[JESUS’ THANKSGIVING DINNER]
Slide Graphic – Norman Rockwell painting of family at Thanksgiving Dinner
Slide Verses –
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love
John 13:1
If you come to my home and go into my library, you may notice a volume set of eight very old books. The thing that will probably catch your eye is the swastikas decorating the spines. The books were printed before the Hitler’s armies attached such a stigma to the symbol. The books are actually a complete set of the poetry and literature of Rudyard Kipling, one of my favorite authors. Rudyard Kipling was a very famous British writer even before he died, and made a great deal of money at it. One day he was approached by a a man who said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over ten shillings a word.” At that time, ten shillings would have been a very good day’s wages. Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, “Really, I certainly wasn’t aware of that.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out ten shillings and gave it to Kipling and said, “Here,Mr. Kipling. Now give me your best ten-shilling word.” Rudyard Kipling looked at that ten shillings for a moment, took them and put them in his pocket and said, “Thanks.”
That’s what we’re going to talk about today – being thankful. The Bible say “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
One stormy night in Lake Michigan, a side-wheeler steamboat was rammed by another boat. The steamboat sank just a mile offshore from the village of Winnetka, Illinois. Out of 393 passengers on board, 279 drowned.
A man named Edward Spencer after seeing the situation unfold plunged into the lake and swam to the drowning people. He towed one person to shore and went for another. In all, he brought seventeen people to safety. However, the strain on this young man caused him to collapse. The nerves in his legs were so completely destroyed that he could never walk again. He was an invalid wheel chair victim for his entire life.
On his eightieth birthday, someone asked him to relate his most vivid memory of that dreadful day. He replied, "Not one of the seventeen returned to thank me."
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus healed ten people of leprosy. Out of the ten people who were healed only one person returned to thank Jesus. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17, 18).
If you are a Christian, Christ has healed you of much more than leprosy. God expects us to be grateful and to express thanks to Him. The cross should compel us to give thanks to the Lord every single day of our lives for Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Even if we had nothing else in our lives to be thankful for, this alone would be more than enough for a lifetime filled with thanks. Here at thanksgiving, we set aside time to focus on all that we have to be thankful for. Today in the main service, we are going to take the communion – the symbols of the bread and wine at the last supper. We are doing this in part because we want to remind ourselves of how much we have to be thankful for.
[PASSOVER]
Slide text –
() 10th Day of Nisan – Day of Selection
Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. (Exodus 12:3)
() 14th Day of Nisan – Day of Preparation
Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. (Exodus 12:6)
() 15th Day of Nisan – Passover
That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD (Exodus 12:8,12)
() 15th – 21st Day of Nisan – Feast of Unleavened Bread
For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. (Exodus 12:15)
() 15th and 21st Days of Nissan are special temple assembly (Sabbaths of the Feast)
7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work (Leviticus 23:7-8)
Slide Graphic – Timeline of 10th – 21st of Nissan, showing night first, then daylight
Nissan 10 – Selection Day (night and day)
Nissan 14 – Preparation Day (night and day), Lamb slain (day)
Nissan 15 – Passover Feast (night), Fist Sabbath of the Feast (night and day)
Nissan 21 – 2nd Sabaath of the Feast (night and day)
Nisan 15-21 – 7 day (night and day) Feast of Unleavened Bread
I think it’s particularly fitting that we celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a meal where we gather the family together and celebrate how much we have to be grateful for. Jesus, in his last supper on earth, gathered together his closest friends and, even though he knew that he would be tortured and killed the next day, he took time to celebrate his gratefulness to his father, our God. It really is amazing when you think about it.
So today, we’re going to think about it. We’re going to walk with Jesus through his last week on earth. One thing that you really need to understand to fully appreciate what was going on is that the last supper was no ordinary meal – it was a celebration of the Passover.
Before we move on, I want to talk just a minute about the Passover, as it has been celebrated since the time of Moses. This Jewish celebration had been celebrated every year for almost 1500 years before the time of Christ, and it’s been celebrated almost 2000 times since, and it’s been celebrated in exactly the same way (with one exception) all those years, because the Bible gives very specific instructions. Since the Bible goes to such lengths to tell how the Passover should be celebrated, it should come as no surprise that every part of the festival is meaningful, and the parts add up to a whole which reveals God’s plan of redemption for our world. So - to really understand the Last Supper, it really helps if you know about the Passover celebration.
One of the first things to understand is the Jewish calendar:
• The Jewish calendar, like that of the Chinese, is a lunar calendar, based on the lunar month. It begins the day of the new moon.
• The Jewish day begins and ends at sunset, not at midnight.
I’ve put up a calendar timeline to show the schedule the Bible dictates for the Passover celebration. Can any of you tell me the high points of what historical event in the history of the Jewish people the Passover festival is celebrating?
