BY AL BUCHANAN
Well this coming Friday evening then we’ll be gathering together one more time. Those of us who are baptized members of the Church in this area and those who will be keeping the Passover with us will be gathering together this coming Friday evening. And, as we’ve said in the past, it’s really a result of a command that God gives us but when you really think about it, the only ones that can truly understand that command are those who have been invited. Those whom God personally invites and gives understanding to the point that they understand that command are the ones that can respond to it and of all the people on this planet, we are the most privileged to be among those who have received that invitation and who understand that command and have an opportunity to respond to it and gather together this coming Friday evening. It’s an incredible honor, privilege, to be among those who are personally invited. When you think of it that way, it really is true that we’re personally invited by the great God to appear before Him that evening. And it’s an incredible privilege, an incredible honor.
I’d like to begin as far as the Scriptures are concerned in Luke 22. We have gone there now for the past several years preparatory to the Passover. I want to go back there one more time. Luke 22 and we’ll begin reading in verse 14. Luke 22 and verse 14, it says
Luke 22:14. When the hour
had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
So, after the sun had set which marked the beginning of the fourteenth day of the first month, He sat down and those specially privileged twelve sat down with Him. Now there were at least, as we pointed out before, at least ten times that many disciples at that time. We know about a hundred and twenty of them were there on the Day of Pentecost when it arrived. So there were at least ten times the twelve of disciples at this time and yet the twelve sat down with Him on this very, very special occasion. And for the past—I don’t know—four or five years now I have suggested that those twelve who were present there represented all of us, that they represented the firstfruits, all of the firstfruits that evening. And as time has gone on, I am more and more convinced that that’s the case. That literally we had representation there at that occasion, each one of us personally. So in a very real sense what we are going to be hearing Him say here applies to us personally. It has personal application for you and for me.
Verse 15 then and verse 16; let me read both of them.
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them,
So, if this is true, then we could say, “Then He said to” you, or more personally, “Then He said to” me.
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
[me], “With fervent desire I
have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: 16) “For I say to you, I will no longer eat
of it until it is fulfilled in the
Now we’ve been over these verses for three or four, five years. I’ve been attempting to understand these for my own personal benefit as well as trying to communicate to you what I’m seeing in them for some time now and I’ve known all along there’s so much there that I’m not fully grasping and I don’t think I am grasping it fully yet probably, but after going through the material on Opening The Door and How To Open The Door, I believe that I come closer perhaps to understand what He’s saying here.
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them, “With fervent desire I
have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer:
Now I want to come back to this “fervent desire” part of this a little bit later after we go through some other material. But He had this fervent desire to do this before He would offer Himself, before He would suffer. He had this fervent desire to do this.
Now I want to go from here now. We’re going to be coming back to it. I want to go to Ephesians chapter 5. In Ephesians 5 and in verse 1, it states
Ephesians 5:1. Therefore
So Paul is following up information that he has been communicating to them.
Ephesians 5:1. Therefore be
[followers] of God as dear children.
And just that statement alone, if we really pondered and thought it through is what is being said here that we are to be followers of God as His dear children should communicate something very special to us. That we are dear to Him. That we are His begotten children and we are dear to Him.
In verse 2
Ephesians 5:2. And walk in
love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us
So we’re to walk in love as Christ also loved us. That’s what it’s saying. It’s basically a repeat of the command that Christ gave all of us as the privileged few right now that we are to love one another as He loved us. Notice how it’s worded.
Ephesians 5:2. And walk in
love,
That’s agape.
Ephesians 5:2. And walk in
love, as Christ also has loved us
And so Paul is placing himself in this special category of those receiving this special invitation, those whom God would refer to as His dear children. This is an absolute requirement of us. If there’s a focus here in this sermon, it’s beginning here that this is an absolute requirement of us to love one another as He loved us.
Ephesians 5:2. [So] walk in
love, as Christ also has loved us and [As a result of that love.] given Himself
for us,
Now I’d like to emphasize the “us” throughout. We see that over and over. Already in Luke 22 and we’re seeing it here now. Us, you, me, take this personally, please!
Ephesians 5:2. And walk in
love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us,
And we’ve pointed out so many times that the word “up” should be in there. That He gave Himself up. He emptied Himself. And He took on a form whereby He could be offered in sacrifice.
Ephesians 5:2. And walk in
love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, [Notice!] an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
He offered Himself as both an offering and a sacrifice which
became a sweet-smelling aroma to God.
