Good morning, everyone. Please open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean. I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
We're nearing the end of our series in the Gospel of Matthew, which we started a year and a half ago.
Matthew chapter 26, we're in verses 17 to 35.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Heavenly Father, you love your church. You love us and you gave your only Son for us.
And Lord, I confess I don't feel that I am up to the task of conveying the depth of your love in Jesus pouring out his blood for the sake of many, for their forgiveness of sins.
Would you please make that amazing spiritual reality come home and pierce your people's hearts this morning?
Exalt your Son.
And in Him be glorified.
Speak to us in the reading and preaching of your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Please stand if you're able. Let's honor God together by standing as I read from God's Word.
Matthew chapter 26, verses 17 to 35.
Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying,
Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?
He said, Go into the city to a certain man and say to him,
The teacher says, My time is at hand.
I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.
And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.
And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.
And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, Is it I, Lord?
He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.
Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi?
He said to him, You have said so.
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.
And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying,
Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant,
which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
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 when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night.
For it is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.
But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.
Peter answered him, Do they all fall away because of you?
I will never fall away.
Jesus said to him, Truly, I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.
Peter said to him, Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.
And all the disciples said the same.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
We all expect our enemies to hate us, to hurt us.
But we don't expect our family and friends to do that.
And that's why it hurts more when that happens.
Maybe you were falsely accused or wrongly blamed for something that you're not responsible for at your workplace.
And a coworker of yours that you consider your friend, who knew the full truth, didn't come to your defense.
Didn't tell the manager what really happened.
Maybe you confided something in your friend, a trusted confidant, only to discover later that the deeply personal things that you have been sharing with this person is being gossiped about and whispered behind your back.
And damaging your name and your reputation.
Maybe you had a BFF or a brother, sister, someone that you knew would always be there for you.
Until they weren't.
You came upon some hard times.
Financial hardship.
Prolonged sickness, illness.
Some public relations crisis, relational issues.
And then when you needed them most, they were gone.
Nowhere to be found.
Maybe you had a boyfriend, girlfriend, fiance, husband, wife that you loved, you trusted,
only to learn later that that person's devotion to you was a farce.
They were lying to your face and cheating on you over and over again.
Some of you have been betrayed like this.
But perhaps more importantly, all of us have betrayed like this.
Because we have all betrayed God.
God says in Ezekiel,
I was your God and Redeemer.
I brought you into the promised land flowing with milk and honey.
And yet you betrayed me and ran after every God you can find upon every hill.
In Hosea, he says,
I was your husband.
But you left me and whored after other gods.
In Isaiah 1, verse 2, he says,
I am your father.
I raised you up.
I brought you up.
But you have rebelled against me.
Is it any surprise then that we humans
backbite and betray one another?
We're old hats.
Old hands.
We're all experienced.
We've all done this to God.
When we have so betrayed God by turning away from him and sinning against him
and being treacherous ingrates in our lives toward him,
will he ever take us back?
Do we dare hope for forgiveness,
for redemption and reconciliation?
That's what this passage is about.
In this morning, Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas,
his abandonment by the 12,
and finally his denial by Peter.
Dramatically and comprehensively,
Jesus is betrayed by those who are closest to him.
But there's a divine purpose behind all of this,
and that is this.
Jesus' blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.
We're going to first talk about how Jesus was betrayed,
and then we'll skip ahead to how he was deserted and denied,
and finally we'll talk about how his blood was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins.
Verse 17 tells us that this took place on the first day of unleavened bread.
This is a reference to the feast of Passover or the feast of unleavened bread.
According to Exodus 12,
the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered just at twilight of the 14th day of the first month of the year
in the Jewish calendar.
So after slaughtering the lamb at twilight on that day,
in Jewish reckoning the day stretched from sundown to sundown.
So after twilight it would go into the new day,
the next day,
that evening they would eat,
that night they would eat the Passover.
And that would begin the beginning of the seven-day feast of unleavened bread.
So in our reckoning it would be Thursday evening to Friday morning of,
Friday afternoon of Holy Week,
and that's where we're at.
When it was evening it says in verse 20 that Jesus reclined at table with the twelve.
