4-14-22 Grace-Tucson Maundy Thursday Sermon

Luke 22:19-20 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke

Maundy Thursday Thursday, April 14, 2022 “A Crucial Hour: ‘This Is…For You’”

Today is a Thursday with a weird name. The first paragraph in your worship folder explains that name so that no one is busy wondering what it means or why we call it what we do. We could use other names, and some people do. “Holy Thursday” is becoming a more popular option. It is the Thursday of Holy Week. It is the fifth day of the week when Jesus dies. It is the night on which he is betrayed. After that, he is arrested, then put on trial, then sentenced to death, then executed. It is the night when Jesus sits down with his disciples to celebrate the Passover for the last time, the last real, full meal that they would participate in together. In other words, this was a crucial hour. This was as crucial as hours come.

We’ve used that word, crucial, to describe many words and events from Christ’s path to the cross. If you have been with us for our Wednesday Lenten services, you have heard a number of them. But today we focus our attention on that long-ago day that corresponds with this one, that special Thursday, and we witness what Jesus does at that most crucial of hours. And what he does is give his disciples a gift, an amazing and precious gift. And we hear him proclaim and explain and promise what that gift is worth and how we ought to regard it as he says for us to hear as well as them: “This is…for you.”

The meal has been on the table. The Passover celebration had a certain rhythm and order to it. The unleavened bread and the wine were important elements in the feast. But that night the plan changed. The old thing wasn’t prepared to handle this crucial hour. Jesus did something, gave something, that was new. He broke the unleavened bread so that it could be divided among the disciples and he passed it around to them. And he said, “This is my body.” He took the cup and shared it and said, “This is the new testament in my blood.”

“This is” Jesus said. And he revealed a truth that was not obvious and was not apparent. Just as we do when we recreate to a degree what took place there, the disciples saw and tasted and were aware of what was obvious.

There was bread of a certain sort and there was wine of a certain quality. And Jesus said more. He said, “My body, my blood.” He said, “This is.” This that is eaten and drunk is not just a representation; it is more than a reminder. This food and drink has not changed in a way that destroys what it was before. But in an incredible and unseen way, Jesus adds to these simple vessels, at that most crucial hour, a most precious gift.

What Jesus gives is himself.

Within hours everything is going to change: his relationship with his disciples, his presence with his disciples, his visible and tangible and apparent connection to them. All of this would change. All of this would be hidden.

This was it: the last meal, the last Passover, the last time that in this way Christ would spend hours and days and weeks with those men.

But do you know what wasn’t going to change? The sinfulness…the arrogance…the selfish desires. That very night these men were arguing about who was the greatest. They were trying to avoid humble works of service toward each other. What would not change was the fact that in Peter and John and James and Matthew and in all the rest lived a nature that was nothing but sin and guilt and rebellion. And so what would not change for them was their constant need for helping and saving. What would not change for them was their constant need for Jesus.

Here he is. Here is his true body. Here is his true blood.

As we celebrate what was given then, believe it. This is more than a sip of wine. It is more than a wafer. It is your Savior’s body that was crucified to punish your sins. It is his blood that signifies a new covenant of forgiveness. This is spiritual food. He allows you to eat it and to drink it. For our bodies, the portion is small and the nutrition is barely worth assessing. For our souls this is the greatest feast imaginable—one that our Savior gives us to prepare us and to sustain us for our heavenly home and for our journey there.

He says, “This is my body. This is my blood.” And he says, “for you.”

You know your crucial hours. You know the times when the cross has confronted you. You know the moments when God wants you to struggle against your sinful self. And you know the many times that you don’t. You fail.

You fall. You sin. You know the voice of conscience that accuses you, and if you don’t know that voice, it is

probably because you have pushed it away far too long. You know guilt and shame and regret. And you know that one day this life is going to reach its end.

And that is one reason that this is for you. It is for you who know your sin. There is a reason that Jesus gave his body and blood. There is a reason that he offered his body on the cross and poured out his blood there. The reason is that he loves sinners and wants to forgive. The reason is that he determined with the Father to pay the price for sin and to give forgiveness as a free gift. Coming to the Lord’s table is an admission of guilt. It is a confession of sin. If you don’t think you need what is offered here, don’t come to receive it. If you are holding onto a sin and don’t want to leave it behind, this is not for you. But don’t misunderstand. If you are struggling with a sin and even though you want to leave it behind, it seems to grip you impossibly tightly—this is exactly what you need to empower the struggle. This is for those who know that they need it.

It is also for you who know your Savior. That was obvious in its original context as the disciples who had gathered were quite familiar with their host. They may not yet have known the details of what that night and the next would bring, though they could have known most of it had they been listening closely. This meal was not offered on the street or to the crowd. It was given in the intimate setting of the upper room and shared with close friends and followers. In our practice likewise, we will not hand out this gift on the sidewalk or to any passersby. We celebrate together in the context of a worship service where we have gathered to praise the giver of this gift.

And this is for you who hear his promise and believe his Word. You have heard him explain the gift. You have heard him say, “This is.” And it is for those who believe that it is as Jesus says. If you do not believe that Jesus gives you his true body and blood in this sacrament, this will not be the blessing for you that he intends. This is a major reason that we have long practiced member communion in our church which is also the historic position of many denominations. There are churches that deny what Jesus said here. They do not believe that his body and blood are received in the sacrament. And it is not just Jesus’ words about the sacrament that are important, either. When we celebrate together, we celebrate the unity that we enjoy around all of God’s Word.

We get to express a common commitment to all of what our Savior says throughout all of the Bible.

And yes, there is some negative in these factors and practices. We do have to ask some people not to participate. But please understand that this does not mean we relish the opportunity to exclude. Far from it.

We would love the opportunity to look more closely at these words of Jesus and at many other Bible passages to see clearly what the Bible says and therefore what we teach. We would love the opportunity to welcome more and more people to the table to celebrate together with us.

That is the positive. This is pure grace in the context in which Jesus gives the gift. It is a blessing for us to join together to remember his sacrifice, to confess our faith, to express our unity, AND to receive his forgiveness and strengthening.

When Jesus says “For you,” it is not entirely clear in our English translations. That’s how English works. We use the same word, “you,” whether we are talking to one person or to many. Other languages specify one or many, singular or plural. “For you” is plural. It is for all the disciples. It is for all who gather and celebrate together. It is for all who are united in their confession and their confidence. You know that it is for you as an individual because Jesus puts it in your hand and in your mouth. But it is also for your brothers and sisters in faith who like you know their need, know their Savior, and believe his Word.

This day commemorates a crucial hour in the life and ministry of Jesus. It commemorates a crucial hour for his disciples and followers. We commemorate and we celebrate by listening to our Savior and by receiving his amazing gift. He says, “This is…for you.” And we offer him our praise and our thanks.

The Text: Luke 22:19–20 (EHV) 19He

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.” 20In the same way, he took the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is being poured out for you.”