Father, we come before you this morning to think about your word.
And we confess before you, Father, that what your son said about instituting the Lord's Supper,
Father, we confess that it has caused great division amongst your people.
And Father, we confess that even, Father, as some of us are waiting to get to that part in the scripture,
some of us are hoping that I will score points against other people.
They're worried, Father, that I'm going to end up saying something that they just think is really, really wrong.
And Father, we confess before you that that which your son instituted for our health and for our salvation,
for our wisdom, that we have turned it often, Father, into a very ugly thing,
a very ugly thing that we feel proud of rather than saddened.
So, Father, you know how hard and confused our heart is
and how blind we are to the confusion and the hardness of our heart.
So we ask that in your mercy you would do a great work amongst us this morning
and that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us,
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us,
so that we might hear your word,
that your word would come right to the center of who we are,
the control and command center of who we are,
and that your word would come there and do its mighty work in our midst,
all for your glory.
And this we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Please be seated.
Nothing like insulting some of you before I even begin the sermon and the prayer.
I didn't mean to do that.
You know, some of you who track with how I do sermons,
it's often the case that however many talking points I have,
that I spend the longest time developing the first point,
and then it sort of often gets a bit quicker as it goes down.
I'm going to sort of mess with your heads today
because it's not going to be a 90-second sermon,
but I'm going to begin with the first point.
Andrew, I didn't warn even Andrew that I'm going to begin.
If you could put the first point up, that would be really, really helpful.
Here's the first point.
Why can human beings so easily plan evil and plan good
at the same time, all the while thinking that we are superior?
Why is that about us human beings?
I know, I was thinking afterwards, the grammar is not exactly perfect,
but you get the idea.
Why can human beings so easily plan evil things
and plan good things at the same time
and all the while think we're superior to other people?
Like, why is it that we can do this?
Why is it that whether or not you put this down on your to-do list,
it could very easily be on your to-do list,
find a birthday present for, you know, X,
pick up some food for the party,
make sure I spread gossip about why while I'm there,
have a good time.
Like, why is it that we can sort of have that in our to-do list
and not at all even be remotely bothered by it?
Why is it that maybe you've been in committee meetings like this
or, and I've been in committee meetings like this
where it's both been a secular crowd and a Christian crowd
where it seems as if, you know, in a Christian crowd
that on their to-do list was practice reading the Bible,
prepare to pray,
stab, you know, Fred and Bob in the back during the meeting
and make sure I take the credit from Erin
for all of the good things that she did.
And that's on their to-do list.
And that often we can have those things on our to-do list
and we have absolutely no sense of guilt or shame whatsoever.
And at the same time,
can often think that we're better than other people.
Like, why is it that human beings are like that?
Like, why is it?
See, I asked that from,
on one hand it sounds very small and petty,
but, you know, don't you think it's very, very possible
that after the ISIS terrorists beheaded those Ethiopian Christians,
don't you think that on the way home they thought,
oh yeah, I have to pick up a soccer ball for my son
because I want to have some fun playing soccer with my son.
Like, don't you think that that's not at all an inconceivable scenario?
And yet on the other hand,
I mean, that's like crazy evil, right?
A crazy evil.
Let's martyr a whole pile of Ethiopian Christians
and, oh yes, on the way home,
buy a new soccer ball so I can play soccer with my son.
Like, that's crazy evil.
But on the other hand,
if you think about it for a second,
it's just on a continuum
from, you know, buy a present,
you know, pick up some hors d'oeuvres,
make sure I spread gossip.
It's a continuum.
And why is it?
And why is it that many of us,
if I say this,
we all know that it's true,
but we can't actually,
we're fairly powerless about changing it.
Like, why is that?
What is it about us human beings
that that's in fact the case?
Like, I mention all of this
because if we're not aware,
it's very interesting,
the Bible brings this dynamic out
very, very clearly
in a very, very powerful way.
that the Bible confronts us
with what goes on in our hearts
in the context of confronting,
in a profound critique of religion,
a profound critique of spirituality,
it also brings out the dilemma
of the human heart
and all in the context
of Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper.
So if you get your Bibles
and open them up to Luke 22,
let's look and see how it is
that unless we think about
this question up here,
unless this question
has gripped our heart,
we won't understand
the dynamics of the text.
We won't even see
that the text is trying to make us
ask this question about ourselves
because many of us,
even when we read the text,
and even if George says,
oh, it's a profound critique of religion,
we go, yes,
it's a profound critique of religion.
And then we point our fingers
and our memories
to those brethren elders
or those Pentecostal pastors
or those Roman Catholics
or those Orthodox
or that bar manager
or Stephen Harper
or Thomas Moclair,
and we point our finger at him
or her or whatever,
and at the same time
not realize that there's three fingers
pointing back at our hearts.
Because you can never point your finger,
unless you're missing some fingers,
you can never point your finger
at somebody without having
a whole pile of fingers,
more fingers pointing back at yourself.
And so the Bible brings this to the fore
as part of the lead up.
In a sense,
it's wanting us to realize
we really need a Savior.
I really need a Savior.
Thomas Moclair needs a Savior,
and so does Harper,
but I need one.
I have three fingers pointing back at me.
Let's listen to Luke 22.
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread
drew near,
which is called the Passover,
and the chief priests
and the scribes
were seeking how to put him to death,
for they feared the people.
This is a very powerful verse.
Just a few verses,
and I have to confess
the first few times
I've read through it
and many other times before
in just my devotional reading
when I've read through it,
it's like you skip through this part
to get to the good stuff, okay?
But this is actually,
you know,
this is really,
this is human life.
This is describing me and you.
The chief priests and the Pharisees,
they had two things
on their to-do list,
or three things on their to-do list.
Don't forget to pick up the lamb.
Make sure I pick up
the matzo bread made by Moishi
because my kids really like it,
and they don't like the stuff
made by Aaron.
And attend a meeting
on how to kill Jesus.
That was their to-do list.
And that's what it says.
Now, the Feast of Unleavened Bread
drew near,
which is called the Passover,
and the chief priests.
It's very religious.
Scribes could have been religious,
could also just been
professional people,
the hipsters of the day.
I don't know,
like the spiritual,
not religious people.
We're not as much
into the ceremonies,
but we really know the Bible.
We're really into words,
and we're really into
the meaning of words,
and they're spiritual people,
and they're seeking
how to put Jesus to death.
Why are they seeking
to put Jesus to death?
Because they feared the people.
You see,
what do they fear?
The people?
They fear the people
because they think
the people will do it,
get it wrong about Jesus.
And so why do they fear the people?
They feel that they're worried,
they're afraid,
that the people are all stupid.
They're smart.
The people are stupid.
And the bigger the gap
between how smart you think you are
and how dumb you think other people are
is the size of your worry
as you go through life
for a whole pile of things.
That doesn't happen
to any of you at all.
None of you are worried
about different political things.
Like, none of you are worried
that Montclair will get elected.
None of you are worried
that Harper will get re-elected.
Like, none of you.
None.
I'm sure that I'm...
We're talking about Americans
or something like that
in the next election.
We're not talking about Canadians.
We're not talking about people
who come to church.
We're not talking about people
in the bars
and people doing yoga,
you know, right now
or in the coffee shops.
Folks,
this is how human life works.
And we're not even often aware of it.
The more that we think
that we've got it right
and that we're wise and smart
and the more we think
that people got it wrong
and we're at the same time
completely and utterly blind
of the fact
that that's...
We think that somehow or another
out of all the people
on the planet,
God has anointed me
or you
with this special knowledge.
And there's all this herd
of independent minds
and we worry
and we're afraid.
Gosh, it's too bad
the Bible doesn't talk
about real life, eh?
Too bad it doesn't address
our hearts.
That it's just boring.
You see,
we're so blind
of what goes on
in most of our lives
that we don't even recognize
ourselves here in the text.
But that's exactly
what's going on.
See, that's why
we have to ask ourselves
the question,
why can human beings
so easily plan
an evil thing
and plan a good thing
at the same time
all the while thinking
we are superior
like they're doing?
Because they're afraid
of the people.
They think the people
are stupid.
And really,
is why can George
so easily plan
an evil thing
and plan a good thing
at the same time
all the while thinking
that he is superior?
Like, why can George
do that?
I don't know why
George can do that.
And I'm not saying
this just to
dump a load
on you folks.
I mean,
this is human life, folks.
This is what Buddhism
has to deal with,
Hinduism,
Marxism,
spirituality,
atheism,
agnosticism.
If these systems
of thought
can't actually
articulate
real human dilemmas
and real human problems
and have something
to address them,
then why do we
follow them?
So the question is,
can Christianity
actually both unveil
this issue
and actually speak
into it,
both confronting
us to humble us,
but at the same time
promising some type
of realistic hope?
Now, the Bible
doesn't,
the Bible goes
something which is
a little bit deeper.
This is all the context
of Jesus setting up
the Lord's Supper
and the Bible's
going to keep
going deeper
because here's the thing.
This is actually
a really, really,
really significant
passage
and for a lot of us
more reformed
evangelical types
who sort of get
worried about
charismatic types
being a little bit
kooky sometimes,
I'm sure there's not
a single person here
that that describes
and this very next thing
is going to actually
sort of kick us
in the behind
and make us realize
that we need to get
a lot more charismatic
because look what it says
in verse 3.
So back up.
The chief priests,
the religious
and the spiritual people,
the cultural leaders,
the academics,
the influence makers,
the people who write
op-ed pieces
in the National Post,
the Globe and Mail,
and the Ottawa Citizen,
they all want
to kill Jesus.
The president of Ottawa U,
the president of Carleton,
head of the National Research Council,
they all want to kill Jesus.
They have a problem.
And then guess who helps
them solve the problem?
The devil.
That's what the text says.
The devil solves their problem
to move the action forward.
Verse 3,
then Satan entered into Judas
called Iscariot
who was of the number
of the twelve.
That means he's one
of Jesus' apostles.
And Judas went away.
He left the twelve
and conferred with the chief priests
and the officers.
That's the guys
who have like swords
and shields
and daggers
and clubs
and whips
and have the power
to use them.
How he might betray
Jesus to them.
And the religious
and spiritual people
in the academics
and the political leaders
were really happy.
and they agreed
to give Judas money.
