MY APPOINTED TIME: CELEBRATE!
Matthew 26:17-30
INTRO.- ILL.- A doctor asked his new patient if she had been to any other doctor about her complaint before coming to see him. She said, "No, but I did go to my druggist."
"Well, that shows just how much sense some people have! And what sort of silly advice did your druggist give you?"
"Oh," she answered sweetly, "HE TOLD ME TO SEE YOU."
Whenever we humans find something wrong with us or think there is something wrong with us we have a tendency to ask certain people for their advice, particularly a druggist or a pharmacist.
And I must admit that I’ve received some pretty good advice from a pharmacist without going to a doctor. That may not have been the right thing to do or the politically correct thing to do, but it worked.
Most of the time, doctors are not our most favorite people to go see and for several reasons.
ILL.- A surgeon was speaking to a man about to have surgery, saying, "Let me tell you how I work. I believe in getting my patients up and around very quickly after surgery. Three hours after surgery you’ll sit up. Five hours later, you’ll stand up. The next day you’ll be walking."
"Fine," the patient said, "But will you let me lie down during the surgery?"
One reason why we don’t like to go see doctors is because we’re afraid they’ll want to send us to a surgeon. And who in the world wants to be operated on?
ILL.- After careful examination, the doctor said to his patient, "I’m sorry to tell you that you have only a short time to live, perhaps only days. Is there anyone else you would like to see before you go?" "Yes," answered the patient, "I’D LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER DOCTOR."
Another reason we don’t like to go see doctors is that we’re afraid they’ll find something wrong with us and maybe even something fatal. Most of us, if not all of us, fear death.
But not our Lord!
In Matthew 26:18 Jesus said, "My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples..."
PROP.- There are two thoughts in the words of Jesus that I want us to think about.
1- My appointed time
2- Let’s celebrate
I. MY APPOINTED TIME
Jesus said, "My appointed time is near." Jesus was talking about His death. Jesus knew that He was going to die!
Heb. 9:27 "It is appointed to men to die once."
James 4:13-14 "Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
James is not saying that our lives are not valuable. They are very valuable to us, to our loved ones and even more so to our Heavenly Father. James is just saying that life is short for us all!
The point is: DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE DOING TO DIE? I’m not predicting anyone’s death, but I am pointing out the truth of our eventual death.
Every week we read in the newspaper the obituaries of people who have passed away and it seems like they are getting younger and younger all the time. People younger than me are dying all the time! You don’t have to be old to die.
Life is short. None of us know how long we have to live. Preparation is the key.
ILL.- Joe Fowler put it this way recently in our Sunday School class. He said, "I’m not ready to die, but I’m prepared to die." He said there are some things he would still like to do in life, but he is prepared to die. AND WE ALL MUST BE PREPARED TO DIE.
Our Lord was prepared to die. He knew he was going to die. He said, "My appointed time is near." Jesus knew that Calvary was just around the corner.
He wanted to prepare His disciples by observing the Passover meal with them. The Passover meal was instituted by God for the people of Israel to remember their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
The Lord’s Supper is our special memorial meal which reminds us of our deliverance from the bondage of sin through the death of Christ. This is why we are here. We are here to remember the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. We remember that Jesus came in the flesh, that He was God incarnate, God in the flesh. We remember Jesus’ blood that shed on the cross so our sins could be forgiven.
God’s law required a blood sacrifice for forgiveness of sin. And Jesus’ precious and perfect blood was shed for our sins.
Observance of the Lord’s Supper helps us in life and death. It’s helps us to understand the real meaning of life and helps us to prepare for our eventual death by trusting in Christ our Savior.
II. LET’S CELEBRATE
Jesus said, "My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples..."
I want to zero in on the word "celebrate."
Eating time often means a celebration time for us. WE LOVE TO EAT!
ILL.- Recently, Elaine and I were privileged to eat something we’d never had before: salmon steaks and were they ever delicious. Melt in your mouth delicious!
We do love our food, don’t we? In a very real sense, meal time is a celebration time. It’s a time of joy and hopefully, good conversation as well. It’s been said that a good conversation can liven up a poor meal, and a bad conversation can spoil a good meal. It’s nice if we have the best of both: a good meal and a good conversation. We all should try to make our meals a time of joyous celebration. Don’t need to be fighting and arguing around the meal table. We should be thankful and happy.
When Jesus said he was going to celebrate the Passover with his disciples it was to be a serious time and yet, a time of joy.
When we observe the Lord’s Supper and remember our Lord’s death on the cross it should also be a serious time and yet a time of joy. Serious, because Jesus was serious about His mission of bearing our sins in His body on the tree, serious about becoming sin for us.
And yet, it should be a time of joy. We should be utterly excited and happy about the fact that Jesus made it possible for us to go to heaven! If this isn’t good news and reason for rejoicing, I don’t know what is!
I’m not suggesting that we should hoop and holler when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, but our prayers should certainly be filled with praise and rejoicing. As in, "Thank you! Thank you! Praise you! Praise you! Bless you! Bless you! I can’t thank you enough, Lord!"
In regard to celebration, you may wonder how Jesus could consider the Passover a time of celebration, knowing that His death was just around the corner.
He could and here is why.
Heb. 12:2 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross...."
The joy set before Him. Jesus could endure the cross with all of it’s torment and agony because He knew what was going to happen on the other side. He knew the eventual outcome of it all! He knew that He was going to live through it. He knew he was going to be resurrected! He knew he was going to be exalted in heaven! And more than anything, He knew he was purchasing our forgiveness and opening the door to heaven to us! HE COULD CELEBRATE WITH GREAT JOY BECAUSE OF THE JOY HE WAS BRINGING TO OUR LIVES!
Those who celebrate the best are those who celebrate on behalf of others. And that’s exactly what Jesus did for us. And what we must do for others. We endure many things for the sake of others! LIFE CAN AND SHOULD BE A CELEBRATION OF LIVING FOR OTHERS!
CONCLUSION--------------------------------
In partaking of the Lord’s Supper, I encourage you to remember three things:
1- Remember that you must prepare for your eventual death.
2- Remember Jesus and celebrate what He has done for you.
3- Remember that to live for Jesus means to live for others.