But during this festive occasion,
Jesus makes a startling announcement in verse 21.
Truly I say to you,
one of you will betray me.
The disciples are probably staring back at Jesus,
trying to figure out,
is he joking?
And then they realize,
they see the sorrow in his eyes,
and they realize,
oh no,
he's for real.
They look around like,
I mean,
who's in this room?
It's just us.
The twelve.
One of you will betray me.
Very sorrowful they become,
and they begin to say to him and after one another,
is it I,
Lord?
Surely not I.
And Jesus answered,
he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.
If you have no idea what that means,
that's because that's exactly the way it's supposed to be.
They've all,
they're all dipping their hands in the same bowl.
It's one of them.
But it's a deeply painful statement nonetheless.
There are many things that we do with strangers, right?
We will ride on the subway with strangers.
We will watch a movie next to strangers.
You know,
some of you are more comfortable with doing things with strangers than others.
But we don't usually invite strangers to our homes.
We don't usually eat with them,
invite them to our family meal.
Eating together,
especially in the intimacy of our own homes,
goes beyond acquaintance.
It signifies friendship,
trust,
fellowship.
He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me
will betray me.
This is not a hygienic,
sterile meal
where everyone has their own dish,
everyone has their own cup,
and everyone has their own dipping sauce.
No,
this is,
there's a lot of double dipping going on.
It's a family meal.
He who has dipped his hand with me.
Can you pass that bowl over?
David wrote in Psalm 41,
verse 9,
even my close friend in whom I trusted,
who ate my bread,
has lifted his heel against me.
Those who eat your bread
are close friends in whom you trust.
Jesus is saying,
my friend,
friend,
my confidant,
my close advisor,
my trusted disciple,
one of you
will betray me.
But even this shocking betrayal
is no surprise to our sovereign God.
Jesus says in verse 24,
the Son of Man goes
as it is written of him.
But woe to that man
by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would have been better for that man
if he had not been born.
Hundreds of years before Jesus,
even a thousand years
before Jesus' death,
in Isaiah 53,
Psalm 22,
Daniel 9,
Zechariah 12,
among other places,
God's word prophesied
that the Messiah would be killed.
Zechariah 11 prophesied
with remarkable specificity
that the Lord would send a shepherd
to care for his people
with favor and union,
but that his own sheep
would betray that very shepherd
and reject him
and sell him for
30 pieces of silver.
Which was what we saw last week.
All of this was already written of him
that he would be betrayed.
The Lord God has already
sovereignly ordained
the betrayal of his own son
and the death of his own son.
It is written,
but nonetheless,
the man by whom Jesus is betrayed
is responsible for his treachery.
He'll be held accountable
and his judgment so severe
that it will have been better
for that man to have never been born.
There's no turning back for Judas.
He plays a singular,
unrepeated role
in the death of Christ.
Judas already knows,
of course,
that he is the one.
He's already made the pact
with the chief priest
as we saw in the passage
Ed preached last week.
He's agreed to sell Jesus
for 30 pieces of silver.
But while the other 11 disciples
are going around,
surely not I.
Is it I, Lord?
Judas can't just hang back.
That looks really suspicious.
Right?
So he also approaches Jesus
expressing his incredulity,
protesting of his innocence.
Is it I, Lord?
Lord?
I assume that this is happening on the side.
It's a side conversation
because Judas doesn't want to be exposed
before all of the other disciples.
And also because we know
from John 13, 21 and 29
that the other disciples
didn't know at this time
that Judas was the one.
They don't find that out until later.
So Judas,
his heart palpitating,
probably his hands trembling
and his voice cracking,
but still with cold,
hushed determination,
asks,
is it I,
Rabbi?
And Jesus' answer is in the affirmative.
You have said so.
It is as you have said.
You said it.
And don't miss the key difference
between Judas and the rest of the 12.
The rest of the 12 ask what?
Is it I,
Lord?
Judas alone asks,
is it I,
Rabbi?
Rabbi is the Jewish term for teacher.
In the Gospel of Matthew,
Jesus' disciples,
those who truly know him
and follow him
and love him,
never address him
as Rabbi or teacher.
