Our scripture reading this morning is from Matthew chapter 26, Matthew's account of the institution of the Lord's Supper. And so we take up the reading at verse 1. We'll read the first two verses of Matthew 26 and then skip down to verse 14 and read verses 14 through 29. So beginning our reading at Matthew 26, verse 1, let us hear God's own word. When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. And then at verse 14. Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, What will you give me if I deliver him over to you? And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him. Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover? And he said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, Is it I, Lord? He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him, You have said so. Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. So far the reading of God's word. This morning we have the blessing of participating in the Lord's Supper and we have a fairly standard way of doing that and fairly standard forms that we read in relation to it and we read scriptures that are quite familiar to us and so there's always a bit of a danger that it becomes too much a matter of rote and not enough a real matter of reflection and of faith. And so it's good to pause and to reflect and seek to be renewed again in a sense of the meaning and the importance of this supper. And one of the challenges a preacher always faces is how do you make the really familiar fresh without making it obnoxious. So I'm giving it a shot today, and we'll see how well it works. The question I ask myself is, if we turn to Matthew's account of the institution of the Lord's Supper, is there anything distinctive about what Matthew has to say? I think often those of us who are familiar with the words of institution as they're recorded for us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 1 Corinthians 11 by Paul, sort of know all of the pieces of those varying accounts. But each of them is just slightly different. Not that they in any way contradict one another, but each has a slightly different emphasis. And so I thought it might be helpful for us, as we consider the meaning of this supper together this morning, to think about what is distinctive about Matthew's account of the supper. And I found three things that I had never really noticed before. You've probably already noticed them, but I had never noticed them before in this account of the supper. Three things that Matthew says that nobody else says. And again, you'll see immediately there's no contradiction with the other accounts, but Matthew wants to highlight these things a little bit for us. And the first thing that we find that Matthew says distinctively is he says, eat. Matthew is the only account of the Lord's Supper where Jesus is recorded as actually saying, eat. Now we know they all ate. All the accounts talk about the eating. But only this account by Matthew has the command to eat. And then secondly, we find only Matthew talks about the forgiveness of sins in relation to the supper. Only Matthew has that promise that the supper is related to the forgiveness of our sins. And thirdly, only Matthew has the statement, drink you all of the cup. Now, the other accounts talk about them all drinking, but only Matthew has that appeal. And so that's the three points of the sermon this morning. The command to eat, the promise of the forgiveness of sins, and the appeal to all. And I hope by looking at those three elements we'll be renewed in our sense of the importance and the value and the meaning of the Lord's Supper for us. So first, the command to eat. In speaking in that way, Jesus is clearly connecting the Lord's Supper with the Passover. Because when the disciples go to Jesus and say, What are we to do about the Passover? Did you notice how they put it? They said, where will we eat the Passover? That was the characteristic way Jews thought about the Passover. It was a ritual. It was a feast. It was a festival. It was a requirement. But when they talked about keeping it, they thought very often in terms of eating the Passover. The Passover was a meal. Where will we eat the Passover? And Matthew records, as they were eating the Passover, Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper. A new supper in the middle of a supper. A new meal in the middle of a meal. And he accompanies that institution of a new meal with a command. Eat. Eat. And why is that significant? Why is that important? Well, it points to the fact that Jesus here is changing the whole life of Israel. Jesus in Matthew, particularly in these last chapters of Matthew, is presented as regularly talking about endings and beginnings. He's talking about the ending of an old order and the beginning of a new order. He's talking about how the days of preparation and of waiting are over. And the days of fulfillment and blessedness have come. They ate the Passover to be sure to remember the deliverance from Egypt. but also in preparation for the coming of the true Lamb of God. They sacrificed the Lamb of God to point forward to the coming of Messiah, who would be the ultimate Lamb of God. They remembered that they had smeared blood on their doorposts to be pointed forward to the blood of the Lamb who would take away the sins of the world. And so Jesus, in talking about endings and beginnings, is saying to them, the day of the Passover is over. Not because it was bad, not because it was wrong, but because it was preparatory. And when the time of preparation is fulfilled, then something new comes in its place. And what is new is this meal that I am instituting. This meal that we will come to later in this service. And Jesus says this meal will replace the Passover. That's what he's really saying here. Think how different our lives would be if the Passover had not been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. We'd all have to be in Jerusalem this morning. That would have changed your getting ready for church. We would have to have looked to a temple and a priesthood and literally blood running in the streets in the killing of sheep. Jesus has said to us, all of that important imagery of preparation is now fulfilled. And in this simple supper, we are drawn to the new order, to the messianic age, to the fulfillment of all things that are being brought to us in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is no longer nourishment from a lamb that has been slaughtered on an altar that we seek. But it's spiritual nourishment in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ offered on the cross for us and for our sins. And you see then how really radical the command to eat is. As you all remember, in Numbers 9, Israel is told that anyone who does not eat the Passover is cut off from the people. And what Jesus is saying is, that commandment is now abrogated and fulfilled. And I have come with a new commandment, that you no longer eat that supper, but you eat my supper. You no longer look to that lamb of God, slaughtered in Egypt, but you look to me as the fulfillment of all that that pointed to. You no longer eat that lamb, but you find your nourishment in my body and blood to everlasting life. Do you see how really radical what Jesus is doing is here? To set aside the law of Moses? To set aside one of the great festivals of Israel that defined Israel? And to say, you don't need any of that anymore because I've come. What a claim on the part of the Savior. It is not that body that brings you life. It's my body and my blood that bring you life. Do you believe that? Then don't eat that supper, eat my supper, Jesus is saying. That's why this command to eat is so crucial. It represents a choice between two different religions. There were people who refused to eat Jesus' supper and went on eating the Passover, thinking they were being faithful. And Jesus says, no, that's wrong. It's living in preparation after the preparation is over. It would be like living forever as a student studying for an exam. And when the exam is over, you go right on studying for the exam. How crazy is that? Students are smart enough to know that's not a good thing to do. And Jesus is saying all that time of preparation is over. Will you eat my meal? Will you recognize, I'm the one that the whole Old Testament was pointing to? Will you recognize that I'm the one who will feed your souls unto everlasting life? Eat, he says. And then secondly, he gives a promise. The promise of the forgiveness of sins. This is at the very heart of the new covenant. This is the very essence of the new covenant. That we might be a people whose sins are forgiven. As I was reading for our reading of the law from that old form for the Lord's Supper, I thought this is pretty grim. This is pretty serious. And this is pretty necessary. because we live in a world where sin is so often discounted, if not denied. And so there are many things that the Bible says are sin, which the world says are not sins at all. But even in many churches, there are many preachers who seem, by their whole teaching and manner of behaving, to say, sin isn't a serious problem. But what the Bible says is, sin is a terribly serious problem. A horribly serious problem. A disastrously serious problem. And sin is going to one day bring the whole world into judgment and condemnation, unless we're rescued. Who will rescue us? who will deliver us, who can do it, who will do it. And what the New Testament is about to say, only one will do it. Only one can do it, our Lord Jesus Christ. And the problem of sin is so serious that God will give up his own beloved son because it's the only way to save us. That's how serious it is. And so Jesus promises here the forgiveness of sins through his work. It's interesting that our Heidelberg Catechism in question 66 asks the question, what are the sacraments? And the answer is the sacraments are holy and visible signs and seals. Here are the signs and seals for us on the table. Appointed of God for this end, that by the use of them, he may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the gospel. So this is to seal to us and to make more fully apparent to us the promise of the gospel. And what's the promise of the gospel? That he of grace grants us the forgiveness of sins. and life eternal for the sake of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the cross. That's the heart of the gospel, that Christ, by his work, assures the forgiveness of our sins. That's why we look to him. That's why we have confidence in him. That's why we trust him, because he's the true substitute. Not the lamb slayed in Egypt, not the lamb slayed in Jerusalem on the altar, but he slain on the cross is the substitute and the sacrifice who takes away sin. And he at the same time is the true and everlasting priest who offers that sacrifice once for all on the cross and now ever lives to pray for us. And that's why we're called to remember. We're called to turn our minds again afresh anew to him and remember all he's done for us, including his promise, his promise that he will forgive our sins. And he says there in verse 28 that he has come to forgive the sins of many. And by that, I think he's pointing to the fact that this new covenant is not just for Jews, but for Jews and Gentiles. It's for all who will turn to Christ and trust in Christ and find in him the sacrifice that we need. So we have a promise, we have a command, eat. And we have a promise, the forgiveness of sins in Christ. And then we have an appeal. We have an appeal. It's also a command, but, you know, makes better three points if you have a slightly different label. But I want to make a point. We are commanded to drink. That is the command. It goes right along with the command to eat. But there is an appeal here. In Greek it says, drink you of it all. There's the appeal. The command is to drink. The appeal is to all. Why is that significant? Well, who's sitting at the table? Well, we're told very clearly by Matthew, the 12 are sitting at the table. Judas is sitting at the table. Have you noticed how much of that reading in Matthew is related to Judas' preparation to betray the Savior? Two-thirds of the verses from 14 to 25 are about the betrayal of Judas. It's a little hard not to imagine that as Jesus is saying, drink you of it all, that at some point his eyes didn't fall on Judas. You remember that when Paul talks about the institution of the Lord's Supper, he says, on the night when Jesus was betrayed. That's what the church remembered about that night above all else. It was a night of betrayal. And so there's an appeal here, an appeal that reaches out even to Judas, to say, come to me for the forgiveness of your sins. Come to me to be made whole. Come to me. And this is so crucial for us, each of us. It's crucial for young people here. Maybe you've just been to the RYS conference. You should hear the words of the Savior today saying to you, Eat. Come. All of you. Don't delay. Don't put it off. Jesus commands and appeals. Come. Maybe you're a visitor today. And we welcome Christian visitors at the table, But we take this so seriously because the work of Christ is so serious, because the problem of sin is so serious that we say to all visitors, you can come to the table if you're a baptized Christian and a member in good standing of a Bible church, then please come. But if you're not, this is so serious, then reflect. Get your life in order and then come. And the word goes out to every member of this congregation. who have a right to come to the table, but the word to all of us is, you cannot come if you have not repented of your sins and believed in Christ as your Savior. This is serious business. But the seriousness of it is not intended to prevent you from coming. But rather, the word of Jesus is an appeal. Come. Come. why will you perish? Now Jesus knew, as the Son of God, what Judas was going to do. But it didn't stop him from making the appeal. And so he appeals to all of us. Come to the Savior. Find in the Savior life and hope and forgiveness. He commands you to come and eat. He promises you the forgiveness of your sins in his body and blood. And he appeals to every one of us. Come for the feast is spread. May we heed the call of our Savior. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, how good you are, how kind you are, how fully you have provided for us. And so our prayer is, O Lord, that each one here might hear the promise, the command, and the appeal of the Savior. And that each one of us here might turn to Christ and to find in him all that we need for this life and the life of the world to come. Hear us, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.