Transcription downloaded from https://bibletalks.htd.org.au/sermons/70847/the-last-supper/.

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[0:00] And please keep your Bibles open to Luke chapter 22.! As Andrew said, we are taking a look at the entire verse 1-38.

[0:16] I will read as we go along.

[0:33] Now let me show you something cool. Because my phone is connected to the same Wi-Fi as the computer over there, I can actually control the slides using my phone.

[0:45] Look. Woo! Back again. Nice. It's not magic. Apparently this concept is called tethering.

[0:58] Now with tethering, the phone and the computer are united, so to speak, through the same Wi-Fi connection. That whatever the computer shows, the phone also shows.

[1:11] Whatever the computer types will also be reflected on the phone. Now why am I telling you this? Because I think our relationship with Jesus is kind of like that.

[1:24] But if we have faith in Jesus, we are united with Him. We are tethered to Him through the Holy Spirit.

[1:36] And what does that mean? Well, that means whatever Jesus does is reflected in our lives. Because we are tethered to Him.

[1:47] And that's what we see here in our passage. But just a bit of background before we go there. In verse 1, as we just read, the events in this passage happened during the Passover.

[2:01] Now we will see how that becomes relevant shortly. And there's also betrayal in the background of this passage. Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, agreed to work with the leaders of Jerusalem to capture Jesus when the crowd was not around.

[2:21] And so the events that follow portray the very last time that Jesus enjoyed a meal with His disciples before His death. And here we see that Jesus' last message for His disciples before His death was all about union with Him or tethering to Him and its implications.

[2:48] So we read in verse 14 to 20. When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

[3:05] For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among you.

[3:16] For I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine, that is the wine, until the kingdom of God comes. And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body given for you.

[3:32] Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, He took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

[3:43] There is so much in these verses alone. So first we see the Passover meal as a pointer to Jesus' death on the cross.

[3:56] Now remember that the Passover is a Jewish festival that commemorates God's act of freeing the Jews from Egypt. So in our Old Testament reading, the Jews in Egypt had to kill lambs and then put the lamb blood on the doorposts, so that when God went to strike down the Egyptians, He might see the blood on the doorposts of the Jews and let death pass over them, so they might leave.

[4:29] They were saved, in a sense, because of the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. So they ought to eat the Passover meal, the lamb with unleavened bread, every year to remember that saving act, that they were passed over.

[4:49] Now here in our passage, Jesus pointed at that Passover meal and said, This is my body given for you, and this is my blood poured out for you.

[5:01] And according to other parts of the Bible, Jesus is also the lamb who was slain to save people from death, so death passes over us. The Passover meal, in a sense, is fulfilled in Jesus.

[5:20] Now if this all sounds new to you, feel free to see me after the service, and I'll happily explain further. Now that's why in verse 19, Jesus told His disciples to do this in remembrance of Him.

[5:37] Not in remembrance of Egypt anymore, but in remembrance of Jesus. And we ought to do the same thing, breaking the bread and dividing the wine, to remember Jesus and what He has done on the cross.

[5:55] And that's the Holy Communion, which we do every month. So first, we see here, the Passover meal is fulfilled in Jesus' death, and it's now symbolized in the Holy Communion.

[6:13] But second, Passover meal was not only fulfilled in the death of Jesus in the past, it turns out that there's another fulfillment in the future. In verse 16, Jesus says that He's not going to eat the Passover meal again until its fulfillment in the kingdom of God.

[6:33] Now this refers to the eternal feast that we will enjoy when Jesus returns with Him, as described in Revelation 19, the wedding supper of the Lamb.

[6:48] And even later on in this passage, Jesus mentions that feast again in verse 30, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones.

[7:03] When He returns. So, the Passover meal is fulfilled in Jesus' death, which is symbolized in the Holy Communion, but it also expects a future fulfillment in the eternal kingdom feast.

[7:22] Things are getting complicated here. But wait, there's more. Third, the meal also reminds us of our present position in Jesus.

[7:35] In verse 19 to 20, Jesus gave the symbols of His body and blood for the disciples to consume, to partake in.

[7:46] And so, 1 Corinthians 10 says, is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ.

[7:59] And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ. This meal reminds us of not only Jesus' past sacrifice or the future feast, but also our present union, our tethering to Jesus, that we partake in Jesus.

[8:23] Now, this is how the meal becomes a covenant meal. In verse 20, in verse 20, He says, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

[8:34] When we partake in Jesus' body and blood, we benefit from the promises made in Jesus. That His God becomes our God.

[8:47] That His Father becomes our Father. That His death becomes our death. And so, our death is cancelled. That His resurrection becomes our resurrection.

