guess we all know how important rituals and ceremonies are for people. Whether they’re religious ceremonies or simple family traditions. Christmas dinner, birthdays, Anzac Day celebrations, Chinese New Year, etc. You may have noticed that the lamb industry has been trying for years to get us to make a lamb barbecue an institution on Australia Day. And that’s fair enough because these gatherings are almost always associated with eating together.
And that’s what Jesus does here. He takes the Passover meal, given to his people by God to commemorate his salvation through the Exodus and he transforms it into a meal that commemorates this new and final salvation, through the cross.
Notice how he does it. He both describes the means of our salvation and he illustrates it in a physical form with this two element meal. He gives us his words and he presents a new sacrament. So in our Anglican liturgy, the Word and the Sacrament always go together. In the Book of Common Prayer the sermon was one of the required elements of the communion service or if the minister wasn’t educated sufficiently to preach there were a set of homilies provided for him to use.
Jesus begins this ceremony by breaking the bread. Is this just an expression of sharing it out, or is there more to it. Matthew is quite sparse in his description here but he tends to include details with such care that you can’t help but think there’s more to it than a simple formula for this moment in the Passover meal. I think it’s significant that he breaks the bread and then says “This is my body.” You see, when we partake of the Lord’s Supper we remember that it’s Jesus broken body that’s presented before us.
Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples. Can you see the direction of the action here? This meal that we celebrate is always a downward sacrament; a celebration of God’s loving kindness towards us; of Jesus grace and mercy shown by his sacrifice of himself on the cross for our redemption. That’s why it can never be considered a sacrifice being performed by the priest. The only one who sacrifices is Jesus himself. Again, Cranmer got it right when he wrote our Communion liturgy. The only sacrifice we offer in the communion service is right at the end as we’re about to leave: when we offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us.
I’m reminded of that great old Easter hymn, ‘Rock of Ages’, where the second verse begins “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to your cross I cling.” That’s the attitude we should have as we come to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We come to this table aware of our own unworthiness, of our own inability to do what’s right, our inability to offer anything to God, our total dependence on his grace and favour. And we eat knowing that this is a gift from Jesus of himself for our benefit alone.
Note though that there’s a command here. He says take it and eat. There’s no point on taking the bread if you’re not going to eat it. Eating is a sign that you’re fully engaged with Jesus. It’s a sign that you’ve taken him into your body, into your very being. In places where cannibalism was practised one of the main reasons was that there was a belief that if you ate another person all their strengths would be passed on to you. There’s a sense of that here. Not in the sense that we’re really eating Jesus body or drinking his blood. But our eating of the bread is a sign that we choose to take Jesus into our lives in a way that will transform us to be like him. And it seems that Jesus uses this process of eating bread and drinking wine to emphasise that the changes he brings are meant for our whole being, not just the spiritual and mental parts but all of us, the physical included.
A short time later Jesus takes a cup and again gives thanks for it and then passes it to them. This time though he elaborates on what’s happening. He says: “Drink from it, all of you; 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
If the bread was a reminder that Jesus through his broken body has offered to come into his disciples and transform them, the blood is a sign that his death has taken away our sin. Perhaps that’s why he says “Drink from it, all of you.” I know there are some who think they shouldn’t come to the communion table because they’re not worthy, because deep down they know they’re still sinners. But this is Jesus gift to us; again a downward moving sacrament that brings God’s forgiveness to the worst of sinners. Again, this is why we confess our sins before the communion meal itself; because we know that Jesus wants us all to partake if we’re his disciples.
Jesus says this is the blood of the covenant that’s poured out for the forgiveness of sins. One of the central beliefs of the Jews was that the life of something was in its blood. So the offering of animals was sign that their life was being poured out as a sign that God had spared the life of the person offering the sacrifice.
But now Jesus has done away with any such idea. His blood suffices for many for the forgiveness of sins. Many there is clearly a generalisation that means as many as necessary.
Notice by the way that this is the blood of a covenant made not by us toward God but by him towards us. Normally you’d expect a covenant to be made by the weaker party. So you might live in a suburb where the government or the local community requires you to sign a covenant over your property, not to do certain things or to ensure that certain things are done. So you might have to keep your front lawn mown, or you may not be allowed to build more than one storey. We have a friend in Arizona who isn’t allowed to put up a clothes line in the back yard.
But here it’s God who promises through this covenant to look after us, to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Again, this assures us that there’s no reason for us to be afraid of coming to the Communion table. In fact the opposite. Jesus tells us to take, eat, to drink as a sign that we’re part of his covenant people, that we’ve accepted his offer of forgiveness and are thankful for it.
I noted at the beginning that it’s clear that despite his imminent arrest and crucifixion Jesus is still in control and he shows it again here: He says “This is it; I’ll never again drink of this fruit of the vine - until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” Isn’t that great! Not only will he drink it new, that is as a freshly made batch of wine without any deterioration; but he’ll drink it with his disciples, that is, with us! I’ve got a feeling that there may be some teetotalers who’ll change their habits at that point. It’s a promise of great celebration, when Jesus gathers all his followers around him to celebrate the new age of the kingdom of God in heaven.
In the meantime, what we do whenever we celebrate the Lord’s Supper is to look back to Jesus death on the cross for us, but also to look forward to the day when we’ll drink new wine with him in his kingdom. And what a great day that will be.
As we stop in a few minutes to partake of the Lord’s Supper I hope you’ll take seriously Jesus invitation to come, take, eat and drink in remembrance of him, remembering that he died for you, for the forgiveness of your sins and rejoicing at the great hope of life in his kingdom yet to come.
