Willow Church, if you would open to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10. I'm going to start by just reading verse 1. Cover much more than this today, but. Start with verse 1 Hebrews chapter 10 verse 1. God's Word says. For since the law. has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities. It can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Father, there's a very strange, impossible, foolish thought that we put all of our faith in, that your Son, your eternal Son, who created the world, would come down to this earth and live as a man. And yet, what is foolish to this world Lord, You confound the wisdom of this world, and You call it foolishness, and You make wise the simple. And so, Father, we pray that the glories of the incarnation, all of the prophecies leading up to it, Lord, would become clear because of our time in Your Word right now. We pray, Holy Spirit, You would come and be our teacher. And Lord, we pray that You would do these things for the sake of Your Son. We pray this in His name. Amen. We start our third week of a five-week Advent series leading up to the incarnation, the birth of Christ. We're covering the whole Old Testament in five weeks. You know, I think for most of us who've grown up in church, talking about the birth of Christ, we run the risk of these things lacking meaning, becoming repetitious, and that's why we need to continually go back and get the Old Testament context for the coming of Christ. It drastically changes the way in which we view the incarnation. And so we're looking at the preparatory work for the incarnation through covenant. And in scripture, we have six covenants that God makes with man. Let me review a few of these that we've gone through. We started with the covenant of works that God made with Adam in the garden. That covenant of works leads to a second covenant, the Noahic covenant. We didn't cover that covenant. It's probably the least important of the covenants. It's very similar to the Adamic covenant. And then last week, the third covenant, Pastor Kent walked us into the Abrahamic covenant. And that one is extremely significant. Abraham is our father in the faith. He trusted the gospel and was saved. And then today we'll look at the Mosaic covenant. And then next week, the Davidic covenant. And that will lead us up to Christmas with the new covenant in Christ, or what's often called the covenant of grace or the covenant of redemption. Now we're in Hebrews, and let me just say the reason I picked Hebrews is because it uses this word covenant 19 times. But listen, it's not talking about the covenant of works. It's not talking about the Noahic covenant or the Abrahamic covenant. It's not talking about the Davidic covenant. It is talking about the Mosaic covenant, and then it talks about Christ. And the new covenant. But let me give an example. Hebrews 8, 9 says the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. But they did not continue in my covenant. That's the Mosaic covenant. Let's remember this also just a general word about covenants is that God initiates all of them. These are not initiated by man. We see in Hebrews 8, 10, it says, this is the covenant I will make. And that emphasis always goes on God's initiating. And the Bible really is a story of God sovereignly pursuing a people for himself in the Old Testament and in the New. We know Jesus says, you did not choose me, but I chose you. We know that in Ephesians chapter two it says that you were dead in your trespasses and sins, and God made you alive with Christ. By grace you have been saved. This is not of your own doing. It is a gift of God, not a result of works. And so God is the initiator. In the Old and the New Testament, we don't find God. He finds us. And It's really tragic to hear how many people share their testimony. Because when you listen to it, not these testimonies we just heard, but many people's testimonies, sound like God was lost, and luckily for me, I found Him. I found Him at 16. The minister talked about Christ, and I sought him, and I asked him into my heart, and I, I, I, I, I, as if God is lost and they found God. And that's the opposite of how the Bible reads. It says man is the one who is lost. Romans 3, no one seeks for God, not even one, all have turned aside. And so Jesus is not the one who is lost and needing to be found. Man is. And thankfully, God would even from heaven recognize this problem, send his own son. And then Jesus, when he gets on the earth, would say, I have come to seek and save those who are lost. God is the initiator, and he does this largely through covenants. And when we come to even last week, the Abrahamic covenant, it's not like God's in heaven. And he goes, oh, I think I hear something in Ur the Chaldeans. And Abraham's going, oh God, if you exist, I just pray that you would come into my heart and give me a relationship with you. This is not how the Abrahamic covenant originated, but rather God sees a 75 year old man living in a pagan land and comes to this man of Ur the Chaldeans and says, Abram, I will make my covenant with you. And God initiates and sets up that covenant. This is the same God that we saw two weeks ago in the garden when sin and death comes into the world. What does God do? God initiates and makes a promise that an offspring will come who will save, who will crush the head of the serpent and bring salvation to a people That's the story. That's not just the Bible story, that is our story, as Kent reminded us last week, and it's a relational story, it's a personal story, and one