Text: Luke 22:7-13
Date: May 18, 2025

Introduction

Opening Illustration: Some of the greatest treasures and mysteries of history have been hidden in plain sight all along. I love stories of archaelogy where archaeologists who have walked by a certain stone a thousand times didn’t realize that it was in fact a door to an ancient treasure. This is in fact how the famous King Tut’s tomb was discovered. Archaeologists had passed the entrance a hundred times without realizing what it was. It is very possible to become overly familiar with a thing, and we need to see it from another angle to see the truth.

Personal: Today my theme is on the Lord’s supper, the Communion meal. Like King Tut’s tomb, for many this meal is something we participate in regularly without a real substantive understanding of its depth, and its benefits in a believer’s life. Do you understand why this sacrament of the Church is so vital to your spiritual health? Do you approach this sacrament each week with a longing, perhaps even a panting for how God will use it in your life?

Context: We are continuing our series through the Gospel of Luke. In our scene today, Jesus’ conflict with the religious leaders in Jerusalem is put to the side, and he shares a meal with his disciples, the Lord’s Supper. And as he shares this meal, Christ initiates the sacrament we call the Lord’s Supper.. The Lord’s Supper is one of the great treasures in a Christian’s life. It is a means of grace whereby Christ, through the Holy Spirit, forms us. My aim today is highly practical. I want to equip us as a church to not only understand the Lord’s Supper, but to to know how we can make the most of it each and every time we come forward.

Luke 22:14–20 “And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Doctrinal

The Passover: First, let us notice that the Lord’s Supper was established while Jesus was sharing the Passover Meal with his disciples. The Passover Meal is an annual celebration and remembrance of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It is a highlight of the Israelite calendar. The entire Passover event is an Old Testament shadow that has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Just as in the original Passover, the Jews were instructed to place the blood of a lamb over the doorpost of the house so that they would not face the final judgment (the tenth plague over Egypt), so do Christians place their faith in Jesus Christ who is the final lamb that was slain. In a sense, just like those Israelites, we find shelter under the blood of the lamb.

New “Fulfilled” Meaning: What Jesus does in this scene is he takes common elements (bread and wine) and he infuses them not just with new meaning, but with fulfilled meaning. Whatever this meant to you before (and the Passover Meal is full of symbolism), Jesus now takes the bread and the wine, and he says “This is what it now means. It was always pointing to this.

Provisional: In verses 16-18 he has interesting language, which is part of the symbolic meaning of the meal.

Luke 22:18 “For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.””

Jesus speaks about enjoying a meal in the Kingdom of God in the future. Here, Christ is envisioning that great and awesome day that still awaits our future. When Christ returns and ushers in Heaven on Earth. We know that in that day, we will feast with Christ in the royal banquet halls. We will dine and enjoy the presence of Christ in our midst. Between then and now, Jesus has insituted this provisional meal of bread and wine to serve as a symbol of that future blessed place of communion with Christ. That means that every time we take this bread and drink this cup, it is as if Christ is taking a morsel from that heavenly banquet, and he’s placing it on your tongue, as a symbol of what is to come.

The Bread: Then Jesus takes the bread and the wine and explains their meaning. In verse 19 Jesus says “This is my body which is given for you.” We might say the bread has at least two ideas attached to it.

Nourishing on Christ: On the one hand we might think of how bread nourishes the body, Christ nourishes the soul. Jesus taught similarly in John 6.

John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.””

Eating the bread symbolizes feasting on Christ and his blessings. And so the physical act of eating bread becomes a sign of the spiritual act of being fed spiritually by Jesus. All that Christ is and all that He has done for us through his life and death, we experience in a corporeal way through the bread.

His Body: Second and particularly, the bread symbolizes Christ’s body which was given for us. The Roman Catholic Church falsely takes this phrase very literally, and they believe not only that the bread physically becomes Christ’s body in such a way that we are to worship the bread, but they believe that when the bread is broken in congregation, that Christ a re-presentation of the Christ’s death on the cross is occurring, only in another form. This is eggregiously false. Christ is speaking figuratively. This bread is not a re-presentation of the sacrification, it is a symbol and a sign pointing towards Christ’s physical body which was given for us. Meaning, he gave his body over to death, as a sacrifice, so that our sinds could be forgiven.

The Wine: He then took the wine and said that it represented the “new covenant in my blood.” Again, we might find two different layers of meaning in this language

New Covenant: First, what is this “New Covenant” language. Jesus very clearly has in mind the OT prophet Jeremiah who said,

Jeremiah 31:31–34 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Christ is here teaching that the suffering he was about to endure would usher a new age of blessing, an age that the prophet Jeremiah had spoken of long ago. Through the shedding of Christ’s blood, those who were far from God because of their sin, would be brought near. Indeed, the age of grace was beginning very soon. And this wine was a symbol of that new covenant of grace that Christ was esablishing.

Joy: The second layer with the wine, is the symbolic meaning of wine in Scripture. Wine is used in a few ways, but very often it is used of joy and gladness. Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding. He taught in John 15 that we are to abide in the vine and so bear much fruit in this life. This cup is an image of abundance of joy, abundance of gratitude, abundance of life, in Christ. And as we drink the cup, we are reminded the joy we have as believers in Christ.

Blood: But of course, the wine also represents Christ’s blood, which in just a few days would be poured on the cross during his crucifixion. When we drink of the wine we are remembering that Christ’s blood was shed once for all, in love for us.

The Spiritual Presence: While we do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church, we also do not believe that the Lord’s Supper is simply a sign devoid of any special presence of Christ. No, this is a sacrament, and a means of grace where we feast on Christ and the Gospel spiritually. Christ does not come down physically in the bread and the wine, rather our hearts are lifted up spiritually to Christ where he is seated at the right hand of father incterceding for us. Stephen Charnock said it well.

“The presence of Christ in the sacrament is spiritual, real, and effectual. Though he be in heaven as to his humanity, yet he is with us by his Spirit, and makes good the promise of his being with us to the end of the world.”

Personal Benefits of the Lord’s Supper

I have completed by work expositing the text. I now want to examine this topic from two separate very practical angles. First, I want to consider what are the benefits of the Lord’s Supper. Second, I want to ask how we ought to receive the Lord’s Supper so as to make the most of it for our faith. First, let us consider the benefits. I will go quickly thorugh these. But let me lay out ten benefits of the Lord’s Supper. And I confess I am very grateful for the ministry of Joel Beeke who has thought deeply about the experiential benefits of the Sacraments.

1 Works the Gospel Deeper into Our Hearts: The lord’s Supper helps us to work the Gospel deeper into our hearts. This physical pattern in our life of taking the bread and the wine, which symbolize the death of Christ in our place, is like a jackhammer that every time we take the meal pushes that gospel deeper into our heart and mind. We have such fickle minds that are so easily distracted by the cares of this world and the worries of this life. And for a moment, when we take this meal we taste of the feast that is ours in Christ. It realigns us to truth.

2 We Renew our Covenantal Vows: Second, the Lord’s Supper is an ongoing and perpetual renewal of the covenant. This does not mean that we have lost the covenant and need to reestablish it. But rather this means that as we take these elements, Christ in a real way is communicating to us “You have been saved by grace” much as he did the very first hour we believed. And we in a very real way take of the elements, and in eating them we are saying “We receive your free gift of grace.” And in so doing, our hearts are renewed with vigor and strength in Christ.

3 We Experience Deeper Communion with God: Third, the Lord’s Supper is beneficial for enjoying intimate communion with God. George Swinnock says it this way,

“At the Lord’s table Christ kisses his spouse with the sweetest kisses of his lips, and ravishes her heart witg his warmest love. In other ordinances he woos her; in this he marries her. In other ordinances she has from him the salutes of a loving friend; but in this the embraces of a husband.”

As the bread and wine go into our body, we feel in a very physical way the wonder of the warmth of the gospel. Our eyes are brightened to the intimacy we have with Christ through his death and resurrection, as we reflect on the cross and on Christ’s death.

4 We Publicly Profess our Faith in Christ: Fourth, it is beneficial for making a public profession of Christ. While baptism serves as a believer initiatory public profession, the Lord’s Supper serves as an ongoing ritual of publicly proclaiming that you are a believer in Jesus. As we eat of the bread in the midst of the congregation, we are publicly proclaiming “Christ is my true food and true drink. Christ is my soul’s delight.” One of the effects this should have on us, is that it should make us even more bold outside of the Church to give a profession of faith in Christ. If we are so bold as to make a public profession of faith within the gathered assembly, why might we not be so bold to make a public profession of faith outside of the congregation.

5 We Overcome Obstacles Towards Unity: Fifth, the Lord’s Supper is beneficial for overcoming obstacles to unity. How many are the issues that divide us? How many ideological lines do we argue over? How many tiffs and hurt friendships exist on any given Sunday within this community. And how powerful this moment of collectively feasting on Christ should be to overwhelm division in the body of Christ. We all partake of the same bread, and the same cup. In a sense, int his meal the Holy Spirit softens our hearts to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, as we together look to the cross where Jesus hangs to forgive us of our sin. Our hearts are knit together in brotherly love for the others whom Christ has died for as well. Taking this meal should make us leap for reconciliation with those whom we are divided. In fact, we are instructed

Matthew 5:23–24 “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Christians, before taking this meal should actively seek to do all they can to gain unity.

6 We Put Sin to Death: Sixth, the Lord’s Supper is beneficial for putting sin to death. When taken properly, the Lord’s Supper enflames our hearts for God. When received by faith, it serves to make us more sensitive to the things of God. We ask the Lord to “search us and see if their be any impure ways within us,” and he really does it. And as we feast on Him, all of his graces strengthen us, convict us, challenge us, lift us up to put to death that which is ungdoly among us, to put off our old selves (Ephesians 4) and to put on the new self, in Christ. This is in fact why the Apostle Paul instructs to examine ourselves before we take the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:28 “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

Why is self-examination so important. Consider the elements. The elements are a symbol of Christ’s crucifixion for your sin. Can you imagine a person who takes this symbol casually wtih no remorse for ongoing sin in their life? What is that communicating to God? It would communicate that you do not take seriously his death for you. We do not come to the table without sin, for we all struggle with sin. But we come after allowing the Holy Spirit to search us and make sure that any sins we are aware we are committing to Christ in repentance and faith that He will grow us through it.

7 We Experience Healing and Assurance of Faith: Seventh, the Lord’s Supper is able to increase our faith and assurance. In this sense, we might think of The Lord’s Supper as God’s personal personal spiritual antibiotic. We all come in here with various spiritual concerns, worries, anxieties. And when we take the Lord’s Supper it is as if God is placing a personalized gospel antibiotic into your mouth, to heal you in just the way you need to be healed.

Suffering: Those who are suffering, are reminded of Christ’s suffering on their behalf. As they chew they are reminded that there is no suffering they will endure in this life that Jesus does not know intimately.

Weak: Those who are weak in faith, as they chew, the Holy Spirit ministers the healing balm of the gospel that fixes their eyes not on their own weakness, but on the everlasting strength of Christ who rose from the grave and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Sin: Those who are in the gall of a battle with ongoing sin, are filled with the reality that Christ’s blood was shed to atone for their sin, and that despite their spiritual weakness, they are participants in the glorious banquet of Christ

Worried & Anxious: Those who are worried and anxious about their circumstances, have their lifted to behold the certainty of the New Covenant in Christ, the covenant that promises that God himself would dwell in our hearts, would guide our steps, and make certain our path.

8 We are Lead into Deeper & More Heartfelt Worship: Eighth, the Lord’s Supper leads us into deeper and more heartfelt worship. What we are doing is rejoicing in the finished work of the cross. We are like those citizens of a kingdom whose king has just come back from a faraway land the men, and he is marching victoriously through the city with the spoils of war. In that city would be great rejoicing, and singing of victory. The fear would be gone, because the war was over. So it is with us when we take this meal. It is a physical and visual reminder that the war is over, Christ has won. The spoils of war are ours. The enemy has been defeated. You have been claimed for christ.

9 We are Granted a Greater Eternal Perspective: Ninth, the Lord’s Supper is beneficial for granting us a greater eternal perspective. This meal, as we have seen, is a provisional meal. It is a placeholder given to us in expectation and anticipation of the great meal that we will share with Christ when he returns. Isn’t it true that keep an eternal perspective is difficult. We talk about an eternal perspective, but the challenges of this life are so physically present that maintaining a true and lasting eternal perspective is quite difficult. But here, eternity is made physical for a moment. In the bread and the wine, we taste of heaven. It is as if Jesus himself were taking a morsel from the table that has been set for you and me, and he is reaching down through the heavens, and placing that morsel on our tongue, so that we would be experience a taste of what heaven will be.

10 We See Our Own Local Church with Christ’s Eyes: Tenth, the Lord’s Supper is beneficial for learning to love your local Church and the people you have been called to do life with. When you look around the room and you see these brothers and sisters in Christ all lining up to receive of the elements, each with their own remarkable and miraculous story of how they came to faith in Jesus, how Jesus rescued them from the pits of hell, and set their feet on solid ground in Christ, your heart melts for gratitude. There is a love that wells up as you look around and see story after story of grace. And this gets really powerful, when you really get to know the people in your church. And you see one person come up and you know their story, and you say “Look at them feasting on Christ.” And then you see the next person come up, and you know their story and you say, “Look at them feasting on Christ.” Oh how your heart falls in love with the people of God. With all of our quirks and differences and oddities, brothers and sisters, saved by grace, feasting on Christ.

Practical

Now, let me bring us to a place of practicality. We have seen what participating in the Lord’s Supper ought to be. But how do we make it that? How do we practice the Lord’s Supper in such a way that we get those benefits. Let us consider this in three different ways. First, it is very important how we prepare for the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul when describing the Lord’s Supper actually tells us this. He writes,

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Unworthy: The term “unworthy” is an adverb, not an adjective. It is not describing the person, for we all unworthy. Rather it is describing the way that we take the Lord’s Supper. In other words, Paul is saying “Do not take the Lord’s Supper in a manner that is unfitting for its spiritual significance.” The Lord’s Supper is a sacred event, a powerful event, in fact a dangerous event. In much the same way that we would not wave a loaded gun around without taking proper precautions, so ought we not take the Lord’s Supper without taking the proper precautions. Might I suggest a few very practical ways to make sure you are approaching the Lord’s Supper worthily.

Prepare Your Hearts Before the Gathering: First, prepare your hearts before the Sunday gathering. The components of the Sunday, from the Call to Worship, to the benediction are designed to take you on a journey of the Gospel. Prepare your hearts and your schedules to be here on time. When you go to a wedding, you get there on time, out of respect to the bride and groom. How much moreso ought it be when you gather with the saints to celebrate our marriage union with Christ. If we rush into the Lord’s Supper having missed the opening songs of worship, our hearts have missed out on primary means God has given to soften our spirits and make us sensitive to his movement. On a Saturday night, make sure all is in order in your home for you to arrive at your church on time without rushing or feeling stressed.

Sermon Convicts & Heals: The Lord’s Supper always follows the preaching of God’s Word. These are tied together. Pray that God would continue to give you a sensitive heart to be convicted by the sermons that are preached. The goal is to have a tender spirit to what God is doing in that moment of hte preached word, so that real heart business can be taken care of. We must avoid the sin of pride that tells us we have nothing to learn or grow in through the preaching of God’s Word.

Self-Examination: Third, before you approach the table ask the Lord if there is anything in your heart or life that would cause you in that moment to receive the elements in an unworthy manner. Here are a few questions you might ask yourself.

• Are you truly a Christian? Have you confessed your deep need of a Savior, turned from all other false gods including the god of self, and confessed that Jesus is your sole Lord and Savior?
• Are there any known sins that I am unrepentant of right now. This does not mean that you have overcome every sin in your life. It simply is asking whether or not you have confessed and feel remorse for ongoing sin in your life.
• Do you experience a hunger for holiness in your life? A sense that God is worthy of obedience in every area of life?
• Are there any relationships that you are harboring bitterness, anger, jealousy, or pride over. This does not mean that you cannot take communion if there are ongoing struggles in relationships. The question here is whether or not you are holding onto sin in the midst of conflict.

Spiritual Adornment: Fourth, it is not only self-examination we must participate, but what the ancients of “spiritual adornment.” Wilhelmus a Brakel describes it this way,

“When someone is to attend a wedding, he adorns himself with the very best he has. A bride will adorn herself in a most excellent manner so that she may be desirable to her husband and honor him. Much more must a believer do this in order that the King may delight in his beauty.”

A Brakel is not speaking here about the clothes we wear. He is speaking about the condition of our soul before God. We are to adorn our souls with every thought and desire for Christ. Approach the table should be a full heart’s movement towards the wonder of God and the Gospel. In adorning our hearts for God, we confess our sin, we preach the gospel to ourselves, we think back on all of God’s blessings that we have seen this week, we thank him for the many ways he has shaped us and protected us and provided for us, we renew our covenantal with him, and we commit our hearts to faithfulness and whole heartedness of faith. In this way we adorn ourselves for our King.

What If: But what if, you come here on a Sunday, and you have none of this to bring? What if you are barely holding on? What if your faith is stretched beyond what you can handle, and simply being in the room was a larger step than you believed you were able to take today. What if the anxiety you are carrying is such that you feel weighed down, and though you would love to adorn yourself for your king, you feel you can do no such thing. Can you come to the table?

The Gospel: Friend if that is you today, know that Christ’s love of you is no less when you have nothing but a broken heart to bring to him then when you have every adorning of the Christian faith. If the only adorning you can bring is the humility to say I can bring nothing more but my weakness, Christ receives that humility as a fragrant offering. And he invites you to the table.

Not Feelings: And if you take those elements, the bread and the wine, that in a very real have a spiritual presence of Christ, and you take those elements and as you eat them you feel no difference. While sometimes God does give great affections of the soul through the Sacraments, other times they may feel less significant. What do you do then? You fall back, not on your emotions, but on the objectivity of what the sacrament represents. You have been sealed by Christ. You have received by grace through faith. You are his cherished child.

Conclusion

Church, may we feast in the house of the Lord as the redeemed in the Lord! May his blessings never run dry as we take this sacrament together.