GOSPEL OF MARK: GOD’S SERVANT IN ACTION
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Good morning family. Once again, I hope and pray that everyone is well, and that you are taking the necessary precautions to keep yourselves and your families safe from the COVID-19 virus. Such as SHELTERING IN and practicing SOCIAL DISTANCING. So, step back 6 feet from the MONITOR . . . a little bit FARTHER . . . Okay, that is good.
As you know, due to the restrictions of our Governor and the precautions that each of us is taking to keep us and those around us safe, we ARE NOT meeting in our building neither TODAY or next Sunday. And, if you are like me, I MISS being with my CHURCH FAMILY, but prayerfully this will all be over soon.
I am still hopeful that we will be together worshipping on Easter Sunday, which is only 2 weeks from today. So, to ensure that I will be preaching on the Resurrection from the Gospel of Mark on Easter, we are having to skip a few chapters. There’s a lot of good stuff there, so be sure to read and study what we will be missing from Mark 11:27-14:9.
A. Today we will be studying about the Lord’s Supper. Turn your Bible to Mark 14:10-26 (READ)
1. Although the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus almost 2,000 years ago, it is still the CENTRAL part
of our WORSHIP today.
ILLUSTRATION:
Although we could not WORSHIP together as a FAMILY last Sunday, the Garfield Christian Church still offered the Lord’s Supper to those who wanted to partake. Don and Kay set up a Drive-Thru Communion on our church PARKING LOT. Pam Ray helped prepare the communion.
Even though it was a COLD morning around FREEZING, Don R, Mike and Don M stood outside serving the Lord’s Supper and praying for those who DROVE up in their VEHICLES to COMMUNE with their Lord. There were approximately 30 people who were SERVED.
2. Partaking the Lord’s Supper every Sunday should be such an INTIMATE time for God’s people to
COMMUNE with Jesus Christ and REMEMBER what He did for us on the CROSS.
B. As we fast-forwarded a couple of chapters in Mark’s gospel, it is now Thursday, the day before Jesus is
EXECUTED on a CROSS.
1. Mark tells us that “Judas Iscariot, one of the chosen APOSTLES, went to the CHIEF PRIESTS to
BETRAY Jesus and turn Him over to them, all to their DELIGHT.”- vv. 10-11.
COMMENT:
“The Chief Priests and the Pharisees had been looking for a way to KILL Jesus ever since He
healed a man with a withered hand in a Galilean synagogue at the beginning of His ministry”-
Mark 3:6.
2. Now they have one of Jesus own DISCIPLES who is willing to “betray Him for 30-pieces of silver”-
Matthew 26:15.
COMMENT:
$600.00! That’s what 30-pieces of silver are worth in today’s currency. Not only that, “30-pieces of silver was what the Law required a SLAVE OWNER to be paid if a farmer’s BULL accidentally
KILLED one of his SLAVES”- Exodus 21:32. Jesus was worth the price of a DEAD SLAVE to Judas.
C. Even while knowing that Judas is planning to BETRAY Him, Jesus makes plans to enjoy a final Passover Meal with His Apostles.
MESSAGE:
I. THE LAST SUPPER- vv. 12-21
A. Mark combines the two feasts—Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread—and reminds his readers that
this was time to “sacrifice the Passover Lamb.”
1. As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the PASSOVER commemorates the EXODUS from
Egypt.
COMMENT:
The Jewish people, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had become OPPRESSED by Egypt. After 400 years of SLAVERY, God raised up a DELIVERER named MOSES to perform mighty miracles known of “The Ten Plagues”, all in an effort to get PHARAOH, the ruler of Egypt,
to release His people.
Moses turned all the WATERS of Egypt into BLOOD. He sent a plague of FROGS, and then GNATS, and then FLIES. He sent a plague that KILLED all the LIVESTOCK and a plague of BOILS. The plagues of HAIL and of LOCUSTS destroyed the CROPS. The ninth plague was that of DARKNESS for three days.
But it was the TENTH and last plague, which finally CONVINCED Pharaoh to RELEASE the Hebrews and allow them to LEAVE Egypt—the DEATH OF EVERY FIRSTBORN SON.
2. On the evening of the FINAL PLAGUE, Moses gave the Israelites these directions from God-
Exodus 12:24-27 (READ and COMMENT)
a. This is where the name “PASSOVER” comes from.
b. Exodus 12:29-30 tells us “that ad midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from
the firstborn son of Pharaoh to even the firstborn of all the livestock.”
COMMENT:
There was not a house without someone dead, with the exception of the homes of the Hebrews who had taken the BLOOD of a Sacrificial Lamb and placed it on their DOORFRAMES. By the shedding of BLOOD, their firstborn sons were SAVED.