of the things we need to remember about relationships is relationships often come with conditions. There's conditions to relationships, and that's true with the relationship that God's people have with Him. There are conditions oftentimes, and sometimes there's not conditions. And that's how we need to make sure we understand these covenants. So the Davidic covenant that we'll talk about next week is an unconditional covenant. That is, it doesn't matter what Israel does, God will still send the Messiah and set up a kingdom. It's unconditional. But the Mosaic covenant that we're looking at today has conditions. Obey. And you will be blessed. Disobey and I will bring judgment. And there are conditions to the nature of that relationship. This is why John Owen said that the Mosaic covenant was none other than the covenant of works revived. And I quoted a few weeks ago, if you all remember, the reformer John Lightfoot, who said, Adam heard as much in the garden as Israel did at Sinai, but only in fewer words and without the thunder. Adam heard as much in the garden as Israel did at Sinai, but in fewer words and without the thunder. And so here's what they're saying. The Mosaic Covenant, in a real sense, is just a more detailed version of the covenant of works with Adam in the garden. The Mosaic Covenant, in another sense, is a development of the covenant God made with Abraham, which means this. These covenants are not six individual isolated covenants. It's better to think of them as overlapping and progressively evolving Covenants so the covenant of works with Adam in the garden is the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant is the beginning of the Mosaic covenant. And I'm not just it's important to know this isn't just my theological position on the matter. This is what the Bible says. I'll read for us Exodus 6. One to five. The Lord said to Moses, now shall you see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a strong hand, I will send them out. And with a strong hand, I will drive them out of this land. For God spoke to Moses and said to him, I am the Lord. Here it is. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob as God Almighty, and by my name, the Lord, I did not make known myself to them. I also established my covenant with them, that's the Abrahamic covenant, to give them the land of Canaan and the land in which they have lived as sojourners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my Abrahamic covenant. Therefore, I will bring the Mosaic Covenant. Do you hear how one is leading into the other? God is saying, I will save Israel from Egypt because of the covenant I made with Abraham. And then God does. He brings the plagues. He delivers them out. They go through the Red Sea. And right before that 40-year wilderness journey, he says this in Exodus 19, verse 4. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." Now look at verse 5. This word is very important. We see the condition. You will obey my voice and keep my covenant. You will be my treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom and priest and a holy nation. And that even begins the Davidic covenant. So he says, you will be my people, Israel, if there's the condition, if you obey. And so here's how how we could understand this in the covenant of works. We lost something. Namely God. And fellowship with God. But in the covenant of works, we also gained something. We gained a promise that an offspring would come to save. And that leads us to the covenant with Abraham where God says to Abraham, I promise you an offspring. That's the same offspring as Genesis 3 is talking about. Promise to Abraham that all the nations of the earth will be blessed. And then Paul in Galatians 3 says that offspring is Jesus Christ. We're not guessing if that's the right answer. Galatians 3 says that offspring is Jesus Christ, that God promised to Abraham and then said God preached the gospel to Abraham. And then now we come to the Mosaic covenant. With Moses and he says because of this covenant with Abraham. I will deliver this people because an offspring must come from this line and a nation must come through this line. And then he gives conditions to the covenant, which is his law. Which is his law 10 commandments, but then 613 Mosaic clause. some of the moral, all of the moral for them at that time, some civil to govern the nation and some ceremonial regarding the sacrificial system. And look, the rest of the Old Testament, you read after this law is given, you basically have progressive layers and different demonstrations of judgment on Israel for their disobedience and disregard for the law. I mean, even at one point, they lost the Bible for a few hundred years, and King Josiah's servants, digging around in the closet, finds the Scriptures, King Josiah reads them, revival breaks out, and they begin to obey the Bible again, and then blessing falls, and then more judgment because they disregarded again. That's the Old Testament, and it was shocking when Jesus came and actually began to treat the law seriously, because so few did. And then for Jesus to say this, I did not come to abolish the law, but to, what? Fulfill it. And that word fulfill shows there's conditions to the law, to the Mosaic Covenant that must be met. And I've come to fulfill those conditions. And that really changes everything to the point where now we see in the New Testament, we see letters like the church, like what Paul wrote to the church in Rome. Chapter six, verse 14, sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law, but under grace. Or to the Galatian church, all these, we studied Galatians, we know that all these Jewish converts come down from Jerusalem, down into the church in Galatia, and they begin to teach a bunch of the old covenant. And Paul is so shocked with what's happening and what's being taught in this church, he says, I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel. And then he says, anybody who preaches or teaches this gospel will be accursed. Literally translated, damned to hell. And you go, what false gospel could be taught in the church of Galatia that Paul would threaten hell? Teaching the Mosaic Law as it was intended for Israel under the Old Covenant is a false gospel, and anyone who teaches it to the New Covenant Church is to be accursed. That's what Paul says. It is not a small thing to be teaching the Mosaic Law as it was intended for Israel in that time right now. Something happened that changed the law and that game changer was Christ coming to fulfill it. And Paul explained this to the Galatian church when he rebuked Peter publicly. Some of y'all remember this? That was probably a very awkward moment in that church. Peter stands up and does some things that Paul feels he needs to publicly rebuke and say, how do you force Gentiles to live like Jews? And then after that, in the next chapter, he expounds more and he says, we were old covenant and the old covenant held captive under the law, imprisoned under the coming until the coming of faith would be revealed. So then the law was our guardian. Here it is. Until Christ came. The law was the guardian until Christ came. That's Advent. If you don't hear it. The law was our guardian until Christ came as a baby and began to obey the law perfectly. Beuys defines guardian as a slave employed by wealthy Greeks or Romans that have the responsibility for one of the children of the family from about six to 16 years old, and they were to watch over all the behavior of that child. Some translations translate guardian tutor. Not a great English translation because it sounds like a math tutor standing over your shoulder giving you instruction. The historical word for this is far harsher. The New American Commentary says, no doubt there were many guardians who were known for their kindness. but the dominant image was that of a harsh disciplinarian who frequently resorted to physical force or corporal punishment to keep the children in line. That's why some translate the word guardian as taskmaster. So when someone in their fallen nature attempts to obey the law, it will actually produce more sin in them, not less. I get this from Romans 7, 5, where Paul says, our sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our members to bring fruit for death. Not our sinful passions were aroused by lawlessness or pagan idolatry or sensuality. It's not saying our flesh was aroused by lawlessness. He says our sinful passions were aroused by the law to bring forth fruit for death. Listen to how he says it right after that. When the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life to me, proved to be death to me. So here's, this is very important. For the unregenerate, that is the unconverted, the law will not help you. It will condemn you, it will make you feel worse, it will make you feel like someone's whipping you and yelling at you how condemned and horrible you are because you can't keep it. And you will never justify yourself through that law, but for the converted, for the Christian. It says that in the new covenant, the law is written on our heart. The law of God is our delight. We abide in Christ by what? Keeping his commandments. This is joy producing for the believer. So the mosaic love, the mosaic covenant and the law at one level they're revealing sin and here's the transition I want to make. Please go with me mentally. It's revealing sin and it's revealing Christ for those who have eyes to see. I was listening to a few scholars that have written a bunch on the Mosaic Law. There's this long kind of two-hour Discussion and a lot of it was good, but but one fundamental thing was said that I disagree with most throughout history have disagreed with this. This is a this is a minority view, but this man said in the Mosaic law there is no grace. And no gospel. And there's truth in that, but it's not entirely true. And why I would say that is because I don't know about you, but when you read through Exodus and Leviticus and you begin to read these laws, especially the sacrificial system. It depends how you understand that, whether that lands with grace or not. So let me give you an example. Psalm 40 in the Old Covenant, when it was written, Psalm 40 said this. It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. It's not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Now imagine hearing that if you're in Israel and under the old covenant, and you're saving up your hard earned money to buy another sacrifice for your own sin and for the sin of your family. And then you read that. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. How does that land on you? as an Israelite under the old covenant, not with a lot of hope. However, for others, this was an annual reminder of sin that propelled them to faith. Like Abraham, who when God asked him to sacrifice his own son, he said what? God will provide a sacrifice. There were some in Israel who saw even the sacrificial system and saw in it some hope, because they knew blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, and that God would provide a better sacrifice. It propelled them to faith. And in that sense, there is grace in the mosaic. And I think that's what Hebrews is saying. It says in Hebrews 10.3, in these sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. He's quoting Psalm 40. Now listen, some of y'all want a Christmas sermon so bad, and I'm down in the mosaic law, but here's the Christmas sermon, okay? Here it is, verse five. For when Christ came into the world, That's why I picked this passage today. When Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. That's the Christmas message. For any who have ears to hear, that's the Christmas message. And look at how crazy verse five actually is. Pay attention to what this is saying. He, who's that? Who's he? Christ. when he came into the world said, and then he quotes Psalm 40 verse six, where David said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. So Jesus said through David who said a thousand years before that. Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you've prepared for me. Jesus said through David who said a thousand years earlier. That's how it reads. Guys, think about what's being said there. Who invented the Mosaic sacrificial system? Whose idea was this? This is God's idea. But yet it doesn't work. It didn't actually take away sin. The whole point of the sacrifice was to take away sin. But yet it didn't do what God designed it to do. It's what it says. How do we understand that? Look at Hebrews 10, 11. Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly, key word, repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sin. So picture a Levitical priest who would be in his career roughly 30 years or so. He's sitting there making sacrifices. How many sacrifices would you have made in a 30-year career as a Levitical priest? I mean, we don't know. Hundreds of thousands, likely. And it's a reminder that if these things worked, I wouldn't have to keep doing it. One would have been enough. I wouldn't keep giving these for my 30 year career. Then another young guy takes my job and he keeps giving the sacrifices. And this mosaic system lasted for about 1500 years. It's a lot of priests. A lot of priests making sacrifices of millions and millions of animals. But look at verse 10. I'm sorry, chapter 10, verse 12. But when Christ. Had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sin. He set down something the other priests never did. They always stood up. He set down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet. We often hear businessmen talk about their employees. They'll say, this employee is worth 10,000. How valuable he is to the organization. This man will do the work of a hundred men. He's more valuable than a hundred employees because he adds so much to the organization. Church, I submit to you that Christ is more valuable than every priest, every, even of the most holy Levitical priests combined, because the sacrifice he gave as a priest was worth more than all of the sacrifices combined. In fact, I'll go so far as to even say all those priests and sacrifices only existed to point us to Christ's wants for all sacrificial work. That's the only reason they existed. And that's how we're supposed to read the whole Old Testament, by the way. Jesus said, all the law and the prophets are about who? Me. So when you read in Numbers 21 that the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent and hold it up. And anybody that looks at that serpent that's raised up will live and not die. Do you know why that happened historically? Well, there was a historical meaning for that. They didn't die if they looked at it. But ultimately, it was a sermon illustration for Jesus talking in Nicodemus. It was just a sermon illustration so that Jesus could say to Nicodemus, if you look to Christ, you will live. That Old Testament type existed for that future reason, the manna in the wilderness. Why manna in the wilderness? Yes, it did give food to Israel for 40 years, but ultimately manna was given in the wilderness so that Jesus could say in John 6, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, but my father who gives you the true bread from heaven, For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. That's why manna fell in the wilderness for 40 years. So Jesus could say, I'm the manna that gives life to God's people. That's how you read the Old Testament, according to Jesus. The temple, they constructed this temple, they rebuilt it numerous times. over a thousand years before Jesus came, so why? So Jesus, yes, they worshiped God in the temple, there was important things happen there, but ultimately, so Jesus could stand in front of the temple and say, tear it down in three days and I'll raise it back up, and then mean his body. D.A. Carson actually said, Jesus cleansed the temple under a typological reading of the Old Testament. Jesus saw the connection between the temple and his own body to be fundamentally typological. Jonathan Edwards said the whole Old Testament is a typological world. What is a type? The Bible actually uses, this isn't a theological word, it's a biblical word. It's used in Romans 5. What is a type? A type is basically a picture. We could call this picture theology or pictureology. It's the use of pictures in the Old Testament to point forward to something that really exists in the New Testament. So John MacArthur said, a type refers to an Old Testament person, practice, or ceremony that has a counterpart or fulfillment in the New Testament. So maybe I should say this to preface this. Those of you who are more mathematical type brains, you don't like types. Types is not your thing because it's like this is too vague, it's odd. I like perfect symmetry, I like theological categories that are just very clear always. artsy type people that like poetry, music, movies. Types are more interesting to you. You would prefer these more. MacArthur wasn't an artsy type, but he understood the importance of typology. David Murray, who wrote a book on typology, said, a type is a person, place, or object or event that God created to teach us about Jesus' person and work. So the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, those are types of God's judgment. The sacrificial system, a type of Christ's atoning work. We could go on about temple, high priest, Passover, Sabbath rest, on and on, all of it is typology. We talked about a few weeks ago, Adam is a type of what, or of who? Christ. Moses is a type of who? Christ, delivering God's people from slavery. David was a type of Christ. He was a king over God's kingdom. You see? All of these things have significance. They're all types. They're all historical pictures pointing to something. I talk about typology in weddings, believe it or not. I don't use that word, but I will say about a couple who's coming down to get married, this marriage isn't ultimately for your felt needs. This represents pictures is a type of Christ and the church. That's typology. And the wedding illustration isn't insignificant. Matthew 22, Jesus said that he sent prophets to call people or those who are invited to a wedding feast. So get where I'm going with this. You've got prophets calling people to a wedding feast. That's what the Old Testament is. Prophet after prophet after prophet calling people to this wedding feast where Christ will be with his people. And listen to what it says in Matthew 11, 13. All the prophets in the law prophesied until John came. So we understand prophets prophesied. We get that category, that makes sense. But how does this, how do you understand this part of the verse? All the prophets and the law prophesied. How does the law prophesy? The sacrificial system, the priesthood, the temple, all of the types and shadows are saying something. Or better yet, they're saying something about someone. Go back to Hebrews 10. Let's just make sure we understand what we're unpacking here. Verse one, the law was but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of those realities. It can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, Would they not have ceased to be offered since the worshiper having once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices, there remains a reminder of sin every year, for it is impossible. What does that say? Impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. I'm going to say this, and it is not an attack on animal lovers, okay? But animals don't have a soul. Okay? That's not a hate speech toward animals, that is a theological, biblical statement of fact. How could the soul or the life of an animal be used to atone for the sins of a human? It doesn't match, right? Animal, soulless can't atone for an image bearer of God with a soul. Therefore insufficient sacrifice. What does that tell us? A human is needed to atone for a human. A soul of a man for a soul of a man. A body for a human body. And Jesus said, through David, a thousand years earlier, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. A body for what? To do the will of the Father and to die under the curse of the law. That's what the verse says. Now, I understand this is not a Christmas sermon. We're talking about the law. There's no real easy way to talk about the law. Some theologians have said this is the most difficult theological topic in the Bible, and then I've tried to combine that with the covenant today, which would be the second most difficult theological topic, and I've tried to do both in one sermon, and I understand the difficulty of getting our minds around this, but I want to focus in the just our remainder on this word shadow that Paul uses. There's a word here that he says repeatedly. Hebrews 8-5. Says the law serves as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. Hebrews 10-1 the law was but a what shadow of the good things to come. We know this has another usage in Colossians 2, 16. Let no one pass judgment on you in regard to questions of food and drink with regard to festal or our new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow. Of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. And so here's what Calvin said about this idea of the law being a shadow. He said the law shadowed forth the perfect picture. For painters, before they introduce the living colors by the pencil, do they not mark out the lines of what they intend to represent? This representation is called by the Greeks, shadowy. Shadow, why? Shadowy. I don't know if we use that word anymore. I used to be, believe it or not, I used to be an artist. Not professional, I sold enough art in high school that I thought, I had the false hope that I would be a professional artist. But I say that just so that you know, I've studied art, I know at least about painting, and there are freestyle artists out there that basically come to the white canvas and they have no plan and they freestyle, right? But most artists, especially more classically trained artists, have some concept of what they want to put on the painting, on the canvas. And they'll oftentimes trace out a shadowy outline before they put the paint and the image on. The law is like that. That's the word the Bible is using. A shadowy sketch before the living color is applied. So in other words, God didn't grab a white canvas and then say to his son, hey, come down and just do some nice loving stuff on here. Just make sure it's loving and nice, just whatever you feel like painting. Heal some people, do some miracles, say some great, give some great sermons. Freestyle artist, that's not what happened, is it? He was given a canvas with lines on it. There were lines shaded out already. He followed the prophetic lines of the prophets. He worked within the perfect symmetrical dimensions of the law. He put living color to the shadows or the colorless Old Testament types. Church, have you ever seen what He painted? Have you ever seen what He painted? It's beautiful. Have you ever really looked at the beauty of what He painted with His life? And I don't mean just kind of being impressed as you walk on and get more impressed with a celebrity athlete or something. I mean, have you ever looked at what He painted and been in awe of the glory of it. His 33 years of sinless living, fulfilling every Old Testament prophecy, every Mosaic law, as he's performing miracles, I mean, it seems seamless in his life. He doesn't seem rigid like he's stressed about it. It just looks like love. It just looks natural. Yet everything is with precision. And he's claiming to be this messianic offspring from the garden, from Abraham, to fulfill the Mosaic law, to be that sacrificial Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, to then three days later, raise and show his victory over sin, to then ascend to the right hand of the Father and put his enemies and your enemies under His feet. Have you ever seen that painting? Have you ever looked at it? And been in awe of it and say, I don't deserve that this would have anything to do with my life. But somehow I'm in there. And the artist worked me into that. Look what Jesus said in Hebrews 10.7, He said, Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God, as it is written of Me in the scroll of the book." All those prefigured types and shadows of the law, He came down to fulfill. Vern Poistret, a distinguished scholar and theologian, has a book called, The Shadow of Christ and the Law of Moses. And he said this, In the law, Jesus is there. but not in the center stage spotlight, but in the shadows. Have you ever seen Jesus in the shadows? He isn't the shadow, he's the substance, but have you seen him in the shadows? There's a lot of Jews that never did. In fact, most never did. There's a lot of people that go to church week after week after week, and for some reason, they just see shadows. Have you ever seen the substance? Have you ever seen past the shadows to the actual painting? It is glorious. As we go to the table, I want to put our minds on one last image, one last type of the Mosaic Covenant, and that's the Passover. Many of you know the Passover was the significant moment in the Mosaic Covenant. And I want our minds to go there as we prepare to come to the table. In one moment, guys, in a single moment, Jesus accomplished at least two things. He's preparing the final Passover with his disciples, which was what? It's showing that the blood you put over your door will save you from death, the blood connected to life, salvation. He's eating the last legitimate Passover. There are no legitimate Passovers after that moment, because at that same moment, he's also instituting the first Lord's Supper. And both those things are happening in that moment. And listen, they're both types. You realize that? Even the Lord's Supper is a type. This is, in some sense, a shadow. A New Testament shadow, we could call it. Because it's not the real thing. It's pointing to the real thing. And so when we come and take this, we're remembering a shadow. We're rejoicing in a type of something that is. Our salvation isn't in the elements, it's in heaven, in Christ's body and blood. And so we put our faith in the type and in the shadow because the substance has come. And we believe that. And it says that we will proclaim this until the Lord comes. You hear the language. The Passover was reminding us we need a first Advent. The Lord's Supper reminds us we need a second Advent. Christ must come again. And so that's what Advent for us today is. It isn't waiting for Christ to come the first time. We certainly glory in that, But we come to the table with this type, this shadowy ordinance to remind us that Christ will come again. Amen. Amen, as we prepare our hearts to come, if you are longing for Christ to come again and you've been baptized in his name, this table is for you. If you have not and will refrain, you can find in your bulletin some meaningful prayers that you can pray, and I'd encourage you to pray through those As we go through this ordinance, let me pray for us, Father. Lord, we just thank you for your son. The one that we don't deserve. The one that we did not earn. The one that is not like us. We're selfish, we're rebellious. We're fallen. We're like Adam. And so we thank you for the second Adam. The one you promised not only to Adam and Eve in the garden, but you promised to Abraham. And then you came to Moses and you continued to work. And you preserved that offspring all the way to the point where Christ came with a human body and gave His body and blood. And we praise you, Jesus, that you obeyed that Mosaic law that we could not. So that when you gave your body and blood, it would be A sufficient sacrifice for our sins. Lord, deepen our confidence. In you, as we come and proclaim this together, we prayed in Jesus name, Amen.