The Lord's Last Supper

The Last Lord’s Supper has a different meaning to me than the Last Supper. When we stop to think about The Last Supper, many of our minds begin to bring up the mental image of Da Vinci’s famous portrait. Since the 15th century a multitude of art connoisseurs have put forth their interpretation of the meaning of Da Vinci’s work. Even in our day, the rumors about the painting and its meaning live on in our culture in stories such as The Da Vinci Code, fabricated by Dan Brown. One thing I can say with conviction is the only way we can truly know the mind of Leonardo Da Vinci is to ask him…and he’s no longer among us. And the only way Da Vinci could have known the truth was to have Truth as his source. And in this way, we are as far removed from the first century cultural experience of this religious observation as Da Vinci might have been. And we can be just as flawed in our thinking about the meaning of the Lord’s Last Supper as an author who made up a story in order to sell books. So how can we think rightly about that night? Is there a source of truth that is dependable and credible? Do we really have testimony from those that were there? Why was that night so special? Why was it any different than any other night? Our text before us today is recorded in all four Gospel accounts from different perspectives. We, as the people of God, can attest to the veracity of the Biblical account because we can believe what the Holy Spirit of God has revealed to us by faith. Believers can believe the Bible because it is the Word of God who inspired the human authors. Asking God to enlighten our understanding of what He says to us today, let us now endeavor to hear the Word of the LORD.

Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”Jesus said to
him, “You have said it yourself.” While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Matthew 26:20-30)

The cultural context of this passage can give us valuable information for the biblically minded meaning-maker. Jesus was going to die and be betrayed by one of His disciples. As they ate together, Jesus revealed His knowledge of the plot to all, and informed them that this would be the last Passover meal they would share together in this world. This night would surely be one to remember. And indeed, they did remember.
What we read in the Gospels is their testimony. It was a lot for these Kingdom Culture Disciples to take in. Today we can be reminded of that night…what it might have been like for the disciples as they shared a meal to remember. Today, and in the past few days, many of us have been trying to process information that is difficult for us to take in. We have been trying to interpret the news of the death of David Johnson. And trying to think about what the word of the LORD has to say about it. It’s a day that we are given to remember.
The Lord’s Table reminds us of death as we remember the LORD. As I think about it’s meaning, and the meaning of the Last Supper, my mind reflects upon the Lord’s Supper. It is significant that we observe the Lord’s Supper this morning. This is the time we usually set aside to observe and participate in this ordinance. It is on our church calendar…we have planned for it. But through the providence of the LORD God, we can learn today that everything happens according to the LORD’s sovereign time.
One question that I bring to you today is…What do you remember about the last time we shared the Lord’s Supper together? Was it significant? Different? Is it forever etched in your mind? Have you thought about that day since or was it just another day? Were you only passing through? We have no guarantee that the next time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper we will all be together. Since that time and this time we have been forever changed by death in our midst. We will never be the same again. Even if none of us dies before the next time we come to the table, we will never pass this way again. It is my prayer that we discover that this day is unforgettable in our journey with Jesus as Kingdom Culture Disciples…and we remember what He has to say about it.
Focus with me on the last verse in our text as we enter into this new reality. In the middle of this rapidly moving drama is the statement: After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Is this as puzzling for you as it is for me? Does it provoke additional questions such as: Why were they singing at such a time as this? Follow that question with this one: And Jesus, knowing where this night would end…why was He singing? And since the LORD’s word can comfort His people in times of distress, does God have a word today for us as we grieve the death of David Johnson? Does this ancient account have relevance for His people today? Do Kingdom Culture Disciples have reason to sing…even in this hour? The text answers our questions as we prepare to come to the Lord’s Table.

The Lord sung after the supper…to remind His disciples…that we can sing with Him.

