“The Curse of the Elements”
[John 13:21-30]
February 3, 2013 Second Reformed Church
Today we are concluding our look at the
elements of the Lord’s Supper. We have
seen that the Reformed – and we believe biblical – understanding of the
elements is that they remain bread and wine – they do not change into anything
other than bread and wine. However, we
also saw that we believe that Jesus meets with us spiritually in the reception
of the bread and the wine and gives us His Grace which the Holy Spirit applies
and works in us that we would be able to do and be all that God calls us to.
We turn to a passage in the Gospel
of John today to see that there is also a dark side to the elements. Reception of the elements can be dangerous,
depending on who you are and how you receive them. In fact, under the right circumstances –
rather than pouring life into the receiver – the elements can kill the person receiving
them.
The day before our text, Jesus had
washed the feet of the apostles and explained to them that they must be
servants as He is. Jesus told them that
He was only calling the chosen ones to imitate Him, because one who was with
them would fulfill the prophecy, “He who ate my bread has lifted his heal
against me” (John 13:18b, ESV). No doubt
the Scripture came to mind that God spoke to the serpent in the Garden, “I will
put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her
offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis
3:15, ESV).
Jesus told the apostles that He was
telling them this that when it took place they would be assured that He is God
the Savior. And Jesus promised them that
whoever received them, would receive Him, and whoever received Him, received
the Father, The Gospel message always points back to God, and to reject the
Gospel message is to reject God, and if you reject God, there is no hope for
you.
“After saying these things, Jesus
was troubled in his spirit, and testified, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, one of
you will betray me.’
As the apostles finished the Last
Supper – the first Lord’s Supper – and before Judas parted from them, Jesus had
a clear view of the heart of the man who would betray Him, and Jesus was
horrified and repulsed at the incredible wickedness that this one would
do. He was moved inwardly – He was moved
in His humanity and in His Divinity as He considered the monstrous act that one
was about to do: one of the apostles had
entered into a contract to hand over the Incarnate God to sinners to be
tortured and killed – for what amounted to pocket change.
How could it be? After three years with the Man – seeing Him,
hearing Him, experiencing His ministry – this man had gone down to the depths
of evil – he was attacking God. But
Jesus knew – “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his
hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own
who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil
had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray
him,…” (John 13:1-2, ESV).
God chose Judas and allowed the
devil to overtake him and take him to the very depths of evil in a foolhardy
attempt to stop God’s salvation of His people.
God didn’t make Judas a sinner destined for Hell – that’s how we are all
born, due to the Fall in the Garden of Eden – but God allowed Satan to lead him
– one of the apostles – to commit the most horrific sin – the unforgiveable sin
– the rejection of Jesus as Savior. And
he did so in a most heinous way, as we remember. So much so that Jesus, Himself, was repulsed
and shocked to see the monstrosity and the depth of evil before Him.
“The
disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his
disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side, so Simon
Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So that disciple,
leaning back against Jesus, said to him, ‘Lord, who is it?’”
The
apostles – as usual – were confused, and the disciple that Jesus loved lay back
against Jesus – understand – it was not the custom to sit up on chairs to eat,
but to lay down – or lay back – on couches – so the disciple that Jesus loved –
John – lay down at Jesus’ side.
Notice,
quickly, that it is proper for us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ
and to express that love to each other – even physically – as long as our eyes
are towards God. As long as our love is
a Godward love and not any type of sinful relationship, we ought to love each
other, and, when appropriate, show that love is various ways. Jesus and John loved each other as brothers –
it seems from the Gospel of John that they were closer to each other than any
of the other apostles. But do not be
confused, this was not a sexual love – this was a brotherly love.
So,
the apostles became confuse, agitated, distressed, and they moved in closely to
Jesus – and Peter – always ready to jump in – told John, who was apparently
closest, to get in close to Jesus and ask Him who the betrayer was. And so, John leaned in and asked Jesus,
“Lord, who is it?”
“Jesus
answered, ‘It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped
it.’ So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon
Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him.”
Jesus
told John it was Judas – and Jesus told Him quietly, by telling him it was the
person to whom He would give a bit of the bread, dipped in wine – and He handed
it to Judas Iscariot. And in receiving
the elements of the Supper – in receiving them illegitimately and blasphemously
– because he did not believe the Gospel – he did not believe that Jesus is the
Savior – he was unrepentant of his sin – even the sin that was on his mind to
sell Jesus over to the authorities to be put to death “for the good of the
people” for a paltry thirty pieces of silver – as Judas received the elements –
he was cursed – and God allowed Satan to enter him and completely take him
over. Judas was utterly given up – not
merely a man of unbelief, but a man given over to the work of Satan. Satan – the fool – thought he had found the
way to stop God’s salvation from coming.
“Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do,
do quickly.’ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought
that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need
for the feast,’ or that he should give something to the poor. So, after
receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.”
As
Jesus gave Judas over and sent him away, only John knew that he was the
betrayer. The others still didn’t know –
they guessed that he had been sent out to make plans for the rest of the
Passover celebration – or perhaps to give donations to the poor. They had no idea of the evil he was involved
in – yet.
At
this point, so of you may be wondering if I accidentally brought my Maundy
Thursday or Good Friday sermon. After
all, this is the story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. What does this have to do with our receiving of
the elements of the Lord’s Supper?
The
answer is found in verses 26: “Jesus
answered, ‘It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped
it.’” Just as Judas brought the fullness
of the curse down on himself by receiving the bread and the wine, so anyone who
receives the Sacrament when he or she ought not to brings the curse down upon himself
or herself.
Now,
that is not to say that if someone receives the elements of the Sacrament
wrongfully, he or she will be filled with the devil and eternally lost. A person may receive the elements of the
Sacrament wrongly and repent of doing so later and receive them rightly in the
future. In Judas’ case, this certainly
seems to be the end – we have no indication that he repented and believed in Jesus
Alone for salvation before his suicide.
But the point is made: it is
wrong and dangerous and possibly deadly to receive the elements of the
Sacrament wrongly. What does that mean?
Paul
wrote in his rebuke of the Corinthian Church, “Whoever, therefore, eats the
bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty
concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then,
and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks
without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why
many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30, ESV).
The
seriousness of this warning – and the fact that it is valid for today – is why
we have the warning at the beginning of the liturgy for the Sacrament – and
it’s not just in our new liturgy – all the liturgies of the RCA contain this
warning, because the reception of the elements is a very serious matter.
So,
let’s take this rebuke apart: “Whoever,
therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner
will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” How does someone receive the elements in an
“unworthy manner”?
If
you remember last week’s sermon, we looked at the idea that in the reception of
the elements, all those who believe in Jesus Alone for salvation experience koinonia – unity. We are united with Christ and with all other
believers throughout time and space. We
considered the warning with relation to marriage – that a man and a woman who
are both believers become one flesh in marriage, and that is a good and blessed
thing. However, someone who engages in
sexual activity with an unbeliever – or a prostitute – also becomes one flesh
with that person – and that is not good – that union is cursed, because they
are unequally yoked. It is like
attaching an arm to someone’s face or a nose to someone’s knee – it is abhorrent,
and obviously wrong.
So,
to receive the elements unworthily is to receive them when you have no business
receiving them – when you unworthily participate in the union that believers
are blessed with in receiving the elements.
Rather than being blessed by receiving the elements, if a non-believer,
or someone who is engaging in unrepentant sin, receives the elements, he or she
is cursed. Again, prior to death, there
is a chance for repentance and belief. But
understand, nevertheless, if you receive the bread and the cup and you do not
believe the Gospel – if you do not believe that God came to earth in the person
of Jesus, lived a sinless life under God’s Law, died for the sins of everyone
who would ever believe, physically rose from the dead and ascended back to His
throne – you are damning yourself by receiving the elements. In the same way, if you are knowingly engaged
in sin and do not repent of it and have no intention of repenting of it, you
damn yourself in receiving the elements.
Instead,
Paul tells the Corinthians: “Let a
person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” What does it mean to “examine yourself”? It means to look into your heart and see if
your truly believe the Gospel – if you believe those historical truths and love
Jesus because of them – and are assured of saving faith. It means to take time before you come to
worship – certainly before you receive the elements – and confess your sin –
repent and promise not to commit the sins you have committed – to come before
Jesus and receive forgiveness through the Gospel.
The
principle is the same as when Jesus said, “So if you are offering your gift at
the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave
your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother,
and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24, ESV). In other words, if the unity between you and
another Christian is strained or broken for some reason – go and make it right
before you come into the sanctuary professing that you are one in Christ with
your brothers and sisters. Do not
receive the Sacrament when you are at odds with one of your brothers or sisters
in Christ. Make things right between you
and him or her, and then come into the sanctuary as one member of the Body of
Christ – united together with all believers throughout time and space. Don’t come in when you are in a state of
disunity – reconcile – then come to worship and receive the Sacrament.