It's the unbelievers,
it's the scribes,
the Pharisees,
the Herodians,
the Sadducees,
the lawyers,
the people who doubt Jesus
and disbelieve Jesus
and discredit Jesus,
they're the ones who call him teacher
or rabbi.
The title teacher
or rabbi in and of itself
is not derogatory.
The term rabbi
in the original Hebrew
means my great one.
Apply to anyone else,
it's an honorific,
but apply to Jesus,
it is woefully inadequate.
It's deficient.
It's even offensive.
In fact,
for us to consider
and call Jesus
merely our teacher
is offensive.
Jesus is the eternal
son of God.
He is the savior
of the world.
He's the king of kings
and lord of lords.
Some of you here
are not yet followers
of Christ.
You might concede
that Jesus is a great teacher.
His ethical teachings
about loving our neighbors
and as we love ourselves,
his teachings about forgiveness
have formed the very foundation
of Western civilization.
You might even concede
that he is a great prophet
or a miracle worker.
He healed many
and prophesied
of things that came true.
You might concede
that Jesus is a great man,
maybe even the greatest human being
that ever lived.
He started the biggest religion
in the world.
He has the most adherence
in the world.
Billions have claimed
to follow him.
His impact on world history
is unparalleled,
but even if you admit
all of that,
that only gets you
as far as Judas.
It's not enough.
Jesus Christ must be your Lord.
Maybe you call yourself
a Christian,
but Jesus is nothing more
than a great therapist.
Someone to give you a pep talk
and make you feel safe
and comfortable
and good about yourself.
Maybe you think of Jesus
as a great coach,
someone who can help you
fulfill your potential
and achieve your goals
and succeed in life.
But that too
will only get you
as far as Judas.
It's not enough.
Jesus Christ must be your Lord.
Romans 10, 9 does not say
if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is a great teacher,
you will be saved.
If you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart
that God raised him
from the dead,
then you will be saved.
To confess Jesus
as your Lord
is to submit
and surrender your life
completely to him
as the Lord
of heaven and earth.
It means to renounce
every other person's
claim upon your life
as a claim to lordship
and control in your life
including yourself.
It means to renounce
your own control
over your own life
and to pledge allegiance
to Jesus Christ alone.
We fool ourselves
into thinking
that we can rule
our own lives.
We're capable rulers
of our own destinies,
but in reality
every single person
in the world,
rich or poor,
successful or failures,
we have all,
every single one of us
made a ruin
of our lives.
We don't know
how to rule ourselves.
There is no one righteous,
no, not one.
Our spiritual hollowness,
our spiritual deadness
impeach us.
We must stop
masquerading as kings
and abdicate the throne
and submit to the lordship
of Jesus Christ.
To submit to the lordship
of Jesus Christ
means to deny yourself
as Jesus taught
earlier in the gospel,
to deny yourself
and to take up your cross
and follow him,
to lose your life
for his sake,
no longer living for yourself
but for him.
Later in our service,
we have the privilege
of baptizing four new people
who are making
that very commitment
and pledging allegiance
to Jesus today.
That's what baptism represents.
when you are submerged
under water,
you are baptized
into Christ's death.
You are being buried
with him
by baptism
into death.
And then when you emerge
out of that water,
you are raised
to new life
with Christ,
raised from the dead
with Jesus Christ
to walk in the newness
of life.
All is gone.
You're now a new creation
in Christ.
Then,
afterward,
we can say,
as Christians,
I have been crucified
with Christ.
It is no longer
I who live
but Christ
who lives within me.
The life I now live
in the body,
I live by faith
in the Son of God
who loved me
and gave himself for me.
That's what Christian life is.
That's what surrender
to the Lordship
of Christ is.
And what is,
then that means
God can tell you
anything he wants.
God can tell you
to go.
He can tell you
to stay.
God can put you
to prosperity.
He can put you
to poverty.
He can ordain
pleasure and comfort
for you.
He can ordain
suffering and loss
for you.
He can set you
on a platform.
He can set you
aside in obscurity.
He can make you
praised.
He can make you
criticized.
