June 2, 2002
The Lord’s Supper leaves vivid images and lessons in all of us. A preacher had been away from home one afternoon donating his blood at the Red Cross. His son was a little concerned when Dad didn’t come home by the time he usually did, and the boy asked his mother, “Is Dad going around visiting all the sick people?” His mother replied, “No honey, he’s giving blood.” He paused in thought for a moment and then said: “But we know it’s really grape juice, don’t we Mom?” (1)
Another young boy stood in the church one day looking at the cross behind the pulpit. After a long silence he finally asked the question:
Why did Jesus have to die?
Why, indeed! The answer is contained in our text:
...and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:22b (KJV)
In preparing this morning to observe the Lord’s Supper, I would like for us to examine three of the eight words in that text:
REMISSION
Remission has to do with clearing up a debt. In the words of the Bible we are all debtors. Our sin causes us to be at odds with God, in debt to God. This is because we were created by Him, and He demands that we live without sin. Only one Man, Jesus, ever lived-up to that standard. The rest of us blew that one, big time!
23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23 (KJV)
We have all been allowed to be part of God’s perfect creation, and we have all come up short in handling our part. Jesus told a story one time which is a wonderful example of this coming up short. It is the story of the Prodigal Son . A boy wanted to live life his own way – get out from under Dad’s thumb. He convinced the Dad to give him his inheritance, and then he hit the road for the big city and the good life! Now, the young man wasted every cent of his inheritance on partying. He never even thought of home or his father.
When it was all gone he awoke one day in the middle of the pigpen (an awful thing for any Jewish boy). The boy thought to himself something like, "Earth to prodigal – Here I sit wallowing in pig town, starving and cold. My Dad’s place – man do I miss home. I belong there. I am outa here!"
The boy went home, intending to beg to come back. Everyone listening to the story would have agreed that the father should have made the boy grovel just a little. However, Jesus surprised everyone, and finished off the story with the father’s reaction when he saw his prodigal coming on home… But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15.20b
Jesus told that story to demonstrate how merciful and forgiving God is towards anyone who will turn towards the Father in heaven. That is the grace, or loving side of God.
However there is another side of God that is just as awesome – the justice, or righteousness side. The Bible tells us that the righteousness of God demands payment for sin:
For the wages of sin is death…Romans 6.23a
There is a cost to the kind of behavior the prodigal son exhibited. When he left home he took half his father’s estate with him; he came back broke. That, beloved, is the cost which his Father bore. The Father had to remit the son’s debt, or there could be no fellowship, no restored relationship between them. That concept leads us to the other two words in the phrase, shedding of blood.
SHEDDING of BLOOD
Shedding of blood is the act of opening up the way for our sins to be remitted. If God were to forgive just because of His love, without a sacrifice, it would be a distortion of His nature of justice. On the other hand, we cannot pay the cost, so God, in order to satisfy his righteousness, while still acting in accordance with His nature of love and mercy, paid the cost – that is atonement.
Just as in Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son, our sins must cost someone something. In the story it was only money – the father’s estate. In real life, our sins cost something priceless – the shedding (literally the “gushing-forth”) of Jesus’ own blood.
Scripture tells us that life is in the blood (Leviticus 17.11). What we celebrate this morning at the table is the blood being poured out; our Savior, broken and spilled-out for us. Had he not done that, our sins would not be in remission – unable to infect and kill us – our Savior’s blood, shed, spilled out and gushing put our sin debt away; anyone who will can come to the cross, accept the blood shed on our behalf, and their sins are remitted – put away, removed from them as far as the east is from the west.
MAX LUCADO, in his book, Six Hours One Friday, tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away—across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed it was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. They were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river. Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He punched a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke out into a cheer and followed him across.
That’s exactly what Jesus did!
He told the people of His day that they need not fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe.
He touched a dead boy and called him back to life. They still didn’t believe.
He whispered life into the body of a dead girl and got the same result.
He let a dead man spend 4 days in a tomb and then called him out and the people still didn’t believe Him.
Finally, He entered the river of death and came out on the other side.
No wonder we celebrate the Resurrection! (2)
This then begs the question:
As we come to the table this morning have you trusted in what Jesus did for you?
Did you accept his shedding of blood for your sins so your sins could be forgiven? Have your sins been put into remission?
He was broken and spilled-out for you…Do you stand covered by the blood?
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FOOTNOTES
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(1) Priscilla Larson, of Lexington, Massachusetts, quoted on SermonCentral.com
(2) SermonCentral.com, Contributed by Bruce Howell