Let me try to bring this festival home to you – Imagine you are part of a Jewish family living 2000 years ago. On the 10th of Abib (A calendar month in early spring, later renamed Nisan), a lamb was chosen by every family. It had to be male, without any blemish. This lamb was then kept in the home and treated as a pet for 4 days. On the 14th, every Jewish family had to bring their lamb to the temple in Jerusalem, where it was examined to make sure it was spotless. Then the head of the house put his hand on the head of the lamb. At this moment the sins of the family were said to pass into the lamb, and it was quickly slain, there in front of the whole family. This was an object lesson that would be hard to forget – the blood of the lamb was required to prevent the punishment of death. At certain times during the Passover celebration there were over 250,000 lambs slain with blood everywhere, all over the Temple, with so much blood flowing down the brook Kidron that it was called a "horrifying sight.“ That evening (now the 15th, because the next day begins at sundown), you get together with the family and eat the lamb with flat crackers and horseradish, and tell the story of the Exodus. The next morning (still the 15th), is a church holiday, called a Sabbath whether or not it falls on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday). You continue eating the crackers every night for seven more nights. The 21st, the last day of the festival, is another church holiday, or Sabbath of the Feast, again, regardless of whether or not it was really Saturday. At least one real Sabbath falls during this week. On the day after that real Sabbath, a Sunday, the temple priests celebrate the Wave Sheaf. They actually take big bundles of wheat (called a sheaf) and wave it around in the air while they march around the temple to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest. Because the Passover begins on a different day of the week each year, the Wave Sheaf can be any time during Passover week.
[SEDER MEAL]
Slide Graphic – picture of a seder plate, showing the symbolic foods on it
Slide Text A –
1. Kiddush Cup of Sanctification
2. Wash hands
3. Break middle matzoh
4. Eating the Motzoh, bitter herbs, etc.
5. The four questions (Motzi)
6. Reading of the Haggadah
7. Kiddush cup of Deliverance
8. Main meal
9. Finding the Afikohman
10. Kiddush cup of Redemption
11. Check the door for Elijah
12. Songs
13. Kiddush Cup of Release
Slide text B –
Bitter herbs
Roasted egg
Bone
Charoset
Parsley
(Lettuce – some families)
Before we move on to talking about the last supper – Jesus’ Thanksgiving diner – let’s take just a little more time and talk about the Passover meal itself.
Before the Passover celebration begins, Jewish people make sure their homes are thoroughly prepared. Every trace of leavened food – breads, cakes, crackers (anything made with yeast) – must be removed from the home – either eaten before the festival starts, thrown out, or sold to Gentiles. Special dishes, pots, pans and silverware are used only during this holiday. An extra glass of wine is always poured "for Elijah" the prophet, who is assumed to be an invisible guest at the meal. Tradition holds that the meal must have at least ten people. If your family was smaller, you had to combine households with another family for the festival.
The Passover meal itself is known as the "Seder," from a Hebrew word meaning "order.“ The meal is a ceremony, with many parts that must be performed in order.
1. First a special cup is filled with wine. It will be passed around the table 4 times over the course of the meal. This first pass is called the Cup of Blessing or Cup of Sanctification (Exodus 6:6)
2. Next, the hands (sometimes the feet) are washed (Psalms 24:3-4)
3. Then, the head of the house takes the middle of three crackers (called Matzoh) that have been placed on the table underneath a linen cloth. He puts half of it back under the napkin, and hides the rest (called the Afikohman) somewhere in the room. The adults may pass the cracker around underneath the table over the course of the Seder meal, perhaps breaking it into several pieces so that every child can find a piece.
4. Special foods are prepared, each a symbol for the original Passover dinner the last night in Egypt:
• Matzos, the unleavened bread, wrapped in a special cloth to recall the Jewish ancestors who fled from Egypt in haste.
• Bitter herbs, such as horseradish, to recall the bitterness of life in slavery in Egypt.
• Charoset, a paste of crushed apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, to represent the mortar that Jewish slaves used to build bricks
• A roasted shank bone of a lamb, which is viewed but not eaten, represents the Passover lamb
• Sprigs of parsley, symbolizing springtime, which are dipped into salt water to represent the tears shed by the Israelites.
• A roasted egg, a symbol of life and renewal.
1. The youngest child asks four questions
1. Why tonight? It is a night to remember (Ex 12:42)
2. Why bitter herbs? To symbolize the anguish of slavery (Exodus 2:23)
3. Why dip in salt water twice? We cried bitter tears, but our hope was in God (Psalms 42:5)
4. Why do we eat reclining? We are no longer in haste – we are free (Exodus 3:18-20)
2. Next the story (called the Haggadah) of the time Israel spent in Egypt is read (Exodus 12)
3. Then the Kiddush cup is filled and passed again. Ten drops are spilled on each plate to represent the ten plagues (Exodus 7:14-12:36). The head of the family gives thanks for having been delivered from Egypt. This is known as the Cup of plagues, or the Cup of Deliverance
4. The main meal is eaten. Up until the time the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, this would have been the Passover lamb. Since that time, since there has been no Temple at which a lamb could be sacrificed, a bone of some kind, usually from whatever was prepared for the meal, is placed on the Seder plate to represent the lamb.