[9:03] Because we are tethered to Him. And so, here, in the Last Supper, we see that the Passover meal is fulfilled in Jesus' death, which is symbolized in the Holy Communion, which reminds us of our union, present union with Jesus.

[9:25] And it also expects a future fulfillment in the eternal kingdom feast. Complicated, isn't it? This event, called the Last Supper, is so rich theologically.

[9:42] And therefore, the Holy Communion, which corresponds to the Last Supper, is so rich theologically as well. It is a remembrance of the past of Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross, so death passes over us.

[10:03] When we eat the bread and drink the wine, we are reminded that Jesus has indeed died for us and paid for our sins.

[10:16] But it is also a remembrance of the future promise that we will feast with Jesus face to face in eternity. When we come to the Communion table, we are reminded that we long to see Him.

[10:33] That now we can only see Him spiritually in faith, but when He returns, we will see Him face to face. And that's why in the liturgy of the Holy Communion, we declare, Come, Lord Jesus.

[10:47] We can't wait. Come, Lord Jesus. And it's also a remembrance of our present union with Jesus that we are tethered to Him.

[11:03] Like Colossians 3 says, we have died with Jesus, we have been raised with Jesus, and so our true identity now lies with Jesus.

[11:16] Up there. sitting at the right hand of God. And that's why, again, in our liturgy of the Holy Communion, we say, Lift up your hearts.

[11:26] We lift them to Christ the Lord. That's where we are. That's where we belong. And the Holy Communion reminds us of that.

[11:39] That we are united united with Jesus. So next time we do Holy Communion, try to see all that.

[11:53] It's beautiful. Now, what are the implications of this union, this tethering to Jesus?

[12:03] Well, what Jesus does, we do. In the next few verses, Jesus tells the disciples to serve because Jesus has served.

[12:16] Verse 21 to 24. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.

[12:30] They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.

[12:41] greatest. We could almost imagine the discussion here as Jesus tells the disciples that there's a traitor in the room. Wait, there's a traitor here?

[12:53] Who is it? Is it you? Is it you? Excuse me, it can't be me. I can't be the traitor. If anything, I'm the greatest here. What? You're not the greatest.

[13:04] I am. The discussion turned very quickly from who's the traitor to who's the greatest. Kind of like kids at the playground debating about who's supposed to be the red power ranger.

[13:20] But Jesus replied in verse 25 to 26. Jesus said to them, The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors.

[13:36] But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves.

[13:50] Disciples of Jesus must be humble and serving. In fact, Jesus says, The greatest among you should be like the youngest.

[14:02] The higher their position is, the lower they must become. The greatest must serve the most.

[14:12] Why? Because we are tethered to Jesus and isn't he the God who became the servant? He's the servant king.

[14:24] In verse 27. For who is greater? The one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I, Jesus, am among you as one who serves.

[14:41] Jesus is the one at the table. He is the Lord, the Messiah, the King of Israel, God himself. He's supposed to be served. And yet he came as one who serves.

[14:55] He served the sick, the poor, the blind, the dead. He served all by giving his life for them, for us.

[15:08] If our king is like this, the servant king, then we must do the same. We are tethered to him, so we reflect what he does.

[15:22] We become servants. And only when we stand by Jesus in a low position of serving and hardship will he give us the high position of reigning.

[15:37] Verse 28 to 30. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And so, I confer on you a kingdom, just as my father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[15:59] Jesus does promise authority to those who follow him. He will share his kingship, but that authority is to be characterized and preceded by service, because he is the servant king.

[16:18] God will to the world God will look at him. How do we reflect Jesus' serving kingship to the world around us as we are tethered to him?

[16:35] Tim Keller was a pastor in New York City. One Sunday, he saw a young woman who started visiting his church. church. He asked how she came to know that church, and she told the story.

[16:49] She worked for a company in Manhattan, and not long after starting, she made a big mistake that she thought would cost her the job. but her manager went into his superior and took complete responsibility for what she had done.

[17:09] As a result, the manager lost his reputation and influence in the company. She was amazed and thanked him, and she said she had often seen managers loading it over others and taking credit for what others have done, but she has never seen a manager take the blame for something that she had done wrong.

[17:32] She wanted to know why he did it, and he said to her, because Jesus has done it to me. I'm a Christian, that means among other things, that God accepts me because Jesus took the blame for things that I have done wrong.

[17:52] That's how I'm enabled to do the same to others. She stared at him for a moment and asked, where do you go to church?

[18:05] That manager was tethered to Jesus, the servant king, and so he did what Jesus had done to him first. We serve because Jesus has served us first.

