LUKE 22:14-30 THE NEW COVENANT Remembering past events and the significance they have to the present generation has historically been an important part of national life. Actually, in some cases it affects the national psychic of the people, giving them a special sense of identity with those in the past. One of the purposes behind feasts, holidays and activities that remind us of past important events is to instill loyalty in those who live in the good of what happened but were not there, so it cost them nothing. The Passover was such an event. This particular Passover was important because it signaled the end of the shadows and types linked with the Old Testament. A New Testament, a New Covenant, was taking its place that was the reality of which the other was a foreshadowing. "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore, let us keep the feast."
When the Lord Jesus Christ took the bread in His hands, the first thing He did was give thanks for it. He was not resenting what was going to happen to Him. When He broke it and gave it to them, He was testifying to the fact that He was the Bread of God which came down from heaven so that we might be able to partake of Him and live forever with Him. We become partakers of Him and His life when we are placed into the Body of Christ. "The corn of wheat" that fell into the ground and died has brought forth "much fruit." "He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied." He gladly submitted to the will of His Father, and by His death, burial and resurrection many have been blessed by this emblem of the New Covenant brought to us through the Gospel.
The cup which He took in His hands and gave thanks for in the same way, indicated the shedding of His blood would establish this covenant. A life forfeited for another is the basis of all covenants. Each person who enters a covenant with another gives their life for the other. Marriage testifies, that each die to his and her self and now lives for the benefit of the other partner in the covenant of marriage. "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it," is the testimony to that fact. The shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of this new relationship we have with Him. Communion with God is established on what was accomplished when the "precious blood of Christ" was shed for our redemption. In this significant remembrance-feast we keep weekly on the "first day of the week," the bread is the evidence of the life of the Lord that was "given" for us. The cup is evidence of His blood that was "shed" for us. These two emblems are tremendously impacting by their simplicity. The meaning goes way beyond the elaborate rituals and forms men have devised, to the very Person and work of Christ. Nothing of men comes in between to cheapen the value of what has been done for us. Because this sacrificial work of redemption was "determined" by God does not mean that we are absolved from the responsibility of that decision made. Judas, the religious leaders, Pilate, Herod, the soldiers, the people and we who have received the benefit of the cross-work of the Lord have to accept the consequences of that action. When we receive the Savior personally, the guilt of sin has been taken on our behalf by Him.
Judas had been there at The Passover but had gone by the time this testament of the New Covenant was given. How typical of failing, imperfect man was the "strife" between those who still had the taste of the bread and cup on their lips. They were still expecting the kingdom to be established that weekend and were each hoping for a high position. "He that is down need fear no fall, He that is low no pride. He that is humble shall ever have, God to be His guide."
Humility is a hard lesson to learn and the lack of it deserves a rebuke. The Lord Himself was the greatest example of humility and they were taught by that example when He washed their feet.
After the words of rebuke from the Lord, came words of encouragement as He gave them a brief look into the future. Those men loved Him and were willing to die for Him. Yet He knew they would soon flee and forsake Him in His trial. Failure is very different from the plotted and planned evil Judas engaged in. There is suffering and cost to following Christ, but there is blessing that follows. The Lord let these men have a little glimpse of the kingdom when Christ reigns and when fellowship and service will be shared by those who followed Him. Those two things go together today - fellowship with the Lord and service for Him go together. We come together on the first day of the week to break bread and drink from the cup in fellowship with the Lord and with each other. Then we can serve Him acceptably with appropriate reverence and godly fear. May we never consider either of these privileges to be of little importance.
It is true we don't always say what we mean, or do what we really should. In the passing events of life, it is possible to not give our Lord The first place in our life so that through us he can be seen - But at the table of the New Covenant spread, there is evidence He is Supreme.
The Passovers are done, there is no further reason to dwell on shadows and types, When we have the reality of the New Covenant before us, and the Lamb who died is alive. And dwells with His people empowering their service by the Spirit He sent. The bread and the cup remind us that sin's price was paid for at the greatest expense.
It is not some casual observance when we gather with Him in our midst. As guests we have been made to remember that we are not our own, but His. He is our Bread of life, His blood shed for remission of our sins. He is the theme of our remembrance in prayers, our thoughts and our hymns.
To remember what He has accomplished and the legal requirements of God He met - Keeps us on track in our thoughts, so that we will in no way forget Who He is in Himself, and what he fully accomplished for us. With sweet sorrow and yet sweeter gladness we testify in Him is our trust.
By faith we weekly remember the One who at that first appointed feast - Gave us the blessing of fellowship with Him from the greatest to the least. We all come as those He redeemed, as a kingdom of priests we give Our praise, our thanks and our worship to Him in whom now we live.
"O Father, may the awe, the emotion, the grace and the joy that is evident at the Lord's Supper, never escape those of us who gather weekly to our Lord Jesus Christ to remember Him and show His death until He comes again. Amen."
YOUR FAITH We never really know very much that is going on around by what we see. Our limitations hinder us if we are not careful, to thinking everything important is able to be seen. However, when we stop to think about ourselves, our lives, our past and our future, we realize that the important things are those that cannot be seen by natural eyes but by the eyes of faith. Who would ever think that Satan prays to claim power over a person so he can test them in a similar way to the testing of the Lord in the wilderness? Only we do not have to go anywhere but here to be tempted and tested by Satan. He wanted to blow away the wheat from Simon's life and leave only chaff. But the Great Divine Intercessor was also praying for Peter that his faith would not fail. Peter's faith never did fail although his courage and hope did. His love for the Lord and trust in Him did not fail.
The intercession of the Lord goes on and prevails when Satan prays that he might sift us. Job's sifting was severe and in every experience of life except dying. God was constantly aware of all that was happening in his life. As a result of Job's sifting time, many of God's people have been strengthened in the trials of life they are going through. As a result of Peter's testing time when his courage was gone, his sword put away, and the voices of accusation came against him - yet his faith drew him outside where he wept bitterly. His faith brought him to the place called Calvary, where he saw the Savior he loved, die. His faith sent him running to the tomb on the first day of the week when Christ rose from among the dead. His faith kept him in the upper room and then led him to speak publicly for the Lord on the day of Pentecost as the "Lord's messenger in the Lord's message" until his faith led him to be crucified upside down at Rome.
Now it is our turn to let our faith be real, Satan wants to sift us in this ungodly scene where we live. He wants more than our courage and hope to fail - he wants our faith to fail. The same Great Divine Intercessor prays for us who prayed for Peter. The same Father who heard the Lord Jesus Christ pray on Peter's behalf hears His prayers for us. The Holy Spirit also makes intercession for us with a sense of urgency way beyond our own ability to pray when we are in desperation.
As the Lord looked ahead to what was about to happen to Him, He prepared His disciples for what was going to be their responsibility in the future. When they were sent out previously to declare to Israel the good news of the kingdom of God, the time they were away was comparatively short and the commission they had received was quickly accomplished. Now the commission they would receive soon would be different. It involved preparation and a willingness to go into places of serious danger and would last for the rest of their lives. The scriptures were going to be fulfilled regarding His death, burial and resurrection. The disciples from now on were going to be His public representatives. That was all they had to know at that time so, "It is enough." In other words, "This subject is closed."
In our service and life for the Lord Jesus Christ, we do not have to know the outcome of thing before we start. It is enough that our faith in Christ assures us that this is what He wants for us at this time. As we go forward in faith, the way will open up before us. In a similar way they followed the Lord to the Garden of Gethsemane on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, so our Lord has the right to expect us to follow Him who "left us an example that we should follow in His steps," even though we may not know where or why. He may lead us to where we have our own experience with "strong crying and tears." There will be times when we find ourselves alone and no one even cares, let alone understands what we are passing through. In such times our faith in God becomes more real to us that at other times. Complete trust in times of desperation doesn't mean we have no faith at other times. But in those times of sifting or maybe serious challenge as to our commitment to Christ and His work - our faith in Him is put to the test.
Peter's use of the sword was a bumbling attempt in a moment of passion to defend his Lord. Who can enter into what the Lord passed through in His sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane (the press)? Who can really understand the agony that makes sweat look like blood? Who can feel the loneliness when those you were counting on to share your pain are sleeping? But we can understand and feel the urgent bravado of Peter with a sword in his hand. And we can sense in a little measure what he must have felt when he saw the bloody sweat streaks on the face of his Lord. And we can experience the bitter anger at the deceitful kiss of Judas who Peter had known for more than three years. We can experience the guilty feelings of one who was awakened from sleep when he knew he should be praying. We can understand the first actions of one who is ashamed of himself and wants to make amends. A sword in a sheath by one's side would give a sense of hope to one who has failed and choose to die rather than fail the one you love again. But it was that his "faith fail not" the Lord prayed for, not that his courage would fail not.
May we all be impressed with the fact that the object of our faith is the Lord Himself and our confidence must remain in Him alone. Self-confidence comes and goes and may be entirely wrong. Confidence in others can easily be misplaced and it may not be wise. Unfailing faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will give us strength in our weakness, courage in testing, hope when in darkness, vision when challenged and peace in troubled times.
We watch an infant child with arms extended high. Simple faith by its nature means a mother hears the cry And reaches down to comfort, to feed and to heal. The object of maternal love responds in faith that's real.
The youth has been away from home but now is coming back. Hands were full when leaving but now everything they lack Has led that wayward person to turn again to home In faith knowing that there is one who loves in spite of what he's done.
The gathered company are dressed the best for they are there to see Two people declare their love and faith to believe implicitly That this one they are now to marry deserves full faith and trust. For life they make this commitment in testimony to us.
The businessman shakes hands as an agreement has been reached. In faith the words agreed upon make it incumbent upon each To keep the word, they have given to fulfill their obligation. Faith is used in business life in almost every situation.
The two white-haired people sit and quietly look at one another.
For years they have shared everything in fair and foul weather. Each had faith in the other although they speak a lot of faith. Trust is a constant reality that they share with simple grace.
The child, the youth, the older ones all need to have faith in Christ. That comes when we are born again, and start over in a new life. Our faith in Him affects every aspect of faith by which we life. In faith we leave the future with God when our all to Him we give.
"Father, sometimes I am not able to tie the words together quite right, but I know Thee, love Thee and trust Thee to make from my feeble attempts at communion and fellowship, a result that will honor and glorify Thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."