Jesus: He Died For Me

Sermon: Phil Hopwood, April 4th, 1998

 

Scripture Readings:

OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE:

Isaiah 53:1-12

1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him stricken by God,

smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

And who can speak of his descendants?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the LORD makes his

life a guilt offering,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous

servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE:

John 6:53-58

53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

 

INTRODUCTION:

  1. WHY DID JESUS DIE?
    1. Because it was God’s plan
      1. Because it was what Jesus voluntarily took upon himself to do
    2. But why else?
      1. He died for me, He died for you
      2. He died for our sake, for our good, not for his own
        1. He died because there was no other way we that good could be achieved
        2. As the Good Shepherd he laid down his life for his sheep
  2. OUR PASSAGE FOR TODAY IS Matthew 26:26-28

    3. Matthew 26:26-28

    26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

    27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    1. As we prepare to participate in the Lord’s Supper
      1. Let’s consider the sacrifice, the death of our Saviour, the life he gave for you and me
      2. Let’s see what we can learn from the symbols he gave us with which to remember his death for us

    BODY:

  3.   WE BELIEVE THERE ARE FOUR BASIC REASONS JESUS DIED
    1. Notice how they are all integrally connected
      1. He died for you and me
      2. He died for our sins
      3. He died our death when he died for our sins
      4. He died for our sins so that he might bring us to the Father
    2. These four reasons encompass all the theological words and their depths of meaning and application;
      1. Terms and concepts that describe so much of what Christianity is all about;
        1. Salvation, reconciliation, atonement, justification, sanctification, propitiation, redemption, sacrifice and forgiveness,
      2. As Christians, we believe that Jesus death entailed and accomplished all these things
    3. Let’s now turn to our passage and see how these theological issues that we so often talk and read about are brought out and highlighted by Jesus Himself

     
  4. THE LAST SUPPER

    Matthew 26:26-28

    26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

    27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    1. Jesus was facing the last day of his life
      1. He had already seen his last sunset
        1. Death was less than 24 hours away
        2. Our text deals with what was in the heart of mind of Jesus as he faced his imminent death on the cross
      2. Yet his focus on this evening was not backwards on a mission that he has completed – but still looking forward, because to Jesus, the heart and core of his mission lay not behind him in his life, but immediately ahead in his death
        1. It wasn’t until just seconds before he died that he was finally able to say, "It is finished" as we read in John 19:30

          2. John 19:30

          30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

        2. In these his last hours, the central reason for his incarnation, for his life and work on the earth would be fulfilled
        3. We see all of this clearly in what takes place at his Last Supper.
    2. On this, Jesus’ last evening, We find him with his disciples in the quiet seclusion of an upper room
      1. It is described in Mark 14:14 as "a large upper room, furnished and ready"
        1. There was probably a large low table with large reclining cushions around it on the floor
      2. It doesn’t seem that there was any servant present, because no one had washed their feet.
        1. None of the disciples had been humble or thoughtful enough to take on this menial job --
          1. So to the great embarrassment of the disciples, Jesus became their servant, put on a servants towel or apron, and stooped down and washed their feet from the dust and grime of the streets outside
        2. We read about this in John 13
      3. He taught them that they all needed to be washed by him
        1. And that they all should become servants as he was
      4. He taught them that one of them was going to betray him
      5. He taught them that although he was going to go away, he would come back
        1. But that in the meantime
        2. He told them that they would suffer persecution
        3. That he was also going to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to lead and comfort them
      6. He taught them that he was the way, the truth and the life
        1. That he and the Father were one
        2. He talked about how he was going where they could not go, but that he was going to prepare a place, a home for them with the Father
        3. He told them of the access they would have through him to the Father to ask what ever they needed
  1. THE BREAD AND WINE
    1. Sometime later into the Supper, Jesus took some bread

      2.  

      Matthew 26:26-28

      26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

      27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    2. These words and actions are so familiar
      1. yet behind them we find the heart and core of Jesus mission, the heart and core of the Gospel message, the essence of our faith and Christian lives.
      2. John Stott writes about them;

      It is a pity that we are so familiar with them that they tend to lose their impact. For they throw floods of light on Jesus’ own view of his death. By what he did with the bread and wine, and by what he said about them, he was visibly dramatizing his death before it took place and giving his own authoritative explanation of its meaning and purpose. (The Cross of Christ).

    3. THERE ARE AT LEAST THREE LESSONS WE CAN LEARN FROM THIS PASSAGE ABOUT THE BREAD AND WINE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER:

 
  1. FIRST LESSON: JESUS’ DEATH IS THE HEART AND CORE OF CHRISTIANITY

    2. I Corinthians 11:23-24

    23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

    1. Jesus was instituting a ceremony, a memorial observance to replace the Passover of the Old Covenant
      1. These days there is often a memorial service held when someone dies, but it is usually held just once as a final tribute by relative and friends
      2. This was to be a regular repeated meal or service
        1. He told them whenever they ate the bread and drank the cup to do it "in remembrance of me."
        2. As Paul notes, v26 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes."
      3. They were to repeat what he showed them;
        1. "To take, break, give thanks for, identify and share bread and wine."
    2. WHAT DID THE BREAD AND WINE SIGNIFY?

      3. Matthew 26:26-28

      26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

      1. He said that the Bread signified his body that he gave for us.

        2. 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

      2. He said the wine was his blood

        3. Luke 22:20 This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

      3. In both the bread and the wine we see Jesus' death
        1. The bread didn’t represent his living body, nor did the wine symbolise the blood running through his veins and giving him life at that moment, or in the past.
          1. The bread stood for his body that was about to be given for them in death, and the wine stood for the fact that his blood was ging to be "poured out" for us on the cross in death.
        2. John Stott;

        The evidence is plain and irrefutable. The Lord’s Supper, which was instituted by Jesus, and which is the only regular commemorative act authorized by him, dramatizes neither his birth nor his life, neither his words nor his works, but only his death. Nothing could indicate more clearly the central significance which Jesus attached to his death. It was by his death that he wished above all else to be remembered. There is then, it is safe to say, no Christianity without the cross. If the cross is not central to our religion, ours is not the religion of Jesus.

      4. As the only repeated commemorative act that Jesus instituted for his people – the Lord’s Supper fully and totally focuses on Jesus death
        1. How clear it is then, that the DEATH of our Lord is the most central and important part of our faith
          1. The part we should continually discuss, remember and rely on

     
  2. SECOND LESSON: THE PURPOSE OF JESUS’ DEATH:
    1. Through the Lord’s SUPPER service we we learn of the purpose of Jesus’ Death
      1. According to what we read in I Corinthians and Luke, Jesus blood is associated with the New Covenant
      2. Which as we read in Matthew 26:28

      28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

    2. SO THE PURPOSE OF JESUS’ DEATH WAS
      1. To establish the New Covenant
      2. To bring for many the forgiveness of sins
    3. THE NEW COVENANT
      1. As we know God made a covenant with Abraham, and later re-established it through Moses with Israel.
        1. Both covenants were ratified with blood sacrifices
        2. After hundreds of years of breaking the covenant God told his people through the prophet Jeremiah;
          1. That the time would come when he would make a new covenant unlike the old one which they broke;
          2. And he stated;

        Jeremiah 31:34b

        34 "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

      2. More than 600 years passed before this prophecy, the New Covenant and forgivenesss of sin was fulfilled in the pouring out of the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross
    4. SUMMARY: THROUGH THE BREAD AND WINE, Jesus’ plainly taught that the purpose of his death was to;
      1. Bring in the New Covenant, which would lead to the forgiveness of our sins, and a new relationship with God
  1. THE THIRD LESSON is that we need to PERSONALLY appropriate Jesus’ Death
    1. Jesus word’s and actions at the Lord’s Supper show that his death is not something to just know about;
      1. It is something we need to be involved with, and to make part of our lives
    2. Jesus didn’t just show them the bread and the wine or just talk about them;
      1. What did he do?
      2. He took them, broke the bread, and blessed the bread and the wine, he identified what they signified (his death),
        1. Then what did he do?

        Matthew 26:26-28

        26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body."

        27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

      3. He shared the bread and shared the wine. He gave it to them.
        1. He said of the bread, "Take eat"
        2. He said of the wine; ""Drink from it, all of you."
      4. When the disciples took the bread and wine, they were no longer spectators in this dramatic and symbolic enactment of Jesus death and its effects
        1. They were participants in it.

        1 Corinthians 10:16-17

        16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

      5. John Stott:

      Just as it was not enough for the bread to be broken and the wine to be poured out, but they had to eat and drink, so it was not enough for him to die, but they had to appropriate the benefits of his death personally. The eating and drinking were, and still are, a vivid acted parable of receiving Christ as our crucified Saviour and of feeding on him in our hearts by faith.

      John 6:53-58

      53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

    3. We must understand the significance of Jesus' death and its purpose:
      1. But that understanding does not have any effect on our lives, unless we personally accept and appropriate Jesus death for ourselves, for our lives
      2. Just as we eat and drink, and take into ourselves the symbols of Jesus death, we must accept and receive his real death
      3. We cannot be mere spectators, seeing and knowing what Jesus has done, but failing to see the need for carnal selves, our guilt and sins to actually die with and in Jesus death on the cross.
        1. We must be participants in, we must share in his death, in order that we may participate and share in the results his death brings;
          1. Forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God, a new and eternal life as members of his body
      4. If we know about Jesus’ death, but haven’t personally accepted the death of Jesus for our own sins why hold back?
        1. No matter how old we are, or how long we have attended church, this is a step God deeply wants us all to take if we haven’t already.
          1. Jesus has given his life, he calls on us to simply and personally accept it for ourselves and receive its benefits
      5. The fundamental and ongoing need for us to remember, signify and celebrate these things, is the reason why it is good to celebrate the Lord’s Supper regularly

      CONCLUSION:
    4. So what do we learn from the Lord’s Supper?
      1. That in the mind of Jesus, his death was the centre of his mission and purpose. We learn that his death on the cross is the heart of the gospel, of what we believe and teach
      2. We learn that his death took place to establish the New Covenant, and to make possible the complete and permanent removal of our sins, to bring us into a new and eternal relationship with God
      3. Thirdly, we learn that we must personally accept Jesus death on our behalf in order to gain the benefits it brings.
  1. The Lord’s Supper is not a simple remembering of a LIFE.
bulletBy our repeated taking of the bread and wine, we signify both
bulletthe gift God has given us in Jesus death;

and

bulletour receiving of that gift and all its wonderful benefits and blessings
bulletOur participation in the Lord’s supper is intended to be, as Paul reminds us, a real and personal "participation in the body and blood of Christ" (I Corinthians 10:16).

Quotes and much of the material behind this sermon are taken from John R.W. Stott's excellent book "The Cross of Christ" Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, UK, 1989, p. 63-71.

 

 

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