[0:00] You can turn your Bibles with me to Luke chapter number 22. Luke chapter number 22. Been looking forward to this for quite a few weeks now. Very excited about getting to the Lord's Supper this evening.
[0:11] As you turn to Luke 22, I want to tell you a story really fast. There was a nine-year-old boy named Charlie. No, not Charlie Malcolm, but a different Charlie. And he was asked to say the blessing for this year's Thanksgiving meal.
[0:22] Charlie was always the polite one of the boys. His brother Billy was an estevious one. Charlie begins his prayer by thanking for his family and his friends, naming them one by one. He then begins to pray for the food, and he called every item on the table by name.
[0:35] He says, thank you for the green beans and the mashed potatoes and the corn and the cold saw, the bread pudding, the applesauce, dinner rolls, the pecan pie, the chocolate cake, the oven that made it, my mom, my dad, my uncles, all the family members here, the driveway, the cars in the driveway.
[0:46] Then he began to pray for about the turkey. He prayed that he prayed. The turkey looks so juicy and so good. Thank you, Mom, for preparing it. Thank you to the car that brought the turkey on for the grocery store. Thank you to the man who worked at the market and bagged the groceries and put them in the car.
[0:58] Thank you for the meat department worker that prepped the turkey and put it on the shelf. Thank you for the worker who took the turkey off of the truck, the driver who brought the turkey from the meat packaging company, for the ones who cleaned the bird and wrapped it up, and for the farmer who raised the turkey.
[1:10] Charlie then paused, and he looked around, and he said, did I forget anyone? And his brother Billy looks at him and says, yeah, God. He forgot God. And that's just a funny way to remind us. How many times do the same things and all the technicalities and all the tedious small things of life or maybe the big things of life, we forget God.
[1:26] We make the main thing not the main thing. Maybe we forget God and the frivolities of life for stress or between your classes or anxiety. Maybe you're so blessed you forgot God in that way.
[1:37] Maybe sickness, whatever it might be, work, your commute, whatever it is, what's making us forget God? This story may seem silly, but as we prepare to take the Lord's Supper, I want to remind you the whole purpose of the Lord's Supper is this due in remembrance.
[1:50] It's to remember. It's to call to mind. It's to recall. When we turn to Luke 22, I remind you of the events in this passage. It's a tense passage. We often read the Bible in chapters, you know, and stop there, but we can almost think of Luke 22 as the end of a three-year journey.
[2:05] Jesus has found his disciples. He's, you know, he called them by name. They followed him. They done miracles together. He's led them and taught them. They've had sweet moments. He's saved their lives several times, fed them, provided for them, even paid Peter's taxes, all sorts of things like that.
[2:19] And they've had three years of this together. And this is his last moment with his disciples. It's a sweet time. It's the end of their ministry. And they're eating and celebrating the Passover with 12 of Jesus' closest friends, students, disciples.
[2:32] They've been shoulder to shoulder traveling together for the past three years. They were beside Jesus as he taught, healed, and did miracles. They were the ones who stayed around after so many had left. They sat celebrating, remembering how God had delivered Israel from slavery, not knowing that a greater work of deliverance was in the works.
[2:50] The main imperative found in a text that's written in Luke chapter 22 is going to be this. It's going to be this, do ye in remembrance. So it's one of the main commands Jesus gives here.
[3:02] Remembrance is defined as the action of reminding oneself of, the action of recalling, to call to mind. And Jesus issues his instruction to his followers. The Lord's Supper is a time to remember. It's a time to focus on the main thing.
[3:14] It's a time to reprioritize. It's a time to self-evaluate. It's a time to get things right. It's a time to put Jesus back where he belongs. That is on the throne and the center of your life. Luke 22, 14. Let's read it.
[3:24] And when the hour was come, he sat down and the 12 apostles with him, and he said unto them, with desire of desire, to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not eat more thereof until it will be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
[3:35] And he took the cup and he gave thanks. He said, this, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread and he gave thanks and break it.
[3:46] And he gave it unto them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also after the cup, after the supper saying, this is the cup of my New Testament, which is shed for you.
[3:59] Jesus commands them to take the supper in remembrance. First thing I want to remind you of is the importance of remembering. It may not seem like that big of a deal. Why should we remember? One, because Jesus says so. That's always a good reason to do it.
[4:11] But he commands them to take the supper in his remembrance. Jesus understood that you will behave according to that which you're mindful of. When you're mindful of something, it affects the way you behave. Look what God has to say about being mindful or remembering things throughout scriptures.
[4:23] Deuteronomy 4.9 is going to say this. Take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen. Psalm 1 to 3 verse 2 is going to say this. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits.
[4:36] Deuteronomy 4.23 is going to read this. Take heed unto yourselves lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God. Over and over and over again, there's warnings in scriptures not to forget. Because when you forget, you go astray.
[4:48] Belief will affect your behavior, and what you're mindful of will determine how you move. Watch and remember. Failure to remember will also have cascading effects in the life of a believer. First thing is, it will lead to spiritual apathy.
[4:59] Romans 12.1 says this. Be not slothful in business, but fervent in the spirit, serving the Lord. You can't serve fervently what you're not mindful of. It will lead to relational decay. 2 Samuel 2.19, Samuel rebuking Saul here says, You've espised the commandment of the Lord to evil in his sight, and you've killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and thou hast taken his wife to be thy wife.
[5:18] Thou hast slain him with the sword of the children of Amnon. David wasn't mindful of the Lord, and it led to the destruction of his relationships, led to sin, led to a lot of other things in his life. Forgetting God will lead to fear, will lead to sin. Forgetting God has a cascade of terrible consequences.
[5:31] What might be some of the causes of forgetting? First thing might be easy living. God has been so good to us if we're in this room tonight. We're going to go home to a nice home. We're in a nice church building. And sometimes we've been so blessed we can forget.
[5:43] Look at what God issued a warning to the children of Israel at in Deuteronomy 6, verse 10. He says, And it shall be when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give thee this great land.
[5:54] Build thee cities which you build not, and houses full of good things which thou fillest not, and wells dig which thou diggest not, and vineyards and olive trees which you didn't plant. When thou shalt have eaten and be full, then beware lest thou forget the Lord.
[6:06] He's like, When I bless you guys a whole bunch, be careful because you might forget me. Sin will make you forget the Lord. Look at what God tells them in Judges 8, 33. It came to pass as soon as Gideon was at the children of Israel who turned again and went a whoring after Balaam.
[6:20] Balaam had made an idol of their God, and the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side. They turned away from the Lord. They forgot him to a bunch of other sin.
[6:33] How often do we do the same things? As humans, we are so prone to forgetting, forgetting the main thing. What Jesus wants us to do tonight is remember what he's done. Remember him, and he wants us to recall.
[6:45] As we go through this, he's going to tell us what we should recall, what we should remember, what we should remember. He's going to tell us to remember what awaits him in the verses to come. As we look at what he tells us, remember, let's look at Luke 22, 19.
[6:56] And he took bread, and he gave thanks, and he break it, and he gave it unto them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. Let us observe and remember what Jesus endured for us. He says, This is my body, which is given for you.
[7:08] You can plug your name into there. This is your body, which is given for Greg. This is your body, which is given for the world. Jesus' body was given this do in remembrance. Let us observe and remember. Jesus, who was perfect and innocent, who'd only done good and right, who'd only done things that pleased the Lord, whose words were true, whose words were gracious.
[7:24] He's in the verses to come. He's going to be forced to stand trial. He'll be betrayed by one of his closest followers. He's sold out. He's made to stand before Governor Pilate. And as Pilate concludes his trial, this is all that can be said about Jesus, by the way.
[7:36] In Luke 23, verse 4, Pilate says, I can find no wrong in this man, that Jesus. Jesus was innocent. Only there because of false accusations. He was innocent, yet he didn't defend himself.
[7:46] Despite the innocence of Christ, the masses of his kinsmen and the people there are calling for his crucifixion. The masses chant, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate will then turn him over. Jesus was then subsequently had his body broken.
[7:59] He gives him the bread that symbolizes his body. Remember, the body was given for you this evening. Notice it's given. It's not taken. It's not stolen from him. But the body was given. It was sacrificed.
[8:10] It was laid down. As we read in Romans 5, 8, but God commended. He showed his love toward us. Now, while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us. God showed his love by giving us Jesus. And the hours to follow, Jesus will be lied against.
[8:20] Let's look at Matthew 26, verse 59. The chief priests and elders and all the council sought false witnesses against Jesus. He was so good, there was really nothing you could bring up against him. Verse 60, but they found none.
[8:30] Yea, though many false witnesses came, at least at the last came two false witnesses. So they found two false witnesses who came in. He's then mocked, according to John 19, 23. He's abandoned by his friends, according to Matthew 26, verse 56.
[8:44] He's then scourged. Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. Mark 15, 19 says he smote with reeds. They smote him of the hell with the reed, and they spat upon him, bowing their knees, worshipped him.
[8:54] He was clubbed. He was a blunt force. Punched. John 19, 3 is going to say, and they said, hail, king of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands. He was spat upon. Mark 15, 19 is going to say, they smote the hell with the reed and did spit upon him.
[9:08] Third century historian by the name of Eusebius describes the flogging that Jesus endured, and he says this. The sufferer's veins were laid bare. The very muscles, sinews, bowels of the victim were often opened to exposure.
[9:18] It was nothing pretty. He gave his body. Isaiah 52, 14 says this about the beating that Jesus endured. As many were asana as shatty, his vishers were so marred more than any man, and his form was more than the sons of men.
[9:30] There's never been a beating as bad as the one that Jesus endured. Mounted to a cross, according to Luke 23, verse 33. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right and the other on the left, nailed to a cross.