Paul
continues, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and
drinks judgment on himself.” Now, what
is “discerning the body”? What body is
Paul talking about?
Paul
is talking about the Body of Christ – that is, all believers united with Christ
throughout time and space through faith alone in the Gospel – in those
historical facts of the work that Jesus did to save His people. Just as you wouldn’t go into a darkened room
and say to yourself, “Well, I think this is my wife” or “I think this is my
husband,” we must be sure of the body we are united with before we join
together again – before we claim we are united – or we will face the judgment
for being unequally yoked – sinfully joined together. If you don’t believe the principle is the
same, go into a dark room and cuddle up with someone and say, “Well, I thought
you were my spouse.” Hopefully, the person you crawled into bed with will be appalled,
and, certainly, your spouse will be enraged.
Finally,
Paul tells the Corinthians – who obviously asked the question: “That is why many of you are weak and ill,
and some have died.” The context tells
us that the Corinthians asked Paul why so many of the parishioners in the
congregation were sick and dropping dead, and Paul told them it was due to the
fact that they were inappropriately receiving the elements of the Sacrament,
and God was judging the for it.
This
is not about someone being allergic to wheat, or grape products, or being a diabetic,
or being unable to have wine – this is about God keeping the Sacrament holy.
Thankfully,
God is patient and doesn’t usually strike us dead for our sins – or none of us
would be here. We know from Peter that
God patiently waits for all of the elect – all of those God has chosen to save
to come to faith and repentance – God doesn’t just wipe them out immediately
for their sin – which God could rightly do:
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but
is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should
reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, ESV).
However,
there are times when God chooses to strike people down to emphasize His
Holiness. Two examples:
The
worship of God is holy to Him, and God has – at times – proven His Holiness by
killing people who don’t worship as He has called us to worship: “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each
took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered
unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire
came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD has said: “Among those who are
near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.”’
And Aaron held his peace” (Leviticus 10:1-3, ESV).
The
Ark of the Covenant was the box which sat in the Holy of Holies and on which
the Glory of God descended. From time to
time, as Israel made their way through the wilderness, they had to move it, but
God strictly warned them that no one was ever to touch the Ark because it was
holy to Him: “And they carried the ark
of God on a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on
the hill. And Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart,
with the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.
“And
David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD, with songs
and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they
came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God
and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was
kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and
he died there beside the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:3-7, ESV).
In
the example of the text from Corinthians, we see that God was so enraged at the
way that the elements of the Sacrament were being misused, God made many of the
people in the congregation sick and He killed some of them. The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is serious
business.
The
bread and the wine are and remain bread and wine – they are not magic to bless
or curse those who receive them. Yet,
for those who repent of their sin and believe the Gospel, Jesus meets with us
as we receive the Sacrament and gives us His Grace, which the Holy Spirit
applies to us and uses to conform us to the Image of Christ – including making
us able to be and do all that God requires.
However,
there is a dark side to the Sacrament – though it is not through any magic in
the elements themselves, but by God, because the reception of the elements are
– among other things – a testimony to us being united with Christ and all those
who believe throughout time and space – the Sacrament can be a curse. It is a curse to those who do not believe the
Gospel and to those who continue – unrepentantly – in their sin. So, if you do not believe the historical
facts of the Gospel, don’t receive the elements. And if you are happily continuing to sin and
have no intention to stop sinning – that you know you are sinning and don’t
care, but just plan to go right ahead no matter what God has said, don’t
receive the elements. If you do, the
Sacrament which nourishes repentant believers to life, will poison and damn you.
God
may not cause you to become sick and die – as He did to the Corinthians, but
God will hold it against you. And if you
do not repent and believe before you die, you will be held guilty for eating
unworthily, not examining yourself, and not discerning the body. Just like Judas.
Let
us pray:
Almighty
God, we thank You for the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Help us to understand that these elements are
symbols of what You have done and what You have promised to do, which become
seals in the repentant believer. Help us
to be assured that Jesus does meet with us spiritually in the Sacrament to give
us His Grace that we would be made into His Image through the workings of the
Holy Spirit. And help us to take
seriously the warnings about the Sacrament, that we would come worthily, having
examined ourselves, and discerned the body.
Cause each one to take heed and not rush to take the Sacrament to our detriment. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment