Before we open the Scripture Lit, please bow in prayer. Our loving Father, we still ourselves again before Thee. We commit, Lord, this communion service into Thy care. We pray that we may meet Thee here. Lord, we pray that we may sense Thy presence. Help, Lord, as we speak Thy word. May our hearts be thrilled to consider thee our great Redeemer and Saviour, one who sealed the covenant with his blood today. I'm sure prayer we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Returning to Matthew 26 and then also John chapter 19, if you want to turn to both those reading Matthew 26, beginning at verse 62, then John chapter 19. So Matthew 26, verse 62, it says, and the high priest arose and said unto him, speaking of Christ, answerest thou nothing? What is it which thou these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace, and the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said, Nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the priest, the high priest, rent his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy. What further need have we of witnesses? Behold now, ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They answered and said, he is guilty of death. Then John chapter 19, verse 23 and 24, it says, then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to every soldier apart, and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. And they said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it, cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which said, they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things, therefore, the soldiers did. Amen. Arrested and brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Lord Jesus Christ was tried and sentenced to death on false charges of blasphemy and inciting civil disobedience asked by Caiaphas, the high priest, to confirm whether or not he was the Christ, the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ responded in verse 64 of Matthew 26. That was said, nevertheless I say unto you hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting in the right hand of power and coming in clouds of heaven. Christ claimed to be the Son of Man who would return to earth in the clouds of heaven, infuriated the high priest so much that we're told that Caiaphas took his clothes and rent them. Look there at verse 65. Then the high priest rent his clothes saying, he has spoken blasphemy. What further need have we of witnesses? Behold now, ye have heard his blasphemy. As I thought of Caiaphas' response and especially this detail of renting or renting his clothes, The thought I thought of is what he did, was it not prophetic? Was it not prophetic? You see, Caiaphas as high priest was soon going to be out of a job. By the sacrifice of Christ for sin, the Levitical priesthood was rendered obsolete and unnecessary. and thus the rending of his garments signified that Caiaphas was now made redundant as a greater high priest had come in the person of Jesus Christ and whose sacrifice for sin would suitably deal with sin upon the cross. No longer would Caiaphas ever have to clothe himself in the high priestly garments that he now rends, that he now pulls asunder He no longer will officiate as the priest for the people. Why? Because a better high priest had come in Jesus Christ to put away sin forever. And so as he tore the clothes, it was as if he was saying prophetically, no longer am I required. No longer is my ministry needed. No longer will I need to place these garments on me, because there is a greater priest. Now he did not want to admit that, but there's something, I think, prophetic in these things. And then that brings us to what happened to Christ's garments in John chapter 19. Because in John chapter 19, verse 24, we are told that the soldiers agreed not to rend the garments of Christ. Note there what it says in the verse number 24. They said, therefore, among themselves, let us not rend it. This coat without seam, this linen coat, remember the priest wore the linen coat, and the Old Testament, this coat without seam, woven from the top to the bottom, was not rended. Why? because Christ hath an eternal priesthood. And he bears, and he wears the garments, as it were, of that priesthood in heaven. His priesthood has not been rendered obsolete or unnecessary. His priesthood is a continual, ongoing priesthood. Let me read Hebrews 6, verse 20. Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, Caiaphas's role as high priest came to an end in Christ's day, but Christ's priesthood never ends and will never come to an end. In glory today we have a priest who lives and prays for us. A great high priest, the hymn writer said, whose name is love. clothed as the priest of his people, never to put them off forever representing us before the Father. What an amazing detail we have here. Caiaphas rending his clothes. My work is done. Christ in heaven, continually wearing the garments. We find there in the book of the Revelation, his paps skirt around with a golden girdle. He's there as our priest. His work never ends because he lives to make intercession for us. May our love go out to him, our great high priest, even today as we think of this tremendous thought in Holy Scripture. I want to read the words I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he gave him thanks, he broke it himself. through the blood, and I'm thanking for all the Saviour accomplished for us there at the cross. I thank that He let down, as likely let down, His body at night, and have our sins forgiven, that we are indeed elected even unto salvation, children of God, even before the foundation of the world, and how we marvel even at our choosing Christ for us. So thank you for this. We give you all the praise for I ask your grace and your salvation today in the hour, Lord, when you saved us, when you took us as brands from the burning Lord. We just pray, even as we read around the community, O Lord, we are pleased even to bless each one that is gathered here, that we will give our grateful thanks for all that our Saviour has done and accomplished on our behalf. In that body that was broken before us, Lord, we thank you. For each one that has gathered, each one has been wonderfully saved. I remember especially those who normally would join up with us for a trade order. I'd be pleased to touch them more whether they're at home, not well, or in the hospital, not well. Amen. Again, we invite some brother to pray, to give thanks for the wine that we will soon receive. Nothing mystical happens, but it remains wine. Fruit of the vine, but it is a symbol of the Savior's precious blood, the one who was crushed. We ran through the wine press. and shed his blood for the price of our salvation, our redemption. Some brother lead us in thanks for the wine, please. Thank you. Father, as we pay our homage with your presence, we thank you again for the communion feast and for all that it represents for you. Thank you again for the people who come in this fashion. Thank you, Lord, as the scripture tells it. You have sealed the trouble of your soul and we are satisfied. Lord, as we again turn our attention to the wine, we thank the Lord that we are left in no doubt from scripture what wine represents to us. We think about night again. Before you went to the cross, Lord, where you took the cup yourself and said, this is my will, of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins. Lord, we have been considering much of thy great redemption this morning. We think again, Lord, of why there was a need for that redemption. Lord, because of our sin, as we're told in Isaiah, Lord, Our sin has separated us from God and hid His face from us. Lord, what a condition we were in if there was no redemption. And Lord, we thank Thee for that great plan that we have heard about this morning. And Lord, we thank Thee for the one who executed that plan, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Lord, for him being prepared to live in that body, what a restriction it was for the very son of God. Lord, we acknowledge that again today. Even that in itself, Lord, we thank you for it. But Lord, most of all, we thank you for allowing yourself to be nailed to that old cross. Lord, what love you have for us. And Lord, we thank you most of all for the shedding of thy precious blood. Lord, we are left to do that again strictly. Lord, regarding the necessity of the shedding of the blood, Lord, we thank that we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of the blood, Lord, there's no forgiveness. Lord, we praise Thee today for this great fact, that the blood of the God-man, the blood of the sinless God-man, Lord, it was evil, it is evil. Lord, to take away our sin, And Lord, we should be thankful today, we should be rejoicing at this communion feast. Lord, when we realize again, Lord, that we have forgiveness of sins. Lord, as far as the east is from the west, Lord, you have removed your sin from us. And only the beloved Christ, Lord, was able to do that. We thank the Lord that you have planted such, as we heard this morning, And Lord, you have ordained that precious blood of Christ to be that cleansing agent, Lord, that would take away our sins. Thank you today, Lord, that we can say we have peace with God through the blood of the cross. So Lord, as we partake of this wine, let us again, Lord, think of these great truths, again, that we have heard this morning. Let us, Lord, treasure our redemption, and most of all, Lord, increase our love for the Lord Jesus Christ in all he has done for us. Accept our thanks now for this wine, for it is in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. After the same manner also he took the cup and stopped saying, This cup is a new testament in my blood. This do ye as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you shall know the Lord's death till ye come. Let's pray. For everlasting, Father, we rejoice, Lord, in redemption. We stand on redemption ground, the only ground of acceptance with Thee. We thank You for our deliverance from sin and the power of darkness, translated to the kingdom of Thy dear Son, We thank Thee that Thou hast fitted us, qualified us for heaven through redemption. And we come, Lord, to thank Thee for the day and hour that we were redeemed and set free. And we are reminded, Lord, even in a week that has passed, that really this is all that matters. For when death comes, accept our testimony. Whether or not we have a seething interest in Jesus Christ or not, and therefore may we be done with lesser things, and may we ever rejoice in salvation. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of good one mind, live in peace, God, the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen and Amen.