Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleChrist's Death in the Table
Bible TextMatthew 26:26-28
Synopsis In the things our Lord did as he gave us this ordinance, we behold how our Lord has actually made every believer complete in him by his death. Listen.
Date02-Jul-2017
Series Sermons on Lord's Table
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: Christ's Death in the Table (32 kbps)
Audio CD Quality Listen: Christ's Death in the Table (128 kbps)
Length 42 min.
 

Title: Christ’s Death in the Table

Text: Matthew 26: 26-28

Date: July 2, 2017

Place: SGBC, New Jersey

 

Matthew 26: 26: 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.

 

The Lord Jesus had assembled his disciples—along with Judas the betrayer—to observe the last, old covenant Passover Supper.  Christ is the Passover Lamb. So he ended that ordinance of the Passover and instituted the new covenant ordinance which we are observing today.

 

Title: Christ’ Death in the Table

 

Proposal: In the things our Lord did as he gave us this ordinance, we behold how our Lord has actually made every believer complete in him by his death.

 

CHRIST TOOK HUMAN FLESH

 

Matthew 26: 26: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread…

 

In Christ taking the bread, we see a picture of Christ taking human nature. Christ described his flesh as the true bread.

 

John 6: 51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

 

So the Son of God took bread—he took human flesh and blood—like his brethren that he came to save.

 

Hebrews 2: 14: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on [him the nature of] angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

 

Can anyone explain how God was made human flesh? Absolutely not!

 

1Timothy 3:16: But without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh,…

 

He became the GodMan—perfect, sinless, human flesh and blood—it is why we use unleavened bread and wine!  So today when you take the bread and the wine—remember the great condescension of the Son of God to come down and take flesh and blood like unto us that he might save us.

 

CHRIST BLESSED OUR HUMAN NATURE

 

Matthew 26: 26: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it…

 

As surely as Christ blessed that bread and wine, Christ blessed the human nature of his elect by being made flesh like unto us.  It was an absolute necessity that Christ be made flesh or else his people would have no Savior and no salvation due to our sinfulness.  But because he was made flesh, Christ has blessed our human nature.

 

Not only did he bless our nature, his entire life on this earth was one continual offering of thanksgiving to his Father as Representative of his elect.  In his flesh and blood is no leaven of sin, only perfect faithfulness and fidelity to his Father. It is the perfect faith counted to be his saints.

 

Scripture says “For the joy which God the Father set before him before him, he endured the cross.” (Heb 12: 1)  His entire life unto the cross was for the joy of honoring and magnifying the holy law of his Father, manifesting the righteousness of his Father, laying down his life to declare God just and the Justifier, fulfilling his Father's will in redeeming those the Father loved from before the foundation of the world.


Hebrews 10:5: Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6: In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7: Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

 

So as we give thanks for the bread and wine, remember Christ whose incarnation blessed our human nature, whose life was one perpetually blessing the Father as our righteous Representative Head.

 

CHRIST TOOK THE CUP AND BRAKE THE BREAD

 

Matthew 26: 26: And he brake [the bread]…27: And he took the cup,…

 

In Christ taking the cup and breaking the bread we see a picture of Christ laying down his life by taking the cup the Father put in his hands.  Christ willingly took the bitter cup that God the Father gave him to drink dry for his people.

 

Matthew 26: 36: Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37: And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38: Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40: And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42: He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44: And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

 

It is another great mystery as the Father presented to our Substitute the bitter cup of sin in the Garden of Gethsemane.  It was in the first garden that his people were made sin by the first Adam, it was in the second garden that the last Adam began to be made sin to redeem his people. And he “began to be sorrowful and very heavy.”  He described it as a baptism that he must be baptized with—his whole being began to be immersed in suffering by this bitter cup.  The cup had a real effect upon his soul—His “soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.”  The cup had a real effect upon his physical body. Luke says, “being in an agony…his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  In this garden our Substitute really began to experience just how weak our flesh is. He spoke what he experienced when he said—“the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  But here is the great thing—he took the cup which God the Father put into his hands. He said, “if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

 

Also, he said, “No man taketh my life, I lay down of myself.”  He took bread and he brake it.

 

Matthew 26: 45: Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46  Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. 47: And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48: Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49: And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50: And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him. 51: And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. 52: Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 53: Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? 54: But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 55: In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. 56: But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.

 

It was Christ who willingly gave his body to be broken, he said,

 

Isaiah 50: 6: I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7: For the Lord GOD will help me

 

And how his body was broken and his precious blood spilled out.

 

Matthew 27: 28: And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29: And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30: And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31: And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him35: And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36: And sitting down they watched him there;…39: And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, 40: And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41: Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, 42: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. 43: He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. 44: The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.

 

But far worse was the wounding he received from the Father due to being made sin for us.

 

Matthew 27: 45: Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46: And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

 

The breaking of his body, involved enduring the cross while despising the shame of our sin laid on him.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

 

Due to our sin, God made him a curse for us (Gal 3: 13) He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities:

 

Isaiah 53:10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand

 

Matthew 27: 50: Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost…

 

John 19: 33  But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water…36: For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

 

Matthew 27: 59: And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60: And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

 

So as you eat the bread and drink the wine, remember Christ’s body broken and his blood shed in our room and stead under the fierce wrath of God’s justice!

 

CHRIST GAVE HIMSELF INTO OUR HEARTS

 

Matthew 26: 26: 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. [WHICH IS BROKEN FOR YOU] 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.

 

Christ redeemed God’s elect, made us righteous and made us a sweet smelling savor unto God in him! So in the season of his love, he came in Spirit through the preaching of the gospel, and instead of the bitter cup, he gave us this sweet cup and made us willing to drink it.

 

Isaiah 51:22  Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:

 

When we take and eat bread and drink wine it becomes one with our body. Sinner, it is not enough to admire Christ, you must eat his flesh and drink his blood—you must believe on him, confess him publicly and live by faith upon him alone or you have no life in you! He says “drink ye all of it!” This is one reason—only baptized believers can partake of this table.

 

So believer, as this bread and wine is presented to you, as you take it, as it becomes one with you—remember that Christ not only gave himself for us, but he gave us faith, and through faith gave himself to us, making us one with him with him in us.

 

Believer, Christ has revealed to you that his body was broken FOR YOU and his blood shed FOR YOU and he has remitted all your sins. He said, “This is my body which is given for you; this is my blood which is shed for you.” Believer, Christ gave his body to be broken and his blood to be poured out to satisfy divine justice for you (Rom 3: 26)

 

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Cor 5: 21);

 

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (Gal 3: 13);

 

“Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” (Eph 5: 2)

 

So now we see why scripture says “as we eat this bread and drink this cup we do show his death till he come”—This is why Christ commands every believer, “This do in remembrance of me!”

 

Amen!