“The Blessing of the Elements”
[Matthew
26:26-29]
January 27, 2013 Second Reformed Church
Last week we began considering the elements
of the Lord’s Supper – the bread and the wine – grape juice. We saw that the Lord’s Supper was instituted
by Jesus during that Last Supper – that Jesus took the elements of the Passover
meal and assigned additional or fuller meaning to them. Whereas in the Passover meal the lamb
represented the blood that must be shed for the forgiveness of sin, the bread
represented God’s salvation coming quickly and the need to be ready to move at
a moment’s notice when God told them to, the bitter herbs represented their
suffering, and the wine represented God’s Faithfulness and His Promise to keep
the Covenant He made with Abraham, now each aspect was fulfilled in Jesus’
Work, and the apostles and all we who believe were told to celebrate the Lord’s
Supper, remembering what Jesus did by the bread becoming symbolic of Jesus’
human body suffering and dying for the sins of everyone who would ever believe,
and the cup – and the wine in it – being symbolic of the New Covenant in Jesus’
blood – that is, that the Covenant Law was now written on the hearts of
believers and enacted upon by the Holy Spirit and that salvation was explicitly
for all peoples, not just the Jews.
We saw that there are two major interpretations
about the elements – one that says they become – in one way or another – the
human flesh and blood of Jesus – and one that says that the elements remain
bread and wine. We noted that the Reformed
Church in America – which is our denomination, understands the latter
view: the bread and the wine remain
bread and wine, they do not become real human flesh and real human blood.
We argued that the bread and wine do
not turn into the real flesh and real blood of Jesus because Jesus was right
there with them when He said that the bread and wine were His flesh and blood –
and if He had given them real flesh and blood to eat, it would have been
meaningless, because He had not died and risen yet. Also, Jesus often used symbolic language, so
it would not be out of character for Jesus to use symbolic language here. And, if His body, after the resurrection was
able to be everywhere at once – in the elements of every celebration of the
Lord’s Supper, we would no longer have a real human interceding for us before
the Father, and, since our bodies are promised to be as Jesus’ is, we would
expect our bodies to be deified as well – that we would become gods. Finally, we looked at the language and saw
that though Jesus said the bread was His body, He did not say that the wine was
His blood – He said the wine was the new covenant in His blood. So, the elements of the Lord’s Supper do not
become real human flesh and real human blood.
However, we noted that there are two
different views about the bread and wine remaining bread and wine – and that is
what we are looking at today. There are
some denominations – like the Methodists – who say that the elements of the
Lord’s Supper are a mere memorial – they are nothing more than a way to remind
us of what Jesus did and promised to do.
The Reformed view, while acknowledging that we are to remember what
Jesus did and what He promised to do when we receive the elements, understand
that something more happens – Jesus is here doing something as we receive the
bread and the wine. This view is called,
“real presence.”
Matthew records the Last Supper and
the institution of the Lord’s Supper similarly to Luke: “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.’”
We agree with those who say that the
elements were merely given to us as a memorial on several points:
The Lord’s Supper and the elements
we receive were given to us that we would remember the love and forgiveness
that we have in Jesus if we have believed in Him Alone for salvation. If we received the elements by faith – if we
truly believe in Who Jesus is and what He did and will do, we will remember His
Sacrifice on our behalf as we eat the bread and drink from the cup. We will remember what He endured that we
would be forgiven for our sins and be made righteous before the Father. We will remember that love that Jesus has for
His people.
As we receive the elements, we
should remember – graphically – what Jesus did to accomplish our salvation, and
we should receive the elements in thanks to Him.
And as part of this remembering of
what Jesus did, we should remember that Jesus acted as our Substitute – He
stood in our place as God judged Him according to the Law – according to the Covenant,
and since Jesus had taken on Himself all of our sin, His blood had to be
shed. As we will remember: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is
purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness
of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV). And this
was not a mere cutting of the finger or a donation of blood like some of us do
– the word that is translated “shed” indicates that the blood was “drained” –
Jesus did not merely bleed for us, He gave up all of His blood as our
Substitute – as He took upon Himself the full Wrath of God against every sin of
every person who would ever believe in Him Alone for salvation.
