[0:00] And this is just, we tell all the congregation of Israel that on the 10th year of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their father's houses, a lamb for a household and so on.
[0:15] In the New Testament in Paul's letter to the Corinthians he speaks about Christ our Passover Lamb and Christ our Passover Lamb having been sacrificed or slain.
[0:27] And the first Lord's Supper was introduced of course during the celebration of the Passover. And today what I want to do is just to look at this passage in Exodus where the Passover sacrifice was introduced.
[0:45] Look at the Passover Lamb and take lessons from this chapter that point us to Jesus Christ. Not, I hope, very complicated. Really a rehearsal of all that you already know.
[1:00] And if we need to pray about these things, it's really to pray that the Spirit of God would make these things come alive to us. When we are hearing the same truths again and again, it's not an excuse for being bored or for a kind of confidence or arrogance that says, well I know these things already.
[1:22] It's really, the cry from us should be to God to make these things vibrate again within us, to resonate within us and to just speak to us.
[1:34] So that's my prayer today that will take some lessons from Exodus 12 that point us to the Lord Jesus Christ. You know the context of course. The people of God, the children of Israel had gone down to Egypt.
[1:49] They had gone down as free people but they had become slaves. They became slaves to the pharaohs who did not know Joseph, the one who had been instrumental in them coming down to Egypt.
[2:02] Then as they got stronger, as they multiplied, the pharaohs began to get afraid of the Israelites, the numbers and they started oppressing the Israelites.
[2:13] They started treating them harshly, turning them into slaves and just making life very difficult for them. They cried out in their misery and God paid attention to their cries and God visits them in mercy and he sends Moses to them, ostensibly to lead them out of Egypt.
[2:35] But of course when Moses goes to Pharaoh and says, you know, on God's behalf let my people go, Pharaoh is resistant. Pharaoh is unwilling to allow these slaves to go.
[2:47] Well so would you be, wouldn't you, if you had millions of slaves and you're going to use your labor force. It doesn't make a lot of sense, humanly speaking, to just let these people go.
[2:57] But you know, Pharaoh resists God as is human nature, I suppose we would say. Then God visits the Egyptians with plagues and Pharaoh hardens his heart and eventually there's going to be one last plague, the tenth plague.
[3:16] It's going to be the death of the firstborn. We read about that at the end of the chapter of chapter 12. I suppose with 21st century eyes we look back at that and we instinctively ask, was God not unduly harsh to kill all the firstborn?
[3:37] And there's not an easy answer to that I don't think except to say with God it's a matter of justice. Pharaoh had resisted and resisted and resisted and God is visiting him in wrath and in judgment over his arrogant rejection of God's will.
[3:58] So we leave it like that with this sense of God's justice being displayed in Egypt. But coming back then to the sacrifice, to this event in Exodus chapter 12, perhaps just break it down to three headings with some points.
[4:18] Before, during and after. Not very complicated. Before the sacrifice. You might say during the sacrifice or the sacrifice itself and then after the sacrifice.
[4:31] Before. What are the instructions? Tell all the congregation, verse 3 of Israel, that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb.
[4:42] Okay, so the big thing really is just this. It's a matter of choice. They're told to go and select a lamb. And the conditions really are suitability in terms of size.
[4:55] You choose a lamb according to your needs. And also, secondly, it would be about suitability. It has to be a young lamb.
[5:08] A male lamb a year old. Either a sheep or a goat. But a male a year old. And these two things are speaking to us.
[5:20] This matter of choice. You go back, or sorry, not go back, but you, for us going back into the Old Testament. But going from here further on. And you realize that throughout the Bible, there is this emphasis on choice.
[5:34] And God choosing someone. And God choosing a servant. For instance, in Isaiah 42. He appoints a servant. My chosen one in whom I delight.
[5:47] I will put my spirit in him. He will bring justice to the nations. Here's this servant of God. Chosen by him. Not by the people.
[5:59] But chosen by God to be his Messiah. To become, actually, the Passover lamb. One year old. Speaking about vigor.
[6:10] Speaking about someone in the prime of life. And, of course, Jesus at 30. Entering onto his public ministry. And dying at the age of 33. In his prime.
[6:22] Still full of strength and vigor. And something else they had to do was. They had to set this lamb apart. And they had to inspect this lamb.
[6:33] Your lamb should be without blemish. A male a year old. Verse 5. Think of what you remember of the story of Jesus Christ. And you think of how immediately he enters into his public ministry.
[6:46] The spirit alights on him after his baptism. And he's taken by the spirit into the wilderness. And what's happening in the wilderness for these 40 days? He's been inspected.
[6:56] He's been tested. He's been tried. There have been so many leaders in Israel. All of them failed. All your mighty leaders in Israel.
[7:10] Your Moseses. Your Davids. You know, they were great people. But they had flaws. But Jesus is one who's tested. And he's tested beyond what everybody else has been tested.
[7:23] And he comes through that testing. The devil comes to him. Temps him. And he just responds with the word of God says. The Bible says.
[7:34] Would that we were able to do that every time temptation comes to us. Would that we had access in our minds and hearts. That we appreciated the word of God so much. That we could respond to the devil.
[7:46] Just quite so cleanly and so neatly every time he comes to us. We would not fall so often. But he's tested, isn't he? Tested in the wilderness.
[7:58] And then the Pharisees all the way through his ministry. As his popularity grows. The Pharisees are saying. How can we trip him up? How can we ask him a question.
[8:09] That will bring him down. That he will say something. That will give us justification to condemn him. Time and time again they come to him.
[8:20] Trying to test him. Trying to find a flaw in him. And they give up. Go away. And come back again. With more testings. Eventually.
[8:31] As the. He gets towards the cross. As the. You know. The final. The final trial. They're bringing false charges against him.
[8:43] And Pilate has him on trial. And Pilate says. You know. What's the charge? What crime has he committed? I can find no fault in him. So here.
[8:56] In Exodus. Just. God. Educating his people. About what the Christ had to be. And would be. This. Passover lamb. The fulfillment of this. This picture.
[9:07] Is going to be without blemish. And our Lord Jesus Christ. Is that. A lamb. Without. Blemish. Hebrews writes about him. About the high priest.
[9:21] Another title for the Lord. One who is holy. Blameless. Pure. Set apart from sinners. Holy. Blameless. Last.
[9:32] Last. Sunday. In church. Doing a. Doing a children's address. I was speaking to the children. About. I can't even remember what the. The proper title of the children's address was.
[9:44] But I was. I remember talking to the children. About sin. And Jesus being sinless. And. And asking them. And they're just very young children. You know. Imagine. I was saying to them.
[9:54] Imagine. Imagine Jesus. Living at home. And never been disobedient to his mother or father. Imagine that. And the children themselves. You could see. You could see their eyes just sort of.
[10:06] Lighting up. And saying. Wow. You know. How is that possible? I mean. How is it possible. To go through life. Life. Sinless. But that's.
[10:16] That's Jesus. And from a. From a very young age. People are able to appreciate. The wonder of that. So. Here's. Way back in Exodus. There's a. There's a.
[10:26] Before the sacrifice. There's choice. Deliberate choice. Thoughtful choice. And then there's an inspection. Of this particular. Lamb. To see.
[10:37] That it's suitable. For. A sacrifice. For God. Let's think about the sacrifice itself. From verse 6. Onwards. And you shall keep it.
[10:47] Until the 14th day of this month. When the whole assembly. Of the congregation of Israel. Shall kill their lambs. At twilight. And just. There's something there. That resonates.
[10:58] With the New Testament story. The whole. Assembly. Of the congregation. Of Israel. Shall kill. My mind.
[11:09] Gravitates. Towards. That. Passage. Where. The crowds. Are shouting out. Crucify him. Crucify him.
