The Sacrament Of The Altar: Eat And Drink Forgiveness
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Sacrament Of The Altar -- The Benefits And Power Of The Lord's Supper
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking? That is shown us by these words, "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins"; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation ... It is not the eating and drinking indeed that does them, but the words here written, "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins"; which words, besides the bodily eating and drinking, are the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
The Lord's Supper is very closely connected with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I know we usually think of the connection the Lord's Supper has with the death of Jesus, but remember that Jesus tells us that his body and blood are offered to us to eat and drink with the bread and wine. Don't we believe that the body of Jesus is alive today? And didn't Jesus promise to be with us always, until the end of the age? The good news is that one of the ways Jesus Christ is present with us is in the Lord's Supper. As the Apostle Paul points out in his first letter to the Corinthians, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a communion in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a communion in the body of Christ?" In the word "communion" is the word "common." The bread we eat is in common with the body of Jesus. Likewise the wine. Wherever Jesus, according to His human nature, is found, we also find Him forgiving sins. We should not be surprised that those who eat the Lord's Supper are offered forgiveness of sins.
The key words in the testament of Jesus are these: "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins." To get an idea of what this means, let's listen to what the enemies of Jesus said at His trial before Pontius Pilate. Remember how Pilate was ready to let Jesus go? Pilate could not find anything wrong with Jesus. And Pilate was looking for something wrong. Pilate was very sensitive to anything that smelled like rebellion. The last thing he wanted was some religious nut running around claiming he was the king who would lead the Jews to freedom. Yet Pilate found Jesus harmless. But the enemies of Jesus pressed Pilate for a guilty verdict and a death sentence on Jesus. That's when Pilate realized that a riot would start if he didn't condemn Jesus. So he declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus. The people, in turn, cried out, "His blood be on us, and on our children."
We know that blood is one of the ways the Bible talks about death. When Pilate said he was innocent of the blood of Jesus, he was trying to deny responsibility for the death of Jesus. The mob, in turn, was willing to take that responsibility. "His blood be on us, and on our children" means "His death is a family matter to us." Little did they know how these words would come true. God answered their prayer by accepting the death of Jesus in their place. The mob was willing to accept responsibility for the death of Jesus. God did them one better. He made Jesus responsible for their deaths. Little did they know that by executing Jesus, they were putting into effect the terms of the last will and testament of Jesus, that His body and blood would be given and shed for the remission of sins!
Now, if I leave my wife 100,000 dollars in my will, and then she poisons my spaghetti, no court worth anything will allow her to get a dime of the inheritance. The Jews took responsibility for the death of Jesus. So they should be disqualified for any benefit that would come from it. The same would also be true for anyone who, like those Jews, thinks that Jesus is a curse. Even we would be disqualified from benefiting from the death of Jesus because apart from what change the Spirit of God has worked in us, we would kill Jesus if we could. We are, at best, accessories to the murder of Jesus.
How strange and wonderful, then, that God allows us to benefit from murdering Jesus! And to show how God has changed that brutal murder into glorious blessing, we have the Lord's Supper. The nail-pierced body of Jesus streaked with blood from the torture He endured is miraculously transformed into a family meal that offers forgiveness. Instead of seeing the brutality of Jesus' death, we see the Father in heaven feeding us forgiveness. It's the same body and blood. But it has been turned into a declaration of forgiveness instead of evidence against us. Saint Paul said it: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Those who take Jesus at His Word and come often to the true Supper He serves have the assurance of forgiveness that Jesus offers there added to the solid declaration of forgiveness made in baptism and which is repeated over and over in the preaching of forgiveness. The Lord knows how much we need to hear that good news. The Lord's Supper is His personal way of declaring it to us.
Prayer: We thank and praise You, Lord Jesus, for the miracle You work each time we come to the Table You set for us. Since only those who believe Your words "given and shed for you for forgiveness" receive forgiveness, give us faith to believe, even though our minds may not understand how You do it. Bless us, according to Your Word, when we come to Your Supper. Amen.
