WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:01.600 Hello, friends. 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:02.879 This is Pastor Creighton. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:06.080 Thank you for tuning in to Newsong Church's Sermon Podcast. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:13.279 At Newsong Church, we want to see Jesus lifted high in Port Perry, Ontario, as we worship, grow, and serve. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:18.719 You can learn more about us and find contact info at newsongportperry.ca. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:26.719 And when the anger came, Jesus reclined at table. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:28.800 And the apostles with him. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:37.200 And he said to them, I have earnestly desire to eat this Passover with you before my supper. 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:43.840 For I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:46.560 And he took a peak. 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:53.039 And when he had given thanks, he said, Take this, eat it among yourselves. 00:00:53.520 --> 00:01:02.079 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.480 And he took bread. 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:14.079 And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:17.920 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:30.239 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:38.560 But behold, the hand of him who betrays thee is with me on the table. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:49.359 For the Son of Man goes as it is then determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:58.400 And they began to question one another, which of them could be, it could be who was going to do this. 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:05.920 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:18.639 And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:29.280 Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.159 For who is the great? 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:37.039 One who reclines at table or one who serves? 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.280 Is it not the one who reclines that table? 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.599 But I am among you as the one who serves. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:03:07.520 You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my father assigns to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:10.240 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:21.360 It's not like polite small talk you make at a business luncheon. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:26.080 It's not like chit-chat you make with your neighbor as the plane is landing. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.360 Parting words matter. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:34.159 They have weight to them. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:39.360 Likewise, parting gifts matter. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:57.360 In my uh office right now, I've got a Bible sitting on a stack of probably twelve other Bibles of different translations, but this Bible matters to me because it belonged to my grandfather, the Reverend Carl Friedrich, who himself was a pastor and a preacher. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.400 This gift matters because of the importance of the giver. 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:05.120 Parting gifts matter. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:09.840 So we meet Jesus in the upper room with his disciples. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:18.639 Jesus knows that it's the night of his betrayal, the night of his arrest, and the night before his death on the cross. 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:22.000 So he leaves his disciples with parting words. 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.160 Parting words that matter. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:31.199 As John records, Jesus says, Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:32.959 This is our mandate. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:39.360 And it's this word for mandate from which we get the word maundi, as in Maundy Thursday. 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:45.839 See, footwashing is a symbolic act of Jesus serving love. 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:56.720 And that's why we'll endeavor to observe a footwashing after the sermon, because Jesus' words, especially Jesus' parting words, matter. 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:03.920 But Jesus doesn't just leave his disciples with parting words, he leaves them with a parting gift. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:07.040 And this is what I'd like for us to meditate on. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:15.600 We read in Luke 22 that Jesus took bread and said, This is my body which is given for you. 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.720 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:24.399 And much in the same way, Jesus offers the disciples the cup of wine. 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:28.879 See, Jesus' parting gift to his disciples is a meal. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:36.240 It's a simple meal, consisting of bread and wine, but it's a significant meal. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:42.800 This is the parting gift by which his disciples will remember their Lord. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.279 And this meal is not meant to be a one-and-done deal. 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:53.920 The grammar here tells us that the disciples are meant to eat this meal on an ongoing basis. 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.560 Why does Jesus leave his disciples with a meal? 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:08.319 At the hour of their greatest need, Jesus gives his disciples a renewed feast of deliverance. 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:12.480 Deliverance through substitution. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:23.360 This feast of deliverance is Jesus' gift for his disciples in the upper room and for his disciples right here at New Song 2. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:37.759 I think if we're going to understand the significance of Jesus' parting gift, this feast of deliverance, we need to understand something about where it comes from, which we see in our reading in Exodus. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:48.560 We also need to understand something about what's happening in the upper room, which we see in Luke 22, and we ought to consider what to do with this gift as his church. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:52.160 And I think 1 Corinthians 11 speaks to that. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.600 Friends, this is Jesus' parting gift to us. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:03.920 This supper, this holy communion, it is for us our feast of deliverance. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.040 So where does this feast come from? 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:16.959 Well, in Exodus chapter 12, well, for about 400 years into the book of Exodus, God's people Israel have made their home in a foreign land, Egypt. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.839 And while they were there, they've been fruitful and they've multiplied. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:26.959 But at the beginning of the book of Exodus, a new Pharaoh takes the throne. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:38.240 He doesn't see God's flourishing people as a source of blessing like God intends them to be, but rather he sees the people of Israel as a threat to his power. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:48.959 So Pharaoh brutally enslaves Israel and even kills a generation of their firstborn sons to keep them crushed under his iron fist. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.480 So Israel cries out for help, and God answers. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:08:04.480 God raises up his servant Moses to show his signs and wonders against Egypt and to lead God's people to freedom. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:13.439 God unleashes plagues of judgment against Egypt, but Pharaoh refuses to relent and let God's people go. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:24.240 So we come to chapter twelve, our reading for tonight, where God promises a tenth and final plague to end all plagues. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:31.759 I will pass through the land, the Lord says, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt. 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:43.360 Just as Pharaoh killed a generation of the sons of Israel born in Egypt, so God in his retributive justice will require the life of all Egypt's firstborn. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:51.120 But notice this that God's judgment is against all firstborn in the land of Egypt. 00:08:52.159 --> 00:09:04.879 God's judgment against sin and rebellion looms over all who occupy the land, Egyptians and Israelites, oppressor and oppressed alike. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.759 Ultimately all are called to account before God. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:30.320 But this same God who promises judgment is the same God who in his mercy provides a means of deliverance through a substitute, onto which God's judgment will be symbolically transferred if his people have the humility and faith to take God at his word. 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:35.120 So God instructs his people take a lamb for a household. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.960 And verse six, kill your lambs at twilight. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.559 You're going to do two things with this lamb, God says. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:49.279 Verse 7, you're going to take some of the blood and you're going to put it on your doorposts and on the lintel of your house. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.240 So the blood on the doors is going to be a sign that a substitution has taken place. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:58.720 A sacrifice covers this household. 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:03.200 The second thing you're going to do is you're going to eat the flesh of this lamb. 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:09.440 You're going to eat it roasted on the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.399 See, it's not just the blood painted on the doors. 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:14.879 This lamb is going to be eaten. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:22.559 You're going to join yourself, as it were, to the substance of your deliverance through consuming it. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:30.720 And when I see the blood, God says, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:32.080 Why is that? 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.360 Because a substitute's been made. 00:10:35.919 --> 00:10:43.120 The blood of the Lamb for the blood that the judgment requires of God's people. 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:47.759 This is not a one-time feast, this Passover. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:59.200 In the first two verses, God tells Moses that this is going to be an annual feast, celebrating their deliverance in Egypt by God's means of deliverance through this substitute. 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:09.120 Celebrating the Passover year for year, generation for generation, is a remembrance that God is his people's deliverer. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:20.320 And it's a call for God's people to place their faith in the substitution that God's word has made for them as their means of deliverance. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:29.200 So many generations later, we meet Jesus in the upper room with his disciples. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.840 What's happening in the upper room? 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:34.480 They're not having a late-night snack. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:39.440 Verse 15 tells us that they're celebrating the Passover. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:46.480 They're taking up the feast of God's deliverance through substitution. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:52.080 But it's at this Passover meal that Jesus does something unexpected. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.919 Jesus remakes the Passover. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:59.279 He refashions it. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:01.120 He reorients it. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:05.600 He puts himself at its center as the substitute. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:13.360 He takes the bread of this Passover meal and Jesus says, This is my body, which is given for you. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.480 Notice Jesus says, This is my body. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:25.519 Not this signifies my body, not this is like my body or likened to my body, this is my body. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:37.360 You are to join yourself to the substance of your deliverance when you eat this, the true body, which will be offered on the cross. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:48.240 And likewise, Jesus takes the cup of wine and he says, This cup is that which is poured, or pardon me, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:54.799 You will drink God's sealed and guaranteed promise of salvation. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:13:03.120 Like the blood on the doorposts that covered the Israelites, my blood which you drink covers you. 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:07.279 And for you is such an important phrase. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:16.399 Because it speaks not just to whom the gift is intended for, these words carry a vicarious, a substitutionary sense. 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:22.559 Something has been done for you, which you could not do for yourself. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:43.759 One commentator writes, Jesus' body will be the once for all fulfillment of the ceremonies surrounding the Passover Lamb, as he will become the sacrificial atonement, on the basis of which God will pass over the sins of the people. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.720 See, friends, this is the greater Passover feast. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:14:06.720 On the night before the greatest exodus, not just deliverance from bondage to Pharaoh, but the deliverance of God's people from bondage to sin and Satan and death and judgment. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:20.080 This bread and wine is the Passover meal celebrated before the exodus from the kingdom of darkness into the everlasting life of the kingdom of God. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:31.200 And like the Israelites feasting on the Passover Lamb, by feasting on Christ by faith, we are joined with our deliverer. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:47.360 Just like we pray in the prayer of humble access, we eat and drink so that our sinful body may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:15:00.879 See, we come to have our souls nourished by the spiritual food that God has chosen to give us, to feast upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:17.200 And if this is true, then by the working of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is just as much present to us at this table, right here at New Song, as he was with his disciples in the upper room. 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:34.080 Here at this table, Jesus offers to us by the power of his Holy Spirit his very self, with the promise of the forgiveness of your sins through the once-for-all sacrifice on the cross. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:38.399 So eating and drinking at this table matters. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:49.919 Because by eating and drinking in faith, we receive Jesus, our deliverer, who presents himself to us in this meal. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:55.360 This meal should steady us in times of doubt. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:01.919 It should speak forgiveness to us louder than our guilty consciences accuse us. 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.919 It should strengthen our faith when it falters, which it so often does. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:16.639 For the repentant soul who trusts in Jesus, it is the antidote to the fear of condemnation. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:33.519 By Christ's own invitation, we come to be assured of Jesus' forgiveness, his compassion, and his desire for us to partake in everlasting life, which he has won for us through the cross. 00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:41.200 So we ought not to neglect or despise or shrug at this gift of a meal. 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.600 It's a precious treasure, it's a means of grace. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:49.360 It's given by Jesus Himself for you. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:59.039 So this simple meal, Jesus' parting gift of bread and wine, is our feast of deliverance. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:03.679 Deliverance through a substitute, Jesus. 00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:06.720 Now, what do we do with such a gift? 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:14.480 Well, the risen Jesus commissions his disciples to go into all the world and make disciples and to proclaim the gospel. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:23.039 And very quickly, these communities of Jesus followers start springing up all around the Roman world, one of which is in this city called Corinth. 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:29.599 And its chief pastor Paul writes them a letter to offer them instructions in Christian truth and living. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:48.640 And this letter includes instructions on how they go about practicing the Lord's Supper, which Paul refers to as a koinonia, a communion, not a mere ritual, not an empty symbol, but an actual participation in Jesus. 00:17:50.400 --> 00:18:02.720 Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 26, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:06.880 This meal is like a visible sermon. 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:09.680 It's better than anything I could preach. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:14.640 It's better than anything anyone could preach, because Jesus Himself has given it to us. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:19.359 When we come to this table, we his people make a declaration. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:20.960 We preach. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:25.200 We preach that God has died on my behalf. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:35.519 He alone is my deliverer, who brings me into the kingdom of God, where one day I will feast with him forever. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:40.799 Now, this phrase as often raises an age-old question. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.799 How often is often? 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.559 See, even here in our parish at Newsong, our practice has changed in the last year. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:57.279 We've gone from having communion together, maybe once a month, or pardon me, twice a month or so, to sharing communion every Sunday. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.039 We might wonder why. 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:05.119 Because some churches celebrate communion perhaps once a month or once a quarter, even once a year. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.200 How often is often? 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:18.079 Well, I think pastor and Bible teacher Sinclair Ferguson really unlocks the meaning of this word when he says that often means often. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:32.240 It means frequently, habitually, customarily, not infrequently, not something that's out of the ordinary. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:41.039 And sometimes when this conversation is had, the point is raised that communion really is something special for the church. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:42.559 And it certainly is. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.319 It's a means of grace, it's a sacrament instituted by Christ. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:54.319 And as the argument goes, it should be something special, and we risk losing its specialness if we do it too frequently. 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.960 And I can appreciate that point and the concern it raises. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:03.359 But I guess I always think of what a Baptist professor of mine told me once. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:20.559 This Septuaginarian professor says to a class of young 20-something theology students, he says, I wake up every morning, and the first thing I do is I kiss my wife and I tell her I love her. 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.519 And it has never not been special. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.480 And that's enough to melt your heart, isn't it? 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.440 But his point is an important one. 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:34.240 Some things are too special to do infrequently. 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:43.759 In fact, if we're going to take up the practice of the earliest Christians, we read in Acts chapter 2 that they devoted themselves to the breaking of the bread. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:48.160 They were devoted to the Lord's Supper, to Holy Communion. 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:49.200 Why? 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:54.000 Because they knew this was their feast of deliverance. 00:20:54.559 --> 00:21:03.519 This is their Passover meal in which Christ, our substitute, offers his very self to us. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.119 So what do we do with this parting gift? 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:09.279 We partake of it. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.519 And we do it often. 00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:18.559 And we do it to our endless comfort and strengthening and joy. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:23.920 So, sisters and brothers, let's make use of Jesus' parting gift. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:41.839 This is our feast of deliverance, deliverance from sin and death, through our substitute Jesus, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:55.759 Let us take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for us and feed on him in our hearts by faith and with thanksgiving. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:59.119 Taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:00.400 Amen. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.640 Thank you for listening today. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.319 We worship a generous God who calls us to follow Him in giving willfully, cheerfully, and sacrificially. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:18.960 Newsong Church's mission and ministry is 100% funded by the generous gifts of those worshiping and journeying with us. 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:26.720 If you'd like to offer a gift towards Newsong's ministry, please visit NewsongportPary.ca Giving for more information on how to do that. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:30.000 May God bless you and keep you today and every day.