This was and is the greatest demonstration of love that there has ever
been for Him to give Himself up and be made into a form where He could be
offered both as an offering and a sacrifice to God and it became a
sweet-smelling aroma to God. He emptied
Himself to become a servant so that He could offer Himself. It was an offering and a sacrifice to
God. Now the Jamieson, Faucett, and
Brown Commentary states this about this statement here, that “He was an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown states
Christ is here represented as the antitype of all the offerings of the Law. All of the Law, all of the offerings, all of the sacrifices that were made and required as part of the Law pointed to and was a type of [all of them were types of] what He would do in offering Himself as an offering and a sacrifice.
Now I want to read a little more extensively from the Clark’s Commentary as to what they say about this “offering and a sacrifice.”
These terms [quoting from
In other words, it involved all of them whether meal offerings, whether blood offerings, whatever, all of them.
And both these terms are with propriety used here because the apostle’s design was to represent the sufficiency of the offering made by Christ for the sin of the world.
For all of the sins from every human being who has ever lived or ever will live on this earth.
Jesus Christ [going on] gave Himself in our stead
Now this is very important to understand this. He
…gave Himself in our stead and on our account
In other words, He did it for us or in our place. He took our place. He took what we would be required to pay and give. He took it upon Himself.
Jesus Christ gave Himself in our
stead and on our account as the gratitude offering which we owe to our Maker
and without which a continuance of temporal blessings could not be
expected. And also as a sacrifice for sin
without which we could never approach God and without which we must be punished
with an everlasting destruction from the presence of God and the glory of His
power.
So, all of what these sacrifices, oblations pointed to and represented, He fulfilled.
And then regarding this phrase “for a sweet-smelling savor or aroma” notice what they state.
A sweet savor unto the Lord, in other words, an offering of His own prescription
This was an offering. This was a sacrifice that God Himself prescribed. He was fulfilling what God required to be fulfilled, in other words.
…an offering of His own prescription and one with which He was well pleased
We’ll read later Isaiah 53 that makes that very clear that God was very pleased with the offering and the sacrifice that was made.
…and by accepting of which He showed that He accepted the Person who offered it.
He accepted His Son’s offering for us.
The sweet-smelling savor refers to the burnt offerings, the fumes of which ascended from the fire in the act of burning.
Now Jesus Christ, as we well know, was not burned literally with fire but He suffered in a way that that burning of the sacrifice is pictured. He fulfilled all of the sacrifices, all of the offerings completely.
Now the title of the message, if you want to give it a title, is Jesus Christ – An Offering And A Sacrifice, Jesus Christ – An Offering And A Sacrifice.
Let’s go to Hebrews chapter 10. Now if you want to take the time later to go back and go through it, many of you as students, no doubt, already know what’s contained in chapter 9 in that it talks about the Old Testament Temple and the sacrifices that were done there and how that that was fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ. So you can read through chapter 9 but that’s basically a synopsis of what’s included there. Then in chapter 10 Paul—if Paul is indeed the writer—states
Hebrews 10:1. For the law,
having a shadow of the good things to come, and
not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which
they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
All of those offerings, all of those sacrifices were types and they pointed to. They in themselves could not do what the ultimate fulfillment would, in other words.
Verse 2.
Hebrews 10:2. For then would
they not have ceased to be offered?
And, of course, they have ceased now. Since Christ fulfilled them, they are ceased to be offered.
Hebrews 10:2b. For the
worshipers, once [purged], would have had no more consciousness of sins.
But that was not the case.
Verse 3.
Hebrews 10:3. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins
every year. 4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take
away sins.
So that blood that was spilled from the bulls and the goats could not take away sins but what they pointed to could.
Verse 5.
Hebrews 10:5. Therefore,
when He came into the world, He said:
It’s interesting how Paul puts this and then he’s going to quote from the Old Testament.
Hebrews 10:5. Therefore,
when He [when Christ] came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
but a body You have prepared for Me.
So when He came into the world here, it’s speaking of the time when the Word emptied Himself and was made flesh, made human flesh.
“A body You have prepared for Me,” it says. Jesus’ human body was prepared to be offered, to fulfill all of the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings. The body that was prepared for Him or that He was made, He became human flesh and that body was prepared to be offered.
Now hold your place there. Let’s go to John chapter 1 verse 14. Now, as we pointed out before, and I think virtually everybody listening to this probably already knows, John is writing this after the fact. He is writing this after even experiencing much of what transpired in the first era of the Church. He had seen an apostasy set in at the time. And it was after he had seen that that he wrote this. At least that’s what we feel is the case. And as he then relates this, he’s filling in some very, very critical information that had been corrupted at that time. And so John is making certain that everybody understands who this Being that walked on this earth as Jesus the Christ really was. Verse 14.
