Communion Message
(A new relationship)
November 18-19, 2000
Pastor Donald Sheley

Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teachers says, "My time is that hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

One of the great Bible communicators, a great theologian, a great Scottish divine, known as William Barkley has the beautiful gift of understanding the scene behind the scene. He says in his little commentary, all the symbolism and all the ritual action of the Passover feast was the picture of what Jesus wished to say to men, for it too was a picture of what He was to do for them. What then was the picture which Jesus was using, and what is the truth which lies behind it? Dr. Barkley says, number one, the Passover feast was a commemoration of deliverance. Its whole intention was to remind people of Israel of how God had liberated them from slavery in Egypt. So first and foremost then Jesus claimed to be the great liberator. He came to liberate men from fear and from sin. He liberates men from the fears which haunt them and from the sins which will not let them go.

Secondly, in particular, the Passover lamb was the symbol of safety. On that night of destruction, it was the blood of the Passover lamb which kept Israel safe. So then, Jesus was claiming to be the Savior. He had come to save men from their sins and from sin's consequences. He had come to give men safety on earth and safety in heaven, safety in time, safety in eternity. And there is a word which here is the key word, and it enshrines the whole of Jesus' work and His intention; it's the word covenant. Jesus spoke of His blood being the blood of the covenant. What did He mean by that? Well, a covenant is a relationship between two people, but the covenant of which Jesus spoke was not between man and man. It was between God and man. That is to say it was a new relationship between God and man. What Jesus was saying that the last supper was this, because of My life and above all because of My death a new relationship has become possible between you and God. It is if He said, you have seen Me and in Me you have seen God. I have told you, I have shown you how much God loves you. He loves you even enough to suffer this that I am going through and that is what God is really like. Because of what Jesus did the way for men is open to all the loveliness of this new relationship with the God.

I often think, to when we come to this moment, what it must have been like to stand there on that day and view a scene that man thought he would never see, the rending of the veil. Between God, and to between the worshiper for centuries, had been this veil - only the priest could go behind it. I said to my last congregation, I don't think I'd have gone to church much in Old Testament times because all I could have done is gone to the outer court, presented my sacrifice, watched it bleed for me, and turn around and go home. I never could go there were God is. You could only come to the sacrifice. But when Jesus died on that cross and that veil was rent from top to bottom, and what God was saying, My front door is wide-open, come. By His grace He cleanses us, by His mercy and His forgiveness we can walk into His very presence. That's amazing to me. This beautiful morning of worship as we kneel, the door to His throne room is wide-open and He says, come, come. Let's do that, shall we?

Ah, what a blessed privileged is, Lord Jesus, this beautiful morning of worship to know that the veil is rent. By Your grace, and Your mercy, and Your forgiveness You remove all the barriers of fellowship with You. It's for that we ask today. Please forgive us Lord Jesus. Please cleanse us. Just to know that Your heart is wide open to us, these emblems continually remind us of that; Your love for us. We come into Your presence today with a sense of wonder. We prayed that You would breathe upon us O breath of God. We've ask You, dear God, to make this moment so very precious personally to all of us as You draw near in love and compassion. And these emblems we hold each Lord's Day remind us of how much You really do love us dear Jesus. The bread bespeaks of Your body that was given in sacrifice, and the cup tells us that You gave, You died, the shedding of Your blood so that we could live forever. Ah, what a wonder. So with gratitude and adoration we have the joy of identifying with You, Lord Jesus, as Your disciple and You're our God. Let's take the bread together, shall we? Jesus, we love You. Let's take the cup, shall we? And everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet one another, shall we?