[11:21] Pilate's willing. To let him go. Pilate's willing. To. Let Barabbas. Be set free. And the crowd. Are saying. Crucify him.
[11:32] Crucify him. The Mel Gibson film. The Passion. Which. I have bought. And for some strange reason. Have never watched yet.
[11:45] Still in. Cellophon wrapping. There's something. There's something. About it. That I'm not too sure about. But. I'm told. That. That Mel Gibson himself. Is only.
[11:56] He only acts. In that film. At one point. And that is. He is the centurion. Or the soldier. Who's nailing. Christ. To the cross.
[12:08] All you see. Of Mel Gibson. Is his hands. Nailing Christ. To the cross. It's a very perceptive. Act. By Mel Gibson. It's like him saying. My sin.
[12:19] Our sins. We were involved. Putting him. On. That cross. He was there. By. Because.
[12:29] Of us. Henry Law. Put it this way. So is. Every believer. All your sins. Were there. When he was dragged. To the cross. Your sins. Strained the cords.
[12:41] They concurred. To drive in the nails. And make deep the wounds. Your iniquities. Brought in that death. That death. Brings in your life.
[12:53] We were there. There. Of God's people there. According to Henry Law. Dragging him to the cross. Your sins.
[13:05] Straining. The cords. Concurring. To drive in the nails. And make deep. The wounds. So. The whole assembly. Is involved. In the killing. Then verse 7.
[13:18] Then they shall take. Some of the blood. And put it on the two doorposts. And the lintels of the house. In which. They. Eat. So here's the blood.
[13:29] Of the sacrifice. It's not just to. To. Be left. To drain away. It has to be used. Take hyssop. Take these branches.
[13:42] This bush. And just apply it. To the doorposts. And to. The lintel. And of course. When the. When the.
[13:53] Angel. Would pass over. He would see. The blood. And the. Children. Inside it. The families. Inside that door. Would be.
[14:04] Safe. What's going on here? Well. I suppose. We could say this. The blood. Is. Separating. First of all.
[14:15] Isn't it? This. Blood. Is only been applied. To the households. Of the children of Israel. So this blood. Is separating. The children of Israel.
[14:26] From. The. Egyptians. And you know. In God's people. In God's. In God's mind. The. The. The blood.
[14:36] Of Jesus. Separates. It separates you. As his people. From the world. Blood. Big distinction.
[14:48] We're mingled in. But he makes a distinction. Because. Because. Of that blood. And of course. It's acting as a shield. It's protecting.
[14:58] The angel. The angel. Passes over. Death. Death. Is meted out. To the firstborn. Every Egyptian home. But. This. Blood. Is acting as a shield. Protecting.
[15:09] From. God's wrath. And of course. We can say also. It's substitutionary blood. It's blood. That's shed. In. Our place.
[15:19] The lamb. Died. In. Their place. And the whole point. Of the death. Of Jesus Christ. Is. To emphasize. Or my whole. Emphasis should be. To.
[15:31] To point out. That it's. Substitution. He dies. As a sacrifice. In our room. And stead. In our place. He dies.
[15:43] So that. We don't need to die. He takes. Our punishment. He takes. Our place. So that we are protected. As I say. From the wrath. Of God.
[15:54] So the blood. Has to be used. The blood. Has to be applied. And. Come back to that. Later on. Then look at the. The disposal.
[16:05] Of this lamb. And maybe mixing up here. Before and after. Or before and during and after. Verse 8. They shall.
[16:16] Eat the flesh that night. Roasted on the fire. With unleavened bread. And bitter herbs. But before. Well. As part of that. They shall eat the flesh that night. Roasted. On. The fire.
[16:29] You see. When I think about. The lamb here. This lamb. Is dead. It's roasted. On the fire.
[16:40] But when I think about. The experience. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think it's fair to say. That he was roasted alive.
[16:52] You could use that kind of. Graphic language. He was roasted. Alive. Think about. Gethsemane.
[17:06] Think. About the pressure. That he was subjected to. That he was subjected to. In Gethsemane. Just before his betrayal.
[17:18] He's in the garden. Gethsemane stands. If I remember rightly. For that. For the place of crushing. It's a place where. The olives. Were crushed.
[17:28] Until the oil. Oozed. Out of them. He's there. He's praying to his father. He's saying.
[17:40] Father. If it's possible. Find some other way. If it's possible. Remove this cup from me.
[17:51] And we're told. In the gospels. That. The blood. Is. Oozing. Out of his face. He's sweating. Great. Drops.
[18:01] Of blood. As the. As the capillaries. Are bursting. In his face. Why? Because of the intense. Pressure. I don't think. I don't think. It's wrong. To use.
[18:11] The language. Of being roasted alive. Is it? The intensity. Of the pressure. That he was under. As he was. In Gethsemane. And the angel. Of course.
[18:22] You know. He submits his will. To the father. He volunteers. His. His. Life. To the father. To be the sacrifice. Don't let us say.
[18:33] He goes there. Pressurized. Against his will. Of course. He volunteers. But he submits. His own human will. To the will of God. He does that. He goes to.
[18:45] The cross. Strengthened. Then. By. By an angel. Who comes. To. To minister. To him. Then you get. To the cross. Itself.
[18:56] And you get. To. All that's going on. And we sang. In Psalm 22. Had we gone on. In that psalm. You would have. Noted. The language. You know. Of the heart.
[19:07] Melting. The heart. Breaking. You'd have noticed. The animosity. The bulls of Bashan. Round about him. Everybody. Appearing. You know. Maybe even.
[19:18] Graphically. To him. As bulls. As those who were. Cruel. And then of course. Forsaken.
[19:29] By God. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me? What's going on? You know.
[19:39] This is. The son. To the father. This is Jesus. Who has never known. A moment. Of broken fellowship.
[19:51] With his heavenly father. He's always lived. Close to him. And now. You might say. Humanly speaking. When he needs him most. When he needs his father most.
[20:02] His father. Doesn't hear. His prayer. At least. Doesn't respond. To his prayer. The heavens sound. Or feel like. Brass to him.
[20:13] As he. Addresses himself. To God. On that cross. And he cannot. Call him father. He's just calling him. My God. He's still a man of faith.
[20:26] But. It's without that kind of. Emotional resonance. That he's had. Before. Maybe losing the sight. Of his sonship.
[20:37] My God. My God. Why have you. Forsaken me. He's been. Roasted. They shall eat the flesh.
[20:49] That night. Roasted. On the fire. Well I sense. That that lamb. Was. The lamb of Christ. Roasted. Before. He died.
[21:01] But what about after. What else do we. Pick up. They were all to eat of it. All. Must. Feed.
[21:12] Upon. The lamb. Now they were to eat. For sustenance. Yes. They were going to be going. On a journey. And. And God is providing.
[21:23] Physical sustenance. For them. But. It's more about the partaking. Isn't it? I think the emphasis. Is more on the fact that. They've all got to eat it. It's the same you know.
[21:35] For. For. The sacrifice of Christ. We all have to eat it. Jesus puts it this way. I tell you the truth. Unless you eat the flesh.
[21:47] Of the son of man. And drink his blood. You have no life. In you. Now listen to that. If you're not a Christian today. You have no life.
[21:59] In you. Jesus was speaking. Not about. Eating. The. The. The. The. The sacrificial elements. He was talking about. Faith. He was talking about.
[22:11] Putting. Your faith. In him. Because. Eating and drinking. Is just another. Just another way of. Talking about faith. About trusting. And you have to have.
[22:23] This. Faith. You have to trust yourself. To the Lord. Jesus Christ. Christ. If you're a Christian. Of course. Today. And. You haven't.
[22:35] Professed. Faith. Can I encourage you. To just to. Make that public. Just to engage. With all the other people. Of God. As if you were. A fully functioning.
