I want us to think for a little time tonight on the words that Jesus spoke there in the upper room. He talked about my body and my blood. In Luke chapter 9 verse 51, Luke tells us that Jesus steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. knowing full well what would happen to him there. He knew exactly what would happen. Now those events were about to occur. He was about to enter into his suffering and his death. The hour that he had frequently spoken of, especially in John's gospel, had now come to fruition. That hour had arrived. soon his earthly ministry would come to an end. So how did the Lord Jesus Christ want his disciples and us to remember him? Is it by his many miracles? Is it by his gracious teachings? Is it by his sinless and spotless life? Is it by his bodily resurrection? Is it by his majestic ascension to glory? I think I can say rightly tonight, no. But that may surprise you. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't want to be remembered for his miracles, or for his teachings, or for his resurrection, or his ascension, primarily. but for his atoning death. And in Luke chapter 22, verses 19 and 20, we can appeal to the words that Jesus spoke on this occasion, on this matter. This is what he said. This do in remembrance of me. Nowhere in the Bible does he tell us to remember specifically his coming. It's good for us to do that, of course. And these other things I've mentioned are all vitally important, an important part of his ministry. But the Lord Jesus Christ wants us especially to remember his broken body and his shed blood. That is a reference, of course, to his atoning death more than anything else. Don't misunderstand me. All of these other things are important. It's important for us to contemplate them and think about them. But more especially, he wants us to think about his death. And in this communion service tonight, for a little time, Let us remember Him in His own appointed way, focusing our thoughts upon His atoning death. First of all, there is the must of his death. Now in verse seven, we're told, there came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And of course, this was the literal Passover. It was the reference to the slaughter or the slaying of the thousands and thousands of lambs that were offered at the Passover season. But let's keep our thoughts here upon Christ, the fulfillment of the Passover. Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, these were three of the most important feasts for the people of God to celebrate. You can check out the other ones and look at Leviticus 23. And all Jewish men were expected to turn up at Jerusalem each year to celebrate especially these feasts. Now Passover, as you all know, commemorated Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage. It was to be a time of remembering and a time of rejoicing. And tonight for us, as we come to celebrate the Lord's Supper, it ought to be for us a time of remembering. lest I forget Gethsemane. Lead me afresh to Calvary." And it ought to be a time of rejoicing for our own souls. Now, from the very first Passover that we read of in Exodus chapter 12 on to the sacrifice of Christ in Calvary, a period of about 1,500 years, millions of lands had been slain. Now, it's hard to take this in, but during the Passover season, usually a quarter of a million lambs were slaughtered. So when you think of the slaughter of all those lambs, it was a bloody scene. The blood would have flowed out of the temple where the lambs were slaughtered, down into the brook Kidron. The Lord Jesus Christ, when he crossed the Kidron, his feet would have been steeped in bloody water, indicating he was on the way to the cross of Calvary to shed his blood. Now it's estimated that there could have been two and a half million pilgrims in the city of Jerusalem at that particular point of time. That's a lot of people. The place would have been crowded. So when you think of the picture, you think of this thing, over these 1500 years, millions of lambs have been slaughtered. And it all culminated in one lamb. All these other lambs pointed to him, to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. And this is the final Passover that God accepted. Right from the very first animal that had been slaughtered for man in Genesis 3 to Calvary, all the way through the Old Testament era, God was teaching men that a substitutionary sacrifice was a must. Genesis 3, Genesis 4 in the case of Abel, Genesis chapter 8, when Noah emerged from the ark, he built an altar and offered a sacrifice. There's the must of a sacrifice. Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. And then when you come to Genesis chapter 22, God gives a further revelation, the sacrifice, the lamb must be a human sacrifice, typified, and Isaac being laid on the altar. So God is gradually revealing these things. Yes, we have the slaughter of the lamb. in Eden, and then the slaughter of other lambs right up until Genesis 22. And then God says, this sacrifice has got to be a human sacrifice. Then you read on through the Word of God. Isaiah chapter 7, 14 tells us something more about this sacrifice. He will be a virgin born son. Micah 5 tells us that he would be born in Bethlehem. Isaiah 53 tells us the way he would die, who he would die with, two thieves, and who he would die for. He would die to bring many sons to glory. So God was teaching the people all down through church history through these sacrifices. There must be a sacrifice. And when Jesus came in John chapter 3, 14, he said, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That was a reference to his death. Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. There was no other way. Christ was God's way. And all focus tonight should be upon Christ. Now, Lucas told us about his birth in Bethlehem. He mentions his boyhood in Nazareth. And here in Luke chapter 22, he tells us about his betrayal in Gethsemane. The Lord has been on earth for about 33 and a half years or thereabouts at this time. A young man in the prime of life, and that's just the way it was with the sacrificial lamb, the prime of life, the lamb, Christ, the lamb of God. But how is this all going to happen? Well, the opening verses of this chapter makes very sad reading, especially verses 3 through 5. Very sad reading. Because we read there about a sinister plot to destroy Christ. And there's a name that crops up here. There's a man whose name crops up here. And he's lost tonight. He's down tonight, he's in hell tonight, a man called Judas. And we're told here that he was of a number of the 12. So one of the 12 disciples was the one who did the dirty, as we would say. The one who betrayed his Lord. He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Of course, this was all foreshadowed in the Old Testament in the story of Joseph and his brethren. Remember how his brethren betrayed him, how they rejected him. And remember the time they cast him into the pit and they wanted to maybe kill him. And then one of the 12 said, well, we'll not kill him, we'll sell him. And they did, they sold him for 20 pieces of silver. Who suggested that? Judah or Judas. One of the 12 brothers suggested selling Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. Joseph was betrayed and sold just like Jesus was betrayed and sold. The Bible here talks about the way of Judas. In verse four, he went his way. And the way of Judas was a way of betrayal. Let's contrast it with the way of Christ, because the Lord sat down with his 12, his disciples. They talked to him about a sacrifice. That's his way. In the case of Judas, we have a picture of greed, a matter of getting. In Jesus, we have a picture of grace, one giving. Do you see that? Judah sought money. Jesus was sold for money. Both men died at the Passover, by the way. One died a suicide's death. The other died a sacrificial death. And that reminds me of the story of David. His name means beloved. He's a foreshadowing of Christ, the greatest king that Judah ever had. He had a friend, a close friend called Ahithophel. Ahithophel betrayed the Lord Jesus, or he betrayed Judas. He betrayed David. He gave him up. And you know what he did? The time came when he could no longer live with himself. And what did he do? He did the very same thing that Judas did. According to 2 Samuel 15, he went out. Then chapter 16 and chapter 17, he went out and he hanged himself. You see this? Remember that time when David left Jerusalem, he was rejected. He crossed the brook Kidron, the very brook that Christ crossed, up the Mount of Olives. And then he had this close friend who betrayed him. This is all a foreshadowing of what happened here in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't tell me there's no plan in God's book. Don't tell me this Bible isn't inspired. This book is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of the living God, best reflected, as far as I'm concerned, in the Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures. God has revealed these things, even in the Old Testament, as foreshadowings of what actually took place in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ. There must be a sacrifice. This was the mind of God. This was the reason why Christ was born of a virgin. That's the reason why he came and became a man, so that at this point of time he could offer himself as a perfect sacrifice. There must be the death of the sacrifice. What about the manner of his death? He's with his disciples and we're told he took the bread and he said, this is my body. What does that mean, this is my body? He's saying this is a representation of my body if you like. Jesus also said I am a door. That doesn't mean that he's a six foot six by two foot six door. It means that he's an entrance. And to heaven, he's an interest of the Father. So he's saying, this is a representation of my body, this bread. This is a representation of my blood. Now Christianity is full of symbolism. Every day, items such as bread and wine have extra meaning and significance in certain situations. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus took a Jewish festival meal and gave it a new significance. He began a tradition which still continues in the Christian church. And he told his closest followers, his disciples, he told them to remember his death by eating bread and drinking wine. Of course, that doesn't refer to eating his flesh literally and drinking his blood literally. It's symbolic. And as the Passover meal was coming to an end, Jesus took the bread and the wine that they had been using. He turned it into a memorial death that he would soon experience. Now, why bread and wine? Well, bread was a very common meal. Unleavened bread was bread that they'd used at the Passover, for the Passover meal. There was no yeast in it. Yeast is a type of sin, you see. They were using that. Wine was also a common drink. Now the very first reference to bread and wine linked together is found in Genesis chapter 14 verses 18 and 19. There we're introduced to a man called El-Kesedek, king of Salem, and he brought forth bread and wine. He was also the priest of the Most High God, and he blessed Abraham. And he said, blessed be Abraham of the Most High God. And this is the first time that the bread and wine are actually brought together in the Bible. Theologians often speak of the principle of the first mention, the first time some important fact is mentioned. You'll often find a special insight in the passage surrounding it. And that insight can help interpret other passages where the idea appears. This man Melchizedek, there's much controversy about who he was. I don't want to go into that tonight at all, but his name means King of Righteousness. He was the King of Salem. That's the city he ruled. And that's the Greek form of the Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace. When you think about this, Since the time of David, Salem has been known as Jerusalem. Now the point about this is important. Abraham had just fought a battle. Abraham had just defeated the enemy who had carried away Lot and the people from Lot. Abraham earned his household, went out after them and defeated the enemy and he's returning. And now this king, Melchizedek brings out the bread and the wine to set before Abraham to refresh him after the battle. The Lord still has a battle to fight. He still has an enemy to face in Jerusalem at this time. And before that battle, he brings the bread and the wine as the emblems of what he was about to do, about the enemy he was about to take on and defeat, to liberate his people from the bondage of their sin. So even in this, this king, this priest pointing us to Jesus Christ brings these things. And Abraham anticipated Calvary in type and in shadow and in significant symbol. He looked forward, he anticipated the work of Christ on the cross. Tonight we're looking back to the accomplished work of Christ on the cross. He was given an insight into this. And so even in this first mention of the bread and the wine, associated with the king priest, the man who certainly points us to Christ. After the battle, Christ brings these very emblems, these symbols to his disciples before the battle. And he triumphed just the way Abraham triumphed over his enemy. So Christ triumphed over our enemy and his great enemy. So in this first mention of bread and wine, we have the king of righteousness, the priest of the most high God, the king of the city of peace, offering it to Abraham with whom God was creating a covenant that will bless all mankind. And after Melchizedek blessed Abraham, Abraham offered tithes, offering tithes as an act of worship. And when we come tonight to contemplate the work of Christ with the emblems that we usually have out on the table before us, we're coming to worship him through the work that he offered on Calvary's cross to redeem us from our sin, to bring us now to God. Because of this event, bread and wine became the traditional covenant meal, shared as part of a complex ceremony that established a covenant relationship. And Jesus certainly used covenant language when he instituted the Lord's Supper. O come, let us adore him. for he alone is worthy, our great king, our great priest, the one whose body was broken, the one whose blood was shed. The same thing could be said of another incident In Exodus chapter, in the book of Genesis chapter 40, remember that story? Two men, the cup bearer and the baker. The cup bearer's associated with the wine, the baker with the bread. These two men were in prison. These two men had dreams. Joseph interpreted the dreams for them. You know the story. The three vines of the cupbearer refer to three days. The three baskets of baked meals refer to three days. These dreams would come to pass after three days. When the wine was poured into the cup of Pharaoh, the butler was pardoned and restored. Unfortunately, when the baker was taking his baked meats to the king, the birds of the air came and stole them away. And as a result of that, he was executed. They took him out and hanged him on a tree. And do we not have even this thought here that the Lord Jesus Christ, he offered himself as a sacrifice to put away our sins. After three days he was raised again from the dead to secure pardon and reconciliation Just the way the butler was brought in again to the presence of the king, the one he had offended, so through his work on the cross we are reconciled to God, we're brought back into the presence of the king through the blood that he shed on Calvary's cross to make an atonement for our sins. There's the must of his death, there's the manner of his death, and then there's the mercy of his death. He said, the Son of Man goeth as it was determined. Verse 23. The word determined gives unto us our English word horizon. It means to set limits, to appoint, to mark out, to decree, to ordain. They slew him, yet his going was according to the determinate counsel, purpose, or will, and foreknowledge of God. And the Bible does say that Christ was the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. How did Christ come to die this painful, shameful death on the cross? It was an act of God. It was all of God, all of grace. It was foreordained, predestined. My God, Christ was the substitutionary sacrifice to put away our sins. Sinners can only be saved through the satisfaction of the justice of God. And the only one who could satisfy the justice of God was Jesus Christ. The only way he could do that was through his atoning death on Calvary's cross when he became a curse for his people. And Christ died at the hands of wicked men, acting according to their own free will, by the way. Yes, God had decreed the death of Christ, but these wicked men, they killed, they slaughtered, they slew the Son of God, acting according to their own free will. See, God had ordained the death of Christ, John 3, 16, and many other verses. He also willed the death of Judas. Because all things work according to God's eternal purpose and plan. But he did not absolve Judas from his responsibility and his guilt. He acted as a free moral agent. He'd choose that particular course, his way. He chose that way according to the inclination of his will. Because he wasn't saved. He wasn't regenerate. He wasn't born of God, and he freely chose to take that course in life, despite the fact that it had been ordained of God from eternity. Everything is ordained of God. Nothing happens by mere chance. God has got everything under his control, and there's not a single thing that can come to pass, but he hasn't decreed it. He hasn't permitted that to come to pass. He's got the whole world in his hands. many, many years ago when the Pope arrived in his Popemobile, the crowd began to sing, he's got the whole world in his hands, nonsense. God has got the whole world in his hands. From one viewpoint, the crucifixion was a terrible crime, and so it was. But from another viewpoint, it was a wonderful victory. Because according to verse 24, and there was also It's not verse 24. And they began to inquire among themselves which of them... I can't see it here. Yes. I can't see it, but there is a thought here when you think about this determinate purpose and plan of God that God actually loosed him, loosed him from the pains of death I had a look at that and I found an interesting thing that the word pains there is actually used of the travailing pains or the birth pangs of a mother who's about to give birth. And this word is actually translated over in Psalm 30, 18 verse 5, as snares or traps, the snares of death, the traps of death. And then you have this picture of the woman having her birth pains, and then it ceases when she is delivered. And some have suggested that the tomb for Jesus was a womb out of which Christ was born in resurrected glory after his crucifixion. He came forth from the grave. He has triumphed over the devil, over the powers of darkness and he is alive and he lives today in the power of an endless life and he has destroyed the power of death. for his people, and liberates his people, and sets them gloriously free. So we have this thought of the mercy of his death. God planned it, he designed it, Christ submitted to it, to save unworthy, guilty, ill-deserving, hell-deserving sinners. And God and mercy has come to us. And thank God, he doesn't give us the punishment we deserve. but liberates us and lifts us out of the bondage of sin. What a wonderful savior he is. Just the way God came searching for Adam in the garden, so he came searching, seeking for you and for me. He found you and he found me. And he brought us into a place of redemption. We owe him everything. Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to his cross I cling. Let us come now to remember him and his own appointed way around the table.