"Jesus Says: 'This Is My Body & Blood For You"

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

Saint Mark's, Watertown

Pastor Karl Walther

April 12, 2001

Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Amen.

God's Word for our consideration this Maundy Thursday evening is First Corinthians chapter eleven, verses twenty-three through twenty-nine. There the Apostle Paul reports:

I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

This is God's Spirit-inspired Word regarding Christ's special Supper.

Introduction: We Know the Basics Regarding Lord's Supper

Dear fellow Christians-- for whose forgiveness Christ gave his body and blood:

In this evening's worship service, forty-four young people will be receiving Lord's Supper for the first time. They are doing so -- and you will do so, too -- because you all know the basics regarding Lord's Supper. Here Jesus offers to you his very body, which hung on the cross nineteen hundred and seventy some years ago. Here Jesus offers to you his very blood, which trickled from his wounds nineteen hundred and seventy some years ago. Seeing this, tasting this, experiencing this-- you just know Jesus has gained your forgiveness.

Others of you -- maybe especially you senior members -- might have received Lord's Supper as many as a thousand times already here in church. You might just say to yourselves, "Is there any new insight that another sermon on Lord's Supper can give me into this familiar meal?"

Theme: "Jesus Said: 'This Is My Body & Blood for You'"

Well, on the basis of God's Word to us this evening, I think so. It's true that this word from God gives us the basics. Here: "JESUS SAYS: 'THIS IS MY BODY AND BLOOD FOR YOU.'" But the Bible says we can also focus on Christ's command to: CONSIDER LORD'S SUPPER A MEMORIAL MEAL. We can add to that Christ's command to: EXAMINE OURSELVES IN PREPARATION FOR LORD'S SUPPER.

Part One: Paul Instructed the Corinthians to

Consider Lord's Supper a Memorial Meal

Let me give you the background for God's Word to us this evening. It was probably the early fifties ad-- some twenty years since Jesus instituted Lord's Supper. Those two decades were eventful years for the Christian Church: because in them the Gospel message had stretched from Jerusalem, up the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, through Turkey, to Greece, and now into the city of Corinth, Greece. It was to the congregation there that Paul was writing these words.

Unfortunately, the talented congregation at Corinth was also a troubled church. Paul wrote right before our text: When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. ...Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

And so, Paul delivers again to the Corinthians the true teaching on Lord's Supper. He writes -- and this is God's Word to us tonight -- I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this ... in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is ... the new covenant (literally: my new last will & testament) ... in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, ... in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Do you catch what's going on there? -- Jesus is setting up Lord's Supper as a meal in memory of his death. In fact: in Lord's Supper, Jesus is vouching for his death, in order to put into effect his last will and testament.

Application One: God Urges Us to

Consider Lord's Supper a Memorial Meal

You could say it works this way.... Suppose you had a wealthy relative, and suppose he had written you into his will. On the one hand, he bequeaths you an inheritance. On the other hand, he doesn't want you to forget his exemplary generosity after he's gone. So he puts into his will a provision by which, every Sunday noon, a representative of his will deliver a meal to your doorstep-- with your relative's name on it.

Well, your wealthy relative dies. You receive multiple millions as an inheritance. And the first Sunday noon after he dies, a gourmet meal is delivered to your doorstep-- with his name on it. And of course: you remember him and his generosity. The second Sunday, the same thing happens. And you remember your departed relative's generosity. It keeps happening week after week. And you find it literally impossible to forget your generous friend. In fact, over the course of months and years, you might just find yourself growing generous like him.

Now, that's the way it is in Lord's Supper. Jesus -- the Proprietor of Paradise, the Lord of Glory, the Fount of Forgiveness -- wrote you into his will. Then he died, which put his will into effect. Of course, Jesus also rose from the dead. And that's how it is that every week he himself delivers to your doorstep his meal: the Lord's Supper. By giving you his body and blood, he assures you he really died-- and his will is in effect. By giving you his body and blood, he assures you that his inheritance is now yours. All the property in paradise he promised you ... is yours! All the glory with which he promised to surround you ... is yours! All the forgiveness you so desperately needed ... is yours!

"This is my last will and testament," Jesus says. "Do this in remembrance of me." "In so doing, you proclaim my death until I come," Jesus says. "Do this in remembrance of me."

Part Two: Paul Instructed the Corinthians to

Examine Themselves for Lord's Supper

That's one thing, then, that both newcomers to Lord's Supper and veterans of Holy Communion can consider: Lord's Supper is a memorial meal for our departed friend. Another thing that can always use review is this, that now: We need to examine ourselves for Lord's Supper.

That's what Paul writes specifically in the next words we read: Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord (because they're really there). A man (better: an individual) ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. (Why? -- Paul writes:) For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Now, that judgment is not necessarily the condemnation of hell. Paul immediately points out: That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep in death. In other words: to this day in churches that deny Christ's body and blood are really here in Lord's Supper, there is judgment-- not necessarily the condemnation of hell (if otherwise they trust Christ), but certainly judgment.

Application Two: God Instructs Us to

Examine Ourselves for Lord's Supper

And that's surely a sobering reminder that we need to examine ourselves before receiving Lord's Supper. Christ himself commands us to do so. But what does it mean to "examine ourselves"? -- Well, essentially it comes down to three things....

First question: "Do you believe that you have a problem with sin?" Are you okay, as far as God is concerned-- or are you flawed? Are your thoughts always pure, your words always kind, and your deeds always upright-- or do you find yourself thinking some dirty things, saying some mean things, and doing some bad things? Were your parents perfect-- or did you inherit from them a sinful nature? Well, if the answer is: "Yes, I have a problem with sin," then the ...

Second question is: "Do you believe that Jesus took care of your problem with sin?" Did God load your sins on Christ-- or no? Did God torment Christ torturously for you-- or no? Did God kill Christ in your place-- or no? Did God raise Christ for you-- or no? Now, if the answer is: "Yes, Jesus took care of my problem with sin," then the ...

Third question is: "Do you believe that Jesus really offers you here his body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins?" You could say that this final question encompasses the first two. So, if the answer is: "Yes, I believe that Jesus here offers me his body and blood for the forgiveness of my sins," you have examined yourself, and you are ready for Lord's Supper.

I ought also to mention one last thing.... You had better be sure that this church proclaims Christ's Word in accordance with the truth. Or else Christ's command to you is to avoid us, and not to commune with us.

Conclusion: We Want to Receive Lord's Supper Regularly

So in conclusion, are you ready? For the first time -- or for the thousand and first time -- are you prepared to receive Lord's Supper? You know: your departed relative -- also risen from the dead -- bids you to come, to eat, to drink, to remember him, and to proclaim him until the end. Let's do it! Amen.

Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Amen.