(An adaptation of the sermon of the same title by Pat Cook on www.SermonCentral.com)
Luke 22:19
Preparation: Choir comes down after singing. Soloist is prepared to sing "Broken and Spilled Out" later. Have table uncovered and set for Seder with Unity Napkin and four cups of wine. Have enough deacons to serve everyone a piece of matzo bread and the cup at the same time.
Introduction
Have you ever broken something like a plate or a glass? When I’m counseling couples for marriage, if I can catch the man away from his girl-friend, I give him the secret that has kept me from washing dishes all these years: Just break a nice plate or glass when you wash them, and soon she won’t call on you any more!
Most things are more valuable if they haven’t been broken. I haven’t heard of a Ming vase bringing a lot of money when it’s broken into hundreds of pieces. However, did you know that some things are more valuable when they’re broken? In preparation for our Communion with Christ today, I want us to look at what the Scripture calls “the body of Christ.” I want to show you that the Body of Christ is more valuable when it’s broken.
Please turn to Luke 22:19 and stand for the reading of my first text.
Do you remember that there are three things in the Bible called the Body of Christ? Let’s begin with the most obvious of the three:
I. THE PHYSICAL BODY OF CHRIST, HIS FLESH
We believe what Colossians 2:9 says: "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God the Son, entered this world as a human baby. He remained fully God, but he became fully human as well. John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And, verse 14 says: "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." That’s one reason why I believe Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles which was usually in October, not December. Christ, who was very much God, also took on flesh. Why?
To show us how to live, how to love and forgive, how to care and to stand up for the truth. We can look to Christ in any situation and ask, "WWJD?" (What Would Jesus Do?) Then, as Sidney Sheldon wrote, we try to follow "In His Steps." But, other moral teachers have demonstrated this. Why else did Christ come?
To pay our sin debt. This debt of sin, which we all have accumulated over the years, is like a bank account. We like to have the convenience of a bank account. A problem happens when we withdraw more than we deposit. With our Heavenly Bank Account, people try to make deposits like going to church, being good, and helping those in need. And, God does credit good deeds to our account as rewards when we’re saved. But, each of us has made a withdrawal far too big to ever be repaid by good deeds. We have sinned, and sin creates a debit we can never repay. Each one of us needs someone to make a huge deposit into our spiritual bank accounts to cover our sin debt.
That’s exactly what Christ did. He absorbed the penalty due to each one of us because of our overdrawn bank account. You see, the overdraft fee is death. And, Jesus paid it for us. His physical body was broken to pay the sacrifice for our sins. When they hung him on a cross, his body was broken by nails and a spear. If Christ had only taught good living, we’d still be slaves to sin. But, he did more than talk: He died to set us free from the penalty of sin which is death and Hell, from the power of sin which makes us yield to our temptations and keep on sinning, and eventually from the very presence of sin which will be haunt us no more in Heaven.
In order for the Body of Christ to reach everyone and perform its holy task of salvation, it had to be broken. We must believe these facts, and receive him into our lives. We must ask this broken man to come and fix us where we’re broken in sin.
II. THE SPIRITUAL BODY OF CHRIST, HIS CHURCH
The second thing the Bible refers to as the Body of Christ is his Spiritual Body, his Church. First Corinthians 12:27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Believers are called the Body of Christ with Christ as our Head directing all we do. The Greek word for church, “ecclesia,” literally means “called-out ones.” If Christ has called you and you’ve come out of the world to serve him, you are his Church. You’re the Church gathered in worship on Sunday, but you’re still the Church scattered during the week. And, Scripture teaches that we are to be broken, also.
Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” And, Psalm 51:16-17 read, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
God wants us to be broken before him, that is, humble, responsive, available, sensitive. Just as Christ was broken and gave of himself, so, too, must we as his spiritual Body be broken of our pride and available to be used by him. The spiritual Body of Christ must be broken for service.
Once Jesus was in a crowd of people who needed to be fed. He took one boy’s lunch, and broke it, and multiplied its effectiveness. He fed 5,000 people with one little boy’s lunch. What if the lunch had not been given? Would the people would have gone hungry? I used to think that, if the little boy had not given his lunch to Jesus, the people would not have been fed. Then I read in John 6 that Jesus asked his disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” Then, verse 6 says, “He asked this as a test for he already knew what he was going to do.”
