back to index2021-04-01 Passion Week Thursday
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You know, I want to embarrass Karen a little bit more, but if you guys know about our travels 00:00:15.140 |
to India, Karen was actually the first optometrist to go with us our first year, and so she was 00:00:25.020 |
And in India, what she would do is we would set up this kind of like eye tent, and there 00:00:32.260 |
You needed that in order to examine eyes, and it would be super stuffy. 00:00:37.320 |
You know, you couldn't breathe in it, and she'd just be in there and just soldiering 00:00:41.880 |
on, and you know, she's 4'11", you know, and we were in this remote part in India, and 00:00:50.240 |
As I was just listening to her testimony, you know, someone who had no intention of 00:00:57.580 |
He's going to save her, and then years later, He's going to place her in some random village 00:01:04.500 |
in India, and she's going to do His work, and that is glory to God. 00:01:11.200 |
You know, this entire week, we've been here at church listening to devotions by several 00:01:20.480 |
leaders, and it's been incredibly encouraging just to see such a big portion of the church 00:01:25.100 |
here to give worship and glory to our God, because He deserves it. 00:01:30.240 |
And I was just thinking about this today as I was preparing for tonight's devotion. 00:01:36.080 |
I remember being at this church and not really knowing how to worship God. 00:01:41.360 |
I remember it very well, because I was in college. 00:01:48.560 |
And just echoing what Karen said, I'm so thankful for this church. 00:01:52.600 |
I'm thankful for Pastor Peter, that God gave him the convictions that he has, and that 00:01:58.200 |
just many years later, God is continuing to work, and His kingdom will always continue, 00:02:04.280 |
and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it as a church invades the world. 00:02:08.480 |
And I hope you guys get to know that in a deeper way. 00:02:11.280 |
So before I continue to ramble, because I can do that, why don't we pray and get to 00:02:25.160 |
We thank You that You have made it clear to us what You desire for us, Lord, that You 00:02:42.780 |
You are the one who have placed in us this faith. 00:02:46.400 |
And Lord, as we live a life that is grace-fueled, Lord, help us to live a life that is worthy 00:02:56.800 |
And we know, Lord, that there is no area of our life that is untouched, Father. 00:03:03.640 |
And so because every area of our life depends on how highly we think of You, especially 00:03:10.120 |
this week as it is the cornerstone of our faith, help us to think deeply, Lord, of the 00:03:17.600 |
events that transpired, that we might look forward, Lord God, to seeing You again. 00:03:24.080 |
Lord, I pray, Lord, that the words that I say tonight, Lord, that they would come from 00:03:29.880 |
You and anything that I say that is not of You that You would take away. 00:03:33.600 |
So give us this time and pray these things and name Your Son. 00:03:38.160 |
Okay, so today is Thursday of Passion Week, and there are several events that occur on 00:03:47.760 |
The most significant, arguably, is the institution of communion. 00:03:54.000 |
Now the inauguration of communion, we know, though, had a previous shadow, right? 00:04:00.640 |
When Jesus institutes communion for the first time, He was building upon Passover. 00:04:06.720 |
So Passover was this shadow, and Jesus is giving the actual flesh to it. 00:04:15.920 |
So we find the Passover instructions in Exodus 12, verses 1 through 13. 00:04:20.600 |
And I'm going to read it for us because it's relevant here, okay? 00:04:24.480 |
Exodus 12, 1 through 13, says this, "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of 00:04:29.560 |
Egypt, 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you. 00:04:33.760 |
It is to be the first month of the year for you. 00:04:36.640 |
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month, they are each 00:04:40.200 |
one to take a lamb for themselves, according to the father's households, a lamb for each 00:04:45.600 |
Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house 00:04:49.720 |
are to take one according to the number of persons in them. 00:04:52.640 |
In proportion to what each one should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 00:04:56.440 |
Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old. 00:04:58.760 |
You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 00:05:01.240 |
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. 00:05:03.680 |
Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. 00:05:09.040 |
Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the 00:05:19.720 |
"They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with 00:05:26.320 |
Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roast it with fire, 00:05:30.960 |
both its head and its legs, along with its entrails. 00:05:33.960 |
And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until 00:05:42.640 |
Now you shall eat it in this way, with your garment belted around your waist and your 00:05:47.840 |
sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in a hurry. 00:05:54.640 |
For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and fatally strike all the firstborn 00:06:00.720 |
in the land of Egypt, from the human firstborn to animals, and against all the gods of Egypt 00:06:09.760 |
The blood shall be a sign for you in the houses where you live. 00:06:13.320 |
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will come upon you to destroy 00:06:25.540 |
We don't exactly know when the exodus happened, but it's about 1200 to 1400 years before Christ 00:06:35.320 |
So that would mean for about 1200 to 1400 years, the nation of Israel, or at least the 00:06:41.800 |
faithful ones, would practice this God-ordained sacrament, reminding them, teaching them, 00:06:49.960 |
and even giving hope in times of despair of who God is, what he had done in the past, 00:06:57.880 |
and that he is in complete control of all things, because this is taking place on an 00:07:04.480 |
So when we fast forward to the time of Jesus and his apostles, when he takes the last Passover 00:07:11.680 |
before his crucifixions, what we see is we see Jesus giving instructions, the disciples 00:07:20.080 |
implementing those instructions, and then the eventual celebration. 00:07:29.720 |
Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where 00:07:34.480 |
do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" 00:07:37.360 |
And he said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The teacher says my time 00:07:42.880 |
I am keeping the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" 00:07:46.360 |
The disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 00:07:52.000 |
Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve, and as they 00:07:56.040 |
were eating, he said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray me." 00:08:02.000 |
Being deeply grieved, they began saying to him, each one, "Surely it is not I, Lord." 00:08:07.920 |
And he answered, "He who dipped his hand with me in the bowl is the one who will betray 00:08:14.120 |
The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by 00:08:19.840 |
It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. 00:08:23.840 |
Then Judas, who was betraying him, said, 'Surely it is not I, Rabbi.' 00:08:29.680 |
Jesus said to him, 'You have said it yourself.'" 00:08:32.880 |
Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, he broke it and 00:08:38.760 |
gave it to his disciples and said, "Take, eat. 00:08:44.120 |
And when he had taken a cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, 00:08:49.520 |
all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness 00:08:55.920 |
But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day 00:09:03.080 |
when I drink it with you new in my Father's kingdom." 00:09:08.680 |
So what Jesus is doing here, he is taking a centuries-old tradition, okay? 00:09:16.920 |
The centuries-old tradition that for the nation of Israel has been the most significant redemptive 00:09:31.640 |
He's taking that event, and he's saying that's actually a shadow. 00:09:38.880 |
The 10 plagues, the passing over, the parting of the Red Sea where you guys were baptized 00:09:52.600 |
Consider the absolute arrogance of Jesus if he is lying, but the exorbitant grace of God 00:10:03.640 |
The exorbitant grace because if he's telling the truth, in their lifetime, the shadow is 00:10:16.920 |
And as great as that event was, they are going to see the actual substance of it. 00:10:27.200 |
Of course, for us as God's children, we are absolutely sure that this is indeed the fulfillment. 00:10:37.360 |
There are other people in the world right now who are celebrating the shadow. 00:10:57.800 |
I refer to the last Passover meal with the disciples because that is what it is before, 00:11:04.760 |
But in verse 29, he says, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine 00:11:10.040 |
from now until that day when I drink it with you new in my Father's kingdom." 00:11:16.200 |
There's going to be an actual day when Jesus will drink with his apostles new in his Father's 00:11:22.640 |
A day that has not been fulfilled yet, even for us, but that will find its fulfillment 00:11:32.720 |
So for us, communion, the substance of Passover, commemorates our hope based on an event that 00:11:51.720 |
At the end of this meal, they probably would have sang Psalm 136 together. 00:12:00.400 |
But you could break it up into three general parts. 00:12:03.040 |
The first general part deals with God as King of the universe, as creator and sustainer 00:12:13.020 |
And that oft repeated phrase is, "For his loving kindness is everlasting." 00:12:21.660 |
The second general part speaks of the Exodus account. 00:12:26.580 |
How God rescued them through various miracles, and how God led them out through the Red Sea 00:12:35.800 |
And again, the oft repeated phrase is, "For his loving kindness is everlasting." 00:12:44.600 |
The third part, the shortest part, is a concluding section that ends with Israel understanding 00:12:53.040 |
who they are, a humble nation, rescued from their adversaries and from their adversities. 00:13:00.440 |
And the oft repeated phrase is, "For his loving kindness is everlasting." 00:13:17.520 |
And that's what they would have sang together. 00:13:21.520 |
So if that is the case, why is it that in the next arc of the story, they are filled 00:13:32.740 |
Not godly sorrow that leads to repentance, worldly sorrow. 00:13:37.520 |
That sorrow where you just want to sleep because you want to check out from reality. 00:13:43.800 |
The sorrow that we've all experienced, where it's just too much. 00:13:50.600 |
I'm going to go to sleep and pretend that reality isn't real." 00:13:58.360 |
They were grieved because one of them was going to betray him. 00:14:01.600 |
But in order to feel the punch just a little bit more, it helps to look at John chapters 00:14:11.900 |
Because in John chapter 13 to 17, we have what the synoptic gospels kind of leave out. 00:14:18.800 |
So I'm going to do like a bird's eye view, kind of like a jet flyover of John chapter 00:14:24.440 |
13 to 17, because I want you to feel that punch. 00:14:32.320 |
He takes a towel, he wraps it around himself. 00:14:35.880 |
And then he motions to his disciples that he's going to wash their feet. 00:14:40.880 |
And remember for these disciples, they didn't have the comfy new balance, right? 00:14:45.160 |
I mean, with the memory foam, their feet were dirty, right? 00:14:51.320 |
So you have this picture here of the king of the universe stooping down to wash the 00:14:58.460 |
And afterwards, he tells his disciples, "You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly so. 00:15:04.000 |
But if a teacher and Lord does this, then you ought to do for one another." 00:15:10.820 |
It would be after this moment that Jesus breaks the news to them that one of them will betray 00:15:16.880 |
Judas, upon leaving, afterwards, Jesus predicts his coming glory and tells his disciples that 00:15:26.960 |
And just as he had told the Jews earlier that where he is going, they could not come. 00:15:34.880 |
And as someone who is getting ready to be dispatched on a mission of certain death, 00:15:41.240 |
he is leaving behind important instructions, instructions for them to know. 00:15:49.140 |
But Simon Peter, more interested in where he's going, it's like he almost disregards 00:15:55.480 |
these instructions and he asks him, "Where are you going?" 00:15:59.180 |
Jesus responds, saying, "Where I'm going, you cannot follow, but you will later." 00:16:10.060 |
And Jesus says, "Well, before the rooster crows, you are going to deny me three times." 00:16:18.940 |
And so despite the fact that it will be Jesus, he will be the one that will be before this 00:16:34.460 |
He is the one doing the comforting as opposed to the other way around. 00:16:42.660 |
In John chapter 14, Jesus tells his disciples that although he is leaving, he is leaving 00:16:48.060 |
to go to prepare a place for them, that he would come back, that he would take them to 00:16:54.100 |
That they need not be concerned about seeing the Father because if you had seen Jesus, 00:17:00.100 |
And that it was to their advantage that he was leaving because he could send a helper. 00:17:04.700 |
The helper was with them, but then the helper would now be in them. 00:17:15.140 |
The great shepherd, the one they had been walking with over the last three years, the 00:17:21.900 |
one whom they saw walk on water, feed thousands upon thousands, control the elements, heal 00:17:29.800 |
the mute, deaf, and blind, the one who had power over death. 00:17:44.480 |
So he tells them, "I'm not leaving you as orphans. 00:17:55.680 |
And to give you a little primer on discernment, the real believers are the ones who follow 00:18:06.520 |
And it's almost like he's telling his apostles, "In case you ain't taking notes, in the event 00:18:13.840 |
this news is causing you to hyperventilate, in case either you will misremember or not 00:18:21.040 |
remember at all, the helper is going to come, and he's going to guide you into all truth. 00:18:29.320 |
He will bring to remembrance all the things I have said to you. 00:18:35.440 |
And so you are going to be crushed, absolutely crushed by my death." 00:18:41.200 |
But he is telling them in advance so that they would believe. 00:18:45.600 |
What's going to happen isn't some random, chaotic series of unforeseen events where 00:18:58.920 |
What's going to happen is quite the opposite. 00:19:02.920 |
Scripture needs to be fulfilled, and the Father is the one sending the Son to the cross. 00:19:09.920 |
In John chapter 15, Jesus will go on exhorting them to abide in him, stating again to love 00:19:15.480 |
one another, to remember that when the world hates them, they do so because the world hated 00:19:22.400 |
In John chapter 16, he again reminds them of the Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit will 00:19:27.040 |
convict the world concerning sin and righteousness, and that he had much more to say, he had much 00:19:33.680 |
more to say, but because of their grief, they could not bear it now. 00:19:41.840 |
They would all eventually all scatter and leave, and so Jesus encourages them in John 00:19:46.200 |
chapter 16 verse 33, "These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace. 00:19:53.920 |
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage. 00:20:00.880 |
And finally in John chapter 17, what we know as the high priestly prayer, a prayer that 00:20:08.920 |
was prayed for the benefit of the disciples, a prayer that the apostles probably overheard. 00:20:15.020 |
He says this in John chapter 17 verses 1 through 5, "Jesus spoke these things, and raising 00:20:21.800 |
his eyes to heaven, he said, 'Father, the hour has come. 00:20:26.440 |
Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you. 00:20:30.080 |
Just as you gave him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom you have given him, he 00:20:37.880 |
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 00:20:45.400 |
I glorified you on the earth by accomplishing the work which you have given me to do. 00:20:50.580 |
And now you, Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with 00:21:07.760 |
Despite all the reassurances that Jesus is giving to his apostles, the promise of the 00:21:13.680 |
Holy Spirit dwelling in them and no longer with them, the promise that they would come 00:21:19.360 |
along but later, the promise that Jesus would come back, take them to where they were. 00:21:26.280 |
Despite all of that, if it were you and me, we would be pretty discouraged too. 00:21:35.840 |
They had left everything they knew to follow Jesus. 00:21:47.720 |
And upon following him these past about three years, they had witnessed the feeding of the 00:21:55.680 |
masses with the child's meager portions, the curing of the nobleman's son, the hauling 00:22:01.120 |
in of the great amount of fish, the casting out of unclean spirits, the healing the servants 00:22:06.140 |
of Roman officials, controlling the elements. 00:22:09.960 |
They were also almost literally imbued with power at one time to go do the same. 00:22:19.320 |
They had felt what it was like to cast out spirits in Jesus' name. 00:22:24.160 |
They had experienced a life, a fullness of life, a robustness of life unlike any other. 00:22:37.040 |
And now it is seemingly all coming to an end. 00:22:43.480 |
So despite the fact that Jesus told them that it was to their advantage that he would go 00:22:47.040 |
away, you would understand why they were sorrowful. 00:22:53.600 |
But more than just understanding, we are the disciples many times, right? 00:23:02.640 |
How many times in our own life have we felt beset, immersed in sorrow, in guilt, in sin, 00:23:17.560 |
almost nearly always because of the choices that we have made in our own very lives? 00:23:25.600 |