[22:46] Member. Of the children. Of the household. I'm just one of them. I'm just. Partaking. Of this sacrifice. Just as they all. Had to partake.
[22:57] Way. Way back. In the days. Of the exodus. Eat it. And eat with. Unleavened bread. And bitter herbs. Okay.
[23:08] So they weren't eating. Full of comfort. That night. They were eating it. With a sense. Of bitterness. And surely. There's a sense. In which we. Reflect on the Lord's death.
[23:20] And. There is a sense. Of bitterness. As we reflect upon. The reasons. That put him there. Our sins. Tying him. To the cross. There's a bitterness.
[23:32] Because. It's us. It's because of us. It's because of our sins. And then surely. Also. You can think back. Especially if you're converted. As an adult. You can think back.
[23:43] To the bitterness. Of your life. Before you became a Christian. And I hope. That you. You look back. And instead of having. Fond memories. Of that life. That you had.
[23:54] You say. There was so much. In that life. That I'm ashamed of. That I don't want to speak about. I don't really want to think about it. When I think back. I did so much.
[24:06] I lived in such a way. That I grieved God. So often. And for so long. And it causes me. A sense of shame. And a sense of grief.
[24:18] Until that's true for you. Converted as an adult. There'll be many people here. I'm sure. Who have been converted. As children. And all their sins. You might say. Have been. Have been. Undertaken.
[24:30] As. Christians. And there's still. A sense of grief. Isn't there? There's still a sense. Of bitterness. There's still a sense. Of. Of actually. We've been Christians.
[24:43] And still. We've done these things. And these things leave. A bitter taste. In. Our mouths. Eat. With.
[24:55] Bitter. Herbs. And eat also. With. Your belt. Fastened. Verse 11. In this manner. You shall eat it. With your belt.
[25:05] Fastened. Your sandals. On your feet. And your staff. In. Your. Hand. Ready. Ready.
[25:17] Ready for action. Ready for movement. They're going to eat this. In haste. I wonder. Can we not actually. Just apply this to.
[25:27] The words of Jesus Christ. The last words. The disciple. The disciples. Go into. All the world. Go into all the world.
[25:39] And make disciples. We have to ask ourselves. Again and again. I think. As God's people. Have we settled in Egypt?
[25:51] Are we. Just. Comfortable. In. This world. Seeking. To. Have a life. That's. That's.
[26:02] Wealthy. That's. Comfortable. That's. Relatively. Easy. When actually.
[26:12] God. Said. Go. Go. And the. Life. He was calling. His disciples. To. Was. Was. Not a life. That was easy.
[26:24] It was a life. Of course. That would. Lead to. Most of them. Being. Brutally. Treated. Most of them. Been martyred.
[26:35] Early. Eat with your belts. Fastened. Your sandals.
[26:46] On your feet. Your staff. In your hand. You shall eat it. In haste. It is. The Lord's. Passover. Well.
[26:56] The Passover lamb. Pointing. Forward. To the Lord. Jesus Christ. Let's bow our heads. In prayer. Lord.
[27:11] We thank you. For Jesus. We thank you. For. Our. Passover lamb. We thank you. That. He. Went.
[27:21] To the cross. He despised. The shame. He knew. The joy. That was set. Before him. The joy.
[27:33] Of fellowship. With yourself. And the joy. Of a redeemed people. And of fellowship. With them. We thank you.
[27:44] For the suffering. We thank you. For all that was undertaken. On our behalf. We confess. Our sin. And we wish.
[27:58] It wasn't there. But it is there. We thank you. That you died. For it. To set us free. So that we would no longer.
[28:10] Be in slavery. No longer in bondage. But free to serve. Free to follow. Free to evangelize.
[28:21] Free to mission. Free to do whatever. You call us to. Lord bless us. We pray. And receive our thanksgiving. In Jesus name.
[28:32] Amen. We're singing from page 68. Psalm 51.