So once he heard
that they were going
to give him money,
because you can see here
that all these people
who talk about
how great a rebel Judas was,
that they're all like
really bang on, right?
But once he realizes
that they're going
to give him money,
he consents
and sought an opportunity
to betray Jesus
to them
in the absence
of a crowd.
So here's a second point.
And if you could put it up,
Satan is real,
invisible,
hostile,
and active
in human affairs.
And I will not
take him lightly
or ignore him
or fear him
or be preoccupied
with him.
Now the fact of the matter
is that I do
all those things.
Right?
I mean,
I don't think
I ever fear him.
I've been too well taught
in the Bible
to fear him, right?
Although the one time,
the first time
I ever actually dealt
with somebody
that I believe
was probably demon-possessed,
it was a very intense
emotional experience
and I did feel a lot of,
I felt some fear
of my physical safety,
not my spiritual safety,
but I actually felt
some fear
of my physical safety
when I confronted him.
He was a con man
working in evangelical
and charismatic groups
in Ottawa
to rip them off
and so huge discord.
And I came,
I happened to go
to another Bible study,
small group thing,
and after we had sort of
figured out
what was going on
with this guy
and he was there.
And when he saw me
come in the room,
the daggers
and the anger
and the hatred
that went from him
to me was like almost,
it almost hit me
like a blow.
And when there was
the first opportunity
I told people
about what he was doing
in the city
and he called me out
to go outside
and I was worried
about my physical safety.
But generally,
when I put the point
in things like this,
I don't do it,
you know,
I put it as I
because if you write it down
in your notes,
it's something that
I hope you can say.
And what this text
is telling us,
and I'm going to go on
from this,
it's not a big thing
in the sermon,
but I would not serve you
well as your pastor
if I didn't point it out.
That Satan is real,
invisible,
hostile
to God,
to anything godly,
to life.
Satan hates life.
One of the things
which is so powerful
about the Lord of the Rings
is in that,
those three books,
you get it more
in the books
than the movie,
although you see it
in the movie,
is that the world
in a sense
that's completely
given over to evil
is a world
of barrenness
and pollution
where you can't
drink the water
and nothing grows
and the air is foul.
And where evil
does not rule,
most preeminently
in places like the Shire,
there's crops,
there's families,
there's babies.
And it's a very,
at a very,
very fundamental level,
he draws the two paths
in a powerful,
epic story.
Satan is real,
invisible,
hostile,
and active
in human affairs.
And I will not
take him lightly
or ignore him
or fear him
or be preoccupied
with him.
You know,
I was thinking about this
when I was coming here.
First of all,
I just shared with somebody
as I was coming in,
like,
I'm so dumb,
like I really am.
I'm really stupid
lots of times.
And I knew very early on,
first on Monday
when I looked at this text,
I was going to mention
something about the devil
and I've had a rough week.
And I should have realized
that whenever I'm going
to do a sermon,
I'm going to mention the devil
and I'm going to have
a rough week.
He's going to make
my life miserable.
And you know,
one of the things,
miserable was too strong a word,
but he made my life hard.
And one of the things
that's really interesting,
when I was writing
this point down,
I kept wanting
to capitalize the hymn
referring to the devil
because that's what he wants.
And I said,
no, no, no, no,
small h.
Only one guy
gets the big H
in my notes,
right?
Or, you know,
the Father,
the Son,
the Holy Spirit,
God.
But nothing else
gets the big H
or the big Y
when it's talking
about yours.
And I'm just leaving that,
you know,
and so here it is.
This is what's so amazing
about this text.
You know,
I titled the sermon series,
Luke,
Jesus for Pagans
and Skeptics.
You can see here
how Luke goes
right to the heart
with what's going on
with human life.
And you know,
the fact of the matter is,
is that in Buddhist cultures,
Muslim cultures,
Hindu cultures,
secular cultures like ours,
there's always a powerful belief
in devils and demons.
You go to chapters.
We live in a post-post-Christendom culture,
all sorts of opinion makers
that are far, far, far removed
from a Christian worldview.
And just look at the number
of books in a normal chapters
that talk about occult matters.
Just, you know,
and so the Bible provides wisdom
and clarity about the whole thing
and a message that ultimately
that Satan's completely
and utterly defeated.
You see, what we have to see
with this,
because if you look at
all the Gospels,
you'll see that the cross
is a power encounter
not only against sin,
but also against the devil
and hell itself
and all hostile spiritual powers.
And that in the cross,
when Jesus dies,
when the devil and the world
thinks,
and our flesh thinks
that it is finally defeated,
that irksome guy from Nazareth
named Jesus,
probably born illegitimately,
and we think we've had
our greatest triumph,
that that's actually
the moment of defeat
for hell and sin
and death and Satan
and all hostile spiritual powers.
And it's on one hand
a profound moment of defeat.
And for that part of us
that longs to be redeemed
and be made one with God,
it's also the moment
of our profound salvation
and victory.
So it's in this context
that Jesus is going to institute
the Lord's Supper.
It's part of the reason
why we understand
why we often find in,
that we often find
parts of church service
and even communion itself,
why it's often so divisive
and why we often find
things so boring.
Because Jesus,
even as he's instituting
the Lord's Supper,
helps to reveal to us
our human heart
and the spiritual dynamic
and power encounter
that we're involved in
when we gather
in a few minutes
to remember that Jesus
died on the cross for us,
that he conquered sin and death,
that he is the power of God
for salvation
for all who believe,
that he has defeated
sin, death, hell,
all hostile spiritual powers,
that he has done this for you,
that you by faith in him,
by repentance and faith in him,
can share in his victory.
And that's what we gather
in the presence of Jesus
and the power of the Holy Spirit
to remember.
That's what we do.
Now, before we get this,
there's something evil
that's been in the world
for several millennium,
and it's a growing evil
in our culture.
And it's something
that I need to mention
at this point in time
because we need to be aware of it
because it can rob us
of our witness
and rob us of our courage,
and we don't realize
that we need to pray into it.
There's been many things
in recent months
about the growing rise
of anti-Semitism in France.
Maybe you haven't been noticing it,
but there's been many things
in certain media outlets
that there is a significant exodus
of Jewish people from France
because of the violent anti-Semitism
which is growing in that country.
And you cannot be in Canada
without realizing
that there's increasing
anti-Semitism in our country.
And often universities
are one of the centers of it,
by the way.
I don't mean to offend you
if you're here as a professor.
I mean, it's just the case
that there's growing anti-Semitism
in our country.
And so it makes it
very, very hard sometimes
when you come to parts of the Bible,
even the New Testament,
how do you bear witness
to the Jewishness of Jesus
in a culture
which is anti-Semitic?
How do you witness
to somebody who's anti-Semitic
about Jesus
given that Jesus is just so Jewish?
And we're about to see
the Jewishness of Jesus.
I mean, he's Jewish.
Everything that we're about to see
in the story
that leads up to the institution
of the Lord's Supper
shows that Jesus is a pious Jew.
And that even as he institutes
this thing,
which has become
one of the two main things
that Christians are to do,
baptism is the other one
and the Lord's Supper
is the other one.
It's to mark us as Christians.
We are to do it
for our soul's health,
for our communal health,
to bear witness to Jesus,
to proclaim Jesus.
We are to do Holy Communion
and Jesus institutes it
in the context
of a Jewish festival and feast.
And it's very interesting.
Some of you,
when you were listening to me
read Luke chapter 22,
you might have thought,
one moment,
there's not two cups.
There's only one cup in communion.
Jesus gets it wrong.
Cup, bread, cup.
No, no, no.
That's not how it works.
It's actually very interesting.
In this,
which is the most pagan
of the Gospels
in terms of it's most
clearly written for pagans,
Luke,
of all of the writers
who bears witness
to the institution
of the Lord's Supper,
is the one that draws out
the Jewishness
and the connection
to Passover
of the Lord's Supper.
So let's listen to it.
And at first,
by the way,
this next little part,
verse seven,
it sounds like a spy novel.
It's really interesting.
I was reading some commentators
and they get all,
you know,
they all get,
you know,
they get their,
you know,
their knickers in a knot,
you know,
all about,
you know,
what's going on.
Did Jesus arrange this,
et cetera?
It sounds like a spy novel.
You know,
go to the corner
of here and here,
light a cigarette,
you know,
look down,
you know,
a tall,
dark stranger
will come and talk to you
and then you go to a bar
and you'll meet a,
anyway,
you know what,
it sounds just like a spy novel.
Here's how it goes.
Verse seven,
then came the day
of unleavened bread.
I'll talk about this
in a moment
on which the Passover lamb
had to be sacrificed.
So Jesus sent Peter and John
saying,
go and prepare the Passover
for us
that we may eat it.
So Jesus gives Peter
and John this command.
So they say to him,
where will you have us prepare it?
Like they might've even
been a little bit frustrated.
Historians believe
that the population,
the year round population
of Jerusalem around this time
was probably about 30,000 people.
And for Passover,
the estimate of the number
of pilgrims
that would swell
the city of Jerusalem,
that they estimate
that it's somewhere
between 85 to 125,000 pilgrims
would come to Jerusalem
for the Passover.
And of course,
many Jewish people,
they would also have,
I mean,
in that culture,
it would be a profound
hospitality culture
and also a culture
for making money.
Nothing wrong with that.
That's not,
nothing disparaging about that.
So they would have rooms
and stuff like that.
But the disciples
were probably really worried
about where are we going
to celebrate the Passover?
Okay?
So whether Jesus
just does this
through,
you know,
whether it's a God thing
or whether Jesus,
that doesn't matter.
But what's going to happen now
is it's going to sound
like a spy novel, right?
Verse 10.
Jesus said to them,
behold,
when you enter the city,
a man carrying a jar of water
will meet you.
Pause here for a second.
This is a really hard thing.
Until I looked at commentaries,
I didn't know this.
The reason this is a significant,
you see,
if you said in Ottawa,
okay,
walk down to the canal
and when you see a man
carrying a water bottle,
follow him.
You'd see so many men
carrying water bottles,
you'd go,
how do I,
what do I do?
Okay,
in this culture,
carrying a water,
carrying a water jar
is woman's work.
The man would have stuck out.
And so back to verse 10.
He said to them,
behold,
when you enter the city,
have entered the city,
a man carrying a jar of water
will meet you.
Follow him into the house
that he enters
and tell the master of the house.
The teacher says to you,
where is the guest room
where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples?
And he will show you
a large upper room furnished,
prepare it there.
And they went and found it
just as he had told them
and they prepared the Passover.
And when the hour came,
he reclined a table
and the apostles with him.
And he said to them,
I have earnestly desired
to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer.
And earnestly desired sounds,
it's a good translation,
but it's like a,
this is a profound
emotional experience for him.
The original language
communicates that this is
a profound emotional experience,
a deeply emotional experience
for Jesus to celebrate
the Passover
with his disciples
one final time.
And, you know,
and by the way,
what we have to do
when we read the text
in a culture
which is increasingly
becoming anti-Semitic,
we don't hide
the Jewishness of Jesus.
Jesus.
And we just need to pray
that God knew
what he was doing
when he had a text
like this written.
And we just have to pray
that God will touch hearts.
That God will touch hearts.
That maybe he will use this text
to make a person aware
of prejudice.
Because as you and I know,
for those of us
who have prejudices,
prejudices are a very,
very, very deeply persistent sin
that we are blind to
in ourselves.
It's deeply human.
It's not a white problem
or an Asian problem
or an African problem.
It is a human problem
to have prejudice.
And it is almost always
hard for us
to recognize it
in ourselves.
And maybe that's
why there is a text
like this.
And maybe it will be
something like that
that will touch our heart
to make us realize
that we need a Savior.
And so we just need
to trust God
and pray
and have courage.
Anyway, back to the text.
I have,
with deep emotion,
he tells them,
and the disciples
would have known
that Jesus was
deeply emotional.
I have desire
to eat this Passover
with you
before I suffer.
Once again,
they don't know
he's about to die.
Judas knows
he's about to come
to a really bad end
sometime really soon.
He's got the dough,
got the promise
of the money,
but they don't know.
And yet again,
Jesus is telling them
he's going to die.
In fact,
he'll be dead
within 24 hours
of this,
of him saying this.
For I tell you,
I will not eat it
again.
See that?
He's telling him
he's going to die.
He's also telling them
he's going to rise
from the dead
until it is fulfilled
in the kingdom of God.
In fact,
he's telling them
that everything
that's going on
is all part
of God's plan.
It's all part
of God's plan
to bring a kingdom
that comes out
of every people group.
It's going to come
from Africa.
It's going to come
from Asia.
It's going to come
from First Nations people.
It's going to come
from the Inuit.
It's going to come
to Europeans
and North Americans.
It's going to come
to Australians
and New Zealand
and it is going
to come to the whole planet.
It's going to be offered
for everybody.
This is a planet-wide plan
that God has had,
a big plan
for a long time
and it's all coming
to be fulfilled
and my death
is a big part of it
and I'm going to explain
what's going to happen
in a moment
but it's going to happen
and it's all
of the scriptures
in the Old Testament
we're pointing
towards this time
and pointing towards
the time
when I come again
and it's all fulfilled.
And here's now
Jesus entering
into the Passover meal
and scholars debate
whether in the time
of Jesus
whether there were
three cups
in the Passover meal
or whether there were
four cups.
It doesn't matter
whether there were
three or four
and it's not entirely clear
whether this is
the first cup,
the second cup,
the third cup
or if there was
a fourth cup
that Jesus is about
to partake.
It's not clear
from the text
whether the second cup
which is going to come
in verse 20
is one of the Passover cups
or what's going on.
It's not clear
what's going on.
That's fine
but what Luke does here
to his pagan audience
is he brings it home
that Jesus partakes
of the Passover meal
and the Passover meal
is the remembrance
for the Jewish people.
Exodus 12
it's in the going deeper notes
I give you the reference
and it's the promise
that God has said
that he would deliver
his people
out of bondage
and slavery
and Egypt
and bring and win
a people for himself
and he does not pick
the smartest people
the wisest people
the most virtuous people
it's an act of grace
and that's why
ordinary people
like you and me
can be called
to belong to Jesus
if you're worried
that you're not smart enough
spiritual enough
unspiritual enough
rich enough
together enough
that's entirely good.
God has never used
those criteria.
He calls people
because he's love
not because of
our excellencies.
He calls us
because he's love
and so
God calls
Israel
out of slavery
and bondage
in Egypt
and he says
to Pharaoh
he even tells
Pharaoh
what he's about
to do
that the firstborn
will die
and nobody
takes any action
and the people
of Israel
they gather
into the house
and before they
gather into the house
they kill a lamb
the lamb dies
in their stead
and they take
the blood of the lamb
and they put
the blood of the lamb
on the entrance way
into the house
and they enter
into the house
eating unleavened bread
and the lamb
that has died
on their behalf
and God
comes in wrath
and judgment
against all slaveholders
all who keep people
in bondage
all who oppress
others
all who are people
exactly like us
and God comes
in judgment
and kills the firstborn
and when he sees
a house
which is covered
by the blood
of the lamb
his wrath
passes over them
because
the lamb
has borne
the judgment
that the people
deserve
and God's judgment
does not deliver
does not fall
on them
John's gospel
is introduced
by John the Baptist
telling his disciples
behold the lamb
of God
who takes away
the sin of the world
behold the lamb
of God
who takes away
the sin
of the world
the true
and greater
lamb
of Exodus 12
enters into
human history
and ministry
with the words
of John the Baptist
the true
and greater
lamb
of Exodus 12
walks among us
the true
and greater
lamb
will die
upon the cross
and it is
that true
and greater
lamb
that remembers
those lesser
lambs
which are slain
some
14 or 1500
years earlier
as a picture
and a prophecy
and a promise
that God
would send
the true
and greater
lamb
to bear
the sins
of all the people
Jewish and pagan
alike
to inaugurate
and create
a new
and greater
covenant
that would be
without geography
would be without race
would be without
color
would be without
ethnicity
would be without
social class
would be without
sex
that would be
for all people
who put their
faith and trust
in the lamb
that God
provides
to deal with
people
who cannot
address
and change
a human heart
whereby they
will have
on their
to-do list
today I will
slaughter
Ethiopian
Christians
and then I
will buy
a soccer ball
for my son
so I may play
with him
on the way
home
he dies
for us
who cannot
change our
human heart
he dies
for you
and me
who cannot
change
our human
heart
and so
he takes
the cup
for the
Passover meal
in verse 17
and when he
had given
thanks he
said
take this
and divide
it among
yourselves
for I
tell you
that from
now on
I will
not drink
of the
fruit of
the vine
until the
kingdom
of God
comes
and now
whether that
was the
third or
fourth cup
in the
Passover meal
or the
first or
the second
the text
doesn't make
it clear
it doesn't
really matter
which one
of them
it is
Jesus now
institutes
the Lord's
Supper
Holy Communion
the Eucharist
if you could
put up the
third point
Andrew
third point
just before I
read the
words of
the institution
of the
Lord's
Supper
here's what
we have to
understand
in love
Jesus
died for
me
he died
for you
I always
put these
remember I
put these
words down
that if you
want to make
your notes
that is
personal
it's not
just that in
love Jesus
died for
for John
or Frida
or you
know Louise
or you
know Harold
but that
Jesus died
for me
in love
Jesus died
for me
in love
he explained
the meaning
of his
death
before it
happens
and in
love
he calls
ordinary
people
to be
his
and to
meet
together
and to
remember
who he
is
and what
he
accomplished
for us
that's what
Jesus is
doing
this is
all love
you see
what
just a
week ago
a couple
of weeks
ago
I flew
into
Newark
New Jersey
for the
first time
and I
actually
happened to
be in
aisle seat
and it
actually
happened to
be that
the plane
was coming
in so
that I
could see
Manhattan
spread out
through the
window
and I
could see
the
Empire State
Building
I can
see all
the buildings
it's such
an iconic
image
you know
so many
movies
superhero movies
and others
you know
you see
the city
and you see
the
Statue of
Liberty
and it was
really neat
you know
I was
moved by it
I know it's
silly
but I was
moved by it
and what
Jesus is about
to do right
now is
he's giving
the disciples
a 10,000
feet in the
air view
of the
chaos
confusion
and evil
that's about
to engulf
them
and what's
going to
engulf
them over
the next
24 hours
in particular
and then
after that
on the
Easter Sunday
there's going
to be
ears cut
off
there's going
to be
kisses
of betrayal
there's going
to be
people told
that they're
not going
to actually
stand up
for Jesus
there's
going to be
fear
there's going
to be
men running
away
naked
there's
going
to be
whips
there's
going
to be
complete
and utter
chaos
and there's
going to be
shame
and there's
going to be
all this
things going
on
and Jesus
very calmly
and in a
very very
shocking way
he gives
them
from a
10,000
feet above
the scenes
that it
might
it's going
to look
chaotic
it's going
to look
evil
it's going
to look
like the
most crazy
horrible
terrifying
thing
that any
of you
have been
through
up until
now
but I
want you
to understand
what's
going on
I want
you to
understand
that my
body has
been broken
for you
and that
my blood's
being shed
for you
and that
