The Supper And The Song

THE SUPPER AND THE SONG

TEXT: Matthew 26:26-30

Matthew 26:26-30 (KJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. [27] And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; [28] For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. [29] But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. [30] And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

I. INTRODUCTION—THE ORDER OF THE EVENTS

-Bill O’Reilly’s newest book about Ronald Reagan, Killing Reagan, starts with these ominous words in chapter 1: The man with twenty-four years to live steps onstage. The opening chapter covers the debate on October 28, 1980 at the Convention Center Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one week from Election Day that Reagan would go on to convincingly win over Jimmy Carter.

-The text that we have read is but a portion of the larger segment of Scripture that actually starts in Matthew 26:17 with “Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. . .” Reagan had twenty-four years to live from the date in October 1980 but Jesus had only a few hours to live. Reagan had no idea that his death would be twenty-four years later but Jesus knew exactly the hour that he would face death.

-On Wednesday of the Passion Week and it seems that Jesus would spend that day in seclusion somewhere in the neighborhood in Bethany. But now we come to the place in his life where an overwhelming storm is about to breakout in fury.

-It is now Thursday evening and in the small upper room an event will take place that will become a very important event for the church through the ages. The Lord is eating and drinking with the men that he had shaped for the last three and a half years. They had seen the highs and the lows with him and they loved him deeply and he loved them too. However there was a storm coming that would turn all of their lives upside down. It would be filled with fear, fatigue, worry, anger, deep loss, and pain.

-The events of that night can be understood when we compare the accounts of Matthew with that of John:

• Washing the disciples feet—John 13:1-20

• Identifying Judas as the betrayer—Matthew 26:21-25

• Judas leaves the Passover meal—John 13:30

• The institution of the Lord’s Supper—Matthew 26:26-29

• The messages in the Upper Room—John 14

• On the way to Gethsemane—John 15:16

• The great prayer of the Lord—John 17

• His anguish in Gethsemane—Matthew 26:36-46

• The betrayal and the arrest—Matthew 26:47-56

-But all of the events the Lord would sum up for them in Luke 22:19. . . This do in remembrance of me!

A.B. Bruce—He seems to say, ‘Fix your eyes on Calvary and watch what happens there. That is the great event in my earthly history. Other men have monuments, because they lived lives deemed memorable. I wish you to erect a monument to me because I have died. The memory of other men is cherished by their birthdays, but in my case better is the day of my death than the day of my birth. My birth into the world was momentous, but still more is my death. Of my birth no festive commemoration is needed; but of my death keep alive the memory till I come again. Remembering it you remember all, for of all it is the secret, the consummation and the crown.’

-His death was a sacrificial death. Just as the lamb was slain at the first Passover in Egypt and provided salvation for the firstborn, the death of the Lord leads to the hope of salvation for every one who will believe and follow and be converted.

-The blood of the Lord delivers man from a much deeper slavery than ever was even considered in Egypt. Sin brought such heavy slavery that there is no hope whatsoever outside of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

• Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world—John 1:29

• He was wounded for our transgressions: he was bruised for our iniquities—Isaiah 53:5

• He made him to be sin for us who knew no sin—2 Corinthians 5:21.

This do in remembrance of me!

-There is such a mixture of grace and power mixed in with this last supper of the Lord. The Lord knew exactly what was in front of him and instead he chose to spend the somber quiet of that last evening to give a parting gift to the church!