Last week we considered the fact that Jesus would eat with sinners. As we continue our meditation on this, we should realize that this is a simple extension from the fact that He would eat with anybody. The gospels are full of occasions where Jesus would eat in disreputable ways, and He told a number …
The Lord of Gluttons and Drunkards
One of the central aspects of the ministry of Jesus—one that is continued here—was the fact that He ate with sinners. This is actually one of the most striking things about the story that the gospel writers tell about Him. Not only did He eat with sinners, those who had been exiled from the ranks …
The Peace Is Yours to Keep
This is the central meal of history. This is the meal at the world’s end, and it is the food that was set before our first parents in the Garden, and which they turned away from in search of their own food. This is the table at the center. This is the food that teaches …
Extending What He Has Done
We considered last week that in His death, the Lord Jesus put all ungodly violence to death. When the lion lies down with the lamb, it will be the outworking of His passion and sacrifice. When they no longer hurt or destroy in all His holy mountain, it will be because of the death He …
He Killed Their Violence
The Lord Jesus died at the hands of violent men, and when He rose, He was delivered from the hands of violent men. This is one of the themes we find in Scripture—God’s deliverance of His people from violence (Ps. 18:48; Ps. 140:1-4). This does not require pacifism—God’s warriors are never described as violent men. …
True Victim
We have gathered here to commemorate the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiatory sacrifice of the true Victim. We have so much to learn about what He did for us in this that we could spend the rest of lives just trying to figure out how to scratch the surface. We sometimes drift …
The Cup and Platter of Faith
When we commune with God, it is always because He gives Himself. It is always because He reveals Himself. It is always because He meets with us in accordance with His promises, and it is because we believe those promises. It is never because we have captured Him. It is never because God was successfully …
He Who Has a Tongue to Taste . . .
When we say that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, we generally do well at not inserting any portion of the material creation in between Christ and the believing soul. We know that it is the Word preached or written that was the instrument of salvation, but we don’t attribute …
Justice, Mercy and Humility
Because God is the author of sacraments, He is the one who governs and regulates them. In some matters, He doesn’t care how we set the Table—He doesn’t mandate a white tablecloth, for example, or silver trays for distribution. He requires that what we do in this regard is filled with reverence and godly awe, …
A Promise Only God Can Make
Every sacrament, by definition, contains and manifests a promise of salvation. That is what a sacrament is. The sacrament of baptism contains a promise of salvation at its inception, and the Supper contains a promise of salvation related to perseverance. What God began God will complete. These promises are apprehended with the heart, whenever someone …