[18:23] That's the first implication of our union with Jesus. Second implication of our union with Jesus is that we face rejection just as Jesus faced rejection.

[18:38] In verse 31 to 34, Jesus warned Peter, Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.

[18:58] But he replied, Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. Jesus answered, I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.

[19:15] Because Satan is attacking Jesus, he is also attacking the disciples. Satan wanted to sift all of the disciples as wheat to see if anyone would fall.

[19:31] And despite Peter's self-confidence in verse 33, he would fall. We will see that next week he would deny Jesus. However, in verse 32, Jesus said that Peter would turn back.

[19:46] And so unlike Judas' downfall that was permanent, Peter's was just going to be a temporary one. how come? Verse 32, because Jesus had prayed for his faith.

[20:03] I have often said this, if there's anyone in this world that I want to pray for me, it's Jesus. The source of Peter's perseverance was not his own strength.

[20:16] He was self-confident, but it didn't save him. Jesus was the one who sustained him. Now, that's important to remember as we look at the last few verses, because there Jesus warned that the disciples would face rejection as Jesus was rejected.

[20:36] In verse 35 to 38, 38, then Jesus asked them, when I sent you without purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything? Nothing, they answered.

[20:49] He said to them, but now, if you have a purse, take it and also a bag, and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. It is written, and he was numbered with the transgressors.

[21:04] And I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment. The disciples said, see, Lord, here are two swords.

[21:15] That's enough, he replied. Jesus here was telling the disciples to get ready. Previously, they could be sent out without any preparation because God was providing through the people.

[21:30] But from now on, they would face rejection because, in verse 37, he was numbered with the transgressors.

[21:44] That is, the Messiah, Jesus, was rejected and therefore the disciples who were tethered to him would be rejected. And so, get ready.

[21:57] Prepare. How? In verse 36, he told the disciples to buy a sword. And that's why, in verse 38, the disciples said, here are two swords.

[22:14] But I think Jesus' command here should not be taken literally. Because when the disciples did use their swords during his arrest later on, Jesus rebuked them in verse 51, saying, no more of this or enough of this.

[22:34] And I think that's what Jesus meant here in verse 38 as well. The disciples did not get the non-literal command, and so they gave him two swords, but Jesus said, that's enough, enough of this nonsense, enough of this tendency for violence.

[22:51] And I think that what Jesus meant was, you're going to be rejected, so prepare yourselves spiritually.

[23:02] How? Well, just like Peter's faith was sustained by Jesus in the midst of trials, and so all disciples, including you and me, could only be sustained if we hold on to Jesus, tethered to him.

[23:21] depending on him, that's the spiritual preparation. What does that look like in our daily lives?

[23:34] I know someone in Indonesia who decided to follow Jesus, and she became the only Christian in her family. Soon after she became a disciple of Jesus, her life became difficult.

[23:49] Her husband rejected her and divorced her. Her son became very ill. Her family doesn't agree with her faith.

[24:01] They keep saying to her, your faith is foolish. You're stupid for following Jesus. Don't pray to Jesus for your son. He can't heal your son.

[24:13] We can help you with our money. He can't. pray to Jesus. And so on. All she does every time she faces rejection is pray to Jesus.

[24:27] As far as I know, all of her family members still don't believe. They still reject her faith. But the prayers help her.

[24:39] They help sustain her faith in Jesus. Jesus. She said to our family, to my family, when I pray, I'm reminded that Jesus is right next to me.

[24:52] And that enables me to go through all of that suffering and rejection without losing my faith. She tethers to Christ.

[25:06] And that's why she faces rejection. Because Christ faced rejection. But the more rejection she experiences, the closer she tethers to Christ.

[25:20] And that sustains her faith. Friends, if we have faith in Jesus, we are tethered to him. We are united with him.

[25:33] That's what we see through the Holy Communion. We get reminded of our union with Christ. Christ. And that union brings a lot of implications to our lives.

[25:46] In this passage, we get reminded that it means sometimes we have to face rejection. In some other countries, we might even face persecution and death.

[25:58] But it also means that we get everything that Jesus has. Because we are united with him. we get the kingdom of God.

[26:10] Eternal life. Eternal feast. His kingship that he will share with us. His service. His father as our father.

[26:26] And that's more than enough. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this great reminder that we are united with Christ through our faith.

[26:40] Help us, Lord, through the power of your Holy Spirit to live it out in our daily lives. To show our union in the way we operate in this world.

[26:52] In the way we interact with the people around us. So that they too might see the glory of Christ in us. In the name of Jesus Christ, our King, our servant King, we pray.

[27:06]  Amen. Amen.