Tag Archives: Servant

The Medicine – Sermon for Maundy Thursday

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are Exodus 12:1-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; and John 13:1-15, 34-35.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

When a doctor gives you a prescription for medicine, it doesn’t really matter if you understand how the medicine works. It doesn’t matter if you understand how that medicine is made. You don’t need to know exactly what that medicine does in your body. The only thing that matters is that the doctor who says, “Take this. It will heal you,” is right and that you actually take it.

Tonight, your Savior, Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, has a prescription for you, and it is the medicine of immortality.

So, we have to ask, “Is Jesus’ Word trustworthy?” Yes; absolutely yes! The power of Jesus’ Word is seen when He created everything (Jn. 1:3). In the beginning, God spoke, “Let there be light,” and there was light (Gen. 1:3). The power of Jesus’ Word is on full display throughout His life. When Jesus says something, it happens – always. When He speaks to paralytics, “Take up your bed and walk,” that powerful Word heals limbs that didn’t work (Mk. 2:11-12; Jn. 5:8-9), and it happens. When Jesus says to the wind and waves, “Peace, be still,” (Mk. 4:39), it happens. When Jesus hands the disciples five loaves of bread and two fish to the disciples and says, “Use this to feed thousands of people,”(Lk. 9:16), it happens. When Lazarus has been dead in his tomb for four days and Jesus tells him, “Lazarus, come out,” (Jn. 11:43-44), he does. There’s no question that Jesus’ Word is powerful and does exactly what Jesus says.

So, when Jesus says to you tonight, “Take eat; take drink. This is for you for the forgiveness of sin,” does His Word have the power to forgive? Yes. When Jesus says, “This is My Body; this is My Blood,” does His Word have the power to make the bread and wine His Body and Blood? Yes. Do we have to understand how it works? No. Not at all. If Jesus wanted us to understand the how, He would’ve told us. But He didn’t, so we simply believe His Word.

Sure, it seems strange that eating and drinking the elements of Communion would do something spiritual like forgiving sin. Most of the things we eat are for physical benefits. We eat to fuel our body and give it the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs. But eating food and having it do something spiritual sounds strange. But it shouldn’t. Remember how sin and death entered the world? Through eating the forbidden fruit. That eating was the sin that brought about both physical and spiritual sickness, death, and separation from God that has spread like a virus to all humanity (Ro. 5:12). God had warned Adam that would happen (Gen. 2:17), and God’s Word proved true (Gen. 3:6-7). So, when Jesus, the Son of God, promises that this meal will forgive sin (Mt. 26:28), His Word is also trustworthy and true.

A quick disclaimer before I go on here: I’m not a doctor, so what I’m about to say isn’t intended to be medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare professional.

When you get an ear infection, a doctor will prescribe an antibiotic to target and kill the bad bacteria. But those antibiotics will also kill the good bacteria in your gut that you need to properly digest food. When a doctor prescribes an antibiotic, he might also advise you to take a probiotic to keep all the biotics [sic.] in your body in balance. So, when you have a bacterial infection, you might end up taking two things – a prescription of antibiotics and a supplement of probiotics. Again, that’s not medical advice; talk to your healthcare provider.

Tonight, your Great Physician gives you one medicine, but it does two things. First, it fights off and rids you of the infection of sin through forgiveness. And second, it bestows, grants, and gives life. This one medicine of Jesus’ Body and Blood does both.

Listen to what Jesus says about this medicine in John 6. Jesus says that He is the living bread that comes down from heaven, so that you may eat of it and not die (Jn. 6:50). Christ says that when you eat this bread, you will live forever(Jn. 6:51). Jesus says that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life (Jn. 6:54) because His flesh is true food, and His blood is true drink (Jn. 6:55). Christ says that by this eating and drinking, you abide in Him and He abides in you (Jn. 6:56).

In other words, this medicine kills your sin through forgiveness, and it nourishes and strengthens you so you love others in the same way as Jesus did. One of the prayers we use to thank God for what He gives in Communion highlights this. It goes, “We give thanks to You, Almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this gracious gift, and we ask that in Your mercy You would strengthen us through [this meal] in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another.”

Holy Communion strengthens your love for others because it joins you to Jesus and Him to you. And this joining of you and Jesus results in love for others. And the love that Jesus has for His disciples, which is beautifully demonstrated in our Gospel reading (Jn. 13:1-15, 34-35) is a humble, sacrificial, self-giving kind of love. Think of it. The One who had shaped Adam from the soil (Gen. 2:7) now stoops to wash the soil from the feet Adam’s sons (Jn. 13:5). The One who powerfully yet intricately placed all the galaxies, stars, and planets into orbit now kneels with a water basin and a rag. The medicine of the Lord’s Supper pours that kind of love into you and strengthens you to give that same love to others. And by you having that same kind of love, Jesus says that all people will know that you are His disciples (Jn. 13:35). 

So, whenever you feel your sin, come. Receive this medicine. Whenever your love grows cold, come. Receive this medicine. 

Medicine always has a cost, and so does this medicine. But Jesus, your Great Physician, foots the bill. He absorbs the entire cost. Christ fully pays for it so you can receive it gratis. Tomorrow, you’ll hear Jesus cry out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mk. 14:34). That was the cost, and it is completely covered by Jesus.

Dear saints, you have a Great Physician who heals, who forgives, who strengthens, who increases your love, and who gives you the medicine you need to lead you unto life everlasting. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Common Union – Sermon for Maundy Thursday

The Scripture readings for tonight’s service are
Exodus 24:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; and John 13:1-15, 34-35.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

On this night, 3,470 years ago, God appointed a feast. God told His people to slaughter a lamb, take its blood, put it on the doorposts of their houses, and live. But the lamb wasn’t only used for its blood. God’s also told them to roast the lamb’s body and eat it. Those Passover lambs doubly provided for God’s people. First, the lambs’ blood marked the doors of God’s people which protected, shielded, and delivered them from the sentence of death. And second, the lambs’ bodies provided the strength and nourishment the people needed for what would happen the next day (Ex. 12:1-14). The morning after that first Passover, God’s people gathered themselves and all that they had and left Egypt to begin their journey to the Promised Land.

On this night, 1,991 years ago, our Lord Jesus celebrated the final Passover feast with His disciples. After that meal was done, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” Then, He took the cup, blessed it, and gave it to the disciples saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

By doing this, Jesus put an end to the old covenant that His people had broken and established the New Covenant. In this New Covenant, He forgives your iniquity and remembers your sin no more. And this New Covenant does more than that. Because of this New Covenant, God promises to be your God and make you His people (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-13). Forgiveness and being God’s people. This New Covenant delivers forgiveness through the shedding of Jesus’ blood, but don’t forget that this meal also unites us together as God’s forgiven people.

In 1 Cor. 10:16-17, Scripture says that the Bread and Cup of the Lord’s Supper are, as the ESV translates it, a “participation” in the Body and Blood of Christ. Unfortunately, the way we use “participation” most often these days is simply showing up. In some competitions, simply showing up gets you a participation ribbon. Translating that word as “participation” might give the impression that Jesus does nothing more than show up in the Bread and Cup. I prefer the KJV which uses the word “communion.” The Bread and Cup of the Lord’s Supper is a “communion” in the Body and Blood of Christ. These elements unite us with the Body and Blood of Christ.

Because the Lord’s Supper is, according to Jesus, His true Body and Blood, it first unites us with Him. And second, since this Sacrament unites us with Jesus, it also unites us with one another. It makes us one body (1 Cor. 10:17).

We need this unity, this communion with one another. The first thing that God says about mankind is, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Man alone is not good. That doesn’t mean that man alone is bad; it’s just not good. To make mankind good, God creates a woman, a companion, a wife, a bride for Adam and this completes him. Then, not only is mankind good like the rest of creation; humanity is elevated above the rest of creation and is very good (Gen. 1:31). We were not created for ourselves to live in isolation. We are created for others.

In the Lord’s Supper, we become a united community, a holy and forgiven people who are bonded together with Jesus and with one another as the body of Christ. And as a body, we love and care for one another because we need each other (1 Cor. 12:12-27).

If one part of your body is hurt, the rest of your body compensates. If you cut one of your fingers, you use your other fingers to do what needs to be done while the injured finger heals. If you break an arm or leg, the other one picks up the slack. When Jesus gives us this new commandment to love one another, He is calling you to do the same thing for the other members, the other parts, of the body of Christ. And the love you have and demonstrate for your brothers and sisters in Christ is evidence to the world that you are truly Jesus’ disciples (Jn. 13:35).

On the same night, 1,991 years ago, when Jesus gave us Holy Communion, He also served His disciples by washing their feet. For several reasons, foot washing isn’t a Sacrament. One of the reasons is that Jesus says that washing was a lesson on how to love one another. He asks if they understand the lesson (Jn. 13:12) and says that what He did was an example of serving others (Jn. 13:14).

By that example, the Creator of all things makes the glory of His love shine by humbly serving His creatures. Jesus is the God of love, and He loves you by giving to you and serving you. This example of foot washing shows that we followers of Jesus are to give and to love and to serve each other as He does. Christ says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34-35).

What does this love look like? Jesus will say a little later, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13). Laying down your life for someone else can only happen once because you only have one life to lay down. The day may come when you need to lay down your life to save a friend’s life. But until then, lay down your life in the all the other little ways that you can. Lay down your pride and ambition and self-interest and ease and comfort to love and serve your neighbor. Lay down your lives to love and protect those for whom Christ has died because we are a holy communion, God’s blessed, forgiven community.

As you come tonight to receive this Sacrament, this Holy Communion, you receive Christ’s Blood that protects you from death. And you also receive the nourishment and strength that you need to love one another.

So, tonight, come to this altar, this table, at your Savior’s invitation. Come and behold God. Come and eat. Come and drink. Come and be united with Christ and united with one another. Then go. Show the world that you are truly Christ’s disciples by your love for one another as you journey to the Promised Land of His eternal kingdom. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.