Sermon -- Maundy Thursday (April 14, 2022)

LUKE 22:7-20

A NEW TESTAMENT IS GIVEN.

In the name + of Jesus.

     The Lord had made a covenant with the nation of Israel.  The old testament was a covenant of blessings and curses.  In this old testament, each party had obligations to keep.  That covenant, ratified in Exodus 24, is spelled out at length in Deuteronomy 28.  Here are a few verses which sum it up.  “If you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord  your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).  “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.  Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock.  Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out” (Deuteronomy 28:15-19). 

     The curses should have been enough to deter anyone from violating the word of the Lord.  The blessings for obedience were compelling reasons to cling firmly to God’s word and to God’s ways.  Maybe the old testament sounds appealing to you—with the amazing blessings that God pronounces to the faithful.  But there was a major flaw with the old covenant.  It is with the word “If.”  The blessings come only if the people are faithful.  The curses come if the people do not follow the word of the Lord. 

     God demands obedience from his creation.  The wind and the waves obey him.  The planets orbit.  The seasons change.  The flowers bloom.  Nature submits to God, but people do not.  Our problem is not ignorance; God’s Law has been published in print and is embedded in each conscience.  Our problem isn’t motivation; the blessings for obedience are abundant and the curses for disobedience are horrible.  Our problem is that we are, by nature, sinful.  The most severe threats do not keep us from sinning.  The most gracious blessings do not make us obey.  When God’s word exposes us, our defense mechanism is to criticize it.  We deem God’s Law to be impractical, out of date, and cruel.  Rather than confess our sins, we want to rewrite God’s word so that it grants permission to sin or grants exemptions depending upon our circumstances.  This sin deserves all the curses God proclaims.

     When Jesus came to be our Messiah, he did not edit or eliminate any part of God’s word.  Jesus honored the old testament.  He perfectly kept the Commandments.  He fulfilled every sacrifice with his own sacrificial death.  Jesus’ obedience earned all the blessings of the old testament.  Jesus’ death suffered the full curse of the old testament.  In this way, Jesus did not nullify the Law; he fulfilled it.

     In its place, Jesus established a new testament.  This new testament is not like the old, in which each party has obligations to keep.  The new testament was established by Jesus’ bloody sacrifice for sinners.  He took up all sins and died for the disobedience of all people.  He won a full pardon for all your sins.  There are no conditions that you have to fulfill to ratify this.  Jesus’ death and resurrection secure all the benefits of this new covenant. 

     When the old covenant was ratified at Mt. Sinai, Moses took the blood of oxen which were slaughtered.  “And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’” (Exodus 24:8).  Moses spattered the blood upon the people to mark them as participants of the covenant. 

     The blood of Jesus was shed at the cross to pay for all your sins.  But that blood was not collected to be spattered upon future generations who long for his forgiveness.  So, look at what Jesus has done for you.  He has established a new testament in his blood.  He presents it in a feast.  It is no longer a Passover Lamb, slain in an annual meal to commemorate the past.  Now the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world gives you his holy, precious blood in a new testament—a sacred meal which continually delivers to you that sacred blood and delivers you from death forever.

     “He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.’  And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood’” (Luke 22:19-20).  A new testament is given.  In this new testament, Jesus gives the blessings.  We simply receive them.  There is no “if” in Jesus’ sufferings and death.  He bore your sins.  He died in your place.  He secured your forgiveness.  He removes God’s wrath.  In this way, we cannot void out the new testament in Jesus’ blood.  Jesus’ sacrificial death atones for the sins of the world.  Even if people reject Jesus and refuse to repent, it does not change the fact that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of the world.  Those who reject him will not benefit from it, but the faithlessness of others does not make Jesus unfaithful.  A new testament in which Jesus brings forgiveness to sinners stands firm.

     Like any last will and testament, it is the testator who sets the terms.  A last will and testament is no place for riddles or cryptic language.  In plain terms the testator tells his benefactors what they will receive from him.  So, Jesus set the terms of his new testament in plain words.  “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19).  “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).  The body and blood which atone for sins are given to you.  And, as it is with any last will and testament, the benefits are given after the testator dies.  Without the death of Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sins.  Since Jesus’ body was slain and his blood shed, his new testament is enacted.  His death wins forgiveness of your sins, and his sacred meal delivers that forgiveness to you. 

     A new testament is given.  Jesus prepares the feast and urges us to do this, to keep on doing this, in his remembrance.  Throughout the Bible, it is God who does the remembering.  When God remembers, it means he is acting to bless and to save.  God remembered Noah on the ark.  God remembered the Israelites after years of slavery in Egypt.  God remembered Hannah and gave her a son, Samuel.  In the Lord’s Supper, we feast in Jesus’ remembrance.

     So, who is remembering whom?  In part, we remember Jesus whose body bore our sins and whose blood purifies us from all unrighteousness.  St. Paul reminds us, “As

often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).  In other words, Holy Communion confesses that salvation comes only by means of the bodily death of Jesus.  In Holy Communion, Jesus delivers that salvation to us. 

     But the Lord’s Supper is not merely a reenactment where we remember what Jesus did.  If the Lord’s Supper is about us remembering Jesus and if the benefits are only as good as how mindful we are, then we only benefit as much as the effort we put into it.  This makes the new testament dependent upon us, and it puts an “if” right back into our salvation.  But this is a testament.  The benefits of a last will and testament do not hinge upon how the beneficiaries feel about them.  The benefits are noted and distributed.  A new testament is given.  Let there be no doubt about what Jesus gives, what we receive, and why we feast.  Jesus sets the terms.  Jesus gives the benefits.  We gladly receive them. 

     Jesus gives us this sacred feast and tells us, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), or “Keep on doing this for my remembrance.”  Since remembrance in the rest of the Scripture has to do with the Lord acting to bless and to save, so then we conclude that in the Lord’s Supper Jesus remembers us.  “Do this for my remembrance” would mean, “Do this so that I remember you for your salvation.”  He says that this body and blood are for you, “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).  As we feast at his altar, Jesus is mindful of his own testament.  Jesus remembers us, saves us, and delivers to us the forgiveness he won for us. 

     A new testament is given, and Jesus graciously makes you the beneficiary of his work.  St. Paul wrote, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16)?  When you take Holy Communion, you are in communion with Jesus.  He takes all that is yours; he gives you all that is his.  The body and blood which purchased your forgiveness are given to you for your forgiveness.  The body and blood which have conquered death bestow everlasting life. 

     A new testament is given.  Although it was enacted by the death of Jesus, it has eternal value because of the resurrection of Jesus.  We are not in communion with a dead Savior, but with a living and reigning Savior.  And how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ is!  When he delivers to us forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation, he does not make us grovel in shame.  He does not make it conditional, either.  He spreads a table before us even in the presence of our spiritual enemies so that we can feast with joy.  We are ransomed from the devil.  Sin is taken away.  Death passes over us.  Jesus remembers his promises.  He remembers that we are his.  And he joins with us in joyful celebration of our salvation. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.