5. The kids look for the hidden Afikoman.
6. The Kiddush cup is filled again. The head of the family gives thanks for having been saved by the blood of the lamb, and the Cup of Redemption is passed around the table.
7. The kids run to the door and look out to see if Elijah showed up to drink his cup this year. It is believed that one day Elijah will return to celebrate Passover and announce the coming of the Messiah.
8. The songs of Thanksgiving are sung. The songs are Psalms 115-118 (the Hallel), and you always end with Psalms 136 (the Great Hallel – “Give Thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His Love Endures Forever”)
9. The Kiddush Cup is filled one last time. This is called the Cup of Praise, or the Cup of Release.
"Next year in Jerusalem" is a phrase often used to bring the Seder to a close. It is an expression of hope that the Messiah will come in the next year, that the Temple will be rebuilt, and that Jews will come together in Jerusalem once again.
[PASSION WEEK – THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY]
Slide Graphic A – Jesus entering Jerusalem on a white donkey
Slide Verse –
1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. …
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!”
John 12:1,12-13
Slide Graphic B – same timeline as before, with additional information. In the year of the Crucifixion, Nissan 10 was on a Saturday (Sabaath), 11 on Sunday, etc. Also
Nissan 10 – Triumphal Entry (Day)
Nissan 14 – Last Supper (night), trial and crucifixion (day)
Nissan 15,16, and 17 – Buried three days and Three nights
Nissan 18 – Wave Sheaf offering (night and day), Empty tomb discovered (day)
Now that you have an idea what Passover was like and all the symbols it contained, lets turn to Jesus and his last Passover. First, the Bible tells us that he went to Bethany, where Mary anointed him with perfume, six days before the Passover. This would be on the 9th of Nisan. The next day, the 14th of Nisan, was the day we now call the “Triumphal Entry” where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with crowds of people cheering and waving palm branches and declaring him their King. The Bible says that this year, that day was Saturday, the weekly Sabbath. He would stay in Jerusalem for the next 4 days.
If you notice the date, you will see that this is the day that all the Jewish people were selecting their Passover lamb, and bringing it into their homes to live with them for the next 4 days.
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ’Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
(John 12)
[PASSION WEEK – LAST SUPPER]
Slide Graphic A – Last supper
Slide Graphic B – same timeline
Slide Verses –
After supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood;
do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.“
1 Corinthians 11:25
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Romans 14:17
Jesus know that he would not live to celebrate the actual Passover meal on the 15th. On the 13th, he had the disciples find a room where they could eat together. Since the next day begins at sundown, the Last Supper would have been on the 14th.
Although this was not the actual Passover meal (it was one day early), Jesus did lead the through the Passover ceremony.
8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover." 9"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11and say to the owner of the house, ’The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there." 13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.“
17After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19And 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."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. (Luke 22:8-20)
If you look at the events of the Last Supper, you can follow along with the Passover meal.
• The bread he broke (before the supper) was the Afikohman – hidden beneath the linen covering. He added the words “this is my body, given for you” to the ceremony. His body would be wrapped in linen grave clothes and hidden away within 24 hours.
53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. (Luke 23:53-54)
• The sop he gave Judas was the bitter herbs
26Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him, 28but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. (John 13:26-29)
• Just after the meal (v.20) he passed the Kiddush cup, but added the words “This is my blood”. That was the Cup of Redemption, where the head of the house in a Passover meal thanks God for having saved the people by the blood of the lamb.
• Notice that they left singing (Matthew 26:30). They did not drink the last Kiddush cup – the Cup of Release.
[PASSION WEEK – GARDEN OF GETHSEMENE]
Slide Graphic A – Christ praying in the Garden
Slide Graphic B – Same timeline
Slide Verses –
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives
Matthew 26:30
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
Psalms 116:3-5
Christ and his disciples left the Last Supper during the singing of the Hallels. Let’s read the words Christ was singing, knowing he was now just hours away from death.
1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, save me!"
5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the simple-hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10 I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted."
11 And in my dismay I said, "All men are liars."
12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD — in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 116)
And the Great Hallel, which ends with
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalms 136:26)
Then in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed:
38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." 39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." 40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." 42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done." 43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. (Matthew 26:38-44)
What cup? Remember that they had not drank from the last Kiddush cup, the Cup of Release. Jesus drank from that cup in the Garden, and released his will and his life to God.