[28:49] Verses 7 to 12. Cleanse with hyssop. Purify me. I'll be whiter than the snow. Let the bones you crushed. Be joyful. May I joy and gladness know.
[29:00] From my failure. Hide your face. Blot out. All my wickedness. Psalm 51. Verses 7 to 12. To God's praise. Sing.
[29:10] A prayer. Jesus. Batching the seeds for me. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thanks. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. B boxing. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[29:33] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. May I joy and gladness know Of my failure I should face Walk as all my wickedness Lord, create a pure heart in me And that death has my renew Do not take your spirit from me Cast me not away from you Give me back the joy I have
[30:35] Keep my willing spirit glad We come to that part of our service where we want to ask the question, who should sit at the Lord's table?
[31:00] And I want to, just a few words about that by way of invitation. In verse 43 of chapter 12 of Exodus there are some instructions about the eating of the Passover.
[31:18] And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, This is the statute of the Passover, no foreigner shall eat of it.
[31:30] But every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hard worker may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house.
[31:41] You shall not take any of the flesh outside the house and you shall not break any of its bones and so on. And especially these words, this is the statute of the Passover, no foreigner shall eat of it.
[31:54] And I don't think we should read this as an anti-immigration policy in Exodus, not even for the Israelite people.
[32:05] It wasn't that foreigners weren't welcome. It was that foreigners weren't recognized as belonging to the faith.
[32:18] But when they did join the faith, when they did exercise faith in the Lord, and when they showed that by joining the people, by making public profession if you like, and they did that through having their male circumcised, and that would be the equivalent of our baptism, then they were encouraged, as it goes on to show, then they were encouraged to join with the people.
[32:45] So what's that really saying to us? I think it's saying this. You come and participate in the eating and drinking of the Lord's Supper when you exercise faith, and when you make public profession through baptism.
[33:05] Okay, so it's not a matter of saying, stay away. That's not the purpose. The purpose really of an invitation is to try and explain to you who should be there.
[33:17] And you should be there, I believe, if you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's for you. And Jesus is always sort of inviting us to take Him, to come to Him.
[33:34] You're invited. Every Lord's Day, I trust, to take Christ as your Savior. And as you're coming to the table, you're also saying, I'm wanting to leave that world of sin behind.
[33:52] I'm wanting to leave Egypt behind. I am falling in with the wishes of the Lord. So, who should come today?
[34:02] Well, please come. If you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please come. If you have been baptized. If you've made that public statement.
[34:15] Please come also. If you belong to another church. This is not the free church table. And it's not the table of Livingston free church. Okay, this is the Lord's Supper.
[34:26] If you belong to another denomination, if you're a communicant member anywhere else, please come and join with us. And fellowship together around this supper.
[34:38] So, without any further ado, let's sing. We'll sing from page 398. Psalm 118.
[34:52] Now, we'll sing from verse 15 until everybody is seated. And please don't delay.
[35:03] Just come forward speedily. Psalm 118 from verse 15. In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health.
[35:13] The Lord's right. The Lord's right hand. To God's praise. In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health.
[35:42] The Lord's light and love ever valiantly. The high and low the mighty Lord, thank you, faith is on high.
[36:09] The high and low the mighty Lord, love ever valiantly.
[36:26] I shall walk right as their handshap, the words of the Lord is covered.
[36:41] The Lord hath been cast by the Lord, but the good and good Lord.
[36:57] The Lord hath been cast by the Lord, and the good and good Lord. Let's just read again in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, the warrant we have for the celebration of the supper, and just Paul's instructions for the celebration of it.
[37:34] You know, of course, that there were issues in Corinth. Some were coming to the table ahead of the others. Some were, it was a full meal, as well as just being the sacrament itself.
[37:49] Some were eating a lot of food. Some were drinking a lot of wine. Some were getting drunk. Some were going to be hungry. Some were going to be without any wine.
[38:01] And so Paul gives instructions. But we will just read from verse 23, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you.
[38:18] Do this in remembrance of me. Let's bow and give thanks once again. Lord, we thank you for this meal. We thank you that you have set bread and wine aside for us as memorials, as ways to remember you in your death.
[38:41] And we do that today. We thank you once again that the Son of God was willing to enter into this world, to take upon himself the life of a human being.
[38:55] And we thank you that this life was laid down and sacrificed for us. We thank you for the elements, for the bread and the wine. We know these things will sustain us.
[39:07] They will give us food for our bodies. But we ask also that through these things we will be fed and nourished spiritually. We ask, Lord, that you would teach us about your great sacrifice.
[39:23] Lord, we pray that you would be with us as we eat and drink together. I want to read also in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 26.
[39:37] And a few words just before we eat and drink. 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.
[40:03] And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, Drink it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
[40:15] I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And really what I want to draw your attention to is the process.
[40:34] This was during a Passover sacrifice that Jesus instituted this Lord's Supper. And so I'm no expert in these things. My information is that the way the Jews kept the Passover, there were four cups or at least four refills perhaps of wine.
[40:52] And throughout the Passover, they would drink from these cups. We'll call them four cups. Jesus seems to have broken the process at the third cup.
[41:08] And then he says, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. He doesn't distribute the fourth cup.
[41:21] The implication being that that Passover sacrifice, that that Lord's Supper was never actually complete. And every time we participate in the Lord's Supper here, we're actually participating in that original Lord's Supper.
[41:42] So that Lord's Supper is ongoing, if you like, through the ages. Not consummated, not fulfilled until the marriage ceremony of the bride and the Lamb in glory.
[41:59] So every time we gather together, we gather, as it were, in the presence of the Lord with His people of all ages.
[42:10] It means, I think, for us that every Lord's Supper can be a foretaste of heaven. Every Lord's Supper has the capacity to be that.
[42:26] Now, it will be that depending, I think, on our preparation, depending on what's going on in our lives, depending on our spiritual sensitivity. It's not heaven.
[42:40] Okay? It's not heaven. It's not heaven on earth. But it's a foretaste. It's an indication of what can be.
[42:52] I suppose one of the crucial factors, actually, as I stand here is just this. There's a really great union here. You know, one of the stresses in the High Priestly Prayer in John chapter 17 is Jesus praying that His people would be one.
[43:12] When you think of glory, you're thinking of unity. And is there anywhere more powerful than the Lord's Table to display that image of unity?
[43:25] We are all here together sharing one faith in one Lord with anticipation of one collective future.
[43:39] Being with Him forever and ever and ever. What that future is, you know, remains kind of a mystery, mostly because we haven't studied it, all that's revealed of it, as much as we could and can.
[43:56] But even what we can study, it will still leave a lot of mysteries for us. But right now, who are we? The family of God.
[44:07] United together. Diverse, because we're all different. and yet, that's part of the beauty of it, that we are diverse, different people, different gifts and talents, different interests, but sharing one faith.
[44:24] One faith, one Lord, one baptism. let's celebrate the supper. Let me take you back again to 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
[44:38] What is it the Lord says? I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread.
[44:49] When He had given thanks, when He had given thanks, He broke it. He broke it. Reflecting His sacrifice and said, do this in remembrance of me.
[45:25] In like manner, after supper, He said, this cup is the new comes in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
[45:39] For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[45:49] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[46:03] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[46:14] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[46:24] Thank you.
[46:54] Thank you.
[47:24] Thank you.
[47:54] Thank you.
[48:24] Thank you.
[48:54] Thank you.
[49:24] Thank you.
[49:54] Thank you.
[50:24] Thank you.
[50:54] Thank you.
[51:24] Thank you.
[51:54] Thank you.
[52:25] Lord, we do thank you for your love displayed at Calvary. We thank you.
[52:59] Thank you. Thank you.
[53:31] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[54:39] Thank you. Thank you.
[55:11] Thank you. Amen.