Today as we take part in
communion, we call it The Lord’s Supper, I’d like for us to remember one
important thing. The apostle Paul tells
us in First Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” So as we take part in Communion we are
proclaiming the Lord’s death. So let’s
do that and also remember that while we proclaim His death, Jesus’ death itself
proclaims the wonderful character and love of God. That was the whole purpose of Jesus’ life. It was His mission. Jesus glorified the Father. He manifested God’s name and character to a
world that was darkened by all the lies and misrepresentation of the devil. And
the demons are still shuddering because of it.
Throughout His life, you
see, day by day, Jesus showed how tremendously loving the Father is by loving
everyone, even little children. He showed how incredibly patient God is by
relating to people with great respect and dignity, even though He wasn’t
treated very well Himself. And then at
the end of His amazing life there came this magnificent display of God’s
character.
Do you remember that on
the night that Jesus was arrested that He was tried illegally? Do you remember
the part about Him being falsely accused? Do you remember how He was grossly
insulted? But do you remember Him ever getting angry? Do you? No. Not once did
He become angry. Jesus was horribly
beaten twice that night and allowed no sleep, no food. But do you recall Him
ever becoming irritated and annoyed with those who mistreated Him? Do you?
No. It didn’t happen.
The scripture tells us
that they made a sport out of hitting His wounded head. Let me ask you? How would you have felt? They mocked the story of His
mysterious birth, insulting Him as illegitimate. And can you imagine how you
would feel with someone, many people, spitting in your face? Would you take it
quietly, without a word? But through all of this, did Jesus’ patience ever run
out? Did he become angry in response, in retaliation for his tormentors?
Never. Never did. Not once.
Oh, to see the God-like calm composure in His bearing, and yet the
kindness. Even as they nailed Him to
the cross, He said, ”Father, forgive them for they know
not what they do.”
Now, wouldn’t you think
that if Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who were torturing Him, that He
had already forgiven them Himself? And
yet none of them asked for that. And no one stood between them and Jesus,
pleading with Jesus to forgive them.
Jesus forgave them anyway. And according to John 1, as we have just read
in the scripture, Jesus has not only been with God from the beginning, He was
God, Himself.
Now remember that Jesus
told His disciples, it’s in John 16, verses 26 and 27, that there is no need
for Jesus to pray to the Father for us, because the Father loves us
Himself. That is, He’s just as loving
as the Son. And it would follow that He is just as forgiving as the Son. So wouldn’t that mean that if the Father had
been hanging there instead of Jesus, on that cross, He would have been just as
ready to forgive His tormentors as was His Son, even though no one interceded
for them?
And I love the story of
what happened after that. You remember, of course, that there were two
criminals who were crucified with Jesus, one on either side. Those two men were bandits or robbers. Well, we talk about the ‘thief’ on the
cross. And at first, both of them
joined in mocking Jesus. And then
finally, one of them said to the other, “We deserve to be here, but this Man,
He has done nothing wrong.” And then
after that, Jesus heard an expression of faith that for a while must have
brightened the darkness around Him. “Jesus,” he said, “remember me when You
come into Your kingdom.” What faith and
trust and conviction that even though Jesus was hanging there on a cross, that
this man knew Jesus was not only the Messiah but He was coming back.
What was it that won the
thief on the cross? What gave him the conviction that Jesus was that coming
Messiah? Was it because he began to
remember all of the stories that he’d heard of Jesus healing the sick and
pardoning sin? Was it seeing the
gracious and patient manner in which Jesus suffered? Such tremendous composure and peace. Was it hearing Jesus forgive His cruel tormentors? Well certainly this. Perhaps since the thief had admitted that he
was a criminal and he knew at this point in his life he really needed God’s
mercy, because God was the next thing he knew he was going to see, facing the
judgement, in his mind. And so he was
drawn to Jesus because he wanted to be in a kingdom ruled by such a forgiving
King.
And then before Jesus
died, He said something really important.
Now He did not say, “God, My God, why are You killing Me?” I’ve often heard people referring to God
“pouring out His wrath” on His Son. I don’t believe that happened, at least,
not in the way they understand it. No.
Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?” In other words, “Why have
You given Me up?” He felt this
separation from the Father. He couldn’t
feel the Father’s presence. He was
dying the death caused by sin which separates us from God. (See Matthew 27:46).
But where was God? Although Christ could not feel the Father’s
presence, He was right there suffering along with His Son. Second Corinthians
5:19 tells us that God was in Christ.
Yes, God was in Christ “reconciling the world
unto Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” Oh, the amazing love of God for you
and for me! God didn’t require us to demonstrate the truth of God’s warning in
the very beginning that sin causes death, but He chose to walk the road of
Calvary Himself so that You and I might be won back to Him. Aren’t you thankful
for that?
So yes, the cross
proclaims that God is loving, that God is righteous and truthful, and that God
is so incredibly self-sacrificing and humble and unselfish. Yes, the cross
proclaims the truth about His wonderful character and that is the basis of our
relationship of trust with Him. If we
don’t have that, then why should we spend eternity with Him? We won’t, and we won’t want to, unless we
understand Him as He is, and love Him and like Him for who He is. I want that kind of relationship, don’t you?
Jesus said, “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all to Me.” In fact, this is what the devil is afraid
of, that people will see this truth about God and it will change them and
reconcile them back to God, and win them back to God.
And so as we take part
in the ordinance of humility and then take part in the Lord’s supper, let’s
think of the kind of God who would give Himself in such a way that we could be
won back to Him at such great cost to Himself.
Let’s separate at this
time.
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As I was thinking about
this service this morning, my thoughts turned to the book of Hebrews, chapter
nine, where Paul tells us, “Not with the blood of goats
and calves, but with His own blood, He entered the most holy place once for
all, having obtained eternal redemption.” And then, after contrasting with the blood of bulls and goats, he
says, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who
through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” And so it is that we read in Mark 14, “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it
and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, eat. This is My body.’ Then He took the cup and when He had given
thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank from it, and He said to them,
‘This is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for many.’” Let us bow our heads as we pray.
Our heavenly
Father. We praise You for the
tremendous unfathomable gift that You made.
The gift of Your Son. We thank
You so much for the salvation that is ours by faith in Jesus and the blood that
He shed for us. We thank You, Lord,
that though we are sinners, yet through Your grace and through the blood of
Jesus, we may be made righteous. We
thank You Father, that eternal life is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord. And as we participate in this special
service, may we be reminded anew of it’s significance and the special
significance to each of us when Jesus died on calvary. We ask these things in His name. Amen.
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It always amazes me that
the scripture says that Jesus took the bread that symbolized His own body given
like bread to be eaten. To become
nourishment for those who are hungry, that His own body, given as a sacrifice,
as an example of God’s love, as a redemption for us. This body, His own body, given in such a violent way, for our
use, our good. He gives thanks for the
bread that symbolizes what He’s about to do.
He gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying, “’This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’”
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“And likewise,
He also took the cup after supper saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My
blood, which is shed for you.’”
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We have just eaten the
emblems of Jesus’ sacrifice. His body,
His blood, His death, which was infinitely necessary for our salvation. Hopefully, it’s not just something we come
to church and do. “Oh, that thing at
church we did today.” A ritual. A tradition. But something that has great meaning, and just as we eat the
bread and drink the juice which represents this incredible sacrifice, we take
in all that it means into our life, into our thinking, and let the sacrifice of
God, the almighty Creator of the universe, Who is infinite in power and
majesty, would come here to this earth and at great cost to Himself, would
sacrifice Himself so that we might be won back to Him and to life and to
salvation. This God Who is infinite in
graciousness and love, for even the smallest of His creation. And that we would take the meaning of that
kind of God into our lives and let it change the way we think and become a part
of us. What a God. Let’s worship Him the rest of our lives.
Before we sing our
closing song, let us remember that as you exit, there will be an offering plate
for those who are in need. And let’s
sing hymn number 1 hundred 63. “At The
Cross”.
Hymn of Praise: #30, Holy God, We Praise Your Name Scripture: John 1:1,14 Hymn of Response: #163, At the Cross
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McDonald Road Sermon transcribed by Steve Foster 10/16/09