[PASSION WEEK – TRIAL]
Slide Graphic A – Jesus at trial
Slide Graphic B – Same Timeline
Slide Verses –
While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
Matthew 27:19
Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man."
Luke 23:4
Judas betrayed Christ later in the same night that they had the Last Supper. His Trial began that night and lasted into the next morning, still the 14th day of Nisan.
This was preparation day. The day when Pilate examined Jesus and announced he was blameless was the same day all of Israel were taking their Passover lambs to the temple to be examined to see if they were pure, without blemish.
[PASSION WEEK – CRUCIFIXION]
Slide Graphic A – Christ on the cross
Slide Graphic B – same timeline
Slide verses –
For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
1 Corinthians 5:7
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
John 19:31
It is very likely that the very time Christ was being tortured and crucified, the heads of each household were putting their hands on the head of the lamb to transfer their sin into the innocent beast, then killing it as a substitute for their own debt of guilt and disobedience.
While the families ate their Passover lambs, they were commanded to break none of its bones. At the same time, the soldiers elected not to break the bones of Christ.
When the families broke the bread and drank the wine, Christ’s body was broken and his blood was shed. When they hid the broken bread in the linen, Christ’s body was wrapped in Linen an put in a tomb.
21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. (Exodus 12:21-23)
When the time came to fully redeem Israel, to offer the sacrifice that would be acceptable for complete forgiveness of their sins, God did not ask the Israelites to offer their own firstborn sons – he offered his own instead.
[PASSION WEEK – CHRIST RISEN]
Slide Graphic A – Christ stepping out of tomb
Slide Graphic B – same timeline
Slide verses –
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:20
6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
John 20:6-7
Christ was buried in the earth for three days and three nights, in fulfillment of the prophecy. One reason God might have chosen three days was because of the belief at that time that the spirit of a dead person stays close by the body for the first three days, just in case the body comes back to life, but on the fourth day, the spirit abandons it and there is no hope or a resurrection. If you’ve seen the movie “Princess Bride”, when wesley is brought to Miracle Max, Max says that Wesley isn’t really dead, just “mostly dead”. This is pretty much what people believed at that time about the first three days after a person died. Jesus himself waited until the fourth day to resurrect Lazarus, and Martha warned him that the three days had passed and now the body was sure to stink (John 11:39).
If you look at the calendar, you will see that Jesus’ resurrection occurred on the day after the weekly Sabbath, which, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is the day of the Wave Sheaf Offering, also called the feast of the First Fruits. The day our Lord rose was the day all Israel celebrated the first of the fruits which are to come.
9 The LORD said to Moses, 10 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ’When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. (Leviticus 23:9-11)
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)
When Peter and John ran to the tomb after hearing from Mary Magdalene that the tomb was empty, they both ran to the tomb and "found the linen cloths lying there, and the napkin that was on His face was not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself....and when the other disciple (John), came to the tomb....he saw and believed" (John 20:1-10).
The folding of the napkin is a Jewish custom where a distinguished guest would show appreciation to the host for their warm reception. If you left your napkin unfolded, it was a sign you were not thankful to have been there, and you would not come again. If you folded your napkin, it was a sign that you were indeed thankful for their food and that you would be glad to come again.
[THANKFULNESS]
Slide Graphic – Christ eating normal meal
Slide Verses –
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore, 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. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
1 Corinthians 11:23-29
The Bible says that, at Jesus’ Last Supper on earth, knowing he was hours away from death, he “gave thanks” before he demonstrated how his body would be broken and his blood shed. He was Thankful. This was the completion of his mission, to be the Passover lamb and die to pay the price for our disobedience. He was facing imminent torture and death, and was thankful for the opportunity to become your Kiddush Cup of Redemption. This was Jesus’ Thanksgiving meal.
When you eat your Thanksgiving supper this year, what will you be thankful for?
Will you be thankful for the sacrifice of Christ that paid the price for the sins of mankind? Will you be thankful for the opportunity, the second chance Christ has given you, to face the two trees Adam and Eve faced in the Garden? On the left stands the Tree of Life – a life of serving God, letting him direct our paths, no matter the cost. On the right stands the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – a life of serving ourselves and deciding that we know best what is in our own best interest. Satan could not submit to God, and chose the other tree. Adam and Eve also chose to disobey God and mankind separated ourselves from God. Jesus’ sacrifice restored that choice to you, but you still have to choose. Have you chosen a life of serving God? If you have never made that choice, the Bible says that in the service today, you had better not take the communion. Jesus’ sacrifice restored your choice, but if you have not given your life in service to Christ as your Liege Lord and have him sitting on the throne of your heart, then you are eating and drinking judgment on yourself.
Like the disciples at the Last Supper, I want to leave this Sunday before Thanksgiving singing:
Love, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true,
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for you.
--"Sanctuary"
