Why Does Communion Matter? (PM Lesson Outline)
GIST: Communion points us back to His sacrifice, around to His provision, and forward to His return.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 14:22-25
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Setting:
The Passover. This was a time of remembering and a highly structured ceremony. The specifics are fairly detailed, but in general, there would be phases. Each aspect of the meal pointed to something that was to be remembered about God’s provision and His deliverance. Through the meal, the head of the house, would be responsible for explaining these symbols to the party. It was a highly anticipated celebration of reverence.
Abolishment & Abandonment. This particular night would also be the last time these disciples would ever celebrate this feast. From this point forward, the celebration would be replaced by the Lord’s Supper. However, in this immediate context, this celebration was also pitted against the imminent abandonment of Christ we discussed this morning. To me, this is amazing! Jesus knew what was about to happen and still provided them with this beautiful picture of His sacrificial love!
I. LOOKING BACK TO HIS SACRIFICE
Passover was all about looking back and Communion is, as well. Jesus goes “off script” here and reinterprets two of the most famous symbols.
Bread. Formerly, this unleavened bread represented the haste with which they had to leave Egypt. Now, it would represent His body. What does this mean? His incarnation, perfection, and death. Consider 2 Corinthian 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Cup. Before there were four cups drank throughout the meal which represented the four-fold promises of God’s provision from Exodus 6:6-7 “6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Now, it has come to represent His blood, His sacrifice for us which bought provision for our ultimate need.
Lamb? Let’s not overlook this. There was no lamb at their feast. Why? Jesus is the lamb.
II. LOOKING AROUND AT HIS PROVISION
Provision Song? We do this together, remembering not only His past sacrifices, but also His present provisions. We don’t see this as much in this particular passage as we do in other passages. However, one point that struck me this week was a point I often overlook when I think about celebrating Communion. When we celebrate it together here, as long as I have been a part of this, we have always closed by saying, “and Scripture tells us that afterwards they sang a hymn together”...and so, we do the same. We always sing, “Bless Be The Tie That Binds”. I had never given much thought to what they sang together. However, given that this was a Passover celebration, we can say with some confidence that it was one of the Hallel Psalms which were sang all leading up to and during this ceremony. We’ve already addressed that these keep coming up in this last week. It was from these psalms that the people sang during the triumphal entry. And it was these psalms Jesus used to condemn the Pharisees who tried to trap Him. These were Psalm 113-118, and it seems the last ones to be sung after the meal were numbers 115-118. Therefore, while we cannot say with 100% certainty that these were the songs, it is very likely. I won’t read all four of those here, but just taking a few key verses from each will show you just how much these psalms had to do with God’s provision. That was on Jesus’ heart as He went to pray in the garden and approached the cross!
Psalm 115 1 Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. … Psalm 116… 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” 5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me....8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. … 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. … Psalm 117 1 Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord. Psalm 118 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever....14 The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and vict 17 I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. …22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. 25 Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Example For Us? Remembering His sacrifice is not an empty act. It is a call to praise and emulate Him!
III. LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS RETURN
Pointing to both His death & RETURN! “25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (emphasis added)
Pointing to that ultimate feast.
Revelation 7:13-17 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 19:6-9 6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
TAKEAWAYS
1. Remember. May we never forget.
2. Rejoice. I throw this word out there a lot, but I don’t want us to ever take it for granted. As children of the One True King, who have been bought with such a price, we should ever be rejoicing. This morning we saw Jesus tell Peter and the disciples to watch and pray to avoid falling into temptation. We should do the same. And as we pray, we should remember. And as we remember, we should rejoice!
3. Reach out. This makes me think of the Needtobreathe song, “may these Hallelujahs be multiplied”.
END WITH “FOREVER” BY CHRIS TOMLIN
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