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking? That is shown us by these words, "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins"; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation ... It is not the eating and drinking indeed that does them, but the words here written, "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins"; which words, besides the bodily eating and drinking, are the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.
The Lord's Supper is very closely connected with the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I know we usually think of the connection the Lord's Supper has with the death of Jesus, but remember that Jesus tells us that his body and blood are offered to us to eat and drink with the bread and wine. Don't we believe that the body of Jesus is alive today? And didn't Jesus promise to be with us always, until the end of the age? The good news is that one of the ways Jesus Christ is present with us is in the Lord's Supper. As the Apostle Paul points out in his first letter to the Corinthians, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a communion in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a communion in the body of Christ?" In the word "communion" is the word "common." The bread we eat is in common with the body of Jesus. Likewise the wine. Wherever Jesus, according to His human nature, is found, we also find Him forgiving sins. We should not be surprised that those who eat the Lord's Supper are offered forgiveness of sins.
The key words in the testament of Jesus are these: "Given and shed for you for the remission of sins." To get an idea of what this means, let's listen to what the enemies of Jesus said at His trial before Pontius Pilate. Remember how Pilate was ready to let Jesus go? Pilate could not find anything wrong with Jesus. And Pilate was looking for something wrong. Pilate was very sensitive to anything that smelled like rebellion. The last thing he wanted was some religious nut running around claiming he was the king who would lead the Jews to freedom. Yet Pilate found Jesus harmless. But the enemies of Jesus pressed Pilate for a guilty verdict and a death sentence on Jesus. That's when Pilate realized that a riot would start if he didn't condemn Jesus. So he declared himself innocent of the blood of Jesus. The people, in turn, cried out, "His blood be on us, and on our children."
We know that blood is one of the ways the Bible talks about death. When Pilate said he was innocent of the blood of Jesus, he was trying to deny responsibility for the death of Jesus. The mob, in turn, was willing to take that responsibility. "His blood be on us, and on our children" means "His death is a family matter to us." Little did they know how these words would come true. God answered their prayer by accepting the death of Jesus in their place. The mob was willing to accept responsibility for the death of Jesus. God did them one better. He made Jesus responsible for their deaths. Little did they know that by executing Jesus, they were putting into effect the terms of the last will and testament of Jesus, that His body and blood would be given and shed for the remission of sins!
Now, if I leave my wife 100,000 dollars in my will, and then she poisons my spaghetti, no court worth anything will allow her to get a dime of the inheritance. The Jews took responsibility for the death of Jesus. So they should be disqualified for any benefit that would come from it. The same would also be true for anyone who, like those Jews, thinks that Jesus is a curse. Even we would be disqualified from benefiting from the death of Jesus because apart from what change the Spirit of God has worked in us, we would kill Jesus if we could. We are, at best, accessories to the murder of Jesus.
How strange and wonderful, then, that God allows us to benefit from murdering Jesus! And to show how God has changed that brutal murder into glorious blessing, we have the Lord's Supper. The nail-pierced body of Jesus streaked with blood from the torture He endured is miraculously transformed into a family meal that offers forgiveness. Instead of seeing the brutality of Jesus' death, we see the Father in heaven feeding us forgiveness. It's the same body and blood. But it has been turned into a declaration of forgiveness instead of evidence against us. Saint Paul said it: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you do proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Those who take Jesus at His Word and come often to the true Supper He serves have the assurance of forgiveness that Jesus offers there added to the solid declaration of forgiveness made in baptism and which is repeated over and over in the preaching of forgiveness. The Lord knows how much we need to hear that good news. The Lord's Supper is His personal way of declaring it to us.
Prayer: We thank and praise You, Lord Jesus, for the miracle You work each time we come to the Table You set for us. Since only those who believe Your words "given and shed for you for forgiveness" receive forgiveness, give us faith to believe, even though our minds may not understand how You do it. Bless us, according to Your Word, when we come to Your Supper. Amen.
