Main Course

It is so good to be with you. Good morning to everybody who's joining us via video over in venue and online. My name is René, I'm one of the pastors here at Twin Lakes Church and it is great to be back with you in Santa Cruz here today. And I know what some of you are thinking, have you been away? I actually have been in the last week, I counted this up on three continents, North America of course and also Europe and Asia and really the highlight of the whole trip, the whole reason really for the trip, was going over to India for the dedication of the new building that you helped build at Little Flock Children's Home near Chennai, India. I wish you could have been there at the ribbon-cutting, it was really like a dream come true for me to be there representing you. This just happened this past Monday, so six days ago.

Would you like to get a little visual tour of the building that you helped build? Really you don't have a choice because it's in the slides already. So, but it turned out so good they did such a great job with this beautiful building. It has complete dental offices with dental chairs and so on, just like you'd have here, there's actually two professional dental exam rooms plus space for a dental lab and a medical clinic and vast multi-purpose dividable classroom space and also huge verandas where they can also hold classes plus a vocational training center and again I just want to emphasize you may help make this happen. This was part of our 2020 vision initiative which is funding both our children's building which just had its grand opening one month ago down here on this side of the campus, the three-story classroom building there and this India project at Little Flock Orphanage which just opened Monday.

I want to tell you everybody who is there wanted me to convey to you from them a huge thank you and I just want you to know from the bottom of my heart you are making a difference to the glory of God. In fact, let's all give God glory for this together. This is an amazing, amazing dream come true. Praise God. Amazing what it can do with our loaves and fishes, right? Now on the same trip I was also in Greece and in Turkey preparing our series with a small group of about 18 people over there from Twin Lakes Church. This is our series this fall in the book of Acts. It's amazing how few people really know anything about the book of Acts in the New Testament when it's full of adventure and I mean fascinating stuff, snakes and shipwrecks and assassins and conspiracies and daily inspiration too.

This fall what we're doing is we're taking you via video to the actual spots where the book of Acts took place so we appreciate your prayer as we take all the material we gathered and filmed and prep this book and the small group devotionals and the daily weekly videos for the series that starts this fall here at Twin Lakes Church. I'm stoked about this. Are you guys excited about this series too? I really am. I think this is going to be really something special and also honestly I'd appreciate your prayer for me right now because I'm so jet-lagged right now. All bets are off as to what's going to come out of my mouth in the next few minutes. I could completely be hallucinating so if you need a reason to stay tuned just be on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to come out of René's mouth. You have that to look forward to this morning.

As we continue our series Meals with Jesus, grab your message notes that look like this so you can follow on. In the series Meals with Jesus we've been looking at the 10 meals of Christ in the Gospel of Luke and this morning we're gonna look at the most important meal of all really. I call it the main course. What's this all about? Well you may have heard the terms the Last Supper or the Lord's Table or the Lord's Supper or Communion or the Eucharist. Well all those different phrases refer to the same thing and one billion Christians all over the globe today whether they're Protestant or Catholic or Orthodox or anything else are going to take Communion as part of their church services here on the first weekend of this month and it all started at this meal with Jesus that we're looking at here in Luke 22.

And here's my goal for this weekend let me explain it this way. On the flight back from India Tuesday in the middle of the night India time our plane was carrying believe it or not the live broadcast of the Warriors game. Can you believe that? On the airplane it was that seventh game the seventh must win game seven of the semi-finals. How many of you watched that game? Can I see a show of hands? How many of you give me a cheer for the Golden State Warriors? Come on! Give me another cheer for the Warriors let me hear it. You're saying why are we cheering for the Warriors in church? I'll tell you why because that's how I felt when I realized I could watch the game live but this is 3 a.m. India time.

I am in the middle seat of the middle section of cattle class of this giant aircraft and I am completely surrounded by sleeping people. Not one person is reading a book. Not one person is watching a movie let alone the Warriors game. I'm watching the game and it is such an exciting game. Wasn't that a great game? Back and forth so exciting and I'm having to muffle my screams because I'm going "Yes!" and people are looking at me under their blind. Good shot! Up! For two and a half hours I'm going "Boop, boop, boop!" I even took a picture of it there's Steph Curry right at the victory moment of the game just to kind of prove to you that I was watching it. Only I alone of all the other passengers was getting the drama and the excitement and the thrill that was unfolding available for anybody on that plane in that very moment. Everybody else was just kind of cruising through it unaware.

Why do I bring this up? Well I love the Warriors and I wanted to shoehorn this in somehow but the second reason is this. I think the same exact thing happens in church when we take communion. Now follow me here. There's a drama unfolding during communion. There's the greatest story ever told being told during communion but only a few of us are really tuned into it. So many of us because we've heard it so many times are just kind of cruising through almost half asleep and so my goal here this morning before we take communion together is to get us all tuned in to the same channel so that when we take communion we see the drama. When we take communion together we see the importance. When we take communion together we can go "Yes! Even more excited than I was watching or than you were watching that Warriors game earlier this week!"

And here's how I want to get us there. Several times during this message I'm gonna ask you to just imagine. Just imagine what we're describing. Just imagine what these verses begin to unfold as we look at the scene in the Gospel of Luke 22 where it says "When the hour came Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table and he said to them I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I tell you I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." Now skipping to verse 19 "And he took bread and he gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body given for you do this in remembrance of me. In the same way after the supper he took the cup saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you. Amen."

Now in case you were just kind of cruising through these familiar words I pray that as we look at the drama just under the surface the Holy Spirit will enlighten those words for you and get you into the adventure that they described. And let me start with this five times in this passage, five times in Luke 22 Luke reminds us that this meal is the Passover meal. He mentions that in verses 7, 8, 11, 13, and 15 so this is obviously very important to him that we understand this was the Passover meal. This wasn't just any meal this was the Passover meal and so often when Christians today 2,000 years later take communion together we have completely divorced communion from the Seder from Passover.

But if we go back into time and we look at what it really meant to people in that day the drama truly unfolds and that begs the question of course well what is Passover you may not even know what that is flip over to page 2 of your notes. I could spend hours on this but these are just the highlights and not only have I outlined it on page 2 we also have a table set up for you right here on stage which shows you the Passover meal as Jesus would have experienced it in the first century. This is a little bit different from what Passover looked like today if you were to have it at a modern Seder but this is what Passover would have looked like in Jesus' day.

So let's walk through it what was it what was it like well as they reclined at the table first there was a signed seating by honor. The head of the family or the head of the group that was taking Passover together would sit at the head of the table and then on each side the guests would be seated in order of honor and if that was a family that meant in order of age the oldest would have the most honor to the youngest or it would be in order of social standing social importance the most important guest seated next to him followed by the less important less important less important you get that seated by honor now I just want to want you to put that in the back of your head because that's gonna be hugely important to understanding something strange that happens later on in this story.

And then just like you and I might they start the meal with a prayer and the first of four cups there were four cups at the Passover meal and the first cup is called the cup of blessing and so they would ask the Lord to bless the food together and then came the bitter herbs they would also always have some sort of bitter herb like parsley or celery because this is California we have cilantro but they would have some sort of bitter herb together and the host would dip the bitter herb in vinegar or salt water this which is what we have right here salt water directly from the Pacific Ocean that's not true but it's salt water and they would dip the bitter herbs in salt water or vinegar and eat that as sort of the appetizer to the meal.

Now why would they do that this is a reminder that life is bitter at times that life contains bitter moments and I love that this is part of the annual memorial that the Jewish people would have together at the Seder or the Passover meal because we need to hear this in an era in Christian culture in America and in the world which is characterized by what you could call the prosperity gospel where some people say you know what if you're a Christian you love God you have enough faith life should be unending happiness unending blessing nothing but party time all the time and if you ever have bitter moments or diseases or anything like that is because you don't have enough faith you cannot find that in the Bible.

I don't care what people tell you they are ripping verses out of context what the Bible tells you is that there is bitterness in life even if you are God's chosen people there is bitterness in life because you know what the Passover meal commemorates it commemorates how God's people the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt for 400 years before God delivered them but their slavery their bitterness set the stage for a miracle that we're gonna look at later and it's the same thing with your book bitter moments in life the bitterness is not the main course you see from God's perspective the bitterness is just like the appetizer don't stop eating at the bitter herbs the bitter herbs are part of life but you keep going through the meal because the main course is yet to come.

And then the youngest person the person seated at the other end of the table would then ask the question why is this night different from all other nights and this still happens to this day when Jewish people take the seder meal together why is this night different from all other nights and then the answer would come from the leader the person at the head of the table in this case Jesus would recap Israel's history from Abraham to Moses now I want you to just imagine Jesus telling this story knowing he is the fulfillment of the story he is telling he's explaining how the Israelites were slaves in Egypt but Pharaoh would not let them leave no matter how many plagues God sent and so finally God says I am going to send a plague of death upon Egypt and Pharaoh finally will have had enough and he will let you go.

And he says to his chosen people the Israelites he says and here is how the plague of death will pass over you he said prepare one final meal together he tells him exactly how to prepare the meal he says I want you to eat unleavened bread bread that hasn't risen because of yeast because that's going to symbolize the fact that this is all happening so fast you don't even have enough time to make kind of good bread and he said I want you to slay a spotless lamb and you're going to roast that lamb you're going to eat it together but before you do you're going to take the blood of the lamb and you're going to spread it on the top and both sides of your door posts and when the angel of death sees that it will pass over your house and you'll be saved that's how the meal gets the word the pass over so by the blood of the lamb the people were saved by the blood of the lamb quite literally they were spared.

Now I want you to really imagine this I want everybody to try this hold up your right hand right now just go ahead and hold that up now imagine dobbing this door with the blood of land you start at the top go to the top and the right and the left try that again you're dobbing the top and then the right and the left try it faster top right left this is really fun to watch top right left what shape are you making top right left you're making the shape of the cross the crown of thorns on the head of Jesus his pierced hands can you imagine the goosebumps that the Apostles must have felt when they saw Jesus crucified and then later he was resurrected in it and the light bulb goes on oh my goodness we get it now he is the ultimate Passover lamb his blood covers all of us and it gets even better because this is like all the blessing before the meal and then comes the opening hymn and then they would drink the second cup remember there were four ritual ceremonial cups of wine drunk at the meal and the second cup was called the cup of emancipation because this whole part of the evening is about being emancipated from slavery being set free and then dinner is served the spotless Passover lamb.

And as the lamb is being served to everybody to sort of say bon appetit the way they would do that is the head of the table would take the bread and would break it with the guest of honor the guest of honor would do that to the person next to them until in a matter of a few seconds or maybe a minute everybody will have broken bread together now so far this is the same exact thing that the disciples would have done every single year of their lives so far it's very similar to the same exact ceremony that Jewish people today do when they celebrate the seder together but this is the moment in the meal where something historic happens because Jesus suddenly says different words.

So far it's been the same as always but here Jesus it says took bread gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body given for you do this in remembrance of the Passover lamb no do this in remembrance of what of me. I want you just imagine what's happening here because the seder ritual the seder ceremony was the same words every year I mean it was the Gettysburg Address in fourth grade right it was the Pledge of Allegiance everybody knew what was supposed to be said and the Jesus goes yeah let me just throw you a curveball here let me just throw you a little change up this is in remembrance of me he's saying disciples prepare yourselves because you are now at a moment in history you're now at a meal that will become as momentous as that very first ancient Passover and they start going they start going what what did he just say and there's so many layers to this verse let me just point out one that might clarify something for you.

The Greek verb for thanks there eucharisteo and by the way that still is the Greek word for thanks when I was in Greece just a few days ago I heard this all the time only the modern pronunciation has changed now they say efcharisto say that with me efcharisto that's Greek still today for thanks and that's the word that we get Eucharist from you might have heard communion referred to particularly by Catholics as the Eucharist and you're like why do they call it that it just means thanks because a communion we're giving thanks for what Jesus did for us does that make sense and then here's the best part after the meal the third cup is taken together now do you see this it's known as the cup of what the cup of what redemption because this cup stands specifically for the redemption bought by the blood of the lamb and Luke says it's this cup he says in the same way after the supper he took the cup that's specifically pointing to the third cup that was the cup taken after the supper that was the cup that was supposed to represent the blood of the lamb and he says this cup is the what new covenant what there's something new guys in the lamb's blood my blood which is poured out for you he's saying guys there's something special that's happening right now it's not about that 1400 year ago lamb's blood it's about the lamb of God's blood.

Remember the first public words ever spoken about Jesus Christ after he was an adult was John the Baptist saying behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and now at the end of his earthly life he's saying disciples behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and by the way notice that Jesus leaves something undone Jesus actually does not complete the seder meal because after the third cup he says I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until what until the kingdom of God comes I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes now that's weird because there was another cup ceremonial cup at the seder meal there was a fourth cup but after he drinks the third cup the cup of redemption he says I'm not gonna drink the fourth cup until everything's finished until the kingdom of God comes and that's appropriate because the fourth cup is the cup of completion he says I'm not gonna drink it till everything's completed.

Now you go so what this is huge listen today you and I we live between the third and the fourth cup don't wait we've experienced the cup of redemption we're saved but the cup of completion that happens in the future at the resurrection when God restores the heavens and the earth and so much of our confusion in life comes when we think well I'm saved I've drunk the cup of redemption and so the cup of completion must be right now too why isn't everything perfect right now that happens in the future we live between those cups the cup of redemption we have right now we get to enjoy it now we're redeemed the cup of completion we will drink together one day and this is really important to cling to that there is so much hope ahead the Bible talks about the wedding supper of the Lamb the feast when God restores the heavens and the earth you know what that is that's the completion of the seder meal that Jesus started that night with his disciples and what happens is just more and more disciples have gathered around the table billions of them and one day they're all gonna raise their cup and they're gonna say cheers a toast to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Jesus will be there.

And you know what think of at that table I think of Abraham I think of Moses Peter my mom my dad your loved ones who died in the Lord maybe a brother a sister a friend someone you're still mourning to this day but you and I and they and Jesus will drink the cup of completion together and that's what Jesus is saying and in this poetic way he's saying guys this it's not over yet not over yet the best is yet to come what's ahead is not meaningless sorrow not endless non-existence what's ahead is a feast and it even gets better because watch how this finishes finally at the Seder there's always a closing hymn and watch this so amazing don't miss us out we actually know the lyrics of the closing hymn that they sang because every year it was the same thing it was a ritual a ceremony and I just put part of the hymn they sung in your notes there check out these lyrics from Psalm 116 just imagine these lyrics are being sung that night at their Passover meal their Seder meal and they're marching out they're on their way to the Mount of Olives and you know what happened there and they're singing these lyrics the cords of death entangled me the anguish of the grave came upon me I was overcome by trouble and sorrow do you see how that foreshadows what happened to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane they're about to see this thing they're singing happen in front of their eyes I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done they're singing this and then they're gonna see it when Jesus lives at the resurrection the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone the Lord has done this and it's marvelous in our eyes Jesus was the stone rejected by the builders of the temple he wasn't the same size and shape as all the other little bricks so they rejected him he wasn't useful to them and their scheme where everybody had to be the same but his completely unique shape made him perfect to be the cornerstone of the new faith and this verse became so important to the disciples.

And then look at this verse keeping in mind what we just discovered I will lift up the cup of salvation and will call upon the name of the Lord check out these Psalms there's just amazing symbolism all through this Seder meal and it's this traditional Seder meal again don't miss this that Jews had together every year as part of their tradition and the Jewish people still celebrate today as the Seder many of you are Jewish and you recognize this but many of us are not so we need to be reminded it's this Seder that gets condensed into what we celebrate as the communion meal particularly the unleavened bread that Jesus broke and the third cup the cup of what redemption those are the things that get condensed into the Lord's table the Eucharist communion that Christians partake of together add a little depth to that you know I was thinking on my travels I saw a symbol everywhere when I was in Turkey and Greece I saw it carved into the most ancient ruins it was the symbol of the cross.

I mean I saw this in the most ancient churches I saw this in the oldest buildings that Christians constructed all the way up to the modern cross that's on the gates into little flock orphanage it was everywhere the cross is the brand the logo if you will of Christianity but have you ever stopped to think how weird this is the cross why wouldn't have been something else why not the star of Bethlehem why not that you know the manger why not loaves and fishes why the cross because the cross actually if you just stop to think about it for a second was the most brutal method of torture human beings ever devised the cross was not a symbol of hope the cross was a symbol of doom how and though why would anybody go I want to wear that around my neck I want to put that on all my buildings and signs how did that happen it's so counterintuitive.

Well it happened because at the Seder meal Jesus gives a completely reversed meaning to the cross and Christians were like that's right throw your worst at us world put us on a cross and God will turn it around and redeem it in our lives just like he did for the universe for humanity through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross let me close with this kind of land this plane then we're gonna take communion. Flip back over to page one Jesus to his disciples at the Seder meal is saying three things about the cross that will wake you up to the meaning of the Lord's Supper if you really understand them jot these down number one the cross is the center of world history just like the Seder was the center of history for the Jewish people kind of their defining moment the cross is really the center of history for all people the defining moment it has cosmic significance it has world-shaking implications it means that God loves us so much he sacrificed for us the crux literally of human history.

Number two the cross is the foundation for a new community a radically different community the cross doesn't just change us as individuals oh good I'm saved I'm forgiven of my sins the cross brings us into a new kind of community and let me show you have kind of a funny detail Luke includes in the midst of Jesus instituting communion this is history making like I said bigger than you know Gettysburg address bigger than signing the Declaration of Independence moment in history or do disciples get it are they there at the moment no look what happens a dispute then arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest what have you ever gone what is the deal with the disciples right how do they not get this how does this even come up in a conversation by the way I think I'm greater than you know I'm greater than you why do they even start talking about this?

Well remember how are people seated around the Passover table in order of what honor how does this conversation come up they're working out the seating chart that's what they're doing here excuse me brother that's my seat you know I'm number six you're number seven no I'm number six you're no higher than eight and they're arguing over this together and Jesus goes whoa whoa whoa stop stop stop stop right now he says in the next verse verse 25 the kings of the Gentiles lord it over them and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors but you are not to be like that in other words the Roman world is all concerned about status the Roman world the Gentile world your world my world your work world your social world it's all about the seating chart isn't it?

It's all about status it's all about who you are and what you make and what degree you've got and what your house is like and what your car is like and what kind of clothes you're wearing and you're constantly being aware of being subtly judged for all those things so that everybody sizing you up like where where does this person fit into the strata of society and Jesus is very aware of this tension he says but you are not to be like that instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves he's saying in a world all caught up in the seating chart you go to the bottom of the table and you love freely and you serve freely and you give freely.

You know what he's saying check this out how many it was like a hundred and seven degrees over in the valley this week right was any just show of hands was anybody over in the valley this week can I see a show of hands a lot of you were so it was it was hot over there wasn't it imagine what it's like when it's like a hundred and seven in one of those valley cities like Modesto or something some city over there and you come in from the heat and you walk into some big store target or something and it's air-conditioned it's 40 degrees cooler you just kind of go ah right Jesus is saying that's what it should feel like spiritually when somebody walks into church or somebody brushes up against you as a Christian there should be like a spiritual microclimate around you and people are so burdened by the humidity of trying to get a leg up and trying to get higher status and realizing they're being judged by others and trying to measure up but then they walk into your circle and they go here I'm not judged here it's not about status here it's about love unconditionally he's saying that's the kind of new community I'm here to bring because that's how I love and they'll know you are my followers when you love.

This is really the center of world history and it's the foundation for a new community and then third it's this it's the solution to the great mystery what mystery the greatest mystery of all which is how do I connect with God and it all has to do with this word we don't hear this word a lot any more these days sin see what happened spiritually is I can tell there's something in between me and God and it's my sin and the modern solution in many circles is just pretend it isn't there pretend there isn't any sin and the ancient version for most ancient religion was try to find ways of paying for that sin with religious ceremony and sacrifices and the problem is neither the ancient way nor the modern way really satisfies.

So Jesus says here's the solution the ultimate Passover lamb will apply his blood over your life and the just penalty for your sin death will pass over you and this answers the question sometimes people ask why does there have to be all this blood in Christianity you know why all this the blood of Jesus covers me why I mean if God's God couldn't he just sort of wave his hands and say you're forgiven now never wonder that honestly because instinctively all humans know there's a price that has to be paid when there's a sin and you know this too it's kind of like this let's say you're visiting a friend and you break a lamp their life goes and it was a good lamp it was an expensive lamp that they had in the family for a couple of generations now your friend can say I forgive you and you can believe your friend but there's still a price to be paid for the broken lamp either they pay it or you pay it but there's a price to be paid and again imagine it was a super expensive lamp if you owe a debt to somebody like that even subtly it changes the relationship somehow it introduces an element of oh stigma you don't feel as free when you have that hanging over your head it stifles the relationship.

Well on the cross God is showing your debt is paid in full by me it is wiped out and this is so important because many people many many Christians in my experience hear the phrase God loves you God forgives you but they still feel a sense of obligation to God like well I so appreciate that God I love you too and now I'm gonna work off my debt to you I'm gonna work hard I'm gonna be like a slave so that I can pay off my debt and here God is saying no you no longer have to think of your relationship with me as a debtor I paid your debt you don't you can move past that you don't have to worry about it it's paid up in full you are literally covered now we can be friends.

And if you're still going I don't know why is that so important let me let me tell you a story something happened two days ago so I'm walking up into Dominican Hospital I'm in the parking lot visiting somebody and who comes out of the hospital but Lisa Cotter that name sound familiar you Lisa was the woman who was driving under the influence when she hit the van carrying the Wagner family who you heard from a month ago killing the Wagner's two teenage daughters when I saw Lisa I said yeah I just want to tell you something I'm so glad that you stayed here in town after you got out of prison because you're showing us how God can redeem a life she's just plunged into drunk driving awareness classes she and Lynn go together into high schools and prisons and other places talking about drunk driving together she and Lynn the mother of the teenagers that she killed they have a relationship now and I said thank you for not leaving when there was such a stigma attached to you here in this town and she said well you know God has done amazing things.

Lisa goes to another church here in town and she says so what's up with you and I said well this I'm looking forward to this weekend we're having communion and she just stops and tears start to fill her eyes juice closes her eyes and she just says man I love communion she says I can't imagine living life without communion do you understand where she's coming from because imagine you have a debt that big when you have a debt that big as what's hanging over her head you could never ever ever ever work it off with all your good intentions you would just be drowning in a swamp of shame for the rest of your life but a communion God says listen I got you covered you're forgiven now of course you still make amends of course Lisa has asked Dan and Lynn for their forgiveness and they've granted it of course she goes on to help other people but it's not out of a sense of obligation believing that all those things earn her forgiveness from God you can't earn forgiveness for a debt that big you can't earn forgiveness for anything you have ever done you can't earn forgiveness through feeling more ashamed of yourself you can't earn forgiveness through your penance and good works debts that big can never ever ever be worked off.

So what God says is I grant it to you so that you can rise up and move forward and stop marinating in the past and maybe you've had a hard time letting go of something you've done in your past that you're ashamed of and maybe this is the morning that God is whispering to you you know my body's broken for you you know my blood was poured out for you so you can stop stop living in the past you're covered you are covered now you can move on from bondage to slavery and move forward into the promised land there's only one thing you need to do and this to me explains the whole question why in the world did Jesus choose a meal to symbolize our relationship with him well I think it's as simple as this a meal has to be personally received right I can't eat your meal for you I had a delicious filet mignon last night don't you feel satisfied that was good wasn't I didn't have filet mignon I had spaghetti but still imagine that you personally respect all you have to do God says I prepared a feast of forgiveness for you for you now just personally receive it and I want to give you a chance to do that all of us whether for the first time or the hundredth time meals have to be personally received and continually received you can't say I ate 30 years ago you keep reminding yourself of the debt that was paid off for you and let's do that together right now would you bow your heads in a word of prayer with me.

Heavenly Father thank you so so so much for your love for us and Lord in our hearts right now we just want to confess to you our sin we say Lord I am a sinner thank you efcharisto thank you for your mercy thank you that you paid my debt on the cross and God I believe some people in this room are just gonna settle there the issue right now and say I receive you now as my Lord as my Savior as my liberation in Jesus name I pray amen.