To say that Jesus couldn’t feed 5,000 people without a little boy’s help is to deny his power as the Son of God. Jesus can do anything he wants to do! And, he will finish his work, with or without us. But, think of the awesome privilege to become a partner with God in his miraculous work! This little boy had the joy of running home that night and telling him mother: “Mom, you know that lunch you made for me today? Well, I sort of gave it away. I shared it with some hungry people, and you’ll never guess how many it fed!" We can have that same usefulness, but only if we are broken before Jesus to let him use us anyway he desires.
III. THE SYMBOLIC BODY OF CHRIST, THE BREAD
The third thing called the Body of Christ is the Lord’s Supper bread. This is the symbolic Body of Christ. Luke 22:19 says, "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’"
(Walk down to the Communion Table) Jesus and his disciples were celebrating Passover. God had given them some instructions through Moses, but after centuries of tradition and adding different things to the Seder or the Passover ceremony, most families had forgotten why they did what they did. They just did it because that was the way it was supposed to be done.
A part of the Seder involved 3 pieces of matzo bread in a napkin. (Demonstrate) This unity of bread, as they called it, reminded them of their partriaches: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We can say that it also could represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bread was unleavened, and the way it was baked caused it to have strips and holes in it. The Jews didn’t realize that it was a picture of Messiah’s Body. Leaven was a symbol for sin. Messiah must be unleavened, i.e. without sin. And, Isaiah said he would be striped and pierced for our sins.
As a part of the Passover, the Jews took the middle piece of bread (repre- senting Isaac who was a type of Christ, and it also could represent the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son). They broke this piece in half and ate half of it with the meal. But, they took the other half and wrapped it in the napkin and hid it.
Later, after the meal, the children hunted for the hidden piece of bread. Upon finding it, everyone rejoiced and delighted in eating a bite of that special bread. They called it afekomin, meaning "surprised hidden dessert." We know that wrapping the bread in a napkin and hiding it was prophetic of the Body of Jesus being wrapped in a sheet and buried until he was found alive on the third day, which caused his followers to rejoice.
So, Jesus took this centuries-old form of worship and said, “I am the bread of deliverance. This is my body. I will be your salvation.” Now, 2000 years later, we are told to remember, through Communion, how the bread was broken for us.
Even as his physical Body was broken for our sacrifice, and his spiritual Body (the Church) must be broken for service, his symbolic Body is broken today for self-examination. We must examine our lives, and ask if we are living worthy of what he did for us. First Corinthians 11 says: “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” That doesn’t mean that anyone of us can ever be worthy of what Jesus did for us, but he calls us to search our hearts, to be broken before him, and to partake of this Supper in a worshipful manner.
Are you broken before him? Christ calls us as his Body to live just as he died: willing to deny ourselves and give our all, willing to be broken. God uses things that are broken and brings beauty from them.
You see the Seder plate with the Unity Napkin, but you also see four cups of wine. These were drank during the four phases of the Seder celebration. The last cup after supper was called the cup of fellowship. Jesus did not drink this cup. Rather, he said he would drink it later with his followers around Heaven’s banquet table. This is the cup he used to give to his disciples in symbolic reference to his blood poured out for our forgiveness.
If you have prayed, or will pray now and invite Jesus to inhabit your life as your Savior and Lord, then you are invited to this Table to remember Jesus.
Communion: (Distribute the Bread and Cup together as a soloist sings "Broken and Spilled Out." Lead each one to drink the Cup first in order to partake of personal fellowship with Christ. Encourage them to examine their lives, confess their sins and their faith in Christ. Then, they should remember what Jesus did and praise him as they silently partake of the Cup. After they have done this, have each one give his or her piece of bread to their neighbor in remembrance of Jesus, saying whatever they feel is appropriate. )
Invitation: I remind us that the Communion elements may also be symbolic of the Gospel. We must drink the Wine of his salvation and fellowship for ourselves, but we share the Bread of his broken Body with others. If you have made a commitment to Christ today and sealed it with Communion, I invite you to come now and make it public so that we may rejoice with you.
