MAUNDY THURSDAY – April 9, 2020 – 1 Cor. 11:23-32
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from 1 Cor. 11. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- What Christ gave to us, to the whole church, the night in which He was betrayed, is a spectacular gift, “A PROFOUND BLESSING.” Knowing as He did what was coming, it is rather remarkable that He was composed enough to speak clearly and forcefully, so that there would be no ambiguity. All generations of Christians have heard His Word, received His gifts, and rejoiced in the marvelous blessings He promised us.
- Our sinful hearts tend to be superficial and almost unbelieving when we read and hear God’s Word. We don’t think to take what is spoken to us seriously. And when we first do think seriously about it, it is so incredible and beyond empirical scrutiny, that we begin to dismiss it almost immediately.
- And when we discount and dismiss the blessings, then we also find it impossible to receive the weightiness of the Sacrament, and the seriousness of the dangers of using it in a flippant and unbelieving way. But the apostle makes quite clear that the wondrous blessings are present for all, but that “judgment” is also present for those who do not allow for the realities promised in Jesus’ Word.
- Both aspects of this “PROFOUND BLESSING” are outlined in our text, and we consider them this evening.
I. The Lord’s Supper Is The New Covenant – Christ’s Body And Blood For The Forgiveness Of Sins
Text: “In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood.’”
Jeremiah 31:31,33,34 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Statement: Think of it! Every time you commune at our altar you are receiving the blood of Christ and participating in the New Covenant. In so doing you receive exactly what God promises: “I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.” You receive the very blood of Christ, which according to God’s Word “cleanses us from all sin.” [1 John 1:7] God’s Word promises: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” [Eph. 1:7]
Application: Where there is forgiveness of sins there is no more death and damnation. Where there is forgiveness of sins there is peace with God. Where there is forgiveness of sins there is only life and salvation. This is what is placed into your mouth and poured over your lips. It truly is “A PROFOUND BLESSING.”
Transition: And so it is to be taken with the utmost seriousness. We must know what it is that God is giving, and we must respect it and appreciate appropriately. And so the Apostle gives warning in our text that:
II. This Sacrament Is Not To Be Trifled With
A. Those Using It Unworthily Bring Guilt And Judgment Upon Themselves
Text: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.”
1. This would include those who are impenitent
1 John 1:10 “If we say we have not sinned we are calling God a liar and His Word is not in us.”
Luke 13:3 “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
2. This would also include those unwilling to forgive others
Matt. 6:14,15 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
3. This would include those who are unwilling to be reconciled to others
Matt. 5:23,24 “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
4. This would include those not discerning the real presence of Christ’s body and blood and the forgiveness granted to us through it
Text: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
5. This would include those who have not been thoroughly instructed, so that they are not yet able to properly examine themselves
Text: “ Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
B. The Consequences Of Unworthy Participation Are Serious, With The Goal Of Helping Us Retain Our Redemption
Text: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”
Statement: The serious consequences of unworthy participation in the Sacrament can be weakness, illness, and even death. The purpose of these consequences is not to remand us to hell, but rather to keep us from going there. As Paul writes: “We are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”
Application: But surely there is a better way to receive the Sacrament! And that is with simple faith and trust in the clear but mysterious Words of Jesus. Though we do not like to admit that there are things we don’t understand, the fact is there is much more that is unknown than that which is known. And that is true regardless of the intellect or the education of the individual. Additionally, one does not have to know about a thing completely in order to use it and be advantaged by it. I don’t know how everything in my car works, but I still drive it. I don’t know how everything in my computer works, but I use it. I dont’ know how my television works, but I still watch it. I don’t know how music is produced by a stereo, or ipod, but I sure enjoy the music.
Just so, even though we don’t know how Christ’s true body and blood are present in the Sacrament, this should not keep us from believing, and from receiving the peace and joy that Christ wants us to derive from His Sacrament!
Conclusion: Whereas the disciples did not know with certainty what was going to happen later that night, Jesus did. Though the disciples didn’t know what the morrow would bring for Jesus – the cross, suffering and death, Jesus did.
He spoke carefully. He spoke forcefully. He spoke graciously. He spoke in love. He left us “A PROFOUND BLESSING.”
God grant that as we contemplate His precious death for our salvation we also receive with the utmost faith, trust, and joy, the fruits of His suffering, death, and resurrection – provided for us to eat and to drink in the Sacrament, the “new testament” in His blood. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Thanks and praise be to Jesus! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting. Amen.