John 16:25-33: Jesus Speaks Plainly

John 16:25, to the end of the chapter. Once again, please give your full attention. This is God’s Word. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day, you will ask in my name, and I did not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. His disciples said, ah, now you are speaking plainly and not in figures of speech. Now we know that you know all things and we don’t need anyone to question you. This is why we believe that you came from God. Jesus answered them. Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming. Indeed, it has come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world. The word of the Lord. Amen, you may be seated.

Prayer for the Preaching of the Word

We continue in our series through the gospel of Mark. This morning I’ll be starting in verse 12. 12 to 25, Mark chapter 14, but before we hear the word read and preach, let’s pray the Lord’s blessing upon the reception and the preaching of that word. Let’s pray together. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we come again before you and we thank you that you have come to us in the power of your Spirit and enabled us indeed to praise you and to give ourselves to you. We do pray now, dear Lord, as we seek your face and seek to listen to the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray that you would again send your Holy Spirit to us afresh that we might not merely come as tasters, but as children, as those who are hungry, and as those who long to feed upon every word that you say to us. We pray, Lord, grace, grace that we may sit under your word, and that we may listen to your voice, and that it will break through our oh-so-often calloused hearts, and by your gracious love and purpose, transform us into the likeness of Christ our Savior. And so we pray that you would, by your word and through your spirit, do as good as we come for your counsel, and as we come for your instruction, and as we come for your presence, minister to us, dear Lord, according to our needs and bring every one of us to see that you have provided all that we need truly in Christ Jesus and that we may come to him and find everything in him. Be with us, Lord, we pray, and we do so, praying for our good and supremely for his glory in his name. And all God’s people said together, amen. Amen.

Mark 14:12-25: The Passover and the Lord’s Supper

Mark chapter 14, starting at verse 12. Please give your full attention. This is God’s holy inspired word. Mark 14, 12. And on the first day of unleavened bread, When they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? And he sent to his disciples and said to them, go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, the teacher says, where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready, there prepare for us.’ And the disciples sent out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when it was evening, he came with the twelve, and as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. And they began to be sorrowful and to say to him, one after another, is it I? And he said to them, it is one of the 12, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing, he broke it and gave it to them and said, take, This is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. So far the reading of God’s word, the grass falls and the flowers fade, but this word of our Lord endures forever.

Context of the Passover in Mark’s Gospel

Well, we opened Mark’s gospel again this morning to a text, and I wanna give some of the review and the context of what’s going on here. We open up in this text that picks up immediately on the theme of Passover, which Mark introduced at the beginning of chapter 14. And even as you think back way to the beginning of the gospel of Mark, one of the most important things we mentioned to keep in mind was the importance of the Exodus for the identity of the common Israelite. To be an Israelite was to be someone who was defined by, his identity was wrapped up in the fact that they were the people of Exodus. They were Exodus people that God had chosen them from all the peoples of the world, and then he delivered them from slavery where they were under bondage of Pharaoh. He delivered them out of that land of Egypt in a very special way. And in that deliverance, he named them as his own, and he brought them into covenants with him. And he began to tell them the laws that they were to keep. In fact, God even named himself for Israel. After that event, remember, we read in the Old Testament, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And elsewhere it says, I am the God of the Exodus. So that they would know this God, the God who acted for them at a very specific time in history, He was their God. To be a Jew was to be someone that God delivered from Egypt, regardless of how long ago that event took place. They all knew it, they all knew the story. They all heard it told year after year after year, specifically at this meal where it was formally commemorated and they were commanded to do so.

Israel’s History and the Hope of a New Exodus

Israel’s history was not always one of freedom. We have to remember and the Exodus tells us about God’s deliverance, his setting a people in slavery free and establishing himself over them as their God. And yet we know what happened. It was again and again and again in Israel’s history. They find themselves enslaved and entangled in the nations around them because of their own sinfulness. They struggle with the enemies around them, and yet they were still the people of the exodus. And for them, God was the God of the exodus. In fact, every time they found themselves where they were enslaved, their hope was that the name, the same God who had delivered them, delivered their forefathers and named himself after that deliverance would again one day act for them in their deliverance. And in fact, some of the Psalms sing about this. Psalm 137, of course, is that Psalm where the Israelite is on the shores of Babylon, talking about how his tormentors mock him, saying, sing about Jerusalem, would you? About your homeland. And that Jew who heard the mocking in response to those taunts of his captors holds out hope that someday God is indeed going to act. He is someday indeed going to act to give them victory over these enemies once more. Many of the prophets deliver this same theme as we read through them, that God one day would act again, that the God of the exodus of old would be the God of a new exodus for his people, that he would lead his people out once and for all and establish them as the greatest nation above all nations. Never again would they be thwarted. This is the hope and the promise that’s in the mind, that’s in the DNA of the Israelite, historically throughout time. And that promise comes also in the prophet Isaiah, right? Isaiah, who figures so prominently in the book of Mark. And that’s really one of the main themes of Isaiah, as both the North and the South, right? Israel, as well as those in Judah, are both sent off into captivity as judgment of God. And Israel, sorry, Isaiah predicts that they all will become slaves and they will all undergo the scourge of God. But he says this, he says, but hold out hope for God will rise you. He will act for you someday once again. There will be a day when you’re in captivity longing for your day of redemption and the God who acted long ago in the great redemptive act will arrive. He will lead you on the way home. Just like you walked the path of Exodus on dry ground between the waters of the Red Sea, parted by the Lord, so God will lead you on the way back to the promised land, and you will then have a home forever in that promised land that God had given to them.

Mark’s Gospel: The Fulfillment of the Exodus

It’s that very promise, that very hope, that longing in the heart of every Israelite with which Mark opens up his gospel. We saw this long, long ago, where he says in the very first verses of the gospel, Remember the beginning of the good news concerning Jesus Christ, the son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I am sending my messenger before your face, who will prepare your road, your way. The road of deliverance, of course, is the road. And he opens his gospel saying, this is the good news. This is the day, that day that was promised, that day of deliverance, and the messenger that’s going to prepare the way is coming to let you know how God is going to deliver you from your bondage. And we have to remember that is what the whole gospel has been about, that God has entered into history at this time in Israel’s life. And he said, this is it, the second Exodus is here. This is the time that I’m going to save Israel. This is the time I’m going to exalt you over all the nations. And then we get the rest of the stories in the gospel of Mark, and sometimes we tilt our heads and we think, how exactly is that story being fulfilled in all of these things? Yet over and over, Mark does what? He makes sure to ground, to support Christ’s miracles, teachings, actions, and sermons with different quotations and references and allusions to the prophet Isaiah, saying, I haven’t gotten lost. I’m still on point. This is still the point. God is here to save Israel once again. That’s where we’re headed.

The Passover That Was

So remembering this setting of Mark, and with that in mind, we come to chapter 14, our passage this morning, having to do with the Passover. This is how this passage begins, and that’s the flow of the text and the flow of the sermon, right? How is this history, this meal and its meaning, how is it transformed and fulfilled in Christ? Well, he does this by, he walks us through the history to instruct us how the Passover is transformed and fulfilled in Christ by showing us the Passover that was, and then the Passover that is, and then the Passover that is to come. It says in verse 12, again, on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?

The Historical Passover

At the very front end of this text is a meal that every Israelite had been participating in ever since that first Exodus, historically, right? You’ll notice in our Old Testament reading, we read about this, the instruction and the command. In Exodus 12, 14, it says, this is the day that shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. As a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. And that was in the minds, in the hearts, in the practice, all the way up to the time of Christ the day. This was the Passover that was. They had kept the Passover, remembering what God had done for them so long ago, and they’re about to keep it again. So what was that meal like? What did they do? What was the Passover about? How did they go about keeping it? In Mark, we’re given these references that the Passover is taking place. And we have to think, what was the Passover like as they were about to take part in this meal?

The Significance of the Passover Meal

It was an annually commemorated meal, as we read, as was the command, and one of the most important parts of Jewish life. It was one of those three festivals that I mentioned a little bit ago that required what? It required that every male Jew make pilgrimage to Jerusalem in order to take part in it. It was required of them. It was a time where they remembered that God came to Egypt, and ultimately he invoked his wrath and judgment on the whole land. And the key, of course, as we look at this, as we think about these things is that deliverance follows Passover, right? After the Passover comes deliverance. It is a redemptive judgment though. And remember in that text, God says that he’s going to kill all the firstborn, both male and both man and beasts. And that was true even of the Israelites. God’s sword was falling on everyone, on all in that land. And yet God says there is a way that you can escape this judgment on your household. You’ll take a lamb, one year old, remember, without blemish, and you will sacrifice it, and you will put its blood on the lentils on your doorposts. And when I see it, I will act as if my judgment had fallen on that lamb, and I will pass you by. Some interpreters, some linguists point out the fact that Passover could be translated as cover over, right, as to cover over. Or as covering over those that have the blood by the blood, passing over those who have the blood. But every home received judgment. It was either by substitution through this lamb or by giving up your firstborn son in your household. they all receive judgment. And you remember what happened historically in this event. It says there was such a cry in Egypt, as has never been heard before, as they woke up to all of those slain sons. And yet Israel was able to avoid that judgment, not because God wasn’t ready to judge them as well, but because there was this lamb that took their place. And the results of that passing over of the angel was the release of Israel from that judgment. This judgment came upon the whole land. It ended with Israel being released from captivity, right? Their deliverance from bondage. This was the way they were freed from this strange judgment of God. This was their defining, identifying moment. And this meal is the remembrance of that moment of that deliverance.

The Structure of the Passover Meal

The meal itself was enacted in order to commemorate all of the acts of God, the mighty acts of the Lord and to remember that he rescued them from Egypt and to remember that he freed them from slavery and to remember that he alone had the power that was needed to free them. And also to remember that because of his actions, a special relationship and covenant and bond was born between God and Israel. He became the God of Israel that night. This special new union between he and his people was established that would remain forever. It was a family meal, as we see in Exodus 12, as we heard, and the family was too small. You brought your nearest neighbor with you. You came together, you gathered around the table, and the meal was eaten in different portions or sections. There were these different elements around the table, you know, unleavened bread and the bitter herbs and the lamb and so forth. And there was basically a liturgy that they followed that surrounded and would lead you through the meal as it was taking place. They would sing Psalms at different parts of the meal. And the host or the head of the family, the one who was designated for the task would lead the liturgy, and they would ultimately break it into four parts. It’s what came to be developed and known as, you may have heard of the Seder meal, the Seder as defined in the oral tradition, written down, the Mishnah, extra-biblical, not in Scripture, but written down as the practice that they would take part in. The meal was basically four parts, and they were distinguished by four different cups of wine. And ultimately, the head of the home would what? The head of this feast, he would lead with a pronouncement and a blessing. And he would praise God for both the festival that they were going to partake of and the wine that they were going to partake of. And the various foods were brought in as they were eaten. But of course, the main meal, the main part of the meal was that roasted lamb. It was brought in at some point in the service. And the youngest son would be triggered to ask, why do we do these things? What’s this all about? And it was the responsibility of the hosts. The core of this meal was just that, the answer, the retelling of a story. This is the main job of that host, the head that’s leading the liturgy through the Passover meal, because he’s the one that’s in charge of it. He’s the one been tasked with that through the liturgy to lead them. And his main job is to account for them by the retelling of the story, what God did for his people to save them. And this would then lead to praise. And the people would respond to the hearing of this story with songs and drinking of more wine. And then after the second cup, the host would take the bread and he would break it. He would give it to the people and he would say to them, This is the bread of our affliction, which our fathers ate in Egypt. And only then did the meal really begin with that lamb, the roasted lamb, which was then go on to the end. As you saw, even from the text, before midnight, it was not to remain until morning. The lamb was eaten afterwards in the third cup. The cup of blessing, as they call it, was partaken of, and there was a recital about the hope of Israel and the coming day of redemption by God’s servant, David. And then finally, more psalms are sung, singing and rejoicing, and a final cup and a blessing was given. This is the meal from the past, the Passover as it was. It’s all symbolic. It all has meaning and significance that we’ll get into in the next week or so. We’ll get into the Passover, not only that was, but the Passover that is, and the Passover that is to come next week.

The Call to Be a Remembering People

But I wanted to take a moment from this on this Lord’s Day that we’re about, that we are to be a remembering people, this point of remembrance and deliverance that we see in Scripture. And I’ll draw your attention to another great redemptive event of history, and that is Joshua, you recall, leading the people across the Jordan River into that promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the land that it says, as if it were watered from heaven itself. Is it imperative that we remember these things? Is it imperative that we are to be a remembering people? Oh, it is. It is, brothers and sisters. It is imperative.

The Crossing of the Jordan River

And so by way of background, as we look at this other redemptive event, remember, Israel had been freed by their mighty arm of the Lord. The Lord had given them a leader, Moses, who leads them out of Egypt through the great redemptive act of the Old Testament, the crossing of the Red Sea, the exodus from Egypt. And Moses is about to lead them into that promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. God has freed them from their bondage in Egypt and he’s given them instructions on how to live out that freedom in joy and in peace. We all know what happened with them. They had trouble and they were delayed entering in that land for four decades, for 40 years. And after these 40 years, you recall what happens to Moses, right? Their leader, Moses, he dies, and his successor is Joshua. And they are told, listen to him as if he were Moses. Give him the same ear, the same respect, and the same status as Moses had. He is the new Moses, Joshua, who will save the people, who will lead them into the promised land. And they finally come to the Jordan River, that which is keeping them, that which is the barrier into the promised land. They must cross it in order to finally enter into the land that was promised to them. And the crossing of the Jordan River is the climax point of the exodus. We don’t think of it this way that often, but it’s the climax point of the exodus and the start of the entry into the land. It acts as a sort of hinge. And they crossed the Red Sea out of Egypt, and they crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. But as the people reached this goal of their travel, they find something in the way of that goal, and that is this river, the Jordan River. It’s a barrier to the people from entering in to that land. And the text emphasizes for us, it tells us what time of year it was, that it is flooded. It is a humanly impassable barrier to the people. And you probably know what this is like. You can probably relate, especially if you’re a child or you have children, right? Or you’ve been a child. I think most of you have been. To travel and to be weary from travel, right? And again, for children, this can be torture, right? It can be torture for adults too. With all the anticipation and longing to be over, whether to get to your destination or to get back home from that trip, And you’re cresting that final hill or turn to the road before your destination, right? You’ve probably experienced this. And there’s something in the way, construction or an accident or some other obstacle preventing the nearly complete travel home to be over. Something keeping me from getting where I long to be, back to my place, back into my bed. And we think about this and we’ve all experienced this to some extent, but can you imagine how much more this nation wandering for 40 years is longing and rejoicing to enter into the land and the disappointment of finding this massive flooded river blocking the off-ramp for them to their destination. And remember, it’s not just the physical reality of the water that’s blocking them. Remember also just what water was to them, right? They were not a seafaring people. The sea, the river, the waters of chaos, they represented a particular thing, and that was fear. It was danger. It was dread to them. It represented, water did dread for them, and their crossing into the land was blocked by this flooded water of death. And for them, it was impossible to cross. The great climax of entering into this land is threatened by this obstacle. And actually it’s two obstacles, right? The first problem that needs to be resolved is the water. It’s an impassable river.

God’s Presence Resolves the Obstacle

So the Lord commands Joshua in chapter three to have the priest, you remember what he did, take the ark and enter the water. And in chapter four, it’s retold, this is exactly what comes to pass. The resolution of the problem of the river, of this water, is a mighty act of God. His very presence providing deliverance for his people, deliverance over the waters of death to the land of promise and life, his love and his grace to his people. And it’s important that we remember that ark that entered the water before them, that the priests were carrying. We know that it was a wooden box covered in gold, right? The details are laid out for us in scripture and had inside, you recall, mementos of God’s faithfulness, right? There was a jar of manna, the bread from heaven that fed them all this time. It had Aaron’s staff that miraculously budded. And also inside that ark were the two tablets of the law. On top, you’ll remember there was two cherubim facing each other, and in between was the very presence, it was the throne of God. The throne, of course, was empty. This could not contain God, God could not be pictured, but this ark represented the Lord’s presence in the midst of his people. It was the holiest symbol of commitment of the Lord to be with his weak and feeble and forgetful people. Here was his presence there in the ark. And the solution of the obstacle blocking their way was God’s very presence. But also the second part of this problem is, right, not just the water, but the war that is about to take place when they do come into the land. They know this is coming. And so the resolution, again, to the water and the war is God’s presence. The Lord had promised to accomplish victory for them. He promised beforehand this would take place, and His presence will ensure that this happens. They were to trust in His promises to them. They were to rest secure in the word that He’d given them, even in the face of distraction and temptation, to the contrary.

Fears and Weak Faith

And this also is like us today in so many ways, right? Just think of the defeat and collective sigh that they had given upon seeing this impassable river flooded and what lies before them if they get through. Think of the mother’s hearts as they realized while going through that river that on the other side was a war waiting for them, a battle for their sons and husbands and their fathers, which they would fight. You have the water and the war. And we also have fears and worries in our lives, right? We don’t think of them on the same level as the Israelites crossing a dreadful water and entering to a land where war lied before them. But we have fears and worries and weakness in our faith and in our trust in the Lord and in his word. Whether it is something very significant like a life-threatening illness or an accident, or chronic problems physically, or relational issues, or very real financial struggles that we go through, all to varying degrees. We also struggle with weak hearts and weak faith and weak memories. Even on this side of the cross and resurrection, we struggle. We battle the constant pull towards doubting, doubting what we know to be true in our minds, and these lures to disbelief and circumstances that challenge us are a real part of our pilgrim lives in this land and through this land, not our own. But understand, brothers and sisters, understand that the promise of God to be with his people is no less real for you than for the people of God in Joshua’s time. And indeed, the greater resolution unto life is yours. It is yours. Jesus Christ made his dwelling among us. Emmanuel, God with us, right? So in the promise and in his presence, the Lord provides resolution for them and for us this day, for Old Testament Israel. And yes, for you here in Fort Wayne, as well.

Memorial Stones and the Call to Remember

And then so that they will remember these things, the Lord commands Joshua, you will call this strange event to set up these memorial stones, to remember this great act of God and his faithfulness to them. And in order to pass on the memories to the children and to teach them that they would remember as well. And the call to remember is common in scripture, in general, and specifically, we see similar pattern of this same thing. Do this, and when your children ask, tell them this, right? We see, we read it earlier in Exodus 12, right, in the Passover meal. We see it in Deuteronomy 6 regarding the law of God, and we see it here in Joshua 4 at the crossing of the River Jordan. The Passover and the law were designed to raise questions from inquiring children, and the parents could tell them and to teach them the truth of how God himself spared them from death, set them free, and gave them his will, the law, to teach them how to live in that freedom, in joy and in peace, in his place. And here at the crossing of the Jordan, right, the terminus point, the ultimate point of the Exodus, We see again the rescue of the Lord in this pile of stones that would provoke the children to ask, what’s up with these rocks? What’s with the rocks? And in answering them, they would tell the children that the Lord himself acted to rescue our people and bring them into their home, into this promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey as though watered by the heavens above.

Forgetting in Fear and Favor

Well, we all know that despite these provisions from the Lord to remember, they still forgot just as we still forget, right? Despite the great things that God has done in redemptive history and even in our own lives. And there are two particular scenarios that we read about in scripture that lead us to forget most, right? We forget most when we are fearful and we forget when we are favored.

Forgetting in Fear

Right? When we’re fearful, right? We see this throughout the Old Testament. The history of Israel is full of times when they forget the Lord and abandon his ways. And like them, we have to have a problem with memory, with remembering the mighty acts of God in his favor towards us. We don’t need a show of hands to find out how many have this problem. I don’t think it’s just me, but I think we all do. Right, what fears tempt and distract you to forget God’s love for you? What fears tempt and distract you to forget his presence in your life or his grace and his power? What distracts you from remembering? What is the source of fear that causes your spiritual amnesia? Again, the Lord calls us back and he calls us to remember and to know and to trust him. And I know that when I am my weakest and I feel the pinch of life acutely in this fallen world, when I am most inundated by my inability to control the things in my own strength, this is when I most need to remember. Because this is when I am most aware of my fallen state and my weakness and most afraid of spinning off the tracks and most prone to forget. But we’re to remember, dear Christian, In the midst of your fears, remember what the Lord has done for you. Rest in his promise to you and rejoice in his presence with you. God with you. Emmanuel, Jesus Christ for you. He is your peace. He is your very life. Remember that.

Forgetting in Favor

So we forget when we’re fearful, but we also forget when we’re favored, right? Deuteronomy 8 tells us very clearly. The whole section, the whole passage is worth reading, but for time’s sake, Deuteronomy 8, starting in verse 10, tells us clearly, and you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Verse 11, take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes. And it goes on and it says, you’ll be full and you will forget all that the Lord has done in your fullness and your provision and your satisfaction. And I remember when I first read the Old Testament, I thought it was amazing that these Israelites were so lame. They were like comic book lame in their forgetfulness, in their dullness. They went through all of that, right? The Red Sea parted, went through. They ate the manna, the bread from heaven for 40 years. They drank water that flowed from the rock. Their shoes did not wear out, and all the rest, and yet they were still in disbelief again and again. How could they forget? Surely if that happened to me, I would never doubt or forget. But we do, we do, right? Israel was a picture of humanity for us, and we all do forget, and so need the memorial to keep us remembering, remembering the great acts of God, His identity and our identity in Him. And for us, it is the greatest act of God and His delivering you, His people, by the work of the Son, Jesus Christ, right? This one to whom you are united. If you are His, if you belong to Him, Colossians tells us, your life is hidden in His life. Remember, He made His dwelling, right? He tabernacled amongst us.

The Ark and the Cross

And before we conclude, I wanna look again at the presence of the Lord in this ark, right? The ark that went on the priest’s shoulders into the water. The ark that resolved the obstacle of that river and led to the command to erect those memorial stones. We know that the ark was rarely seen by the people. Only the priests and only once a year was to enter into the place where it was kept on the day of atonement. And what the priest would do for 40 years was sprinkle that gleaming golden throne with the blood of the spotless sacrificed animal as an atonement. For 40 years, the blood on the throne. And listen now, the ark was the very presence of the Lord himself. And it was his presence and the blood atonement, that blood-stained ark carried by the priest that removed the obstacle of death and allowed them into the land. Just that is the very presence of God himself and the atonement blood of Jesus Christ that removes the obstacle of death for you, his people, and brings you safely into the greater land of glory, the land which that promised land represented. And the event of crossing certainly pointed back to the Red Sea, but it pointed forward to a greater exodus, something that Mark has talked about throughout his gospel. And it’s coming to a head in the gospel of Mark. It pointed forward to this greater exodus where the Lord himself would undergo for his people. And so it’s from crossing to the cross that we see this schema worked out. In those 40 years of blood from the spotless animals could never remove truly human guilt, Hebrews 4 tells us. Indeed, the ark, and the rest of the picture give way to the reality of Christ’s coming and the work that he did on the cross. The greater servant of the Lord, not Moses, not Joshua, but Jesus has led us to the greater promised land. Not a physical location in the Middle East, but glory. And his death does grant us entrance into that land. He is raised to lead his people. He is raised to be with his people, his very presence and victory over death itself. He is the one stained with blood, his own atoning blood. And it is this bloodstained savior. If you are his who carries you victorious over death in Christ, through your pilgrim life in Christ and into the greater promised land, heaven itself, He has promised to lead us into victory, dear Christian. He has provided the resolution to the obstacle of death with his own death and resurrection.

The Lord’s Supper as a Greater Memorial

And he’s also given us a greater memorial, greater than the stones, greater than the Passover. A greater memorial is in the supper, that Passover leading to exodus, leading to deliverance, is displayed for us in the supper of the Lord that we partake of Lord’s day by Lord’s day, where judgment fell upon the perfect son of God in the place of fallen creatures like you and like me. He knows our foolishness. He knows our feebleness. He knows our forgetfulness. And by his mercy and his love, he has given us the means to remember and be strengthened and be fed through word, sacrament, and prayer. We call them the means of grace. And so, brothers and sisters, to the end of all of this, as we take this detour, this pause to reflect upon where we are and what’s going on in Mark and in the Passover that’s been introduced. In all of it, we know also the mighty power of our Lord in these great deeds of redemption throughout history, and most importantly, his great power seen in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, in your deliverance, in your salvation, in securing you an inheritance, a home in glory, not as if watered from heaven itself, but heaven itself. God keeps his promise. He is faithful and able. We are neither faithful nor able. We rely on ourselves, our own strength, our own provision, which is weak and unstable. Our sinful heart wants to forget and to be in control. Our life’s testimony by itself doesn’t declare God’s power. It doesn’t declare God’s rescue. What’s needed of us is to surrender and to rest and receive and live out what God has done and therefore who we are. We are to remember, this is who you are. Now be who you are. And we are to live our lives so that our children will ask, right? Our children will ask, why do we do these things? I remember once my nephew came with us, visited the church, and we sat on the front pew, and the time came for the supper, and the covers came off, and the smell of the wine and the bread wafts out, and we could smell it, and to me, it was just glorious. I loved smelling it, but to him, he was off-putting. It was kind of gross, right? He hadn’t acclimated himself to just what that means, just what it means, but there to ask us, why do we do these things? So we can tell them, because Christ saved us. He redeemed us, we belong to him. The lives we live are not our own. We were bought with a price. We are God’s people and Christ is our savior. Christ is the resolution for your ultimate problem. Not only for your birth, but also for all of your life.

Conclusion and Call to Praise

May we know this and may we honor him. As we partake of his appointed means for remembering this supper, let us consider these things afresh and praise him, brothers and sister, knowing more and more for certain in our weakness, again, who we are and whose we are, remembering his great deliverance and giving us life, life from death and a life to live for him. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray. Our gracious heavenly Father, We delight to give you praise. By the power of your spirit, we ask, give us strength to live, changed by the message that we have heard today, which you have given us, or changed by the truths of what you’ve told us. Dear Lord, we want to remember these truths. We want to believe your word. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. And may we grow to know and to love and to believe, and may we find our life in Christ. We do ask, dear Lord, use providence for the furtherance of the gospel in this city. Do a work, we pray, in this area to glorify yourself by this small colony of the kingdom of heaven that you have raised up and strengthened and led us along. Lord, we praise you and we pray for all of us. Help us to have hearts that are so full of your love, showing kindness and love for one another. To the extent that the outside world would see your people’s peculiarity and our joy and demeanor and behavior and peace and love, use us in our lives to witness to the truth of the gospel for your glory. We praise you that you have fed us again this morning as we’ve heard your word. May we see that you. May we see that this is our life and our sustenance. We praise you, dear Lord. We ask all these things in the mighty name of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.