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INJ
'Given for You'
1 Corinthians 11:23-32
Divine Service
Maundy Thursday
April 13, 2006
Hope Lutheran Church, CO
Dear Saints, Dear Sinners,
“On the night when He was betrayed.” A lot of other things happened on that night. It was the night of the eating of the Passover, the night of washing the feet, the night of the new commandment, mandatum novum, of love for one another. (Mandatum, this is where 'Maundy Thursday' gets it's 'maundy'.) This is also the night of the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the night of teaching, “I am the vine, you are the branches,” the night of the prayer for Jesus' followers, of vigil in the garden, and the sweating of blood, and sleeping disciples, and the cup not passing from Him, the night of His appearing before the high priest, the night of Peter's betrayal and the disciple's abandonment.
A lot of things happened on this night, thousands of years ago. St Paul could have introduced the night with any of these other events, but instead he gives it to us like it was given to him, “On the same night in which He was betrayed.” The night of the betrayal. Why is this so important? Why do the Scriptures take such pains to connect Jesus' betrayal to the Lord's Supper?
If we turn to the Gospel accounts we see what surrounds the institution of the Lord's Supper. Jesus told them that one of them would be the betrayer. “Is it I?” they asked, “Is it I?” [St Mark 14:19] But soon their pride takes hold, instead of worrying about who would be the betrayer, they began to argue about who would be the greatest. “They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing. But there was also rivalry among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” [St Luke 22:23-24]
Such pride comes before the fall. All of these twelve would turn on the Lord, betray or deny or run. And so it is with us. We are busy wondering if we are the greatest when sin is knocking at the door. We are sleeping when we should be praying that we do not fall into temptation. We get so wrapped up in our own selfishness and conceit and concerns, how good things are, or how bad things are, that we forget that Jesus is in our midst to give us His gifts.
But our pride and our sin and our abandoning Him and our selfish self-centeredness and all of this, our weakness, this doesn't stop His giving the gift and leaving us His inheritance. No, it is into the midst of our sin that His gift comes, for this very purpose, to wash away our sin. “On the same night in which He was betrayed He took bread...” [1 Corinthians 11:23]
And with this bread and wine Jesus bequeaths to us, to His church, His adopted brothers and sisters by water and word, He bequeaths and gives to us His last will and testament. And what is the gift? What does He leave us in this testament? “He took bread.” Just ordinary bread, but not in His hands, not with His words, “This is My body.” For as He speaks, so it is. His very body, His broken body, His given unto death body, given for you. In, with and under the bread, and more, for Jesus wraps up in, with and under His body His promise, “for the forgiveness of sins.”
And He takes wine. Just ordinary wine, but not in His hands, not with His words. “This is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins.” For as He speaks, so it is. His very blood, His shed blood, shed for you. In, with, and under the wine, and more, for Jesus binds up to His blood His promise, “for the forgiveness of sins.”
This is what He leaves us, not gold or silver or the kingdoms of this world or power or health. Greater gifts, more precious treasures: His body, given into death, His blood, shed to cover all sin, the sacrifice of this perfect Lamb of God. This is the gift, the treasure, the inheritance that Jesus gives upon His death, and with His body and blood comes all that is His, the kingdom of heaven and the forgiveness of sins and life that is eternal, into the ages of ages, and His name and His love and His grace and His mercy and His shinning face; His calling us “brother and friend.”
This is such a wonderful gift that it is terrifying. To think that on this altar will dwell Jesus' body and blood, to imagine that one drop of His blood, just the smallest drop that remains in the cup after we have drunk, that this is that salvation of the world, the forgiveness of all sins. This is staggering. This is such a great gift that we sinners would never dare to take a hold of something so holy, we sinners would never be so bold to think that it is ours or that we deserve it. And so we must be sure that the gift is for us.
This is why there is such great comfort in the Lord's word, that on the same night in which He was betrayed Jesus said, “Take, eat, this is My body, given for you,” and, “this is My blood, shed for you.” For you. You are the one that Jesus wants to take and eat and drink. It's true that we don't deserve it, but Jesus is not concerned with deserving, He is concerned with dying and giving, with forgiving. For you.
This gift is for you, a gift fit for a sinner. His body and blood are for the weak, for the struggling, for the sick and dying, for you, for me. “This is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Not for making good people better, not for making strong people stronger, not for making proud people prouder, this table, this meal, this body and blood is given to make the poor rich and the weak strong and the sick well and to give the dying hope, it is given to make sinners holy, perfect, forgiven, washed clean. His very body and blood is given for you and to you for the remission and forgiveness and casting away your sins.
And so it is tonight. We come to this table of the Lord as sinners, and that's how it should be, that's who Jesus wants, who He came to save. He comes to save us. Here Jesus feeds us the food of forgiveness, the food of life, the medicine of immortality.
May God grant us all His Holy Spirit, that trusting in His word of promise, we receive in this Testament what the Lord gives us, even life, salvation, and the forgiveness of all of our sins. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller