In a small Methodist church in upstate New York, a well-loved pastor who had been there for 35 years retired. He was replaced by a younger pastor fresh from seminary. The new pastor had a great desire to do well, but after just a few months he began to perceive that the people were upset at him.
It troubled him, so he called aside one of the lay leaders of the church and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong, but I have a feeling that there’s something wrong.”
The man said, “Well, Pastor, that’s true. I hate to say it, but it’s the way you do the Communion service.”
“The way I do the Communion service? What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s not so much what you do as what you leave out.”
“I don’t think I leave out anything from the Communion service.”
“Oh yes, you do. Just before our previous pastor administered the elements to the people, he’d always go over and touch the radiator.
And, then, he would “touch the radiator?” The pastor interrupted. I never heard of that being done before.”
So the new pastor called the former pastor. He said, “I haven’t even been here six months, and I’m in trouble.”
“In trouble? Why?”
“Well, it has something to do with touching the radiator. Could that be possible? Did you do that?”
“Oh yes, I did. Always before I administered the chalice to the people, I touched the radiator to discharge the static electricity so I wouldn’t shock them.”
He had done it for so long; the people began to think that it was an important part of the communion service. Now, that church is called by some, “The Church of the Holy Radiator.” (Terry Fullam, “Worship: What We’re Doing, and Why,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 102; www.Preaching Today.com)
My objectives, while handling this passage today, is to put communion in its historical, biblical perspective, so we’re not in any danger of confusing traditions with the truth. Secondly, I would like to show to you how Passover became our communion.
There are fourteen facts to share from this passage.
The first fact is: that the first communion was not celebrated in the comfort of a church. It was celebrated in an upper room of a residence.
The second fact is: That this was a special type of meal which was a part of the annual Jewish Passover Feast where the Jews remember their burden and the bondage of Egypt. And it was also a time of concern for Jesus’ disciples, because the Sanhedrin counsel had threatened to kill Jesus. You can pick up on their stress especially in the way the disciples followed Jesus Instruction for the meal in Mark 14.
Mark 14:12-15 “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?” And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. “Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” “Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.”
The third fact: Hebrew preparations for the Passover involved sweeping the house clean of all leaven, roasting the lamb, setting out the unleavened bread, preparing bitter herbs, and making a sauce out of dried fruit, vinegar and spices. These were the usual preparations, but the unusual part was the disciples were to just simply find the room.
First, only two of them could go, and they were to meet a MAN carrying a jar of water just inside the city gates of Jerusalem. Maybe he would be easy to spot, because in that culture only women carried the water jars. Men carried the wineskins. Then when they met this MAN, they were to follow him to a particular house. They were not supposed to say anything until they got into the house. Then they were to speak only to the owner of the house, identifying Jesus simply as “The Teacher” most likely for the reason that somebody else would overhear their conversation.
Mark 14:16 “So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.”
It was not an easy time for the disciples, but they followed the instructions exactly as Jesus told them.
Mark 14:17-18 “In the evening He came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me.”
The fourth fact is that: The Passover meal starts with the host (in this case Jesus) pronouncing a blessing and all the guests would drink from the first of four cups. After this, a Passover plate was set on the table with unleavened bread, bitter herbs (usually horseradish), some greens, a fruit sauce, and a roasted lamb shank. The youngest (in this case John) then asked why this night was different from all other nights. The host responded by recalling the biblical account of their redemption from Egypt, after which they all drank a second cup. Then the host took a square of matzo, pronounced another blessing, broke the matzo in pieces and handed it to those who were at the table. They all ate it with the horseradish and the fruit sauce.
The fifth fact… Jesus tells them a new bitter message: one of their own will betray Him. It’s at this point in the meal that Jesus changed the dialogue: “One of you will betray me,” He says in verse 17. That is, “One of you will hand me over to the authorities with treachery of heart.” It’s bad enough that they knew the Sanhedrin council wanted Jesus dead, but now the disciples find out that one of them will actually betray Him.
Mark 14:19 “And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?”
Not too long before this they were arguing over who was the greatest. Now, they’re wondering who the worst among them is.
Mark 14:20 “He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.”
During this part of Passover they would dip their piece of matzo in the horseradish, recalling their bitter days of slavery in Egypt. Then they dip it into the fruit sauce, which represents the bricks and mortar they made as slaves.
The sixth fact… betrayal was from one who had a seat of honor at the table, the one who was sitting next to Jesus dipping his matzo in the bowl they shared. This was supreme treachery, because in that culture eating with someone was actually a pledge of loyalty and protection. This was quite a shock to Jesus’ disciples, but it was not a surprise to God.
Mark 14:21 “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”
“The prophets wrote about this,” Jesus assures them. In other words, this is what God had planned all along, but that doesn’t leave the betrayer off the hook. He is still responsible for his own actions.
