Accepting the Cup
Matthew 26:17-29
February 11, 2007
This last week Debra and I were at our annual Pastors Retreat in Rapid City with the other pastors of our district.
It’s always a great time of refreshment and fellowship, not to mention listening to some great teaching from guest speakers and such.
But one of the highlights for me this year was the last night. At the last service, we always share in communion as a group. And this year, instead of just being seating in rows in the meeting room, we were set at tables of six people.
And communion was served as a very personal sacrament – each table being led by one person, who was free to administer this sacrament as they felt led.
Our table leader was Rev. Dwight Peterson from Sturgis, and he described something to us about communion that I had heard before, but never really internalized before.
And it brought a new wonder to me regarding this beautiful sacrament we call the Lord’s Supper.
I grew up Catholic, as most of you know. And in about the second grade you get prepared for your First Communion. That time from which point you can partake in communion.
And as we learned about communion and why we did it, I found myself with a combination of things like awe, a pride at being old enough to participate, and a wonder at the mystery of that wafer and the wine somehow becoming the actual flesh and blood of Jesus (which we don’t believe and teach in the Wesleyan Church), although in second grade, there wasn’t a whole lot of real understanding about the whole deal.
If nothing else, I had achieved a certain level of “maturity” in the faith. Again, as much “maturity” as a second grader can have…
But after a number of years I began to understand communion more as something necessary to get into heaven, and the awe and wonder were lost in the realm of simply trying to cover my bases in case I were to die that week.
I wonder if there are others who may have lost some of the wonder of the Lord’s Supper.
It can happen for any number of reasons. We don’t do it enough. We do it too often. We use manufactured wafers instead of real unleavened bread.
It could be that for you it’s nothing more than just another religious ritual and you’ve come to the point where it’s meaningless and empty.
For some it may be that in the past, the Lord’s Supper was offered in a way that came across as irreverent. Or it was offered in a way you weren’t used to.
Or maybe it was offered the same way every time and it lost any sense of uniqueness. You could quote the whole ceremony verbatim.
Or whatever.
My hope today is to see if I can’t offer one more perspective on the Lord’s Supper. And I really hope that this will be a time when you can partake in communion with a new sense of wonder.
And not just to get some sort of spiritual “tingle,” but rather to allow you to appreciate the sacrifice that we remember as we take the elements.
Today I want to share with you some of what Pastor Dwight shared with us last week. And I hope that it will be life-changing for every one in here.
God’s Word, of course, is the source of our knowledge of how Jesus instituted this holy sacrament, so I’d invite you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew 26:17-29 (p._____ in the Bibles in the seats.
Matthew 26:17-29 –
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
18 He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ’The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’" 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."
22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 Jesus replied, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."
25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?"
Jesus answered, "Yes, it is you."
26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."
27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom."
This episode, of course, happened just before Jesus was arrested. He was spending a few precious hours with those He had invested His life in for the last 3 years.
He wanted to give His followers a picture of what He was about to accomplish on the cross.
And so He uses a word picture that all of them would be familiar with – a first century Jewish engagement.
Listen to this insight from Dr. Ray Vander Laan:
In the first century, when a young Jewish man reached marrying age and his family selected an appropriate wife for him, the young man and his father would meet the young woman and her father to negotiate the “bride price,” the figurative cost of replacing a daughter. The price was usually very high.
I can tell you that when the times arrive for someone to ask for my daughters hands in marriage, they’d better be bringing their bankers with them, cause it’ll be in the six-figure arena, that’s for sure!
Sure, they need to be godly men who love Jesus – but really, replacing my daughters would be pretty spendy, since I value them so highly!
With negotiations complete, the custom was for the young man’s father to pour a cup of wine and hand it to his son. His son would turn to the young woman, lift the cup and hold it out to her, saying, “This cup is a new covenant in my blood, which I offer to you.” In other words, “I love you, and I’ll give you my life. Will you marry me?”
The young woman had a choice. She could take the cup and return it and say no. Or she could answer without saying a word—by drinking the cup, her way of saying, “I accept your offer, and I give you my life in response.” (From His Body, His Blood, by Dr. Ray Vander Laan)
The thing to notice is that there are two parts to this: the invitation and the acceptance of the invitation.
The groom could not simply force the issue. He could only offer his price. The bride had the choice to accept or reject the offer.
I hope it’s becoming clear where I’m going with this.
Communion is, in a sense, a re-enactment of this covenant between a groom and his bride.
When we take the cup we are accepting the price of the groom – Jesus and His sacrifice in blood – as payment for His Bride – the Church. For you.
So as we prepare to partake of the Lord’s Supper, I want to offer two invitations:
The first invitation is for those who have previously accepted Christ’s offer of forgiveness of sins and a home in heaven.
I invite you to reaffirm your acceptance of the price Jesus paid for you. Thank Him for paying the price for you, and renew your commitment to live for Him in response.
The second invitation is for anyone who has never taken the step of faith of trusting in Christ to forgive their sins and give them that home in heaven that He gave His life for and so badly wants you to have.
Romans 5:8 –
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Peter 3:18a –
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.
Would you like to know today that that includes you?
Then I would invite you to take the elements as well.
When you take the elements. I want you to say silently to Jesus, “I’m accepting the price you paid for me. Save me from the penalty I deserve for my sins – forgive me and grant me a home in heaven.”
But let me make something very clear: taking communion does not give you forgiveness and a home in heaven. What you’re doing is simply an outward expression of what you’re doing in your heart.
God knows your heart, and that’s what He’s looking at, so don’t worry about the words so much. Just reach out to Him. He’s ready and waiting for you.
He came to seek and save you because He loves you so much.
Pass out the elements
I’m of the opinion that if we, as individuals and as a body would commit ourselves to being people who are truly aware of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, then we would love each other the way Jesus taught us to love each other, and we would love those who have yet to find Christ in a way that demonstrates that Jesus came to seek and save what was lost – that Jesus is pursuing those who don’t know Him. That Jesus would rather die than spend eternity without them.
Folks, if you have accepted Jesus’ payment on your behalf, then I beg of you to give others the opportunity to accept it as well.
Before we go, I just would ask one more thing: if you accepted Jesus’ payment on your behalf today, I’d be thrilled if you would tell me.
If today, you said to Jesus, “Please forgive me of my sins and give me a home in heaven – help me to live for you from now on,” then I want to do all I can to help you get that new relationship with Christ off the ground in a solid manner.
You’ve taken the most important step of your life – so let’s work to help you keep walking with Christ, okay?
Let’s pray.
