A Meal for the Inner Circle

Matt 26:20-30

Parts of this story come across all four Gospels. John gives the most complete story of the evening, but doesn’t mention the significance of the meal, just that they had it.

During this meal, we learn so much about the believer’s relationship with the savior. We see betrayal, we see confrontation, we see love, and we see symbolism.

This is a very important meal in our series, because it deals with those faithful ones who were closest to Jesus. In the modern world, we Christians would be the closest to Jesus. We are the ones reclining around the table and Jesus speaks to us through this meal as much as he spoke to those original 12 back then.

This Meal is important to Christians on a couple of different levels.

PRAYER

I. The Meal of Remembrance

A. The Soul of the Meal

1. As most of us understand, the heart of the meal is to honor the memory and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.

2. It is a time of celebration as well as reflection

3. It is Soul searching time

B. Reflection

1. Contained in this meal is one of the most sacred aspects of Christianity.

2. Using the symbolism of the Passover meal that they probably just got done eating, Jesus demonstrates his role in the ultimate Passover.

a) He points to the bread and the wine and shows how they represent his body and blood.

b) Passover was a reminder to the people by God what he did in Egypt.

c) By sacrificing a perfect lamb and putting it’s blood on the doorframe of their homes, the destroying angel passed over those houses and killed the firstborn in any house that did not follow this ritual.

3. It’s easy to see the shared symbolism between Jesus and the Passover lamb.

a) Both were perfect.

b) Both were sacrificed.

c) The blood of both saved.

d) And the ritual again renewed the covenant between God and his people.

4. Each week that we come to take the Lord’s Supper, that’s what it about.

a) It a reminder of the covenant between God and his people.

b) It is a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus did to give us life.

c) Without that sacrifice, we would have died.

C. Celebration

1. However, this meal isn’t just about solemn reflection, it’s also about celebration.

2. While the lamb died so God would pass over us, Jesus rose again.

3. In that resurrection,

a) he beat Satan once and for all.

b) He beat death once and for all.

c) He beat sin once and for all.

4. His resurrection is the celebration that God wins, that we win!

II. The Meal of Fellowship

A. Heart of the meal

1. Reflection and celebration are usually what we think about when we think of the Last Supper, but there was another very important aspect of this meal; Fellowship

2. That fellowship is the heart of meal

3. Jesus was as much about relationship as he was about ritual

4. This meal was about both those aspects, you cannot take one away without destroying the other.

B. Communion

1. We often used the word “communion” when referring to the Lord’s Supper.

2. Every wonder where that word came from?

a) The Greek word is Koinonia.

b) Yep, that word for fellowship we have talked about so many times before.

c) This meal showed the communion or fellowship between Jesus and his disciples.

d) It should mean the same thing to us today as well.

3. Jesus wanted to SHARE this meal with them.

4. If you read the John account of this meal it starts with Jn 13:1

a) " It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love." (John 13:1, NIV)

b) He wanted this meal so he could show his full love to them BEFORE he showed his loved to the whole world.

c) This was a special time for these 13 men.

d) He even included and loved Judas KNOWING what Judas was about to do.

5. A very special part of this meal is the fact that we do it together in a sense of fellowship.

6. We declare a common bond and fellowship with Jesus Christ.

C. Table fellowship

1. Look at this special meal in the context of table fellowship.

2. There is something about sharing a meal together helps build an intimacy.

3. However, it goes beyond just the meal.

a) Have you noticed a difference in the level of intimacy when you share a meal at a home versus a restaurant?

b) Each has their place, but there is something cozy about sitting around a table at a home that just leads people to feel more comfortable in sharing than in a restaurant.

c) We’ll go out to eat with just about anyone at a restaurant, because we know the conversation won’t usually get too personal and that we can leave when we feel like it.

d) At someone’s home, we feel freer to talk personally.

4. It’s important for the life of a church for members to have that desire to have real fellowship with each other.

5. I think we need to take from here the willingness to have real conversation with each other.

6. Something else that amazes me with this story is that Jesus INCLUDED Judas, even knowing what he was about to do.

7. That teaches me that I have to love ALL my brothers and sisters even when they are not my favorite person.

8. Fellowship and communion are about a unity in Christ that goes beyond personal likes and dislikes.

D. Conclusion

1. This meal is an important meal.

2. It reminds us of the need to make the Lords Supper a truly significant aspect of our worship time.

3. It’s not a meaningless ritual; it’s a ritual that gives meaning to everything else we do here.

4. Secondly, we need to embrace fellowship with believers.

5. Jesus love needs to flow out of us to each other despite our differences.

6. We are God’s inner circle. Let’s make sure we always remember that.

7. Communion is about each other as well as about Christ.