What is the essence of the Lord's Supper?

“The Blood of the Covenant”

(Matthew 26:17-30, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 28, 2008)

Matthew 26:17-30 ¹⁷ Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?" ¹⁸ He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. ²⁰ When it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. ²¹ And as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." ²² And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I, Lord?" ²³ He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴ The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." ²⁵ Judas, who would betray him, answered, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "You have said so." ²⁶ 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." ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ 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." ³⁰ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Introduction – Endings and beginnings

There is a verse in First Timothy that refers to God as the King of Ages. The final age is coming with the physical return of Christ. That age will be a major dividing line in the story of mankind. There will be some points of continuity between our current age and that new resurrection age, but the big story will be the change; the newness of that resurrection. God, the King of Ages, is King over the coming resurrection age, but He is also King over the current gospel age.

There was another change in ages that was more subtle than the next change will be. That older change took place when the Old Testament period of the Law came to a close and the New Testament period of the gospel officially began. There was much continuity between the period of the Law and the period of the gospel, but there were also many things that were very new with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the New Testament church. It is in a passage like the one before us that we see the story of this amazing transition. The feasts of Unleavened Bread and Passover must come to an end, and give way to the coming of the communion sacrament of the church that we have come to call the Lord’s Supper. Our God, who was King over the Law and all of its ceremonial ordinances, is the King of Ages over this current age of the gospel and of the sacrament of communion with Christ that we enjoy when we gather together for worship.

The first day of Unleavened Bread and Passover (17-20)

In the Old Testament calendar there were a number of festivals that marked the passage of time every year, each of them full of meaning about the Lord’s great plan of salvation. In particular there were three clusters of events, three major feasts, when all Israelite males were commanded by the Law of Moses to travel to the place that God had ordained in order to appear before the Lord God. The first of these was in the month of Abib in the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds to a March or April time frame in our modern calendar. On the fourteenth day of Abib, Passover was celebrated, and this was followed from the fifteenth through the twenty-first of that same month with what was called the feast of Unleavened Bread.

This cluster of eight days was a very special time period in the Jewish calendar. On the Passover, the people of God needed to follow a detailed series of commandments to celebrate in the homes of the city of God the deliverance of the Lord’s people so long ago out of their slavery in Egypt. Central to this day was the killing of all the Passover lambs, signifying a necessary blood offering, by which the households of the Lord’s people were saved from the death of the firstborn that came upon the Egyptians. The days of Unleavened Bread also involved food offerings to the Lord and holy meetings, but central to this week-long celebration was the removal of leaven from the houses of the Lord’s people, with all the symbolism of dedication to purity and holiness necessary for participation in the household of God.

It was on the first day of this eight day period when the real Lamb of God prepared to celebrate the final Passover, and the real Man of complete purity and holiness took the final steps toward the offering of Himself as a blood sacrifice. The cross that He was moving toward was more than a ceremony. It was the real sacrifice that brought about our salvation. Jesus would keep this final Passover with His disciples. Around the table where they reclined in the custom of the day, Jesus would reveal a startling detail concerning His betrayal, and would institute a new sign and seal of His death for the redemption of sinners. The Passover had for centuries served as a sign and a seal of that coming death of the real Lamb of God. After Jesus was gone, the new communion ritual would serve as the sign and seal of the death of the Messiah as an accomplished fact. The fact behind these two ceremonies was the actual death of Christ for sinners; something very complex to understand, something much more than a ceremony.

The coming betrayal (21-25)

I have already mentioned that it was on this occasion that Jesus would reveal an amazing detail concerning His betrayal. With his twelve close associates surrounding Him Jesus said, “One of you will betray Me.” This was a very difficult thing for the disciples to hear. Have you ever considered how well you do if you were carried off by some demonic power? You think of yourself as a faithful follower of the Lord, and I trust that you are. But what would happen to you if you lost the hedge of protection that God has put around you? What could you do in a moment that you might regret for a lifetime? “Surely not I,” they each said, and eleven of them really meant it. They were deeply grieved by this news that one of their own number, one who was right there sharing food among them all, would be the betrayer; the one who would hand Jesus over to those who wanted Him dead.

On the one hand what was taking place was completely in accord with the Scriptures. Psalm 41:9 refers to a “close friend,” one “who ate my bread,” who would then turn away from the Anointed of the Lord. Not only that, every fact of the betrayal and death of Christ was going to take place as it was written in the Scriptures, and thus in accord with the decree and purpose of God. On the other hand, this did not change for a moment the responsibility of the one who would be the betrayer. Jesus warns the one who by God’s decree is called “the son of destruction,” that it would have been good for him if he had not been born.

All of the disciples were asking Jesus saying, “It’s not me, is it?” Judas, who knows that he is the man, and who has already been advanced 30 pieces of silver for his part, adds his voice to the mix. “Is it I, Rabbi?” Yes, he is the one. He would soon be off into the night doing what he came to do, despite the fact that Jesus knew that this friend would betray him, and Judas would have to know that his secret was known by the Lord.

The bread (26)

It is here in the midst of this horrifying display of the ugliness of sin, that our Lord institutes the supper of communion between Himself and His disciples. It is here where we should see again that we need Him, and here that we should know that He provides Himself freely to us.

He says, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Though He is right there with His disciples, He says these words. What could it mean? Somehow He is the sacrificial meal, and He must be taken in if we are to know His life for us, and proclaim that life beyond us. There is something so simple here that it should not be missed. You need Jesus Christ. He is going to walk that entire road of total obedience that ends in misery and victory. His is the wisdom of God and the power of God, and He is the sacrifice. Our frailty is on display rubbing shoulders with His holiness around a common table, and Jesus says it is not nearly close enough. “Take, eat; this is my body.”

The cup (27-29)

Then He took the cup. He gave thanks to God. He gave it to them and told them to drink. Why? “This is my blood.” What kind of blood? The “blood of the covenant.” What covenant? The new covenant we are told in another place. This is the turning of the age, and it has everything to do with the shedding of blood. The old covenant was instituted with symbolic blood. Here is another sacrament, but the blood that will soon be shed is not the blood of an animal. The blood of the covenant will be the blood of a man.

What is the covenant? It is the sovereign arrangement instituted by God through which we can have peace with Him only through the blood of His Son. It is the only way for our sins to be forgiven. It is the only possibility for us to enjoy the promises of God forever in the kingdom of the Father of Jesus Christ. It is a solemn promise, and it is a price that would soon be paid. It is the whole Bible in front of your eyes for you to see, and in front of your senses for you to take in. It is forgiveness through faith, and a promise of the most blessed freedom through a price paid.

They went out (30)

And so they went out from that place. They sang a hymn, probably the series of psalms that Jews sang in connection with the Passover, Psalms 113-118. That group of psalms that ends with these words, “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” And we go out with the confidence that the Stone which the builders have rejected has become our chief Cornerstone in the temple of the Holy Spirit. We go out with confidence in the Son of God who died for us. We go out knowing that God is for us, for He gave the real blood of the covenant that we might be forgiven. We give thanks and we believe. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us rejoice, and be glad in Him.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What was the feast of Unleavened Bread and how does it point forward to the Messiah?

2. What is the connection between the Passover, the Lord’s Supper, and the phrase “the blood of the covenant?”

3. Why does it make good sense that this communion supper was instituted in the context of betrayal?

4. What is the essence of the Lord’s Supper, and why is it a part of New Testament worship?

How can I do something beautiful that will last?

“A Beautiful Thing”

(Matthew 26:1-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 21, 2008)

Matthew 26:1-16 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." ³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people." ⁶ Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, ⁷ a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸ And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? ⁹ For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor." ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." ¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Introduction – Fading glory

It is one of the great frustrations that we face in this current age that glory fades. An unusual thing has happened recently that fashion leaders and the buying public have embraced this fading glory and have begun to promote things that are already worn out. Why wait for a hole to form in the knee of your jeans when you can buy a pair that is already worn out? Eventually even those worn out new things become really worn out, and it all gets thrown away some time or other. This is an age where things come and go.

We all long for something that will last, for a glory that will not fade. Moses met with God on Mount Sinai and then in the tabernacle. When he had been with God, his face was shining with the glory of God’s presence. He wore something over His face, presumably because close contact with the physical glory of God is dangerous for us in our sin. Eventually he could take off the cover, because the glory of God on his face had faded.

As we see the beauty of Christ in His Word, the Apostle Paul tells us that we are permitted to have something that lasts. Something within us changes and we are transformed and moved from glory to glory. This is a wonderful thing for our souls, and a taste of the age to come, the age beyond fading glory, the age of an eternal glory. Yet we also long to do some beautiful and lasting thing with our lives in this fading world. In Matthew 26 we have testimony of various actions surrounding the betrayal and death of Jesus Christ that have come down to us through the Word. One of these actions from a few days earlier was very beautiful, and was something that Jesus said should and would be remembered wherever the good news of His death would be preached.

The final lamb (1-2)

It is not unheard of us for us to speak of a death as good news. Many elderly or infirm people face great pain and suffering in the last period of their lives, and there is some measure of relief for us when we hear of the end of that suffering. We speak of the death of Jesus as good news for a different reason. It was an end to His suffering in a world of such little faith, but we talk about His death as a good thing because His death was full of such meaning.

Jesus was the final Passover lamb. When the Son of Man was delivered up to be crucified, something powerful was happening. It was fitting that it happened at the time of the last Passover of the Old Covenant era. Sacrificial lambs were sacrificed by the families of the Israelites on the night that they were delivered out of slavery in Egypt so many centuries before. That blood was such good news of safety and life that it was placed above the doors of all the Hebrew homes by the commandment of God. It was a symbol of something powerful and effective. The firstborn throughout Egypt would be struck down, but the Hebrews would live by the blood of the lamb.

Biblical religion is not a spirituality of magic but a faith of testimony. The blood of the lamb did not work by magic. It was a testimony to the long-expected Messiah, the God-Man who would live without sin, and then atone for our transgressions through the cross. Jesus knew that He was this Lamb. His death on the cross was such good news because it was the reality that the custom of Passover had testified about for centuries. God commanded the Hebrews to sacrifice lambs not just on the first night when the justice of God passed over the Israelites. God told them to do this every year as a testimony to that great deliverance in their past. It was also a testimony to a much bigger deliverance in the future, a deliverance that would bring millions not yet born into the assurance of eternal glory. The death that Jesus was to die was not simply a testimony to a coming atonement. It was the real thing. By this great and full atonement, something very powerful and beautiful had finally come.

They plotted together to kill him (3-5)

Our response to the fact of Jesus and to His own obvious awareness of the importance of His death is the most important thing in our lives. Who is this Lamb of God? How is it that He knows that He is going to be handed over to be crucified? How will we respond to His confidence and determination in the face of His impending death?

The chief priests and the elders are clear in their response to Jesus. They gather together and they seek to agree on a plot to have Him secretly arrested. They determine to decouple the death of Jesus and the celebration of the Passover, not for theological reasons, but on pragmatic grounds. They know that the crowds seem to be attracted Jesus, and they conclude that it would be dangerous to attempt to execute their plans during the Passover. Their plan is to kill Him and His plan is to die, but beyond this point His plans diverge from theirs. He will die at the time of Passover, the Romans will be involved in His death, His death will come by the Roman method of crucifixion and not by the Torah method of stoning, and the crowd will surprisingly approve of His death. All these things would take place according to the Scriptures. It should be very clear that these religious leaders were not in charge of these events, since these things did not happen according to their plans.

Very expensive and very beautiful (6-13)

Some men approach the Christ with hostility. Many other men, including his disciples, seem to be ignorant of what is happening right in front of their eyes, despite the fact that Jesus tells them explicitly several times about what is about to take place. But there is at least one woman who seems to have neither hatred nor ignorance concerning Jesus, and she decides to do something about His approaching death. She gives testimony to it. Just as the celebration of Passover was a testimony of something more than the Israelites understood over the centuries of saying the words commanded by Moses, this one woman (unnamed here, but apparently Mary of Bethany) may not fully appreciate what the death of Christ means. She does know that it is going to happen, and she uses a very costly anointing oil to give testimony to everyone of the coming death of Jesus.

We know that this is her intention not from her own explanation. Jesus speaks of her actions, and He commends her in the face of the ignorant opposition of Judas and the other disciples. They consider what she has done to be a waste. It seems like a perfect example of fading glory. A very costly liquid is poured on His head. It has an overwhelming smell, but how long will that last? The whole action seems inappropriate on so many levels. But Jesus calls it a beautiful thing; a testimony of faith in the reality of His imminent death, a testimony that will be remembered. It is not the only thing that will be remembered. We will also remember the hatred of the Jewish leaders and the ignorance of the men who were the disciples of Jesus. They trouble this woman and accuse her of ridiculous waste, and insensitivity to the needs of the poor. Jesus dismisses their foolishness with two amazing revelations given to those around the table that day: 1. You will not always have me, and 2. My death is good news that will be proclaimed throughout the world. What confidence and accuracy!

What will you give me if I deliver him over to you? (14-16)

Judas Iscariot is not impressed. This close associate of Jesus takes a decisive step in the plan of God that was foretold in the Psalms. He begins the process of betraying his friend. He went to the chief priests. He asked them what they would give him for his betrayal of the Lord, and then he took the full advanced payment that they weighed out to him. From that moment on he was looking for his opportunity to turn over Jesus to his enemies. This too would be remembered in the written accounts of the suffering of the Son of Man.

How do you want to be remembered? You don’t always get to choose. Many people are remembered for something they tried to hide from everybody for years. Alger Hiss allegedly betrayed the United States as a Soviet spy. He denied it to his death, but his name was recorded in Russian records that have since been uncovered. Though some people continue to claim his innocence, history will probably remember him as a traitor. It is not only people who are thought of as traitors who are remembered for unflattering actions or affections. Even a David can barely be spoken of without thinking of Uriah the Hittite. How do you want to be remembered?

Almost everything that you do will be forgotten within a very short period of time. Even if you could have something remembered for the rest of this age, it might end up being a matter of fading glory when Christ returns with the power of overwhelming resurrection and renewal. Even many great achievements dating from this age will not even be worthy of a footnote in the age to come. The cross of Christ will be known forever. Everything done for Christ and His people will be known. Now is the time to buy your costly ointment and to pour it over the head of the King that you love. That will be remembered, because your labors in the Lord are not in vain. Those will be seen as beautiful in a world where the glory of Christ will never fade. Let us earnestly dedicate ourselves to that kind of testimony, rather than to those things that only show off our sin from our days in the world of fading glory.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. What is the connection between the Passover and the cross? Is the timing of the cross significant?

2. Reflect on the various unflattering decisions and actions that are remembered in this passage?

3. What insights can we garner from the actions of the woman with the jar of precious ointment?

4. What are some of the challenges that we face in a world of fading glory? How can we do things that will last?

Why does Almighty God identify with people who are suffering?

“The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats”

(Matthew 25:31-46, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 14, 2008)

Matthew 25:31-46 ³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' ⁴¹ "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Introduction – The humble Son of Man and the glorious Son of Man

The passage before us this morning is the final teaching episode of Christ recorded in this gospel. Matthew is from beginning to end a message about a King. This greatest of all kings came as the humble Son of Man. He faced all of the indignities that seem to come with this world. He was despised and rejected by men, and was called a “Man of Sorrows.” He came to His own people and they would not receive Him. His greatest act of humility is about to be described to You in the weeks ahead as we carefully consider Matthew 26-28. There we find that He dies on a cross as our Substitute. He is the humble Son of Man, but He knows that He is more than that. He knows that He is a King who is the Son of a great Father. He says that those who follow Him are “blessed by my Father.” Above all, He knows that His existence will not be over when He dies. He knows that He will rise from the dead and that He will return as the glorious Son of Man. The fact that He first came as the humble Son of Man, and that He is coming again as the glorious King of a resurrection kingdom makes Jesus Christ a very interesting person. This passage is the way He chooses to speak to those around Him about what will surely happen one day.

He will separate people (31-33)

The Son of Man will come again in glory. He will not be alone. We learn from other passages in the Bible that He will bring with Him all who belong to Him who have finished their earthly race. These are called the dead in Christ, and they will rise first. Here and in other places we learn that He will bring angels with Him, and that He will sit on a glorious throne, something He did not do in His first coming. When He came as a man who would die for us, He did not seem like a king. When He returns in glory, no one will have any doubt that He is in charge.

All the nations will be gathered before Him. Here is the One who is not only King of the Jews. It is too small a thing for Him to be King only over the Old Covenant people. He will judge the world. He has perfect power and infallible discernment. Have you every looked at these words carefully? Verse 32 says “He will separate people one from another.” What a King! Some He will place on His right, others on His left. That one fact is what all eternity is about.

Those on his right (34-40)

Then He will speak. First He will address those on His right; the ones that He insists are blessed by His Father. It is wonderful that He calls us by that Name. This is why we have eternal life. We were blessed by the Father. That is why we came to believe, to call upon His Name, and to serve the Lord. We were blessed by the Father. We are told of what must be God’s electing love for us, since we hear that it is ours to inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. As wonderful as all this grace is, it should not surprise us. We know from the Bible that this grace and mercy of God is the only way that we could ever be called “the righteous.” It is only by this grace of God that we could ever have a share in resurrection blessings.

What does surprise us is that when the King comes in glory, He will refer to our works in caring for Him when He invites us finally into the greatly blessed eternal kingdom that He has for us. He will claim that we fed Him, gave Him something to drink, welcomed Him when He was a stranger, clothed Him when He was in need, visited Him when He was sick and in prison. That should shock us, since we know that He is the One who has done everything for us. He is the Bread from heaven that gives life to the world. He is the Fountain of resurrection water. He is the gracious Host who drew us near when we were lonely. He is the Healer. He is our robe of righteousness. We know that we did not do anything for Him so long before we were born, but do we really think that we have done well in our works of charity in our years on earth by any objective standard? When we look at ourselves and one another, just how is it that we come out of this judgment as those who have fed the hungry? When did we do that? When did we visit prisoners? If we did do it a little bit, what about all of the times that we did not do it?