After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

I. THE LORD SANG AFTER THE SUPPER…

The timing of the singing gives us a hint to what they might have sung. They were celebrating an early Passover supper in the Upper Room. The phrase singing a hymn can actually be literally translated as hymning, not being confined to a single hymn, but the singing of many. The Jewish hymnbook was the Psalms, or the Writings. Because this is a Passover observance, this was probably a recitation of the Great Hallel, which Jews usually sung at the close Passover Supper. It is composed of Psalm 113 and the five that follow through Psalm 118, often vocalized as singing or chanting audibly.
The Hallel begins with the first verse of Psalm 113. In English we read: Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD.
The Hebrew language would read Hallel…lu…Yah. Praise Yahweh…The Personal Name of the God of the God’s covenant people. It encourages me to know that when I say or sing Hallelujah, I am vocalizing the language of the godly worshipper. I am bearing good fruit. And if I know only one Hebrew expression, that is a good one to know. The next five psalms lead me to believe that this is what the LORD sang that night. I cannot imagine that Jesus was not the Lead Singer in the band. The Lord never gets tired of singing His own music. From the beginning of God’s creation, He has declared that only He is worthy of worship. All of creation declared the glory of God. Jesus had been singing that song from the beginning. He wrote that love song. This is an amazing thought…God was singing to Himself. And He has been doing that forever. Before there was a creation, before there was a curse of death, before there was an instrument of death called a cross, God was singing this old song to Himself.
Jesus was singing about the One who sits on High and looks down low.
Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? (Psalm 113:5-6)
Jesus can sing to the Father while looking into the darkness of death because He knows that the LORD God is looking at Him. His eye is upon Him. Jesus, being God Himself, humbled Himself and came to dwell with His people. This is the glory of knowing God in Person.
Jesus sang of the God who delivers His people through death. There is good reason to sing when faced with death. Stephen Foster had it right when He wrote:
It’s a dirge that is murmured around a lonely grave…Oh, hard times come again no more. We want to be delivered from death’s hard reality. But God does something far better. He delivers out of the midst of death even while it is still all around us. Psalm 114 tells us that When Israel went forth from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion. God has always lived in the midst of His people even in the darkest times of judgment and death.

THE LORD SANG AFTER THE SUPPER…

II. TO REMIND HIS DISCIPLES…

The Passover reminded them where they had come from and where they were going. Jesus and the disciples would have experienced Passover celebrations every year for all of their lives. It was part of their identity. Even to this day, the question that is asked at a traditional Passover observance motivates everyone to never forget the story. The question, often asked by a child to the father, Why is this night different than any other night…prods the memory of everyone to remember the Passover. Today, as we share in the Lord’s Supper, as we mourn the death of one of our church family, we can remember the Passover…when…
Death passed over God’s people so they could pass through death. The story reminds Kingdom Culture Disciples of all time about the time when the High King of Heaven came to rescue His people. He brought judgment to the Egyptian Pharaoh, the most powerful king of the earth at that time and invaded this strong man’s house. The plagues upon Egypt proved that Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, was the Most High God, because in God’s Universe, there is only room for One True God. The idolatrous nation of Egypt was representative of sin’s dominion over God’s people. And God had come to save them. Sin would not be their master. The last plague was the one that broke the bondage of God’s people as slaves in Egypt. Freedom from sin’s dominion came at a great cost. Hear the words of the Lord from Exodus 11:4-6.

…About midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the millstones; all the firstborn of the cattle as well. Moreover, there shall be a great cry in all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been before and such as shall never be again.