I am
inaugurating
a new
covenant
for you
and I'm
doing all
this because
I love
you
because God
loves you
and because
God has
seen you
with the
problem of
your human
heart
and he
wants to
deal with
what you
cannot deal
with
he's
going
to
deal
with
it
on
your
behalf
verse 19
and 20
and Jesus
took bread
and when he
had given
thanks he
broke it
and gave
it to
them saying
this is my
body which
is given
for you
do this
in remembrance
of me
he did
it out
of love
he's
letting
them know
this
look at
it again
this is
my body
he breaks
the body
the only
way we
can receive
Jesus
is by
him
crucified
he's not
an example
I mean he
is an
example
but he's
way more
than an
example
he didn't
break his
body to
be an
example
although
breaking
of his
body
grounds
us
understanding
taking
so many
risks
and being
willing
to sacrifice
for others
as the
gospel
grips us
it starts
to model
for us
and shape
for us
a way
that we
are to
understand
how to
make
marriages
work
and families
work
and churches
work
and life
work
that there
needs to be
sacrifice
somebody has
to be the
one to turn
the other
cheek
someone has
to be
the one
who will
just bear
in themselves
some of
the pain
and actually
be able to
forgive
and what
Jesus is
about to do
is to be
a profound
thing
which grips
us
and as it
grips us
it starts
to nudge
us in
certain
directions
of behaving
it starts
to draw
us
in certain
directions
it grounds
us to
understand
why it's
worth it
to maybe
do such
things
and it
starts to
shape us
but beyond
all of that
it's a power
of God
for salvation
that he
does
if there's
no salvation
there's no
point of a
model
there's
no salvation
the last
thing we
need
is more
advice
it's
salvation
first and
foremost
and he
took the
bread
and when he
had given
thanks
he broke
it
and he
offers to
them
the broken
bread
and he
says
this
broken
bread
is my
body
and it's
given
for you
I
break
my
body
for you
and the
original
language
it's
language
of
sacrifice
it's
the
language
of
Old
Testament
sacrifice
I
do it
for you
remember
me
I
want
you
to do
this
in the
future
I
want
you
use
plural
I
want
you
guys
and
gals
to do
this
in the
future
I'm
laying
down
a
command
that
you
need
to
get
together
and
receive
what
I've
done
for
you
and
then
you
need
to
remember
who
I am
and
what
I've
done
for
you
and
then
he
says
the
cup
after
they
eaten
this
cup
that
is
poured
out
for
you
is
the
new
covenant
in
my
blood
and
there's
a
double
meaning
here
he's
not
only
pouring
out
the
blood
but
the
cup
was
an
Old
Testament
image
of
God's
wrath
and
it's
as
if
God
comes
to
me
and
sits
me
down
and
he
says
George
I'm
going to
put
into
this
cup
every
you know
all those
times
George
that you
had in
your
to-do
list
I'm
going to
enunciate
them all
every time
in your
to-do
list
you said
pick up
the
appetizers
remember
to
slander
such and
such a
person
and
have fun
at a
party
every time
you did
something
like that
I'm
going to
put this
in the
cup
I'm
going to
put it
in the
cup
every
time
you
used
your
judgment
against
one
person
and you
gave
yourself a
all the
things
that you've
done wrong
against your
wife
against your
kids
against your
parents
against your
neighbors
against your
church
I'm going to
put all of
that in
the cup
and that's
the cup
of the
wrath
and George
that's
your cup
and you
got to
drink it
and Jesus
says in
this
this cup
prepared
for you
George
if you
take this
cup
it will
be the
end of
you
I will
take this
cup
for you
I will
drink your
cup
I will
drink
this
cup
for you
and I
do it
for you
and what
we see
on the
cross
is the
result of
Jesus
drinking
my
cup
and we
see him
suffering
the result
of drinking
your cup
and you
know what
the people
you see
on the
street
out there
he drank
their cup
too
they just
don't know
about it
that's why
people want
to go to
China
it's why
they want
to go
to India
it's why
they want
to go
to Africa
it's why
they want
to go
into the
punk
community
and the
hipster
community
and they
want to
go into
the gay
community
because
he drank
their
cup
too
and that
that's
what he
says
this cup
that is
poured
out for
you
and there's
a double
meaning
is the
new
covenant
in my
blood
and the
covenant
is a
relationship
that God
creates
that involves
him and
ordinary people
like you
and I
that we
can enter
into
and because
Jesus drinks
my cup
and your
cup
and dies
on the
cross
we can
enter into
when we
receive what
he's done
for us
in just
penitence
and faith
we can
enter into
a new
relationship
with God
just
could you
put up
one more
thing
point
Andrew
and then
we're
going to
get to
some
practical
things
and then
we'll
end
here's
the
thing
Luke
tells
the
real
story
of
the
real
God
acting
with
real
grace
for
real
people
in
real
need
in
real
history
where
his
real
son
really
died
to
really
inaugurate
a
real
covenant
that I
can
really
enter
into
and
really
live
in
that's
what
he
does
and
that's
what
we
remember
that's
what
every
sermon
should
be
about
on
one
hand
and
that's
what
we
remember
when
we
celebrate
the
Lord's
supper
that
Luke
tells
the
real
story
of
the
real
God
acting
with
real
grace
for
real
people
in
real
need
in
real
history
where