John 1:14. And the Word
became flesh
So he had already said that the Word was in the beginning with God and was, in fact, God and that this Word of God had been the Creator of everything that is. And now he’s saying this Word became flesh. So this very Being who was and is our Creator was made flesh. And, again, this is a precious truth that we must understand that was corrupted in his day. It has been corrupted in our day. And I just might say that that corruption really has spread more than some of us realize. That there’s more people who believe that Jesus Christ had His origin at His birth. There’s more and more people believing that. It’s an absolute lie! It’s an absolute lie! This Being was our Creator who became flesh. He was made flesh and walked on this earth in the human flesh. And here the apostle John is making that very, very clear.
John 1:14. And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
And then the apostle John is referring to John the Baptist saying
John 1:15. John bore witness
of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after
me is preferred before me,
Or as the margin has it, “ranks higher than me.”
John 1:15b. for He was
before me.’”
So here the apostle John is showing that John the Baptist introduced this Being as this One who was before him who ranked higher than him.
And then over in verse 29, John the Baptist went on as he’s introducing Him and let’s notice what we read. Verse 29.
John 1:29. The next day John
saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
No human being could do that other than this Being who had been our Creator and had given life to all of us. Every human being that’s on this earth has his life derived from the creation that Jesus the Christ performed, this same Being. This same Being was made flesh and that Being could take away the sins of the world. And we’re going to talk about that a little bit more here.
But then verse 30.
John 1:30. “This is He of
whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man
Now in the human flesh at that time.
John 1:30b. who is preferred
before me, [Again, He ranks higher than
And he is saying here in verse 29
John 1:29b. ‘Behold! [Behold God’s Lamb]
This is God’s Lamb that’s going to be offered for the sins of the world.
John 1:29b. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!
This “takes away” here is rendered from one Greek word meaning to lift, to carry, to take up, to carry. In other words, He was to take up and carry the penalty of the sin of the world. He was going to take upon Himself the penalty, the penalty that you have incurred, that I’ve incurred, as well as every other human being. All have sinned and have fell short of the glory of God. Every one of us are guilty. He took the penalty of that guilt upon Himself in our stead, in our behalf, in our place you might say. He took that penalty upon Himself.
In 1 Peter chapter 2, let’s go there. 1 Peter chapter 2 and in verse 20.
1 Peter 2:20. For what
credit is it if, when you are beaten
for your faults, you take it patiently?
But when you do good and suffer [for it], if you take it patiently, this
is commendable before God. 21) For to this you were called, because
Christ also suffered for us,
And there we see that again.
1 Peter 2:20b. [He] suffered
for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His
steps: 22) “Who committed no sin, nor
was [guile] found in His mouth”;
Verse 23.
1 Peter 2:23. Who, when He
was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten,
but committed Himself to Him who
judges righteously;
Now verse 24.
1 Peter 2:24. Who Himself
bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
Now it says “Who Himself.” We need to fully understand that Him and Him alone became a sacrifice and an offering. He did it. He was the only one that really could do it. He is the one who is responsible for creating us, for bringing human life into existence. He is the one who God prescribed to do this. He was the One who created us. He was the One that was going to have to bear the penalty for our sins. No one else could do this. I’m convinced—and this is just my own conviction—I’m convinced that the Father, even though perhaps since He is the ultimate Creator although He didn’t do it with His own hands you might say. That He created us though through Jesus Christ. So in that sense He is our Creator. So maybe He could have fulfilled this. But God the Father decreed that it would be the One who created us that would have to pay the penalty Himself. He is the One that bore.
It’s interesting that this word “bore” here, “Who Himself bore,” in the Greek means to carry just like we read there in John. You take up and carry the sins of the world. It means to carry or bring up. And what’s interesting about this is that this word is very clearly used this way: to offer sacrifices by bringing them up to the altar.
If you go back to verses 4 and 5 of chapter 2, go back there.
1 Peter 2:4. Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by
men, but chosen by God and
precious, 5) You also, as living stones,
are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
That’s the same Greek word that’s rendered “bore.”
1 Peter 2:5b. to offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
He bore our sins in the sense that He was offering Himself as a sacrifice and an offering on the tree which is like an altar. He carried the guilt. He wasn’t personally guilty but He carried our guilt, the penalty of our guilt upon Himself on the tree, on the altar you might say.
1 Peter 2:24. Who Himself
bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins,
The sins no longer have an impact.
1 Peter 2:24b. might live
for righteousness—
That sacrifice and that offering is sufficient to cover our sins forever.
Let’s go back now to Hebrews 10 and let’s notice how the writer there—if, in fact, it’s Paul—continues. Hebrews 10 and verse 5 and 6.
Hebrews 10:5. Therefore,
when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared
for Me.
So He had to do this. He had to be made into a form to where He could be offered. He could never have been sacrificed as the Word of God. The Word had to empty Himself and become physical, flesh and blood human being in order to be offered.
Hebrews 10:6. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin you
had no pleasure.
Now, again, the writer here is saying that when He came into the world, He said this.