God’s sovereignty never negates human responsibility. None of us can ever blame God for our wrong choices, but God includes even those as part of His plan. God orchestrates all situations to accomplish His will.
The Seventh fact… the traditional Passover took on a new reference and meaning.
Philip Yancey, in his book, Disappointment with God, tells this story of a family in Paraguay. The father was a doctor who spoke out against the Government and its human rights abuses. Eventually the police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death.
Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy’s funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor chose another means of protest. At the funeral, the father displayed his son’s body as he had found it in the jail – naked, scarred from electric shocks and cigarette burns, and beatings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from the prison. It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on grotesque display.
“Isn’t that what God did at Calvary, the cross that held Jesus’ body, naked and marked with scars, exposed all the violence and injustice of this world. At once, the cross revealed what kind of world we have and what kind of God we have: a world of gross unfairness, a God of sacrificial love.” (Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God, Zondervan, 1997, pp. 185-186; www.PreachingToday.com)
God’s plan was to put His Son on display, and by that display to show the victory over all sin and evil in this world. His shed blood would redeem the sin of the world. Colossians 2:15 says, “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
The eighth fact: This is what the Lord’s Supper is all about. It is about the victory of the cross set against the backdrop of bitter betrayal and treachery of all of mankind.
There are a few jewelers that will display a fine diamond by placing it in a black velvet background. There, it catches beams from the lights of the room. Its beauty is multiplied, and its value becomes more apparent.
The Lord’s Supper is like a diamond on black velvet. Sometimes it needs to be pried from traditional settings and thrown against the blackest night in history: the night Jesus was betrayed. (Jeanne Doering, “The Passover Potluck,” Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 1; www.PreachingToday.com)
The ninth fact…Communion is an act of thankfulness.
Instead of complaining about His bitter betrayal, notice Jesus “gave thanks”. He praised God!
When we celebrate communion it’s to give thanks (euvcariste,w).. Certain religious groups transliterated this word and made it into a sacrament to receive some grace or some form of it. Communion is an act of praise to the Lord, because Christ died for us, making the way for God to keep all His promises.
At this point in the Passover meal, after the ceremony of dipping the matzo in the horseradish and the fruit sauce, the feasting itself began. Lots of food was brought to the table, and the host lifted the platter of unleavened bread reciting yet another blessing: “Praised be Thou, O Lord, Sovereign of the world, who caused bread to come forth from the earth.”
Then Jesus broke off a piece for each person, which was passed from hand to hand until it reached everyone at the table. The distribution normally took place in silence, but Jesus broke the silence, giving the broken bread new meaning for His followers.
The tenth fact… The broken bread represents Christ’s body for us on the cross. He was crushed in our place, taking the punishment for our sins. It was so God could honor His Word of punishing sin with death. When we celebrate communion it tells the account how Jesus saved us. Notice this in verse 22.
Mark 14:22 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
The eleventh fact…. They drank another, the third cup during the meal. But this cup concluded the main part of the meal. In all, they drank four cups of wine that evening, recalling the 4-part promise God gave them in Exodus 6:6-7 while they were still in Egypt: “I will bring you out… I will rid you of their bondage… I will redeem you… I will take you for my people and I will be your God.” It’s this third cup, the cup of redemption, to which Jesus gives new meaning.
Mark 14:23 “Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.”
The twelfth fact… Jesus’ shed blood on the cross bought our redemption. It was the price paid to free us from our sins and to establish a new covenant between God and us.
Mark 14:24 “And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”
The new covenant is not like the Old covenant. NO! God’s guarantee to this promise was through the shedding of blood, not the blood of a sacrificial lamb which needed to be repeated. It would be through the shedding of His own Son’s blood on the cross. The perfect Lamb sacrificed once and forever no more sacrifices are needed!
The thirteenth fact… Passover was about the past, communion is about the future. God made a plan to bring about our redemption, and to bring about the consummation of it all in His Kingdom! Look at what Jesus tells His disciples next.
Mark 14:25 “Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
In other words, Jesus is looking forward to drink the fourth and final cup of the meal when the Kingdom of God is fully realized. That fourth cup was “the cup of consummation,” associated with the promise in Exodus 6 that God would take His people to be with Him. Jesus is looking forward to the consummation of all history when He comes again to set up His Kingdom on this earth and we will be with Him forever!
The fourteenth fact….They sang a song of rejoicing.
Mark 14:26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Imagine Jesus singing when the cross was only a few hours away! Jesus gave thanks and sang.
When we celebrate communion, we worship Jesus’ death that gave us life, and sing because nothing can stop what God is doing to bring us to Him.
Communion is about what Jesus has done for us and will do in the future. He gave His all, to make us a loving community that is shown through a meal. When we celebrate communion it is about being grateful and looking forward to our glorious future.
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.”