Somehow, for those who have been blessed by His Father, Jesus will see our smallest expressions of faithful kindness, and will only see those things, despite the horrible mixed message of our lives. It is interesting that the things that He points to are not outrageous acts of devotion or accomplishment. They are things that are obvious and simple that almost anyone could do. Someone is hungry. Feed him. Someone is lonely. Visit him.

What is so beautiful about this passage is that the Lord chooses to remember those small things that we have done to “the least of these my brothers” as things that have been done to Him directly. What strikes me here is the love of the Lord of glory for the ones He calls His brothers; even the “least” of his brothers. You may think that you are nothing right now. You are just a little boy or girl and you don’t understand my words or you just are not all that interested in sermons, but you are Jesus’ little lamb, and if anyone does anything nice to you, then Jesus is going to bring that up in front of everybody when He comes back as a great King. On the other hand, you may think that life has passed you by. You used to be able to think so clearly, and now you keep on forgetting things, or you have pains in places that you never even knew existed when you were young, and you just can’t get around, and it wears you out emotionally. Jesus thinks you are so important, and He loves you so much, that if anyone just makes a meal for you, Jesus is going to say that when they served you they were actually serving Him. Isn’t that wild? That is how much the Lord loves you. That’s why He came the first time to die for your sins, and that’s why He is coming again to give you resurrection life. If you will believe that you matter to the Lord that way, no matter how badly this life has injured you, I think you will also be pleased to feed the hungry too.

Joni Earekson Tada became a quadriplegic as result of a diving accident at age seventeen. She believes that God loves her. I saw a picture in her headquarters in California of a poor African man who has no wheelchair. He just rests his legs across an old metal barrel to get comfortable. Joni and the hundreds of people that work with her make sure that people like that get wheelchairs. Jesus notices things like that. Of course Joni is great, but so is that man.

Those on his left (41-45)

When God sees His beloved and blessed people, He will see the few things we have done for others, seemingly as if we were like Mother Theresa or Joni. But what will the Lord see for hypocrites who want the praise of men, men who will not embrace the way to God through the grace of the cross? Their end is not the same. What the Lord sees in them are the things from our own lives that we don’t want to be seen. We were supposed to do good things for someone, but when it came down to it we decided that we probably did not have $100 to give to anyone, so we didn’t do this, or that, or something else. We did not see “the least of these” as in any way special, because we did not see ourselves as one of the least of these who have received blessing from God’s grace alone. While we have shameful things like this in our lives, this will not be our story in the end. We will have eternal life.

Eternal life (46)

Almighty God especially identifies with the weakest of those among His people, the ones who are suffering. Why is that? It must be that God is love, and that the least are those who know that they can’t save themselves. They need God’s love. We have been visiting a friend in the hospital since we came back from vacation. She is in her nineties, is in a coma, and is unresponsive. We wonder how she could still be alive. More than that we wonder why in the providence of God she is still alive. I don’t have an answer to that question, but I am thinking it has something to do with the fact that after she is dead we won’t be able to visit her, and when we visit her, in some way we visit Jesus.

You can’t feed the hungry if everyone has plenty to eat, but then you can’t feed Jesus. This age is a time of broken and hurting things. The age to come is not like that. The Lord saw us as broken. We could not fix ourselves. We had less of a chance of saving ourselves than my friend in the coma has of rising up and walking. Somehow, we are supposed to see what is broken, and to go about fixing it; this despite the fact that fixing things that are broken is largely beyond us. So we feed the hungry, give water to those who thirst, clothe the naked, and befriend the outcast, the sick, and the prisoner, even though we know that in this age we will always have the poor with us. Yet we look to Christ, who identifies with us in our brokenness, and we let Him fix something or someone broken through us. When we do that, we are living grace, and seeing Jesus in a sad world. One day the Lord will fix everything. Joni is going to be out of her wheelchair on that day. Our friend in the hospital will look at us again with her sweet warm eyes. Together we will look to Him who is love, and know that we are loved. This is the glorious kingdom that the Lord has for us. The Son of Man who died for us will return. He will come again in glory, and He will speak.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. In what ways is this passage different than other parables?

2. How does this passage tell the story of divine sovereign grace and good works?

3. What are the similarities and differences between those on the King’s right hand and those on His left hand?

4. What are some of the things that make this a difficult and challenging passage?