Hebrews 10:6. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin you
had no pleasure.
In other words, there was no satisfaction of God’s justice in the animal sacrifices and offerings. They were merely a type of what the Christ would do. And so they didn’t take away the sins. And He had no pleasure in them. But as we will see, He did take pleasure in what Christ did.
Verse 7.
Hebrews 10:7. Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come—
And, again, this is the One when He came into the world, He said this.
Hebrews 10:7. Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come—
The Word of God was now made flesh, as He states this. The life of the Word now flowed in the blood within the veins of Jesus the Christ. Please understand that. The life of the Word now flowed as the blood in the veins of Jesus the Christ. Life is in the blood. And so the Word’s life now was contained within the blood of this Being who was now human flesh and blood walking on this earth when He said, “Behold, I have come.”
Now hold your place there. In 1 Peter 1. I’m going to some Scriptures that you all know well, but let’s just remember these. 1 Peter 1 and verse 18.
1 Peter 1:18. Knowing that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19) But [you were redeemed] with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
So this blood that flowed in His veins was precious because it contained the life of our Creator. So it was precious blood. And we are redeemed with that precious blood. Notice: “As of a lamb.” When John the Baptist introduced Christ, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” He wasn’t a lamb literally but rather He was “as of a lamb” without blemish and without spot here now to be offered up in sacrifice.
Back in Hebrews 10 now, verse 7.
Hebrews 10:7. Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come—in the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your
will, O God.’”
“Behold, I have come … to do Your will.” Now that involved a lot of different things He had to perform when He was here on this earth in order to fulfill the will of God. But right here, I believe, He is narrowing that down to the sacrifice that He made, the offering that He made that He was doing God’s will in that. “Behold, I come to do Your will.”
I got ahead of myself. Okay, verse 9—verse 8.
Hebrews 10:8. Previously
saying,
Now the writer is interjecting his thoughts here.
Hebrews 10:8. Previously
saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to
the law), 9) Then He said, “Behold, I
have come to do Your will, O God.” He
takes away the first that He may establish the second.
So with His offering of Himself as an offering and a sacrifice, the first was taken away. There’s no longer a need for the first anymore. But now there is a very real need for us to recognize the second.
Then verse 10.
Hebrews 10:10. By that will
we have been sanctified
So see the will that he’s talking about right here is narrow. It’s talking about His offering and His sacrifice specifically.
Hebrews 10:10. By that will
we have been sanctified
We have been set apart.
Hebrews 10:10b. through
[Notice this!] the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
So this body that was prepared for Him was offered one time for all. All the offerings, all of the sacrifices that pointed to Him was done repeatedly over and over and over again. He fulfilled all of them in this one sacrifice. It was God’s will that the Word become flesh and that His human body be offered for us. Our Creator took upon Himself the penalty of all of the sin of all of humanity. He suffered and died so that we could live. He suffered and He died so that we can live.
Now verse 11.
Hebrews 10:11. And every
priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. 12) But
this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the
right hand of God, 13) From that time
waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
Jesus the Christ’s sacrifice and offering fulfilled perfectly all of what the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings pictured.
In 1 Corinthians 5:7 we read
1 Corinthians 5:7b. For
indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
So He fulfilled all of the offerings, all of the sacrifices including the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. He fulfilled all of that for us.
Now with that said, let’s go back to Luke 22.
Luke 22:14. When the hour
had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
I would like for each one of us to consider that we were sitting there. If, in fact, those twelve represent us, then we were sitting there in that sense. And what I really want us to consider is that what He said applies to us personally and individually.
Verse 15.
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them,
So, each one of us should take these words personally.
Luke 22:15. Then He said to
them, “With fervent desire I have
desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Now notice what He said. “I desire to eat this Passover with you.” If, in fact, the twelve represented all of us, then He’s saying, “I desire, with this fervent desire, to eat this Passover with you and with me.”
Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown’s Commentary comments on this statement that “With fervent desire I have desired” that this is the strongest expression of desire. There is no stronger words He could have used to express His desire for this. It’s the strongest expression of desire. He was very passionate, in other words, in His desire to sit, eat, and drink with them, with us, that evening. It was His very passionate desire to do that.
Now verse 16.
Luke 22:16. “For I say to
you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled
Now what is He talking about that will be fulfilled? That will have a fulfillment in the
Luke 22:16b. I will no
longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the
So how is that fulfilled in the
Luke 22:27. “For who is greater, he who sits at the table,
So He was about to sit down at a table with them.
Luke 22:27. “For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or
he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.
Now He said back here that He strongly desired this sitting
and eating with them. He strongly
desired to do that before He would suffer. We’ve already begun to see how that that
suffering was for the purpose of them, us, being able to sit at that table with
Him. He had to become a servant. He had to offer Himself in sacrifice and as
an offering in order for them, in order for His desire to be fulfilled in its
fulfillment in the
He had to become a servant. You can go to Philippians 2—I’m not going to go there—verses 5 through 8. You’ll see that He was made into a form of a servant so that He could serve us, so that He could provide this service for us.
Then verse 28.
Luke 22:28. “But you are
those who have continued with Me in My trials.
29) “And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30) “That you may eat and drink at My table
in My kingdom,
So isn’t that the fulfillment He was looking forward to? That sitting, eating with them that evening would have fulfillment in us all being able to sit and eat with Him at His table in His Kingdom? It certainly seems that way.
And notice even how this applies to all of us, even the rest of this.
Luke 22:30b. and sit on
thrones judging the twelve tribes of
We have applied this only to those twelve who were present
before. They would sit on twelve thrones
ruling over the twelve tribes of
Now, let’s go to Revelation 3 and verse 20 where we’ve been spending a lot of time lately. And let’s notice this in this context now. Revelation 3 verse 20. At this time, if, in fact, this letter to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans applies to this time now that’s extant on this earth—which I believe it is—at this time many, many years on beyond Him sitting with those folks that evening, He still has this burning desire to come in and sit at a meal with us. Notice!
Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I
stand at the door and knock.
And we’ve talked about how that at this time He’s—many of us have asked Him to step outside. We’ve asked Him to step outside. We don’t have that personal kind of relationship with Him that He is desiring. He is saying He and the Father will come in to us if we will allow it. But He’s standing outside the door and He’s knocking and He’s saying
Revelation 3:20b. If anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me.
Right now it wouldn’t be the ultimate fulfillment but it
could be a foretaste of it. We’re
offered now to have a personal relationship with these Beings—we’re going to
read more about that in a moment—a personal relationship with these Beings that
is portrayed here as sitting at and dining together. We’re offered that now as a foretaste of the
fulfillment when this is going to be ultimately fulfilled and we can sit at a
table with Him. We can’t do that now. But we can have a foretaste of that and He’s
offering it to us. And that’s continuing
to be done, Brethren. He still wants
this deeply. He’s wanting us now to
experience that foretaste that will be fulfilled in the
Now let’s go back to Luke 22. He then instituted the symbols that would represent Him suffering for us and Him doing what is necessary so that this fulfillment could take place.
Luke 22:19. And He took
bread,
Verse 19.
Luke 22:19. And He took bread,
[He] gave thanks and [He] broke it,
and [He] gave it to them, saying,
“This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
We’ll read right over this word “for” here. This word “for you,” “This is My body which is given for you.” This word, “for,” means for the benefit of, for the sake of, in the place of, in behalf of, instead of.
Luke 22:19b. “This is My
body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20) Likewise
Verse 20.
Luke 22:20b. He also took the cup after supper, saying,
So apparently that evening the Passover meal was eaten. They sat down and they ate the meal together. During the meal, He took the bread. But then after the meal, He took the cup. Apparently that’s the sequence.
Verse 20.
Luke 22:20. Likewise He also
took the cup after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in My
blood, which is shed for you.
Once again, the “for” there, for the benefit of, for the sake of, in the place of, in behalf of, instead of.
He was about to take upon Himself the penalty for our guilt as He would fulfill all of what the offerings and sacrifices pictured including the Passover lamb.
But it says here that “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.” I want to go to Hebrews 10 and continue reading there where we were before and notice what we read. Hebrews 10 and in verse 14. We read down through verse 13. Verse 14.
Hebrews 10:14. For by one
offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified [or set
apart].
So that sacrifice is sufficient to have permanent effect. Once we are resurrected and become part of the Family of God, there will be no longer a need for this sacrifice to be applied. But it will take—it’s permanent. It satisfies every requirement for us to enter the Family of God.
Hebrews 10:14. For by one
offering He has perfected forever those who are being [set apart]. 15) [And] the Holy Spirit also witnesses to
us; for after He had said before, 16)
“This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days, says the [Eternal]: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in
their minds I will write them,” 17) Then He adds, “Their sins and their
lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Verse 18.
Hebrews 10:18. Now where
there is remission [or forgiveness] of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
And so He fulfilled all that is required in His offering and sacrifice that He made.
Now verse 19.
Hebrews 10:19. Therefore,
brethren,
As a result of this, now he’s saying something to all of us.
Hebrews 10:19. Therefore,
brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20) By a new and living way which He
consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21) And having
a High Priest over the house of God, 22)
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
In other words, we are to take full confidence in this sacrifice as it applies to us personally.
Hebrews 10:23. Let us
Verse 23.
Hebrews 10:23b. hold fast
the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is
faithful.
We must have full confidence and faith in this sacrifice and in the offering that Christ made for us personally. We must not waver in that.
Verse 24 and notice this. Connected with all of this, notice what he says.
Hebrews 10:24. And let us
consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. 25)
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching.
Now we quote those verses often but most of the time we don’t take the time to go all through this and put it in the context in which it falls here. As a result of what Christ has done for us, as we now are included in this very, very privileged group, since we’ve been included in that and we all make it up that we ought to take consideration for one another. And we ought to desire to assemble ourselves together as that chosen group.
This word “consider” here means to observe, to notice, to have respect for, to have regard for, to consider attentively. “To consider one another. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.”
In Matthew 25 verse 34. Verse 31, it says
Matthew 25:31. “When the Son
of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
So this is the setting. Verse 34.
Matthew 25:34. “Then the
King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 33) ‘For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I
was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 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?
You see they knew they’d never done that. In this story flow here, these individuals at this time would know they had never done this. They had never ever in their lifetime had a face to face encounter with Jesus Christ, yet He’s saying this to them.
Verse 38.
Matthew 25:38. ‘When did we
see You a stranger and take You in,
or naked and clothe You? 39) ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in
prison, and come to You?’ 40) “And the
King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did
it to one of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.’
Brethren, this is a very important part of our consideration as we prepare to take the Passover symbols. How we approach, how we think about, how we consider those whom Christ calls “My Brethren.” He said here that, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren.” I’ve pointed out before I cannot believe Jesus Christ is saying that these are those individuals He considers to be the least. I’m confident that He’s talking about those that we consider to be the least in our eyes, in our view as we compare ourselves among ourselves and we consider some to be less than us. And in our pride and in our arrogance we look down on others. “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of [those who are considered least], you did it to Me.” Very important, Brethren, that we take this into consideration as we prepare to take these symbols this coming Friday evening.
1 Corinthians 11, let’s go there. 1 Corinthians 11 and in verse 23. Verse 23 states, Paul writing.
1 Corinthians 11:23. For I
received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which
He was betrayed took bread;
So, he is about here from verses 23 down through 26 in particular, he is rehearsing with them how that they were to remember the sacrifice that Christ had made by taking these symbols of that sacrifice. But what I want us to notice here is in what context this is couched because what he says in verses 27 down through 32 takes on great importance when we understand the context.
In verse 17, he states
1 Corinthians 11:17. Now in
giving these instructions I do not praise you,
since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18) For first of all, when you come together
as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe
it.
I wonder what would be said about us today.
1 Corinthians 11:19. For
there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be
recognized among you.
Or made manifest, or evident and I think that this means it would be evident or manifest to God. With all the conditions that’s extant today, those who are approved by God are evident to Him, I’m sure. I wonder how He views me. I wonder how He views each one of us today in this condition that’s extant.
Verse 20.
1 Corinthians 11:20. Therefore
when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.
As The Amplified Bible has it, “It is not the supper
instituted by the Lord that you eat.”
In other words, you’re not keeping this correctly.
Verse 21.
1 Corinthians 11:21. For in
eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
Now you can try to figure out exactly what was taking place here but the overriding thing is their attitude toward one another is what I want to point out.
In verse 22.
1 Corinthians 11:22. What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink
in? Or do you despise the
Now very clearly they were comparing themselves among themselves and one was considered to have nothing and the other was considered to have a lot. Take that physically, spiritually, however you want to take it. That was the case. And some were despising others. Do you know that that means? To neglect, not to care for, to hold in contempt, to despise, to think lightly of, to think little of, to look down upon.
1 Corinthians 11:22. What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink
in? Or do you despise the
Again, think about the condition extant in the greater Church and our attitudes toward each other. When we read through these verses and get to verse 33 as the chapter approaches its end, he comes back after talking about the Passover and the way it’s to be kept and some other comments that he made that we’re going to go through in a moment.
1 Corinthians 11:33. Therefore,
my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
Be considerate for one another. So the context, what we read in verses 23 through 32 is couched in between what he’s saying here about their attitudes toward each other.
Now let’s go to 1 Corinthians 10 verse 15.
1 Corinthians 10:15. I speak
as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16) The cup of the blessing which we bless,
is it not the communion
Which means fellowship or sharing in the margin. This word actually goes farther than that. It means partners, participation, communion, fellowship. Thayer’s brings it down to a more intimate basis when it defines it as “fellowship, joint participation, intimate intercourse. This is the kind of intimate fellowship as is best defined on our physical level in the intimate sexual intercourse in marriage.” It’s that kind of intimacy and fellowship. I know I’m being frank but it’s the way it is.
1 Corinthians 10:16. The cup
of the blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [the fellowship] of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break,
is it not the communion [the fellowship, the sharing in, the participation in]
the body of Christ? 17) For we, [being] many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that
one bread.
Let’s go very quickly 1 John 1. Hold your place there. 1 John 1. I want to show you the connection here of this fellowship in these symbols. 1 John 1 verse 1.
1 John 1:1. That which was
from the beginning,
John writing. Again, John’s writing at the end of the first era.
1 John 1:1. That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of
life— 2) The life was manifested, and we
have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was
with the Father and was manifested to us—
And so he’s making it very clear. This Word of life was eternal life. He had eternal life. He emptied that to become human flesh and He rubbed elbows with them. That’s what he’s saying.
Verse 3.
1 John 1:3. That which we
have seen and heard we declare to you, [Notice!] that you also may have
fellowship
Same word! Same Greek word.
1 John 1:3b. that you also
may have fellowship with us;
Again that word “us.” We’re to have this special kind of fellowship, intimate fellowship.
1 John 1:3 cont. and truly
our fellowship is with the Father and
with His Son Jesus Christ. 4) And these
things we write to you that your joy may be full.
Then verse 5.
1 John 1:5. This is the
message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and
in Him is no darkness at all. 6) If we
say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth.
What is the darkness involve? Over in verse 8.
1 John 2:8. Again, a new
commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the
darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9) He who says he is in the light, and hates
his brother, is in darkness until now.
Back over here verse 5.
1 John 1:5. This is the
message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and
in Him [there] is no darkness at all. 6)
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,
We have the wrong attitudes toward the Brethren.
1 John 1:6b. we lie and do
not practice the truth.
Notice verse 7!
1 John 1:7. But if we walk
in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and
the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Now I would ask you, “How would the last part of that verse read if the first part read this way?”
And if we walk not in the light as He is in the light, and we don’t have fellowship with one another,
How would the last part of that read?
There seems to be a direct connection between our fellowship and relationship with one another to the application of Christ’s blood in cleansing us from our sins. I think we need to take this very, very seriously.
Now let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 10 again. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16.
1 Corinthians 10:16. The cup
of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it
not the communion of the body of Christ?
Clearly here this is the human body of Jesus Christ that was presented as an offering and a sacrifice. Very clearly.
1 Corinthians 10:16b. The
bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17) For we, [being] many, are one bread and
one body;
We make up one body.
1 Corinthians 10:17b. for we
all partake of that one bread.
I don’t know if we’re going to get to it. Let me just interject it here. We definitely partake of the bread that symbolizes His human body that was offered in sacrifice for us. We also partake of the bread—I’m not going to go there. It’ll take me too long. John 6 you go there and it talks about us eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ, consuming Him, but if you read that carefully through that context it is referring to Him as being the bread of life which the manna was a type of. The manna that came down from heaven, He came down from heaven. It’s over and over. Go through it. We have to partake of that and in that He clearly said it was the words that He brought that we are to consume. We’re to partake of. We must partake of all that He brought with us, brought to us and communicated to us in the truth that He brought. We are to partake of that. Included in that is that commandment that we’re to love one another as He loved us. We’re to partake of that. We’re to partake of both of these that are called “bread” here. And it says we are bread and we are one body.
Now how is this? Let’s go ahead and read down in verse 12 of chapter 12. Let’s read a few verses here. Speaking of this body that’s being referred to here.
1 Corinthians 12:12. For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Verse 13.
1 Corinthians 12:13. For by
one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
So we’re all part of one body and it says that God placed us in that body as He chose.
Down in verse 27 it says
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now you
are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Now how can we be the body of Christ? What does this mean? How do we understand this? Go to Ephesians 5 verse 32. We know this but it says
Ephesians 5:32. This is a
great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
The marriage of Christ and the Church.
Okay, verse 22.
Ephesians 5:22. Wives,
submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
23) For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the
church;
Which we all make up a part of.
Ephesians 5:23b. and He is
the Savior of the body.
The Church is the body. We make up the body which is the Church. Now how is that Church the body of Christ? Let’s go ahead and read.
Ephesians 5:24. Therefore,
just as the church is subject to Christ, so
let the wives be to their own
husbands in everything. 25) Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for
[it]; 26) That He might sanctify and
cleanse [it] with the washing of water by the word, 27) That He might present [it] to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that [it]
should be holy and without blemish.
And so we are now, following baptism, espoused to Jesus Christ. We will be presented by Him to Himself as His literal Bride following the resurrection from the dead.
Now we are the body of Christ. Christ doesn’t marry Himself. What does this mean? There’s a separate entity here that He’s going to marry and it’s the body of Christ. How do we understand this? Verse 27.
Ephesians 5:27. That He
might present [it] to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that [it] should be holy and without blemish. 28) So husbands ought to love their own wives
as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29) For no one ever hated his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
Verse 30.