That's what it means
to confess
with your mouth
Jesus,
not me.
Jesus
is
Lord.
Is Jesus
Lord in your life?
Is he your
master?
Or do you
serve another?
If Jesus
is not your
Lord,
you will fall
away.
Judas'
situation is
unique,
so this isn't
an exact
parallel,
but Hebrews 6
speaks of those
who,
though they are
not of the
elect,
ultimately,
by their
association and
nearness to the
Spirit's work
among the people
of God,
they have had,
in a certain
sense,
tasted of the
heavenly gift
and the goodness
of the word of
God and the
powers of the
age to come.
And he says
that those people
sometimes fall
away.
such people,
God says,
cannot be
restored to
repentance.
In other words,
even now,
there are people
who resemble
Judas in some
sense,
people who knew
Jesus,
people who walked
with Jesus in a
certain sense,
who witnessed
his power and
wisdom and still
fell away.
most of us
have heard of
Billy Graham,
the famous
Christian evangelist.
But back in
1946,
Graham had a
friend and a
fellow evangelist
who was viewed
by many as
being even more
accomplished and
effective and
promising than
Billy Graham.
His name was
Charles Templeton.
But after the
preaching the
gospel internationally,
as an evangelist,
a decade later,
Templeton in
1957 publicly
declared himself
an agnostic.
Fifty years later,
Christian author
Lee Strobel got
to interview
Charles Templeton
and he asked
him,
how do you
assess Jesus?
At that point,
he says,
Templeton's hard
edge softened
and he took on
a much more
melancholy tone
and almost
nostalgically he
said,
Jesus was the
greatest human
being who has
ever lived.
He was a
moral genius.
His ethical
sense was
unique.
He was
intrinsically
wisest person.
He was the
intrinsically
wisest person
that I've ever
encountered in my
life or in my
readings.
His commitment
was total and
led to his own
death, much to
the detriment of
the world.
what could one
say about him
except that this
was a form of
greatness?
Strobel didn't
expect that from
someone who had
renounced and
publicly renounced
Christ all those
many years ago.
And so he pressed
it a little further.
You sound like you
really care about
him.
And Templeton
continued,
well, yes,
he is the most
important thing in
my life.
I know it might
sound strange,
but I have to
say I adore him.
Everything good I
know, everything
decent I know,
everything pure I
know I learned
from Jesus.
Yes, yes, and
tough.
Jesus, look at
Jesus.
He's tough.
He castigated
people.
He was angry.
People don't think
of him that way,
but they don't
read the Bible.
He had a righteous
anger.
He cared for the
oppressed and
exploited, and the
exploited.
There's no question
that he had the
highest moral
standard, the
least duplicity, the
greatest compassion
of any human being
in history.
There have been
many other
wonderful people,
but Jesus is
Jesus.
In my view, he is
the most important
human being who
has ever existed.
And if I may put
it this way, he
continued as his
voice started to
crack, I miss
him.
with that, his
eyes filled with
tears, and he
turned his head and
covered his eyes, and
his shoulders started
bobbing, and he
started heaving and
crying, until
awkwardly he waved
everything off and
called up to any of
you and said,
enough of that.
Templeton was a
Judas.
He died as an
apostate and a
betrayer of Christ
because even though he
spoke with such
passion and emotion,
such pathos about
Jesus, even though he
believed that Jesus was
the greatest human being
that ever lived, the
most important thing he
says in his life in a
kind of way, he never
confessed Jesus as
Lord.
I will return to the
most important Passover
meal in verses 26 to
29 later, but now
skip with me to verses
30 to 35.
After the Passover,
they sing a hymn as was
the custom, and then
Jesus has still more
surprising and sobering
words for his
disciples.
He says in verse 31,
you will all fall away
because of me this
night, for it is
written, I will strike
the shepherd, and the
sheep of the flock will
be scattered.
The word fall away is
the same word that
Jesus used earlier in
Matthew 13, 21, to
speak of those who
receive the word of God
with joy, but when
tribulation or
persecution arises on
account of the word,
immediately he falls
away.
It's the same word that
he used in Matthew 24,
verse 9, when he said
that many will fall away
when they are delivered
up to tribulation and
are hated by the
nations for Christ's
name's sake.
Earlier in verse 24,
Jesus said that the
Son of Man is betrayed
as it is written of him
in the scriptures, and
here in verse 31, Jesus
says that the way all of
his disciples will fall
away too is already
written in the
scriptures.
And he quotes Zechariah
13, verse 7, that
passage I mentioned
earlier.
The messianic shepherd
come to shepherd his
people, but he's
rejected, and God
himself strikes down
the shepherd and the
sheep of the flock
scatters.
And that too is a
heart-rending betrayal.
Jesus said to his
disciples, the 12, in
Luke 22, verse 28 to
30, you, you are
those who have stayed
with me in my trials.
And I assign to you,
as my Father assigned
to me, a kingdom that
you may eat and drink
at my table in my
kingdom and sit on
thrones judging the
12 tribes of Israel.
You are those who have
stayed with me in my
trials.
But even these, he
says, who have stayed
with him in his trials
up to that point, will
desert him precisely at
the lowest point of his
life, precisely when he
is the loneliest, precisely
when he is the weakest,
precisely when he needs
their support and
companionship the most,
they desert him.
He says in verse 56, then
all the disciples left
him and fled.
Imagine his sadness, his
loneliness.
No man has ever known
loneliness like Jesus.
But Peter's bravado once
again rears its prideful
head in verse 33.
I mean, he's saying
this while all the other
disciples are listening,
right?
Oh, don't they all fall
away, Jesus?
I, I, I, I will never
fall away.
Have you ever felt that?
You know, sinful, prideful
naivete.
Oh, Jesus, I will never do
something like that to you.
Jesus, I'll never do that
sin again, ever, ever.
Jesus says to him, truly,
I tell you, this very
night before the rooster
crows, you will deny me
three times.
But Peter does not back
off.
He thinks he knows better
than the master himself.
No, no, no, no, Jesus.
Jesus, even if I must die
with you, I will not deny
him.
I'll follow you to the
death.
But this very night before
the sun rises, Peter will
deny Jesus not once, not
twice, but three times.
And it's not even a simple
denial.
He denies Jesus with an
oath.
I do not know the man.
I swear it.
He invokes a curse upon
himself saying, I don't
know him.
At the crisis point of
Jesus' life, just when he
needed his closest friend to
stand up for him and
defend him, Peter and the
apostles are nowhere to be
found.
Peter, of all people, he
was the first disciple that
Jesus called to follow him.
He's a leader among the
twelve.
Peter's house in Capernaum
was the base of operations
for Jesus' ministry in
Galilee.
Peter was the one who made
the great confession saying,
you are the Christ, the
son of the living God.
Peter's the one who had the
faith, at least for a time,
to step out and to walk on
water and follow Jesus
there.
He's the one to whom Jesus
said, you are Peter and on
this rock I will build my
church and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail
against it.
Peter was with Jesus when he
went up on the mountain and
was transfigured in his
divine glory.
He saw all of that and he
who should have borne witness
to Jesus denied him.
Thankfully, this is not the
end of the story for Peter
and the apostles.
Judas never repents.
He never had genuine faith
in Jesus.
He was a child of the devil
all alone.
But the rest of the twelve
all repent of their cowardly
and faithless abandonment of
Jesus.
And it's also important for us
to remember that these
disciples, they are falling
away and denying Jesus
before his death, resurrection,
and ascension.
That means it's also before the
coming of the Holy Spirit in
power at Pentecost, empower
them for their witness, which we
now have the benefit of.
Once the Holy Spirit comes upon
them, they are empowered,
empowered, emboldened, and they
never again deny Jesus.
I believe this is the case for
all true spirit-empowered
Christians.
Jesus said in Matthew 10, 32-33,
So everyone who acknowledges me
before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who
is in heaven.
But whoever denies me before
men, I also will deny before my
Father who is in heaven.
Those who deny Christ before men
will not be saved.
For this reason, I don't think
true spirit-indwelled, empowered
Christians ever finally deny
their Savior.
This doesn't, however, mean that
we as Christians are never
cowed by fear or ashamed of the
gospel.
Paul had to remind even Timothy in
2 Timothy 1, 7-8, God gave us a
spirit not of fear.
But of power and love and
self-control.
Therefore, do not be ashamed of
the testimony about our Lord, nor
of me, his prisoner, but share in
suffering for the gospel by the
power of God.
Because it is normal, it's human
to be tempted to be ashamed of
the gospel when because of the
gospel you preach, you are
persecuted.
And because of the gospel you
preach, your closest associates
and your mentors and teachers are
in prison.
And so Paul has to remind him, don't
be ashamed of the testimony.
Even Paul has to ask the saints in
Ephesus to pray for him in Ephesians 6, 19-20
that words may be given to him and
opening his mouth boldly to proclaim the
mystery of the gospel.
that he may declare it boldly.
Why does Paul ask the church of Ephesus
to pray for him to preach with boldness?
Because sometimes it's hard for him to
preach with boldness.
Have you ever hidden the fact that you
are a Christian who goes to church from
your coworkers, peers?
Were you ever part of a group where
God's word was being reviled, ridiculed,
God's people being ridiculed, and then
you just looked away and fidgeted and
didn't say a word?
Have you ever been in an engrossing,
deep conversation with a friend where
there was a golden opportunity to share
the gospel, it served to you on a silver
platter, and then you just fumbled it?
Didn't share the gospel.
Do not be ashamed of the gospel.
It is the power of God for salvation for
those who believe.
Do not be afraid of those who can judge you
in this life only, but not in eternal life.
Those who can kill the body, but cannot
kill the soul.
Caleb, where is Caleb?
He's getting baptized today.
There he is, Caleb.
Because Lucas invited him to our church
to Bible study and share the gospel with him.
Andy, Sandy, AJ are getting baptized today.
It's amazing.
Their whole family, three of them are getting
baptized together like the Philippian jailers
family, which sometimes happens as units.
Because David shared the gospel with him.
How can people confess Jesus as Lord
when they don't know who he is?
When they don't know what he has done for them?
How can they confess Jesus as Lord?
And how can they come to know this wonderful Savior
unless someone tells them?
If we are honest with ourselves, all of our lives
are marked not only by our evangelistic triumphs,
but also by our tragic failures.
We've all been cowards, haven't we?
We've all been silent when we should have stood up
for Jesus and spoken up for him.
Like the 12 apostles.
In verse 21, Jesus said to Judas, the 12th disciple,
truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.
And then verse 34, Jesus says to Peter, the first disciple,
truly I tell you, this very night before the rooster crows,
you will deny me three times.
From the first to the last, from the greatest to the least,
they all fail Jesus.
Like we have all failed Jesus.
But perhaps even more shocking
than Jesus' prediction of their betrayal and denial
is his prediction in this passage
that his 12 disciples, minus Judas,
will one day feast with him in the kingdom of his father,
in the kingdom of God, in verse 29.
Isn't that surprising?
They all deserted him at the moment of his greatest need.
How do you treat people who treat you that way?
Betray you like that.
Do you invite them into your inner circle again?
Do you confide in them?
Do you trust them?
Do you celebrate them?
Do you lavish them with gifts?
Jesus promises them in this very passage
where he says, you will betray me.
You will deny me.
You will fall away from me.
You will leave me.
I will drink and feast with you in the kingdom of God.
How can you say that?
This is Jesus' last supper
before he goes to the cross to die.
Moreover, it's a Passover meal
which in Exodus 12, verse 3,
it stipulated that you should celebrate this
within your own household.
It's a family affair.
And yet, Jesus does not go back to Mary and his siblings.
No, he chooses to eat the Passover with his disciples.
And in a parallel passage in Luke 22, 15,
he tells them,
I have earnestly desire to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer.
Jesus is forming a new family,
a new spiritual family,
consistent with what he said earlier
in Matthew 12, 59 to 60,
when he gestured toward his disciples and said,
here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my father in heaven
is my brother and my sister and my mother.
And in this new spiritual family,
inclusion is determined
not by the blood of shared ancestors,
but by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Giving them a cup of wine,
Jesus says,
drink of it,
all of you,
for this is my blood of the covenant
which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus has predicted his suffering and death
three times so far already
in the Gospel of Matthew,
but he never told us
why he would suffer and die.
He told us he would,
but never told us why.
This is the clearest explanation
and the most direct explanation
of the significance
and the purpose of his death
and it is this,
forgiveness of sins
for many.
The phrase blood of the covenant
comes from Exodus 24, 7 to 8
when the blood of sacrificial animals
was sprinkled upon the people of God
to consecrate them,
set them apart for God.
Now Jesus forms a new covenant community
a new kingdom of his people
and he sprinkles them
not with the blood of oxen,
with his own blood
to make us clean.
He takes this 1,500 year old tradition
of the Passover
and superimposes his own significance,
his own person and identity upon it.
He transforms it forever.
This is why the lamb,
which was the centerpiece
of the Passover meal,
is conspicuously missing
from the dialogue in this passage.
Because the real lamb,
the ultimate lamb,
the spiritual main course
is not missing,
it's Jesus.
Jesus is a Passover lamb
that will be slaughtered
once and for all.
that same very day.
This therefore marks
the last Passover,
last biblically sanctioned Passover.
Because after Jesus' death
and resurrection,
God's people celebrate
the new Passover
of the Lamb of God.
This last supper
was a Passover meal,
but the Lord's Supper
that Jesus is instituting
in this passage
is not meant to be celebrated
once a year,
only during the Passover.
No, it's meant to be celebrated
as often as we gather together.
That's what Paul says
in 1 Corinthians 11, 26.
For as often as you eat this bread
and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
That's why he chooses the bread,
which is a staple
to institute the Lord's Supper.
He says of the bread,
this is my body.
This doesn't necessarily mean
that the bread
is the literal,
physical body of Christ
any more than Jesus saying
in John 10, verse 9,
I am the door
means that Jesus
is a literal,
physical door.
Jesus is the bread
that is broken.
Its fibers ripped apart
as we chomp and munch on it
and eat it
to derive nourishment from it.
The bread, in a sense,
dies so that we might live.
Likewise, the fruit of the vine,
the grape juice or wine,
they're picked off the vine
and then they're thrown
into shallow vats
where people literally walk on it
and stomp upon it
so that the juice pours out from it
and then to get the squeeze,
the rest of the juice out,
they press it
with heavy beams and stones.
That's what Jesus has done
for us on the cross.
Pressed, squeezed,
poured out
every last drop.
poured out,
not dripped down.
Poured out
for many,
for the forgiveness of sins.
There's an echo here
of Isaiah 53, 12,
that he bore the sin of many.
He was pierced
for our transgressions.
He was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon him
was the chastisement
that brought us peace
and with his wounds
we are healed.
And this is why
Jesus can invite disciples
who desert him
and deny him
into the kingdom of God.
This is why
sinners like you and me
can join him
at his family table.
They mocked him
during his life.
Why does your master,
why does your teacher
eat with
tax collectors
and sinners?
Maybe you are very aware
of your sins today,
some of you.
you feel so unworthy.
How can I,
who failed him
yet again,
how can I,
who have sinned
and besmirched his name
yet again,
how can I,
how can I
dare
sin,
demand
or expect a seat
at the table
of the Lord?
God,
everywhere else
in the world
you need to
pay something.
You gotta
attain a high enough
GPA
to enter the
honor societies.
You need to
pay your dues
to join your clubs.
You need to,
you need to find something.
You need to do something.
You need to meet
some criteria.
You need to,
you need to,
the family table
of the Lord Jesus,
your only qualification
is the blood
of Jesus Christ
poured out
for the forgiveness
of sins.
So cling to that
today.
Renew
your resolve.
Cling to that
and that
alone
for your assurance
today.
Let's pray.
Father,
thank you
for the blood.
Thank you
for the blood.
Oh,
there is a
fountain
filled with blood.
Lord,
we sinners
plunge ourselves
in it
and find ourselves
cleansed
of all our sins.
We praise you,
Lord.
We thank you,
Lord.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.