But then we see the absolute humility and selflessness reflected in the Son of God. 00:23:33.560 |
That the little amount of time that he has, just the little amount of time he has before 00:23:38.640 |
his betrayal and his crucifixion, he is the one praying for his disciples. 00:23:46.200 |
Because the disciples check out and just go to sleep. 00:23:50.120 |
And what's interesting about John chapter 17 verses 13 to 20, he's praying for his disciples 00:23:55.040 |
but also in that moment, he's praying for you and he's praying for me. 00:24:00.920 |
John chapter 17 verses 13 to 20 says this, "But now I am coming to you and these things 00:24:06.560 |
I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. 00:24:12.680 |
I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the 00:24:18.880 |
I am not asking you to take them out of the world but to keep them away from the evil 00:24:24.040 |
They are not of the world just as I am not of the world. 00:24:30.720 |
Just as you sent me into the world, I also send them into the world. 00:24:34.280 |
And for their sakes, I sanctify myself so that they themselves also may be sanctified 00:24:41.160 |
Verse 20, "I am not asking on behalf of these alone but also for those who believe in me 00:24:50.840 |
through their word that they may all be one just as you, Father, are in me and I in you 00:24:57.600 |
that they may also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me." 00:25:03.280 |
Oh, so the precious amount of time that he has left as he's praying, he's also thinking 00:25:12.120 |
And in that way, you and I are just like the disciples. 00:25:25.000 |
He had to be our Passover lamb because our sin required him to go. 00:25:36.600 |
Satan was the one trying to stop him from going to the cross. 00:25:40.600 |
We know that because Jesus' response to Peter is, "Get behind me, Satan," after he tells 00:25:51.560 |
It is the Father sending his Son to the cross. 00:25:56.680 |
It is the Son willingly laying down his life in obedience to the Father for the joy that 00:26:10.440 |
So as Passover was celebrated for hundreds of years, as Christians, we remember and relish 00:26:21.520 |
in the fulfillment and in the substance, no longer the shadow. 00:26:28.200 |
And as New Testament communion is instituted for the first time during that night, now, 00:26:34.160 |
whenever we take communion, we also do it in obedience of our Lord and looking forward 00:26:43.240 |
I want to end this with a quote from Charles Spurgeon on this subject. 00:26:47.680 |
He preached about this, and he has a quote that I really like on this subject. 00:26:52.480 |
And in the quote, he is discussing whether or not anything plus Christ washes away our 00:27:00.360 |
In the quote, he is discussing anything plus Christ washes away our guilt. 00:27:06.640 |
Anything such as godless ideologies that we syncretically wed to the gospel and alleged 00:27:19.760 |
Church association, legalism, abused grace, CRT, social justice, worship of the state, 00:27:28.440 |
Christless conservatism, anything that is wed to the gospel. 00:27:34.140 |
He says this, "You may be as righteous as you like. 00:27:40.140 |
If you have not the blood sprinkled, all the goodness of your doorposts and lentils will 00:27:47.040 |
"Yes," says another, "I am not trusting exactly there. 00:27:52.400 |
I believe it is my duty to be as good as I can. 00:27:55.880 |
But then I think Jesus Christ's mercy will make up the rest. 00:27:59.320 |
I try to be as righteous as circumstances allow, and I believe that whatever deficiencies 00:28:09.440 |
That is as if a Jew had said, "Child, bring me the blood." 00:28:13.200 |
And then when that was brought, he had said, "Bring me some water." 00:28:16.680 |
And then he had taken it and mixed it together and sprinkled a doorpost with it. 00:28:22.600 |
The angel would have smitten him as well as anyone else. 00:28:26.760 |
For it is blood, blood, blood, blood that saves. 00:28:30.880 |
It is not blood mixed with the water of our poor works. 00:28:35.540 |
It is blood, blood, blood, blood, and nothing else. 00:28:44.320 |
For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. 00:28:49.760 |
Have precious blood sprinkled upon you, my hearers. 00:28:55.960 |
Let your hope be in a salvation sealed with an atonement of precious blood, and you are 00:29:02.480 |
But having no blood or having blood mixed with anything else, thou art damned as thou 00:29:13.000 |
For the angel shall slay thee, however good and righteous thou mayest be.