[9:44] According to Psalm 22, his bones were out of socket. His body broken. He gave his body. Darkness then begins to descend. The temple veil is rent. His life given and his body broken.
[9:55] But why did he do this? Let us remember. Luke 22, 19. My body which is given for you. He endured all of that for you. His body was broken for us. And let me remind you of this.
[10:07] Let me remind you what this broken body has done for us. First thing that this broken body was the perfect sacrifice for every sin that you've ever done. Hebrews 7, 27 is going to read this. Who needeth not daily as those high priests offer up sacrifice.
[10:19] First for his own sins, then for his people's. For this he did once when he offered up himself. Basically, Jesus made the perfect sacrifice. First Peter 1, 24 is going to say this. He was bearing our sin in his own bodies.
[10:30] For all flesh is a grass, and the glory of man is the flower of grass. The grass wither, the flower fadeth. And the next verse, I'll go back to it. But Jesus bore our sins in his own body. Second Peter 1, 24.
[10:41] He was a catalyst for our sanctification. The hope for our future life is in this body. Don't forget the body. Remember who gave it to you. Remember what it cost him. Remember what it does. Him giving his body did a lot for us.
[10:53] His body was broken for us. But after he gives him this bread to picture his body, he then brings up the cup. Luke 22, 20 reads this. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This is the cup in the New Testament and my blood which is shed for you.
[11:09] The cup is picturesque of the blood of Jesus. Notice what Jesus has to say about his blood. He says the blood which is shed for you. Notice again, this blood was not taken. It wasn't an accident. It was given, poured out for you.
[11:21] Luke 22, verse 33. And they were coming to the place which is called Calvary. There they crucified him in the malefactors, one on the right and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do. And they parted his arrangement and they cast lots.
[11:33] And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others. Let him save himself. He's mocked. Put on a cross. The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
[11:46] Innocent Jesus, who was God, by the way, suffering all of this. Hours later, as he hangs in that tree, the sky darkens. The ground trembles. The veil. The temple tears. And Luke 23, verse 44 is going to read this.
[11:56] The sixth hour there was darkness all over the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice. And he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said this, he gave up the ghost.
[12:09] There Jesus died. There Jesus shed his blood. There Jesus hung, forsaken, destitute, dead, his blood shed, poured out, all for us.
[12:21] The significance of this was massive. You notice this was Passover. If we go back to Passover and Exodus, there was blood put on the doors. And all in God's program throughout all of history, it's been animal sacrifices, blood sacrifices.
[12:33] Adam and Eve sinned, an animal was killed. The Levitical priesthoods instituted, what are they doing? They're slaying animals. It's all throughout the Bible. It's been animal sacrifice, animal sacrifice, animal sacrifice. Daily, over and over.
[12:44] The priest's job was never done. But that's this day. One day, John the Baptist sees Jesus and he makes this statement about him here. He says, Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.
[12:55] This blood was different. The blood of all the other sacrifices could never do what the blood of Jesus was going to do. The priest and the Old Testament followers of God made sacrifices continually. But look what's said about the blood of Christ in Hebrews 10.4.
[13:07] For it was not possible the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. The blood of bulls and goats never took away sins. Look what we'll keep reading. Wherefore, he cometh in the world. He said, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not but abodest prepare for me.
[13:18] He was the final, perfect offering. His atonement for our sins is permanent and it's good. But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down in the right hand of God.
[13:29] Jesus' sacrifice was perfect. It was good. His blood was far better. And this blood is what redeems us, what saves us, and it was shed for you. And that's what we're going to remember tonight. Ephesians 1.7 says this, In whom we have redemption through his blood.
[13:41] What cleanses our sins, what saves us, is this blood of Jesus. This blood fixes our relationship with God. Ephesians 2.13 reads this, But now in Christ Jesus, you were sometimes afar off from a denied by the blood of Jesus.
[13:54] This blood of Jesus mends our relationship with God. It's your atonement. It is in this wonderful blood of Jesus that we are instructed to remember. This blood was shed for us. Remember your Savior.
[14:04] Remember what he's done for you. As you go into work and into life and things begin to press you and different attacks come and different storms come and different trials come, I want to exhort you with the same thing Jesus said. Remember.
[14:15] As we gather tonight and as we pray to take the Lord's Supper, what are we going to do? We're going to remember. Remember the body that was broken for you, the body that was given for you. As we drink the juice, remember the blood that was shed for you.
[14:26] Remember what he's done for you. Remember what he's paid for you. If I can exhort you from Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, as you go into life after this, can you remember? Wherefore, seeing we also can pass with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight that sin would just so easily beset us.
[14:40] And let us run with patience the race set before us. Check this out, verse 2. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, running our race with a mind full of Jesus. Remember. Remember him.
[14:51] Remember him. Remember him. As you sit in your seats, would you remember what Christ has done for you?