Sin delivers death…and the LORD delivers through death. Kingdom culture disciples remember that death of something precious is the price for God’s people to pass through that night without this judgment touching them. Something must be sacrificed. It would be a lamb…without blemish or spot or defect…the lamb must die so God’s people would live. The blood of the lamb would be painted on the doorposts and the lintel of each family’s doorway. When the LORD saw the blood, death would pass over the house, so the family could pass through the darkness and dreadfulness of death.
Behold, the Lamb of God…who takes away the sin of the world. This is what John the Baptizer said to his disciples when He saw Jesus and at least two of them were now sitting at the Lord’s Table. Jesus, God’s perfect sacrifice, was with them at the table. Symbolically we share that experience when we come to the Lord’s Supper. Realistically, we share that experience. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is given to us to deliver us from death’s dark domain. And God’s final judgment on sin, the outpouring of His wrath has passed over us…so we could pass through death. This is the story…we must remember…death is not our final resting place…death is the doorway to the rest of our journey. Jesus is not only the Lamb of God…He is the Good Shepherd…He is the Door of the sheep. Following Jesus leads us to God.
When God’s people came out of Egypt, they sang a song to the LORD. The people of the exodus had to persevere as they heard the ever-increasing thunder of the Pharaoh’s horsemen and chariots pursuing them in the darkness. Fear had all but paralyzed them as they looked backward into Egypt’s land. They were fearful of sure death that was chasing them. Sometimes God’s people can be haunted by the darkness of the past and intimidated by the darkness of the future. Most of these times, our fears do not materialize. Our experience in the moment with the Presence of God is all we really know for sure. When this present experience unfolded before God’s people, and the Red Sea was parted and the people crossed on dry land, and Pharaoh’s great army was drowned when the walls of water fell and drowned Pharaoh’s army, God proved that His presence is more than enough for His people in their present experience, no matter how dark, no matter how fearful.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore…then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD… (Exodus 14:30, 15:1)
God delivers. And when He does, God’s people have a familiar old song to sing in a strange new way.

THE LORD SANG AFTER THE SUPPER…TO REMIND HIS DISCIPLES…

III. THAT WE CAN SING WITH HIM.

Jesus said this is My Body. When He said this to these early disciples He was speaking in the present tense. He did not say, this was My body, but this is My body. He was with them. In a few hours…some of them would doubt. But in spite of their doubt, He was still with them. We enjoy that same reality. He is with us. He is in the midst of our suffering…in the midst of our mess. He is engaged. He is not a dead God. He is alive forevermore. This is something for Kingdom Culture Disciples to sing about. Hallelujah! Jesus is alive! And because He lives…we can live also.
The Blood of the Lamb is offered for God’s people. It was to be poured out for many…not all…but many, for the forgiveness of sins. Are you one of many? This is something to think about and something to sing about. This symbolism is not some ritualistic magic formula. But it is a realistic miraculous offering. God Himself, sacrificed by God Himself, so His people could come to God Himself. For we cannot get there all by ourselves.
God’s people do not sing solo because Jesus sang with His people. This is the community that God calls us into. The People of God must sing in unison…meaning one voice. We must be singing the same thing. God is worthy to be praised. Eternal spiritual death has passed over us so we could pass through physical death by the death and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are only passing through. This Passing Through Place is a journey. The difference is how we travel…with God by our side or we can ride solo. But Kingdom Culture Disciples do not sing alone but they do sing along. They do not walk alone but they walk along. The Lord is alongside...He is with us.
We sing because the King is singing. The King has always been singing. He is singing about the joy beyond the shadows of the sorrow. Consider Jesus singing…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. We can sing because our King is singing.
This may be our Last Lord’s Supper. We are reminded today by David Johnson’s absence of that possibility. This may be anyone’s or everyone’s Last Lord’s Supper. But, Hallelujah, it will not be the Lord’s Last Supper! There is one meal that is coming. So when we observe this Lord’s Supper, take a backward glance at the Passover and take a forward gaze to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. It will be set before us…in an eternal setting. But we will have to pass from death to life to get there. Many have already begun passing through. They are going to be there. But some will not pass from death to life. They have never been born again. They will pass from death to death. Some may live their whole lives going to church and they have never been born again. From one week to the next the only thing that changes is that they have gotten a week older in their physical body and it is continuously dying. These will pass from death to death. They will not be at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They will suffer the wrath of the Lamb continuously…forever and ever.
Looking backward, gazing forward, let us look around us…to one another. Come to the Lord’s Table, thank Him for His mercy, and love Him for His love.
Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD. Praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord.