Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson
5. A New Covenant Made During the Lord’s Supper (Mark 14:17-25)
MARK 14:17-25
17 When it was evening he came with the twelve. 18 As they sat and were eating, Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, one of you will betray me—he who eats with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful, and to ask him one by one, “Surely not I?” And another said, “Surely not I?” 20 He answered them, “It is one of the twelve, he who dips with me in the dish. 21 For the Son of Man goes, even as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.” 22 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body.” 23 He took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them. They all drank of it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Most certainly I tell you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it anew in the Kingdom of God.”
Christ prepared his disciples for the Lord’s Supper. He revealed to them their truth, and led them into deep repentance with brokenness of their hearts, for only by continuous repentance are we worthy of participating in the blessed Lord’s Supper.
Christ proclaimed the treachery of one of the disciples who had accompanied them from the beginning, worked with them, and prayed in their fellowship. The traitor lived by Christ’s grace, and used the Lord’s power to serve his own secular interest, and when he failed to carry out his own plans, he hated Jesus and sought to destroy him entirely.
This declaration alarmed the disciples, like an explosion in their midst, and they were all upset.
How strange! They did not accuse others, but each one of them began to be suspicious of himself, recognizing the possibility of betraying him in his own heart.
Do you observe this horrible confession from the mouth of each apostle? No one was certain of himself or of his own godliness. They all felt there was a fountain of evil in each mans’ heart, unless he was saved by Christ.
Blessed are you when you become ashamed of your sin, and when you tremble at the possibility of falling away from Christ and his salvation.
Jesus wanted to save Judas, at the last moment, through this concealed declaration. He loved the traitor and tried to establish repentance in his heart with powerful words filled with passion. We do not see any disagreement between Jesus’ statement that it is written from eternity that the Son of Man would die, and the fact that Judas Iscariot would be responsible for betraying him.
Jesus warned him clearly that his guilt and punishment were great, and that it would have been better for him if he had never been born. As such, Jesus endeavored to shake Judas’ determination before it was too late.
Yet, the traitor had decided to betray him. He did not hear Jesus’ kind words, and was unable to understand them, for he had become increasingly hardened, because he bore a grudge against the embodied love of God.
Dear brother, dear sister, come to Jesus with broken hearts and tears of repentance, and confess all your sins. As such only you become worthy to eat the Lord’s Supper prepared by Christ not for the godly, but for the broken and repentant. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
During the blessed supper, Christ gave thanks for the broken bread. He brought it as a symbol of his crucified body, and commanded his disciples to receive him in their hearts just as the bread went inside them.
Christ wants to dwell in you, not because you are righteous, but because he loves you, and wishes to be with you, and in you at all times.
How great is the love of God, which does not refuse us poor sinners, but he himself dwells in us through his word, in the Lord’s Supper, through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart! The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell in whoever opens himself to Christ.
Jesus made the wine a symbol of his blood, and told his disciples that this blessed blood would cleanse them completely, as the warmth of wine runs into the veins of those who drink it. The blood of Christ is not the blood of an ordinary man. It is the blood of the Son of God who appeared in the form of man, and shed his own blood, for one time only, to cleanse all those who entered into a new covenant with God through him.
There is neither connection nor union with God without cleansing of sins. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all sin. This new covenant is not confined to a certain tribe, nation, or people, but is open to all peoples, tribes and nations. He who drinks of this pure blood, and becomes pure in his conscience from past sins, and sanctified by grace, is worthy of entering and continuing in the new covenant.
Do you recognize that the holy eternal God is connected with disobedient created men, and that he becomes united with you and with all who repent, for Christ justified us by his death?
Have you entered consciously and with determination into the covenant with God? Does Christ dwell actually in your heart? Has his blood cleansed you from impurity and sin?
God the Father invites you today to his heavenly banquet, and offers all his graces to you in his Son. So, what will you do? How will you thank him?
PRAYER: O Holy Lamb of God, you were slain in our place, and gave us the privilege of eating of your body, and drinking of your precious blood through the bread and the wine in the Lord’s Supper. Come to us, dwell in us, strengthen us for everlasting life, and cleanse us from all inclination to sin, that we may continue united with your Father and with you in the new covenant forever, and that we may look forward to your imminent coming, to thank you for your salvation joyfully and gladly. Amen.
QUESTION:
- What is significant about the Lord’s Supper?