We praise the Spirit through Christ's merit. He does us salvation bring. And it's those things we come to consider now this evening as we turn to Matthew 26. Matthew chapter 26. And we will also be referring rather frequently to Lord's Day 29 that we confessed earlier in the service. And that is found on page 39 in the back of your Psalter hymnal. Last week we considered Lord's Day 28 and this week we continue in our consideration of the Heidelberg Catechism with Lord's Day 29. I think it's a rather difficult assignment, but with the grace of the Lord, we can bring our arms around the mystery of the Lord's Supper to gather with the help of God's Word and the illumination of what we confess to gather in the Heidelberg Catechism. Before we read together, let's ask God to bless His Word. Our dear Father, it is a joy to sing Your praise, to consider the wondrous grace that You bring to us and pour out into our lives through Jesus Christ. And Father, as we now turn our attention toward Your Word, we pray that You would, by Your Spirit, illumine it within our hearts and minds, that You would apply it for the work and calling of our lives. And Father, we pray particularly tonight that we might have an understanding, a better understanding of the sacraments that You have given to us to sign and to seal unto us the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That we would be refreshed in our faith. That we'd be empowered in our life and in our witness for You. We ask these things, O Lord, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Matthew 26. We'll just read a few verses beginning with verse 26. Now as they were eating, that is, as they were eating the Passover, Jesus took bread. And after blessing it, He broke it and He 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 the reading of God's Word. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of His life, death, and resurrection. Over the past week, we have considered the perfect life of Christ. On Good Friday, we considered the suffering and sacrifice of Christ. And today, we have rejoiced in the resurrection and the glorious life and reigning of Christ in heaven. Well, this evening we consider how these things are brought to us through what we read in Matthew 26. We consider how it is that we share in the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Lord's Supper. It's hard to find agreement amongst Christians on this topic. Catholics believe that Jesus is physically and literally present in the Supper. You may be aware of the Mass and that the elements of the bread and the wine are believed to miraculously be transformed into the real body and blood of Christ. Lutherans have a slightly different understanding. They don't believe that the elements themselves change, but rather that the body and blood of Christ are in, with, and under the elements that are offered in the Eucharist. And Baptists, and we could extend that probably to most of American evangelicals, Baptists believe that the Catholics are wrong in their understanding of the transformation of the elements and that the Lutherans are incorrect in, with, and under the elements and that really what is happening is Jesus is holding out for us symbols of His body and a symbol of His blood. Well, where do the Reformed come in? What do we believe as Reformed Christians? And how would you explain it to your friends? Well, we as Reformed Christians have a very distinct statement about what Jesus gives to us in the Lord's Supper. We believe that in the Supper, believers share in the true Christ. We believe that in the Supper, we share in the true body and true blood of Jesus Christ as He's brought to us by His Holy Spirit. Again, I ask, how would you explain that to your friends? How would you explain that to your children who are 12 and 13 years old considering a profession of faith? Well, we have a few points this evening, actually four, that I'll suggest to you to get our arms around what is happening in this difficult subject of the Lord's Supper, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And we begin in our first point by considering the symbols of the Lord's Supper. In Matthew 26, we read of how Jesus and the disciples are observing the Passover. And it's important for us to consider the fact that it had been almost 1,500 years or 1,500 years that covenant families would remember the Passover. Covenant families would participate in the Exodus and the first Passover by taking a lamb and sacrificing the lamb and pouring out the blood and they would eat its flesh. And they would do this year after year, generation after generation until the Gospel. Until Jesus comes in Matthew 26, verse 26, and concludes, really, truly, literally, concludes the Passover. Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to his disciples. And he goes on to say, take, eat, this is my body. And then he goes on and he takes a cup and he says, drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood. Jesus brings the Passover to an end. Because the Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God, had come into their midst. The purpose of the Passover is fulfilled in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so Jesus brings an end to the Passover and establishes in its place the Lord's Supper. And he makes clear that the basic elements of the supper are bread and wine. The supper consists of bread and wine. There was lamb there. Jesus could have grabbed some lamb and probably had a well-balanced meal, maybe some vegetables. No doubt water would have been available. He could have chosen any of these things, But Jesus distinctly chooses bread and wine. He's intentional about His choice. Taking the bread saying, this is My body. Taking the cup saying that this is My blood. It's very clear in the text. This is My body. This is My blood. And so it's appropriate for us to ask the question just exactly what is happening in the Lord's Supper. Question and answer 78 asks, Are the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? And the answer is emphatically, no. Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ, Neither is the bread or the wine in the Lord's Supper changed into the real or physical or literal body and blood of Christ. So we answer an emphatic no. And that has led some, in fact a great many, to conclude that what we have in the Lord's Supper are symbols. And by symbols we don't mean the musical instruments that many of us love to play. We mean symbols in the sense of one thing, a symbol, representing another thing, the thing signified. The thing symbolized, sorry. We mean one thing, the symbol, representing another thing, the thing symbolized. And there are lots of examples we could choose of this. A great, great many, just a few to consider. If you think about a flag, and that flag happens to have stars and stripes on it, you think of the United States of America. Or if you think about a ring, and the ring is placed on the third finger of the left hand, you think of what? You think of marriage. You think about the covenantal union between a man and a woman. Or if you see a cross, you think of Christianity or of the crucified Christ. These symbols symbolize things. They bring us to remember things. things that may be past, things that may not be present. That's the function of a symbol. And it's important to note that with symbols, the material don't change when a particular flag becomes the American flag. The material of a ring or a cross doesn't change when it takes on particular meaning of marriage or Christianity. The materials don't change, but the design and the purpose of that object changes. when it's identified as a symbol. And so many will identify the bread and wine in the Lord's Supper as symbols of the body and blood of Christ. Things that represent other things. So far, we might be thinking, that's fine. We agree with that. In fact, if we look at the first part of question and answer 79, it says that 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. It seems that we have symbolic meaning being applied that just as bread and wine feed the body, so also the body and blood of Christ feed the soul. And yet, as Reformed believers, we believe more needs to be said. Though we see symbolic meaning in the Supper, we believe that there is more to the text of God's Word. That God intends to communicate more than simple symbolism when He says, this is my body and this is my blood. To say that bread and wine are mere symbols is to simply remind us of something of the past or that may be suggestive of a gift that had been given but is not currently present. Or it might remind us that Jesus had at once died but is now somewhere else in heaven. That's why Reformed believers use the word signs when they talk about the elements of the Lord's Supper. In question and answer 78, you see that we say the body and blood of Christ do not become the real, the bread and wine do not become the real body and blood of Christ, but they are God's sign and assurance to us. And again, in answer 79, Jesus wants to assure us by this visible sign and pledge. You see, a ring is simply symbolic of marriage where a sign is truly accompanied with what is signified. You can have a marriage ring, but no marriage. You can have a cross present, but no Christianity. You can have an American flag flying anywhere in the world, but no United States of America present. We call the elements of the Lord's Supper signs because we believe that they are truly accompanied with what is signified. In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to the rock in the Old Testament that Moses struck. And he said that that rock was Christ. The rock was a sign that was accompanied with the real presence of Christ. It's not that the rock was literally, physically the real Christ. But the rock was a sign of Christ that was accompanied with the true presence of Christ so that he could say, the rock was Christ. Similarly, in John chapter 1, we are told that the Spirit appears as a dove. It's not that the Spirit is a dove or that the Spirit was literally physically that dove, but rather the dove was a sign of the Spirit. And the Spirit was with, was truly with the dove so that the biblical author John could say that the Spirit appeared. As a dove. In the same way in the Lord's Supper, the bread and wine are signs of Christ because they are accompanied with the true body and blood of Christ. We believe the bread and wine are signs because we believe the true presence of Christ is with them. That's what we say in answer 79 in the second part. More importantly, Jesus wants to assure us with these words that by this visible sign and pledge, 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. We call the elements of the Lord's Supper signs because we believe they are truly accompanied with what is signified and that presence is made real by the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the Reformers explained it this way. He says that though we distinguish between the signs and the things signified, they're not the same. The rock was not to be identified with Christ. The dove was not to be identified with the Holy Spirit. The bread and wine are not to be identified with Jesus. Though we distinguish between the signs and the things signified, Yet, we do not disjoin the reality from the signs, but acknowledge that all who in faith embrace the promises offered in them receive Christ's spiritually and receive His spiritual blessings. And so, we see that there's symbolism in the Lord's Supper. There's symbolic meaning in the Lord's Supper while at the same time we believe that the bread and the wine are signs that are accompanied with the true Christ as He's brought to us through the power of His Holy Spirit. In the third place, these signs function as seals to all that is promised. We see the symbolic meaning. We see the signs and the real presence. And we see the seals as they function to authenticate to us the Word of God. That what is promised is true. Imagine that you get a letter in the mail this week and it says that you have been exempt from all your taxes. That would be pretty good news, wouldn't it? But the letter is just on white paper. It's got, you know, typed out text. There's no signature. There's no letterhead. You wouldn't think much of it. Somebody's playing a joke. Too good to be true. But imagine that that letter comes in the mail on some official looking IRS letterhead. And at the bottom of that letter is an official government seal and pressed upon the document. And there's a signature in ink. All of a sudden, your attention would be captured, wouldn't it? Maybe it's not too good to be true. Maybe some official had seen something and given something that is real. There is a seal that brings about a statement of authenticity of what is said. Seals confirm that an authority is behind the Word and it demonstrates and it confirms and it assures us that what it said is true. In the Supper, we are told that Jesus gives to us Himself. In the Supper, we are told that Jesus Christ and all that is His has been given to us. He says, take, eat, this is My body. And He takes a cup and He says, drink of it, all of you. It is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. And then He takes these signs and He seals unto us who believe that these words are true. The signs function to confirm the authenticity of God's Word and the promise that is held out to us confirming that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for you who receive it. And this then is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Our fourth and final point. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Carrying with it symbolic meaning of the bread and the wine while believing that they are signs accompanied with the true spiritual presence of Christ. And these signs sealing unto us the authenticity of what Christ promises to us in that visible Gospel. Jesus Himself and all of His benefits. That is, surely as we take the cup and eat the bread, we find ourselves unified with Jesus Christ and all of His benefits. We don't receive in the supper a dead Savior. We receive in the supper a crucified and glorified Savior who has held out for you. Who demonstrates that He's come for you. That's what we say in the last part of answer 79. He wants to assure us that all of His suffering and obedience are as definitely ours as if we personally had suffered and paid for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ in the Supper offers Himself as Your Savior. I want to leave you tonight summarizing for you as the Reformers summarized the significance of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. It's one thing to agree and to understand that there's symbolic meaning while believing in the signs and the things they signify along with the seal of authenticity which make up the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. But if we leave it without being impressed by the amazing grace of what God pours out, it is without effect. Reformers were concerned that we receive the Supper and benefit from it. And so the first thing they want us to leave here assured of is that Jesus Christ has saved you, believer. That for all who believe in Jesus Christ, as you consider His perfect life, if you consider His suffering and death on the cross and His glorious resurrection, you can be assured that it is as good as yours as if you had done it yourself. And second, the sacrament is to inspire us to consider afresh the amazing grace of God. That we would more praise Him and glorify Him for it. And lastly, that as we consider the salvation that is ours in Christ, as we are inspired to worship Him in response to such a great salvation, the sacrament is to call us unto a life of holiness. As we consider that in the sacrament we are communing with Christ and are united to Christ. Let us be inspired to be those who live more and more like Christ so that we would not receive the sacrament in vain. Towards this end, brothers and sisters, let us pray and ask for God to work that amazing grace within us. O God, what a profound truth You have spoken through Matthew 26 and the lips of Jesus. We resonate with how our forefathers called it a mystery. And yet, O Lord, You've given it to us to understand. And we pray, Lord, that what we confess would be more clearly known by us tonight. And that we would be in awe of what Christ has done and of what You have given to us in Him and how You now regard us to be Your own children and how You continue to pour out all of the blessings of Christ by Your Spirit. Lord, we're unworthy of such love. Work within our hearts and our minds that these truths, O Lord, would bring about fruits for Your honor and Your glory. That we would stand in awe of Your grace. That we would worship You for all that You are and all that You've done. And that You would, by Your Word and by Your sacraments, inspire us unto holiness and Christ-like living. May we do this, O Lord, in the strength that You supply so that in all things You alone would receive the glory. For Jesus' sake, Amen.