The Body and Blood of Jesus

For centuries, the Jews offered sacrifices every year to atone for their sins.

God promised in Isaiah 52,53 that he would send a Savior to take our sins away. How? But crushing him and sprinkling many nations with his blood.

On the even of Jesus' crucifixion, he was about to go to the cross and offer his body and blood for the sins of his people. The disciples didn't see what was coming. They had vague notions, but they were not theologians, and could not see the fulfillment of the prophesies about to transpire. But they noted Jesus' words and took the bread and wine with him that night, and from then on, they did it in remembrance of him. It is a most special feast, because it IS THE PASSOVER for those who are atoned for through Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Before we take the Lord's supper, let's think about this Passover with the serious and prayerful mind.

I. The reason for the Passover

We can't begin to understand the Lord's Supper without understanding the problem it solves, which is sin. Jesus didn't come to end poverty, stamp out oppression, save the environment, or give people a better life generally. These are all good causes, which we should do with our lives. But Jesus' cause was much more important than all of them. It was to solve the original problem of all mankind, the root of all troubles: That we are sinners before God and before each other, that we are filled with sin, and that our sins separate us from God.

Isaiah spoke about this in ch.59 of his great book, saying:

² But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.

There are no other problems that are as unsolvable as this. For nothing we can do to make things right can change the fact that God has hidden his face from us. How can we get his attention? How can we break down the spiritual barrier that separates us from our Maker? We cannot. We are lost.

7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are evil thoughts;
ruin and destruction mark their ways.

⁸ The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks in them will know peace.

⁹ So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

¹⁰ Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.

¹¹ We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.

¹² For our offenses are many in your sight,
and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities.

Our sins don't go away. Think of your mind. Can you actually and truly forget the evil things you have done in the past? or wicked things others have done to you? Of course not. They are events that really happened. They are written on your mind just as clearly as if they were written on stone. Some people drink or take drugs or smoke dope to forget their troubles and sins. But as soon as the are sober, their sins come back to haunt them. Some become hedonistic, partying and seeking endless pleasures. But when the party is over, or their money runs out, they fall into depression as deep as their pleasure was high.

God knows we are stuck in sin. He loves us so deeply that he doesn't want to abandon us to sin. So Isaiah wrote,

¹⁶ He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.

¹⁷ He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

God came in flesh himself to save us. He put on flesh and blood and came in the form of a man. We can say that God came as the "Son of God", as when we have a baby, a little bit of ourselves comes out in a new person, even though before they are born, they are part of their father and mother, and actually connected to and living inside their mother's body. So Jesus IS one with God the Father, and is himself God, not a different God, but the same God, only in a different form. The fact that God came in flesh and blood is a very important teaching known as the Incarnation. We should study this theology more deeply, because it affects not only how we think about Jesus, it teaches us that the bodies we have are also good and precious to God. Many have fallen into the false teaching that the spirit is good and the body is evil. This is impossible, for Jesus also had a body. And he served God with his body, and offered his body as a sacrifice for our atonement. The theology of the body is very beautiful, and sets us free from the self-hate and shame and confusion of those who are, in reality, influenced by the Gnostics. Ask me later if you don't know what the Gnostics were (what they taught).

So on this night, Jesus sat down with the disciples to eat the Passover. Look at Matt.26:17.

¹⁷On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"

The Passover was instituted as a yearly feast in Exodus after the Jews had left Egypt. They were set free by Pharaoh because of the angel of death, who killed every firstborn son, but passed over the houses of the Israelites, because they put the blood of the Pascal lambs on their doorframes. The Passover was like Independence day for them, which marked the day they were set free from slavery. It was symbolic of our enslavement to sin, from which we can only be set free by the atonement for sins. And so the Passover was celebrated annually by Jews as a national as well as a solemn religious feast.

Now Jesus and his disciples were celebrating this feast. It would be a most memorable time, so they wanted to prepare it very thoughtfully, as one prepares a wedding or a special anniversary celebration or the inauguration of a new leader. Jesus sent them into town with an ominous message:

¹⁸He replied, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.' " ¹⁹So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

_Jesus' appointed time was near._ This meant that he was about to leave his disciples, and return to the Father. He had told them this, and all about his suffering, death and resurrection. They didn't really know what he meant. For like us, they argued about whether Jesus was speaking literally or in parables, even when he was rather clearly not speaking in parables.

As they sat eating, Jesus took bread and dipped it into the bowl of wine. This was the way they ate the Passover. It wasn't about eating as much food as fast as possible, like we eat. It was solemn and thoughtful eating that had spiritual meaning. They thought back on the Passover, and ate as though they were reliving that anxious night. As they reclined at the table, while they were eating, Jesus said,

"I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me."

This was a bombshell that set all the disciples into a sad, worried, self-doubting frame of mind. They all said, "Surely not I, Lord!" Then he indicated that it was the one who had already dipped his hand into the bowl with Jesus. This didn't really help them, as they hadn't been watching that carefully. But Judas, who had dipped his own hand with Jesus knew. He too said, "Surely not I, Lord." But Jesus said, "Yes, it is you."

And so one of the Twelve ate the bread and wine with Jesus, and then later that night went out and betrayed Jesus. It's hard to imagine that Judas could sit there pretending so well, pretending that he was a believer; fitting in with the others, though he was of an opposite mind; pretending to be Jesus' friend while he had already decided to go out and take the side of Jesus' enemies. Judas ate the Passover with Jesus. But he rejected Jesus as Lord, and rejected the atonement for his sins with Jesus' body and blood.

I believe this story is why Paul later wrote these solemn words in I Cor 11:

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.

The Lord's supper is a sacrament. Bu tit isn't a sacrament that saves you. It doesn't make you any more spiritual or religious than you are. No one can atone for his own sins by doing good works, being a better person, trying harder, working harder, or taking any sacrament. The ONLY thing that can save us from our sins and give us forgiveness and restore us to a right relationship with God is this\: The body and the blood of His Son Jesus. The Lord's Supper that we will take in a few minutes is NOT the actual body and blood of Jesus. For nothing in this world could ever substitute for the precious body and blood of Jesus, that was broken and poured out for us.

But the bread and wine are a symbol and a memorial to his body and blood. Jesus took the bread and broke it. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, "Take and eat; this is my body." According to Luke 22:19, Jesus said,

"This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

Jesus gave his body to be beaten and crucified for us. To recognize the body of Jesus we must remember what he did for us, accepting the beatings, mocking, the crown of thorns, carrying the heavy cross, marching through the city while people laughed and spit on him, and all the while, overcoming the desire to show them his power and destroy his enemies with one word. He accepted the pain, which was excruciating, without complaining at all.

And so he took the bread as a symbol for his own body, and said, "Do this in remembrance of me." So we take the bread in remembrance of Jesus, as the Jews at the passover remembered how God saved them from slavery in sin and the angel of death.

When they ate bread, they dipped it in the wine. But when they had finished the bread, he took the bowl of wine and passed it around to them to finish drinking it. Look at Mt 26:27--29\:

²⁷Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom."

"This is my blood." These words have troubled people from the time of Jesus until now, who worry that it is improper for humans to eat the flesh of other humans and drink the blood of humans or any other animal. God even forbade the Jews from eating the blood of their sacrifices. It was to be poured out on the altar entirely. Leviticus 17 says,

¹⁰ " 'Any Israelite or any alien living among them who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from his people. ¹¹ For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

But now Jesus was telling them to drink the wine as a symbol of drinking his blood. In short, Jesus was giving himself to them as _spiritual_ food. And he was giving them his blood to atone for their sins. For a time, the Romans ridiculed the Christians as people who taught cannibalism. They found the Christians' teachings repulsive. Maybe you do to.

But Jesus' blood is not really wine, and this wine is not physical blood. It is just grape juice that has been treated and preserved through fermentation. As wine is filled with amazingly good and healthy compounds, and has the most complex and varying taste of any other substance, Jesus' blood is uniquely beneficial to our soul. It not only atones for our sins, but cleanses our sins and restores us to health. It is spiritual medicine that is not natural, but supernatural. And there is no other way to be saved than to come to God with the blood of Jesus sprinkled on our insides, on our hearts and minds, and on the door frames of our body, our lips.

And when we take this body and blood of Jesus, we proclaim with the same mouths what he has done for us with his body and blood. So Paul wrote in 1Cor 11,

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.

You who are here now have heard that Jesus died for your sins. He gave up his body to be whipped and beaten and killed to suffer the justice for your sins, that you deserved. He gave his own sinless blood to be poured out on the eternal altar of God in heaven so that your sins might be atoned for and cleansed. Paul wrote in Hebrews 9,

¹¹When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. ¹²He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. ¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,^c]">[c] so that we may serve the living God!

We celebrate Easter as the Jews celebrated Passover. It is our highest holy day, for on this day we are saved, by the body and blood of Jesus. He gave his blood to forgive our sins and cleanse our consciences. As I said earlier, no one can truly forget the sins he or she committed. I can never forget the sin I committed when I yelled at my family recently, and once when I cursed a minister long ago, and when I often lusted after sinners and their pleasures, and coveted the honor of my fellow-shepherds and missionaries, envying those who were successful and wishing they would fall.

But the blood of Jesus cleanses my conscience so that I am no longer condemned even though I am most assuredly guilty. I am ashamed of my sins and the sins of my people. But I am not ashamed of the gospel! I am not ashamed of Jesus who suffered and died for me! I want nothing more in this life but to proclaim His death and resurrection until my children and all my people may know him and love him as I do.

Let us proclaim the Lord's death through taking the Lord's Supper now. Do not take it if you do not believe Jesus' body was torn for you, and his blood was shed for you. Do not eat it if you do not want Him as Lord and King. Do not proclaim if you do not believe. Paul says "anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself," like Judas Iscariot. No one will keep count or take note. Instead, kneel down and ask God to smite your heart with the power of the gospel, until you may know that you believe. You will not miss a blessing if you do not take the bread and wine. But you will die in your sins and spend eternity in hell if you do not ask Jesus to forgive your sins and cleanse your heart with the blood of Jesus Christ.

May God's Spirit speak to you as you take the bread and wine.

We're going to begin the Lord's supper now. Each person just come out and stand there until one of the stations is free. Then come and kneel down, take the bread and dip it in the wine and eat it.

As you come, remember Jesus suffering and death for your sin. Perhaps the crucifix is the best way to remember Him at this moment. This is what Jesus did for you. [Begin Crucifixion slides]. See his body, broken and hanging on a cross? That was for you. See his blood dripping down from his many wounds? That was for you. See his head hanging in sorrow? That was for your sins and unbelief and rebellion and pride and greed and lust and selfishness. He did this to save you from enslavement in sin, addictions, obsessions, compulsions, bitterness that will not go away, complaints that will not yield to thanksgiving, legalism that chips away at your freedom, shame that makes you hate the beautiful person you are, and fatalism. Jesus did this so that you can be the glorious sons and daughters of God. He adopts you as his own when you simply say, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Start coming forward now. Don't hurry. Take as long as you like. May God help you to open your heart as you open your mouth and take the body and blood of Jesus for your spiritual food this evening.