B. Back to Mark: The disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to go and make preparation for you to
eat the Passover?”- v. 12
1. The disciples knew that celebrating the Passover Feast was important to Jesus.
COMMENT:
Even as a BOY, Jesus parents, Mary and Joseph, would travel with Him and his younger siblings to Jerusalem from Nazareth—some 64 miles away (possibly on foot)—to celebrate the PASSOVER.
2. It was a simple question: “Where do you want to eat the PASSOVER?”
a. But Jesus’ answer is far from simple- vv. 13-15 (READ) (“Peter and John” according to Luke)
b. It READS like a SPY NOVEL. Why such MYSTERY?
COMMENT:
It is seems to me that Jesus INTENDED the location for the PASSOVER MEAL to be kept SECRET. Remember, He does have ENEMIES whom he knows are SCHEMING to APPREHEND Him. He also KNOWS that one of His own DISCIPLES, Judas Iscariot, is working on behalf of His ENEMIES “looking for an OPPORTUNITY to hand Him over”. So, by this METHOD Jesus is able to keep the LOCATION a SECRET, even from most of His DISCIPLES.
C. As Jesus and the Twelve gather in the UPPER ROOM to eat the PASSOVER MEAL, Jesus reveals the
ONE who will BETRAY Him.
1. Jesus had already told the Disciples that He was going to be BETRAYED, but they had no idea who it
was and, surely, it couldn’t be ONE of them.
a. While they are reclining at the table EATING the Passover Meal REMEMBERING the AFFLICTION and HARDSHIP that their ancestors went through in Egypt and what God did RESCUE them from Pharaoh, Jesus drops this bombshell, “I tell you the truth, one of YOU who
is sitting right here EATING with me, will BETRAY me.”
COMMENT:
If you are ever at a DINNER PARTY and want to drastically change the MOOD, this is HOW
to do it.
b. Mark records that “the disciples were saddened, and asked one by one, ‘Surely, not I?’”- v. 19.
COMMENT:
The Greek word for “saddened” means “deeply grieved or profoundly sorrowful”. These MEN have been Jesus’ closest COMPANIONS for three years. No one reclining at that table with their Lord can IMAGINE that he could possibly BETRAY Jesus—that is, except one—Judas.
2. Jesus- “…it is the one who dips bread into the bowl with me.”- v. 20. (fulfillment of Psalm 41:9)
a. Now, the apostle John’s account of this EVENT leaves the impression that Jesus told only him (John) and Peter that “‘it is the one I will give this piece of bread to when I have dipped it in the
dish,’ and then hands it to Judas”- John 13:22-26.
b. In fact, “when Jesus told Judas to go quickly and do what he had to do, and he got up and left, the other apostles thought, since Judas was the treasurer, that he had to buy something for the
Feast, or to give something to the poor”- John 13:27-30. In reality, he was going to summon the chief priests to ARREST Jesus.
3. Back to Mark’s Gospel: After announcing that He is going to be BETRAYED by one of the Twelve,
Jesus said of His betrayer, “It would be better for him if he had not been born.”- v. 21.
a. Many SCHOLARS believe that Judas was not intending to have Jesus KILLED, but was hoping that if ARRESTED it would FORCE Him to finally take His position as a mighty WARRIOR to
DEFEAT the Roman Empire, and RULE on the throne of David as the Sovereign King of Israel.
b. And then there are those who simply believe that Judas BETRAYED Jesus out of GREED.
COMMENT:
When Judas went to the chief priests to BETRAY Jesus, Mark merely writes, “They were
delighted to hear this and promised to give him money”- Mark 14:11.
However, Matthew records the betrayal like this: “Judas…went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?’”- Matthew 26:15.
In fact, the apostle John, in no uncertain terms, described Judas “as a thief”- John 12:6.
4. But whatever the reason for the BETRAYAL, “Judas was being prompted by Satan”- John 13:2.
COMMENT:
Satan was using Judas to finally get RID of the Son of God once and for all, but little did Satan KNOW or UNDERSTAND that to KILL Jesus would be his DEFEAT.
Furthermore, God used both Satan and Judas to bring SALVATION to the world through His Son. He took whatever sinful MOTIVE Judas had to BETRAY Jesus, and used it for His purpose.
II. THE LORD’S SUPPER- vv. 22-26
A. The RITUALS of the Passover Feast were very familiar to the DISCIPLES as they have gathered many
times, including three times with Jesus Himself, to celebrate the PASSOVER.
1. As in times past, they are EATING and DRINKING prescribed FOOD at prescribed TIMES and
RECITING set LITURGIES and SCRIPTURE.
a. Nothing is DIFFERENT, until now.
b. As they come to the conclusion of the Feast, Jesus goes off SCRIPT and makes the PASSOVER not about the Exodus from Egypt, but about Him.
