For our Scripture reading this morning, let's turn together to Luke 22. Luke 22, we read together verses 14 through 23, another occasion Luke's record of the institution of the Lord's Supper as we consider the second of three Lord's Days this morning that deals with Scripture's teaching with regard to the Lord's Supper. Luke chapter 22, beginning at verse 14 through 23, as we hear now the word of God. When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among you. For I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him. They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. And turn with me, if you would, in the back of the Psalter hymnal to Lord's Day 29. Lord's Day 29, found on page 39. 39, as we confess together the two questions and answers that we find there. Lord's Day 29, found on page 39. In the back of the Psalter hymnal, question 78 asks, Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ's blood and does not itself wash away sins, but is simply God's sign and assurance, so too the bread of the Lord's Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ, even though it is called the body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments. Why then does Christ call the bread His body and the cup His blood, or the new covenant in His blood? Paul uses the words of participation in Christ's body and blood. Christ has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that as bread and wine nourish our temporal life, so too His crucified body and poured out blood truly nourish our souls for eternal life. But more important, He wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge that we, through the Holy Spirit's work, share in His true body and blood as surely as our mouths receive these holy signs in His remembrance, and that all of His suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, you recall that last Sunday evening we had the privilege as a family of God to gather together at the Lord's table. And this morning as we once again consider the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, we must understand that this sacrament is a snapshot, a picture, a portrait of salvation. And therefore I ask you, is that what you see when you consider the Lord's table? Is that what you saw last Sunday evening as you came together with God's people around the Lord's table? Do you see your salvation by the grace of God in this snapshot, in this picture of the Lord's Supper? There is only one way you can see that, and that is through true faith. True faith, you see, is intimately connected with the Lord's Supper, because without faith, one cannot and will not benefit from partaking of this sacrament. You see, beloved, this sacramental meal is not the meal of those who have arrived. Those who have achieved a certain level of faithfulness. If that were the case, then Jesus would have never invited His disciples, among whom there were those who would surely betray Him and deny Him. As well, this sacramental meal is not a meal for super saints. Those who are a cut above everyone else. but it's for the humble. It's for those who know their sins and are truly sorry for their sins and desire to flee from sin and who find their shelter only in Jesus Christ. This meal is for those whose faith is active. Jesus made that clear when He said, do this in remembrance of Me. You see, remembering is an action. And if your faith is not active, of course, first of all, means that you do not have true faith. And secondly, if your faith is not active, then the Lord's table is not to your advantage. And therefore, we are to ask ourselves, every time I have the privilege to come to this table, can I truly confess by the grace of God that I have become a more believing and a stronger Christian since the last time? Have I become more and more one with Christ each and every day? By the grace of God, am I more faithful? We consider the truth of the Word of God this morning, that for the child of God, Lord's Supper union strengthens true faith. And this takes place, first of all, through Christ's presence. Secondly, through Christ's teaching. And finally, through Christ's assurance. Beloved, it is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself who is the host of His table. He is the One who through His Holy Spirit gives His broken body and His shed blood to the mouths of our heart and soul to partake of Him. He is the One who has something of infinite value to teach us and He is the One who blesses us with everlasting assurance. You see, the believer has true union with Christ. That's not the question here, whether or not there is union. The believer does have true union with Christ. But the question, which is addressed by question and answer 78 of the Catechism, is how? How is Christ present in the Lord's Supper? As many of you recall, this was a hotly debated issue in the time of the Reformation. And that's why this particular Lord's Day was and still is necessary in the Catechism and for our consideration. And you also know that a range of beliefs existed. The Roman Catholic Church taught and teaches that the elements, the bread and the wine of the sacrament or the wafer, actually turn into and become the real physical body and blood of Jesus. What happens, they say, is what is called transubstantiation, which means that the great change or transformation of these things actually takes place. And therefore, that bread which we hold in our hand, even though it may look like bread and smell like bread and feel like bread and taste like bread, isn't really bread, it's the body of Christ. Because Jesus said, as we read, this is my body. Now, Martin Luther wasn't quite as forceful, but he did teach that Christ's body is present, what he said, in, with, and under the elements. His body and blood accompanied the bread and the wine. And this is called consubstantiation. Con means with. And therefore, the bread which we hold in our hand, it looks like bread and tastes like bread and smells like bread and feels like bread because it is bread, but Christ's body is with that bread. Martin Luther was very firm about the word is when Jesus said this is my body, so it must be included somehow. But if either one of these is true, transubstantiation or consubstantiation, then believers today receive something even more special than Christ's disciples, His apostles. Because it's clear that Jesus gave them physical bread and wine, not His physical body and blood. But the Roman Catholics and the Lutherans are correct in trying to maintain the truth of Christ's presence in the sacrament. More than what Zwingli said, that it was just a meal of memory. Nothing else happens. We just remember that's it. The Roman Catholics and Lutherans are to be credited that they maintain Christ's presence. But they are wrong in that they make His physical presence descend down to us instead of as we believe the Spirit lifts our hearts up on high in heaven where Christ Jesus is our advocate at the right hand of His Heavenly Father. The Reformed and the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics have always agreed that Christ is really present in the sacrament, but the disagreement is how? Again, question and answer 78. Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? No. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into Christ's blood and does not itself wash away sins, but is simply God's sign and assurance, so too the bread of the Lord's Supper is not changed into the actual body of Christ, even though it is called the body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments. Beloved, we are to understand the bread and the cup of the Lord's Supper in the same way that we are to understand the water of baptism. Baptism's water doesn't actually, physically, wash away sin. If it did, then the ordinary water that we take out of the tap in the church would have the same power as Christ's blood. and therefore there would be no need for the blood of Christ. But how dishonoring to our Lord to give the same power to the bread and the cup and the water that rightfully belongs only to the body and blood of Christ. You see, when the physical bread and cup and water are given the status of Christ Himself, then these things become nothing more than idols that are worshipped. But the truth is that just as the water of baptism only signifies and assures of the forgiveness of sins and new life through Christ's blood, so the bread and the cup of the supper serve to signify and assure of the forgiveness of sins, the blessings of the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. You see, we are being taught here, congregation, that there is what we call sacramental language. The catechism says, even though it is called the body of Christ in keeping with the nature and language of sacraments. Question and answer 66, you may recall, pointed out that sacraments consist of material and visible elements, called holy signs. These elements, you see, are real to our senses of sight and touch and taste and smell, but these elements themselves point to something else. Physically, these signs of the bread and the cup and the water are real, but the things that the signs point to are spiritually real. The language of the sacraments is figurative. When Jesus said, this is my body, He was using sacramental language. It's a little bit like if I were to hold up a picture of my family and point out each member to you and say, this is my wife and these are my children and even tell you their names. Yet we know that as I'm holding that picture, I'm not literally, physically holding my family in my hand. The photograph pictures them for you. And so it is with the bread and the cup of the Lord's Supper, which picture the body and blood of Christ. And picture what has taken place. Sacramental language is found throughout Scripture. For example, in Genesis 17, the Lord says to Abraham, And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between me and you. Now, we know that circumcision wasn't the covenant itself. It was a sign of the covenant and a sign of the cutting away of the wickedness of the heart. And Jesus Himself used sacramental language in John 6, which we read last week, which says, For My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. And then verse 58 of that same chapter makes it clear that He's not talking about physical bread like their fathers ate in the wilderness and still went on to die. He's talking about partaking of Him by faith. You see, our Lord is present in the sacrament, not physically, but spiritually, not visibly, but invisibly, except as pointed to by the physical elements, yet actually and really. It's indeed a mystery, congregation. Yet He is present through His Holy Spirit. And through His Spirit, Jesus Christ gives Himself and all that He is to believers. And through His Spirit, our Lord pours new vitality and new strength and new comfort into those who partake with believing hearts. Beloved Christ strengthens our faith through the presence of His Spirit. Yet there is more. Through His Spirit, Christ teaches us in the second place what we need to know about His one sacrifice for sin. And He does this through the signs of the sacrament. Again, the bread and the wine. Question 79, why then does Christ call the bread His body and the cup His blood or the new covenant in His blood? And the first part of the answer, Christ has good reason for these words. He wants to teach us that as bread and wine nourish our temporal life, so too His crucified body and poured out blood truly nourished our souls for eternal life. As our Lord intended, we are taught something by the use of the bread and the cup, which are the only, along with the water of baptism, these three things are the only true, legitimate props for worship. Not all kinds of other worship aids that man has manufactured, But the water and the bread and the cup are the only true, legitimate props for worship. And as we've said many times, the Lord's Supper is visual instruction. Through it, beloved, we are taught something in order to better understand nothing less than the Gospel promise. And we must remember, as we know from Question and Answer 21 of the Catechism, that true faith includes a sure knowledge. And we know that knowledge depends upon instruction. Boys and girls, you know that. That's why you're in school. Knowledge depends upon instruction. And through His Supper, our Lord teaches us about our life and He is driving home the point that this life is not just physical, but it's also spiritual. We have more than a body. We have a soul as well. And just as our bodies must be fed to sustain us and give us strength, our souls must also be fed. And our soul food unto eternal life can only be the crucified body and shed blood of Christ. And this naturally begs the question then, do I care for my soul? Do I care for my soul? And if our answer is yes, then the next question is how? our soul is to be nourished for eternal life otherwise it will go down to eternal death it's no secret is it that we care for our bodies I don't think there's any one of us here that would intentionally do something to hurt our own bodies this is visible in the way that we look in the way that we dress in the way that we present ourselves to each other not one of us would do anything to intentionally hurt our bodies Paul drives home this point in Ephesians 5, 28 and 29 with these words. It's not the main focus of His words, but it's included here. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church. And Satan knows this all too well also. He says in Job 2, verse 4, skin for skin. Yes, all that a man has, He will give for His life. Our bodies are important to us for various reasons. And we know that we cannot live long without physical food. But the same is true with the soul. Without spiritual food, it will die. Do you feed your soul? With what? Young people, do you give your soul as much attention as you give your body? Or do you forget about it? Christ feeds our souls with His Word and sacraments. But how much of the temporary things of life are given a much higher place in our lives than God's Word and His Supper? In Luke 10, we read that Jesus sent out 70 men two by two to preach and they came back all excited that even the demons were subject to them in Jesus' name. An amazing thing. But Jesus says to them, nevertheless, do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you. Something as awesome as that may seem. But rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Congregation, as we see the bread, as it is broken and as we take the cup, we are to be instructed of our eternal need to be fed and satisfied with Christ's sacrifice unto eternal life. And Christ, through His Spirit, teaches us that this is what He has accomplished for us. He says to His people, I have entered eternal death to give you eternal life. See My crucified body and shed blood and know that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. And our children must also be taught of this need as parents just like the Israelite parents were to explain to their children what the Passover with the blood over the doorpost meant, we must explain to our children that those who are covered by the blood of Jesus and made one with Him, they shall be passed over in the judgment. As the psalmist beautifully says in Psalm 1, the righteous will stand in the judgment while the wicked will be blown away like the chaff. There is power and shelter only in the blood of Jesus. And those who eat of Him shall never hunger, beloved, because He provides in abundance. But as Christ teaches us through these signs, He also strengthens our faith through His assurance which He seals to us also through His signs. True faith, we know, is not just a sure knowledge. It includes a sure knowledge, but it's not only a sure knowledge, but it's also a firm confidence or conviction. And through the bread and the cup, He gives to us that assurance that His body was broken and His blood was shed for me. The last part of answer 79 says, but more important, He wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge that we, through the Holy Spirit's work, share in His true body and blood as surely as our mouths received these holy signs in His remembrance. And that all of His suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins. For those who partake of the Lord's Supper in true faith, they are given the grace of our Lord's assurance that they enjoy union with both Christ Himself and His benefits. As the older version of the Catechism beautifully says, that we really partake of Christ and all His benefits. But notice, there must first be communion with Christ Himself before one can share in the blessings He has earned on the cross. The Holy Spirit assures the believer through the table that just as certainly as we become physically one with the bread and the cup, we become spiritually one with the body and blood of the Savior. See, the Catechism rightly and beautifully puts it so simple that just, and even the children can understand this, just as we take the bread and put it in our mouth and feel it and taste it and drink of that cup, just as surely as we know that is real, in the same way we partake of the body and blood of Christ by faith. We must cling to the vine and the branch analogy that Christ gave us. We are grafted into Him by the Holy Spirit through true faith. And we become one with Him. And just as the life of the mother flows into the separate life of her unborn child, through the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ flows into me. He lives in me. But then this also means, doesn't it, that we share in His suffering. Jesus said, if they hated Me, they will hate you. And as well, His life must necessarily permeate or infiltrate our whole life, our head, our heart, our hands, our feet. And congregation, to be one with Christ is not a hit and miss thing. It's not a once in a while thing. It's not a when I feel like a thing. It means complete, constant dedication and devotion to Him. He gives us power to fight the good fight and His life is to be visible in us so that we love what He loves and hate what He hates. By the grace of God, we have been given the mind of Christ. And His life of goodness and love and forgiveness is to be evident through us. And because of us, as Jesus says in Matthew 5, men must glorify Him. And then, to those in whom He lives, Christ also gives His blessings. The blessings of all of His work of atonement accomplished and everything that means. And therefore, that means that we may not forget that the table of the Lord is not a reminder of our faithfulness. But it's a reminder of our Lord's faithfulness. With regard to you and me, the table of the Lord is a reminder of our unfaithfulness. But by the signs of the crucifixion, the broken bread and the cup, we are shown what our sins are worth. We are shown the terribleness of our guilt. We are reminded in this snapshot that the wages of sin is death. But these signs, these communion signs, also show us then the complete and the full payment of that guilt. God no longer says, this is what you owe me, but He says, I let payment be made for you by my only begotten Son, and this is yours as if you personally had suffered and paid or made satisfaction to God for your sins. And therefore, beloved, we are also reminded in this snapshot of salvation that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Beloved, this table before us this morning, which is a part of our pulpit furniture, and praise God that it is, even though it's not prepared for us to physically come this morning, this table before us each and every Lord's Day is a reminder, is God's reminder and promise of imputation by His grace. There at His table, even now as we look at it, we see the complete acquittal and cancellation of our sin committed against the Most High Majesty of God as our sin was laid upon Christ, imputed, charged to His account. And also we are assured that Christ's finished work is our possession. Imputed to us. Charged to our account. The Lord's Supper. This snapshot of salvation is for those who are reconciled to God through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. And only those who are united to Christ by true faith will benefit from this sacrament for them. It is a means of grace to strengthen their faith. Christ teaches through these visible signs and seals unto believers the assurance that that great exchange, His death for our life, is our true possession. even as Luke 22 says again, our Lord says, This is my body given for you. This is my blood poured out for you. It's your possession. But that assurance goes both ways, doesn't it? Those who eat and drink with an unbelieving heart put themselves in grave danger of claiming something that does not rightfully belong to them. The bottom line is that unless you are united with Christ through His broken body and shed blood, you have no fellowship with God. And those who eat and drink with an unbelieving heart eat and drink an empty meal which gives assurance or warning of destruction. But those who repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith They partake with the assurance of God's grace that they live because Jesus lives. Beloved, to those who seek their life apart from themselves and seek it only in Jesus Christ, He gives confidence through His Supper of who He is and what He has done and that those who truly believe are united to Him, made one with Him by true faith. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we thank You for this snapshot of salvation. This snapshot which pictures for us everything that we need to see with our eyes to understand the mercy and the grace of God. Keep that snapshot ever before our eyes day by day lest we should become conceited and think that somehow we deserve or have earned the right to be saved. Lest we should say that You should take us into heaven because we haven't been so bad. We've been pretty good. We've tried hard. Father, help us to know that nothing in our hands we bring, not what our hands have done, can save our guilty souls. But may we always look to the cross of Jesus and His completed sacrifice on our behalf. We praise You, Father, in the name of our Advocate, who even at this moment sits at Your right hand. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.