As
we receive the elements, we should remember – graphically – what Jesus did to
accomplish our salvation, and we should receive the elements in thanks to Him.
As we receive the elements in faith,
we should also remember the promises that Jesus made – that this life is not
the end – we will live eternally – all we who believe – with Jesus in the
Kingdom. We have hope in the future
glory – the future kingdom – that Jesus is readying for us even now. That future which is described in part in the
familiar passage from John’s hand:
“Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the
dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be
his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away.’
“And he who was seated on the throne
said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for
these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from
the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have
this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Revelation 21:1-7,
ESV).
As we receive the elements, we
should be filled with hope, knowing that Jesus will bring to pass everything
that He promised – there is an eternal home in glory with Him for all those who
believe.
If we merely go through the motions
of receiving the elements of the Lord’s Supper, we may forget Jesus’ Work and
these reasons that we receive the Sacrament – and we may also forget that we
receive true blessing through the reception of the elements. And here is where we differ from those who
say that the Lord’s Supper is merely a memorial of what He did and promised to
do – we understand that Jesus is here now ministering His Grace to us through
the elements – as we receive the elements in faith, we are blessed by God.
What other denominations miss is
that Jesus was not merely fellowshipping with His apostles in receiving the
first Lord’s Supper, but Jesus promised future fellowship with all of His
disciples – with each one who believes – until He returns, when we shall
fellowship with Him in the flesh.
The key is found in a passage that
we have in our communion liturgy: “The
cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of
Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, ESV).
Paul had been explaining to the
Corinthian Church – to Christians – why they must stop worshipping idols – why
they must flee all sin. It is in this
chapter that we have the promise from God that we will never be given a
temptation that is too strong for us in Jesus, but with the temptation, God has
made a way of escape for us that we never have to sin. One of the ways that Paul justifies his words
is by writing: “The cup of blessing that
we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we
break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”
(1
Corinthians 10:16, ESV). He tells the
Corinthians to look at the Lord’s Supper and what happens as we receive the
elements, and we will see that it is not possible for a Christian to remain in
sin and really be a Christian. Why?
The key is in the word which is
translated “participation” or, also, “communion.” The word Paul uses here is koinonia. Koinonia
is not merely fellowship, not merely caring for one another, but it is union
with one another. And this is not merely
a contraction union, but a union of the flesh.
The same type of language is used for the marriage covenant and all
sexual union:
“and [Jesus] said, ‘Therefore a man
shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:5, ESV).
“Or do you not know that he who is
joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The
two will become one flesh’” (1 Corinthians 6:16, ESV).
When we are united with our husband
or wife – or with someone who is not our husband or wife – there is a
sacramental union, and the two become one.
When a man and a woman are united together as husband and wife, there is
a blessing in that unity. When we are
united with Christ, there is a blessing in that unity. Two become one – it is a sin and an
abomination to bring another into the bedroom or into worship. Paul is making the point – in the text I just
quoted – that there is no difference between trying to worship God and something
else and being married and sleeping with a prostitute – because there is a
sacramental union that occurs between the husband and the wife – and between Jesus
and us.
Paul helps us to understand as he
pleads with the Philippians for unity – using the same word, koinonia: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ,
any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and
sympathy,” (Philippians 2:1, ESV). The
unity that we have and the blessing that we receive through receiving the
elements of the Lord’s Supper is spiritual – and through the Work of God the
Holy Spirit Who lives in every Christian.
As we receive and eat and drink the
elements, we remember what Jesus did and the sure promises we have from Him –
and He meets with us spiritually and gives us His Grace. The believer who receives the elements in
faith has his or her soul nourished by Christ through the Holy Spirit that we
would be able to do and be the people that God has called us to be.
We are one with Christ, as Paul
explains: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way
into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and
held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is
working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians
4:15-16, ESV).
“For just as the body is one and has
many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it
is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or
Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
“For the body does not consist of
one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do
not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the
body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body
were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an
ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members
in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where
would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Corinthians
12:12-20, ESV).
We are united with Christ at all
times as believers, but the receiving of the Sacrament is one special way in
which Jesus ministers to us and the Holy Spirit makes us into the Image of
Jesus, as Jesus said, “If you love me,
you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you
another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you.
“’I will not leave you as orphans; I
will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you
will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that
I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and
keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot)
said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to
the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and
my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is
not mine but the Father's who sent me.
“’These things I have spoken to you
while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all that I have said to you’” (John 14:15-26, ESV).
Jesus is not merely the Way and the
Truth, but He is the Life, and one of the ways He vivifies us – grows us in
life – is through the reception of the elements of the Sacrament of the Lord’s
Supper. That is the blessing that we
receive – that Jesus is with us and increases His Life within us, as the Holy
Spirit conforms us to Jesus’ Image.
John Calvin wrote, “The sacraments,
therefore, are exercises which make us more certain of the trustworthiness of
God’s Word” (Mathison, 9). “The
sacraments properly fulfill their office only when the Spirit, that inward
teacher, comes to them, by whose power alone hearts are penetrated and
affections moved and our souls opened for the sacraments to enter in” (Mathison,
10). “[The elements] do not bestow any
grace themselves, but announce and tells us, and (as they are guarantees and
tokens) ratify among us, those things given us by divine bounty. The Holy Spirit…is he who brings the graces
of God with him, gives a place for the sacraments among us, and makes them bear
fruit” (Mathison, 13).
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are
the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much
fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, ESV). One of the ways that Jesus makes us able is
through the receiving of the Sacrament and its elements. Through it, life is poured into us.
And some of us might wonder, then,
if eating a bit of bread and drinking a bit of wine enlivens us through the
blessing of Grace enacted upon us by the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t we who want to
be more like Christ each eat a whole loaf of bread and drink a whole bottle of
wine? The answer, of course – I hope “of
course” – is “no.” The size of the
element received does not convey greater or lesser blessing.
And the fact is, we ought not to be
fixated on the elements themselves – they are just a bit of bread and a bit of
wine. The bread and wine are symbols of
what Christ has done and promised, which become signs and a blessing to we who
believe in Jesus Alone for salvation, as we receive grace through them. Yes, we are to use bread and wine (and grape
juice for those who have scruples about wine), but we may not use any other
elements, because Christ said these are the elements that are to be used. However, to fixate on the bread and the wine
itself it to commit one of the errors of the Roman Catholic Church who have
gone to the extreme of worshiping the bread and the wine itself, which is
blasphemous.
Although Jesus and the Holy Spirit
work on us and in us and bless us through the receiving of the elements of the
Sacrament, but the elements are not an end in themselves. Just as remembering what Jesus has done and
promised should cause us to look to Him and praise Him and glorify Him and
thank Him, so as we receive the elements, our hearts and minds ought to be
turned to Him – giving all praise and honor and worship to Him.
So, let us receive the elements that
Jesus consecrated – bread and wine, but let us not be obsessed with them – they
are symbols which become signs in the believer, but they are just bread and
wine.
Let us look forward with great hope
and expectation that, as we receive the elements, Jesus will meet with us and
give us His Grace which the Holy Spirit will use to mature us in the faith and
make us more like Jesus.
And for the Sacrament, what it
reminds us of and the work that God does in us through it, let us turn and give
thanks and worship to our One God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for the
gift and the blessing which is the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Help us to understand the mystery that though
these elements are common bread and wine, You meet with us and work through
them in us to Your Glory and for our benefit.
Help us to be thankful for this and all the ways that You meet with us –
and keep our eyes ever fixed on You in thanksgiving, for You Alone are
worthy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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