his
real
son
really
died
to
really
inaugurate
a
real
covenant
that
I
can
really
enter
into
and
you
entered
that
have
you
recognized
that
Jesus
has
drank
the
cup
of
wrath
that
you
deserve
if
you
there's
no
better
time
than
today
to
have
Jesus
as
your
savior
and
just
say
to
him
Jesus
I
don't
know
the
words
I
know
there's
supposed
to
be
the
sinner
prayer
and
you
know
I
can't
even
remember
the
sinner's
prayer
he
says
I'm
a
sinner
be
my
savior
you
say
that
there's
no
time
better
than
to
pray
that
prayer
if
you've
never
prayed
it
before
a
couple
of
other
things
just
in
closing
like
what
how
do
we
live
in
light
of
this
first
thing
Andrew
if
you
could
put
it
up
we
need
to
get
honest
with
God
and
we
recognize
that
anything
I
can
I
do
can
become
religious
or
spiritual
and
then
work
to
immunize
me
against
the
true
and
living
God
anything
I
do
can
become
religious
or
spiritual
and
then
work
to
immunize
me
against
the
true
and
living
God
anything
I
do
it
can
be
my
devotions
it
can
be
church
it
can
be
good
things
like
caring
for
your
kids
it
can
even
be
things
like
speaking
in
tongues
it
can
become
a
way
to
immunize
us
it
just
you
know
anything
the
problem
what
is it
about
the
human
heart
that
it
can
plan
evil
and
plan
good
and
feel
superior
at
the
same
time
and
be
completely
and utterly
blind
about
it
the
fact
of
the
matter
is
that
every
good
thing
that
God
does
and
gives
us
is
something
that
we
can
twist
and
we
can
break
and
we
can
pollute
and
that's
why
we
just
have
to
start
to
be
honest
with
God
that
God
I
really
need
a
savior
I
came
to
you
Jesus
the
first
time
when
I
came
to
Jesus
and
gave
my
life
to
him
it
was
just
because
I
had
this
sense
of
needing
something
more
I
didn't
really
understand
how
broken
I
am
how
much
I
needed
a
savior
and
we
just
need
to
call
out
to
God
Jesus
I
really
do
need
you
as
my
savior
I
really
do
and
then
just
a
final
thing
if
you
could
put
up
the
final
slide
just
a
couple
of
things
to
help
you
when
you
receive
communion
choose
to
remember
that
Jesus
died
to
reconcile
you
to
the
living
God
me
to
the
living
God
we're
going to
be
receiving
communion
in a
few
minutes
just
say
Jesus
I
don't
know
I
have
problems
my
mind
is
confused
I
am
really
angry
at
this
person
I
can
hardly
focus
my
emotions
aren't
in line
Jesus
I
just
want
to
be
honest
with
you
about
these
things
but
Jesus
I
know
that
you
died
on
the
cross
for
me
to
reconcile
me
to
God
and
say
that
to
him
and
then
secondly
choose
to
say
thank
you
to
Jesus
for
who
he
is
and
what
he
did
and
choose
to
not
seek
particular
emotions
because
Canadians
in
2015
we
often
evaluate
things
with
whether
or
not
you
had
that
peaceful
feeling
that
buzz
feeling
that
care
bear
feeling
that
yearning
type
of
feeling
I
don't
know
those
tingles
down
the
spine
type
of
feeling
and
if
we
don't
get
those
feelings
it
wasn't
a
very
good
communion
service
and
what
we
need
to
do
today
is
when
we
come
to
receive
communion
say
Jesus
I
don't
want
to
I'm
supposedly
remembering
you
and
I'm
not
even
aware
of
the
fact
that
I'm
making
it
all
about
me
and
whether
I
feel
a
particular
thing
and
so
Jesus
please
help
me
just
to
completely
and
utterly
put
to
death
any
demand
I
make
of
you
that
I
feel
any
particular
way
when
I
come
to
remember
what
Jesus
did
for
me
on
the
cross
and
then
finally
choose
to
leave
it
up
God
does
something
in
this
transaction
and
maybe
the
thing
he'll
do
will
be
an
act
of
courage
that
helps
you
in
six
years
time
and
when
you
get
to
heaven
and
you
might
say
God
I'm
so
mad
I
came
to
communion
that
day
on
April
or
whatever
it
is
today
26
2015
I
had a
terrible
emotional
experience
I
didn't
get
anything
out
of
communion
and
then
God
just
says
oh
yeah
that
act
of
courage
that
you
just
did
five
years
later
that
was
grace
that
came
from
communion
then
like
why
do
you
think
I
have
to
give
you
something
right
that
instant
I'm
God
I
got
this
I
got
this
covered
I
have
it
figured
out
give
up
control
George
stop
thinking
you're
God
George
let
me
be
God
in
your
life
transform
communion
if
you
do
these
four
simple
things
choose
to
leave
it
up
to
God
as
to
how
you
will
benefit
from
receiving
communion
then
really
there
was
one
more
I
can't
do
this
help
me
Jesus
help
me
I'm
so
weak
I
forget
help
me
Lord
have
mercy
please
stand
just
bow
our heads
in
prayer
father
if
there's
any
here
who've
called
out
to
you
for
the
first
time
I'm
a
sinner
you're
a
savior
please
be
my
savior
and
never
let
me
go
father
I
ask
that
your
holy
spirit
would
just
flood
into
that
person
and
seal
him
or
her
for
yourself
and
keep
them
yours
and
just
launch
them
in
a
new
covenant
life
a new
relationship
with
you
father
we
thank
you
for
Jesus
we
thank
you
that
he
drank
the
cup
that
was
poured
out
for
us
we
thank
you
for
his
death
upon
the
cross
we
thank
you
that
he
is
the
savior
we
thank
you
that
he
is
Jewish
that
he
is
a
Jewish
man
dying
on
the
cross
for
the
world
that
he
is
your
son
father
we
thank
you
for
Jesus
help
us
to
never
be
ashamed
of
Jesus
gripped
by
the
gospel
living
for
your
glory
father
this
is
the
cry
of
our
heart
and
we
ask
this
in
the
name
of
Jesus
your
son
and
our
savior
amen