Ephesians 5:30. For we are
members of His body,
We make up His body.
Ephesians 5:30b. of His
flesh and of His bones.
Just like Eve was a type of the Church and was of Adam’s flesh and bones. And they were to come together into one flesh. So a husband and wife are two separate entities. They are to be together in marriage. Now how do you view the body of each one? Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 7 verse 3.
1 Corinthians 7:3. Let the
husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to
her husband.
Verse 4.
1 Corinthians 7:4. The wife
does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the
husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
The New International Version renders the first part of that
1 Corinthians 7:4. The
wife’s body does not belong to her alone, but also to her husband.
We are the body of Christ in the sense that we are going to be bound to Him as His Bride, His Wife. He loves us with an incredible love, far beyond anything that we can accomplish on our own.
Back in 1 Corinthians 11.
And if I go over just a few minutes, please forgive me. I don’t do this very often but I want to get through this.
1 Corinthians 11 verse 23.
1 Corinthians 11:23. For I
received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took
bread; 24) And when He had given thanks,
He broke it and said, “Take, eat;
this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
A remembrance, a commemoration, a memorial; we are to remember what He did.
Verse 25.
1 Corinthians 11:25. In the
same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This
cup is the new covenant in My blood.
This do, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me.”
So every Passover, once every year, we remember what He did.
Verse 26.
1 Corinthians 11:26. For as
often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death
till He comes.
So we officially announce, personally and individually, that God died, that our Creator died. We accept Him and His offering of Himself as an offering and sacrifice for us personally. We accept the fact that He did that for our benefit, for our sake, in our place, in behalf of us, instead of us. We accept that. We officially do that by eating this bread and drinking this cup and they represent His death, the offering and sacrifice that He made and the spilling of His blood and death.
Then verse 27.
1 Corinthians 11:27. Therefore
Therefore, since this is what these symbols represent
1 Corinthians 11:27b. whoever
eats this bread or drinks this cup of
the Lord in an unworthy
Or, as it’s already been pointed out in the sermonette, an irreverent manner. I would ask you, “What irreverency is he talking about here? What is the context in which these words are couched? How were they being irreverent?”
1 Corinthians 11:27b. whoever
eats this bread or drinks this cup of
the Lord in an [irreverent] manner will be guilty
As The Revised Standard Version has it, “of profaning”
1 Corinthians
It’s interesting that in the order of things on Passover we wash one another’s feet first before we take the symbols. I wonder if that wasn’t by plan, that we’re to do that before we take that bread and before we take that cup. In a very real sense symbolizing our acceptance of one another, our willingness to care for and be concerned about and become a servant to one another. I wonder if that’s not in the order for a purpose.
Long before going there and doing that though we are to examine ourselves and consider what is our attitude toward one another. What is our attitude? What kind of fellowship do we have with one another and toward the great God and toward His Son? A question we might ask ourselves, “Whose foot in the Family of God, whose feet in the Family of God would we not want to wash?” Among those who are begotten now as children of God, whose feet would we not want to wash? Would we accept everyone? Would we humble ourselves and kneel before everyone and accept what Christ has done for everyone? Let’s think about that.
1 Corinthians 11:28. But let
a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the
cup. 29) For he who eats and drinks in
an unworthy [or irreverent] manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not
discerning the Lord’s body.
Which body are we talking about here? It’s interesting that the word “body” is the same Greek word wherever you find it. It’s the same. Can’t distinguish when it’s talking about Christ’s body, when it’s talking about His Bride to come. It’s impossible to know which. But what’s it talking about here in the context of this? It could very well be the body that we make up, the body that is preparing to be His Bride, the one that He offered Himself for in sacrifice.
1 Corinthians 11:30. For
this reason many are weak and sick
among you, and many sleep.
Some would take that spiritually. Some would take that physically. Very clearly a judgment is being spoken of here. It goes on to say
1 Corinthians 11:31. For if
we would judge
What’s interesting here? The word that’s rendered “discerning” there in verse 29 and the first word for “judge” here is the same one, very same one.
1 Corinthians 11:31. For if
we would judge [or discern] ourselves, we would not be judged. 32) But when we are judged, we are chastened
by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Brethren, I’m going to quit there. We’re going to be coming together this Friday evening. Many of us here, most all of us here will be. Many others will be in other places, those of you listening in wherever you are, whomever you’re joining with. As Jesus Christ had a fervent desire to sit and eat and drink with those twelve that evening—and I firmly believe He was expressing a desire to do that with all of us—I hope we can go with an attitude of deeply, fervently desiring to do the same with all of God’s Brethren, all of those whom Jesus Christ calls “His Brethren, and with Him and with His Father.
Transcribed by kb