2. At this point Jesus institutes what we know as “The Lord’s Supper”, which we, at Garfield
Christian Church, partake every Sunday.
a. The first ELEMENT of the Lord’s Supper is the BREAD- v. 22 (READ).
COMMENT:
Jesus takes a loaf of the UNLEAVENED BREAD that was used for the Passover Feast, and divides it up among His disciples saying, “This is my body.” Luke adds Jesus as saying, “This is my body GIVEN for you; do this in REMEMBRANCE of Me”- Luke 22:19.
During the Passover, thousands of LAMBS without spot or blemish were SACRIFICED as a MEMORIAL of how God used DEATH to bring LIFE to the Israelite nation, FREEING them from Egyptian BONDAGE. Now, Jesus wants His Disciples to understand that HE is the PERFECT Sacrificial Lamb who is giving of Himself—His BODY—so that they and the world may LIVE.
b. The second ELEMENT of the Lord’s Supper is the CUP- vv. 23-25 (READ).
COMMENT:
The CUP does not have reference to the CONTAINER, but to the CONTENT—the WINE or “the fruit of the vine”. I know of some churches that require only one CUP (known as the “One-Cuppers”) to be used in the COMMUNION that everybody DRINKS from—all because of the misunderstanding of what Jesus meant by the word “CUP”. (Of course, those churches may now
go to MULTIPLE CUPS after this CORONAVIRUS scare.)
The Passover consisted of drinking of four cups of WINE, each representing four expressions of DELIVERANCE promised by God found in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will bring out.” “I will deliver.”
“I will redeem.” “I will take.”
Jesus takes the CUP and tells His disciples that from now on this CUP—this DRINK—represents His BLOOD that is POURED out for the SINS of the WORLD. Jesus is saying, “I am your SAVIOR, I am your DELIVERER, I am your REDEEMER, I am your LORD.”
B. What does the Lord’s Supper mean to the church today?- 1 Corinthians 11:23-28 (READ)
1. It is a time of REMEMBRANCE. “Do this in remembrance of me.”
COMMENT:
Every worshipper, while partaking the Lord’s Supper, should quietly REFLECT upon the SACRIFICE that Jesus made for us—the TORTURE that He SUFFERED, the HUMILIATION that He ENDURED, being FORSAKEN by His Father for BEARING our SINS, and ultimately His
DEATH upon a CROSS that we DESERVED. This is to be a SOMBER moment.
But today many Christians LAUGH and TALK and check their PHONES while the Lord’s Supper is being passed. They are more concerned with how many LIKES they got on Facebook than with taking just a few MOMENTS to STOP what they are DOING and REFLECT on what Jesus Christ went through for them.
2. It is a time of PROCLAMATION. “You proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
COMMENT:
As with BAPTISM, the Lord’s Supper takes us right back to the CROSS. It PROCLAIMS to those in our ASSEMBLY who may not yet KNOW Christ, that we place our FAITH in the One who
GAVE Himself and SHED His BLOOD on a CROSS so that we can ETERNAL LIFE.
3. It is a time of EXAMINATION. “We ought to examine ourselves before we eat the bread and drink
the cup.”
COMMENT:
Every time we come to the TABLE of the Lord, we are REMINDED of how desperately we need Christ. We recognize that even in our most HOLY moments, we are far from HOLY—that “we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God”- Romans 3:23.
Yet, partaking of the Lord’s Supper AFFIRMS to us as Christians that we are FORGIVEN—that “God demonstrated His love for us in that: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”- Romans 5:8.
How UNWORTHY and UNDESERVING we are, but Jesus came to this earth and DIED for us, anyway.
CONCLUSION:
A. Have you ever pictured in your mind the morning after the ANGEL passed over Egypt?
ILLUSTRATION:
A Hebrew father walks outside, and before the sun LIGHTENS the streets he hears CRIES in the
city.
A woman SCREAMS and he turns only to see a young Egyptian mother running from her home carrying the LIMP body of her first-born son. He then sees a YOUNGSTER whose older BROTHER had DIED, crying. A wife WAILS at the death of her HUSBAND who was the first-born in his family.
The Bible reveals that “there was not a house without someone dead”- Exodus 12:30.
And then the Hebrew father runs frantically into his house relieved to find his only son SAFE in the ARMS of his mother, NURSING. And then he walks back outside and looks at the DRIED BLOOD on his DOOR FRAME, and FALLS to his KNEES . . . THANKING God for SUBSTITUTING the LAMB for his SON.
B. Romans 6:23- “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.”
1. We are all SINNERS, and, therefore, we DESERVE to DIE.
2. But God SUBSTITUTED His Only Son for us so that we can have ETERNAL LIFE.
PRAYER:
