Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit | Good Friday Service | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (3/29/24)

Good evening. I was asked to ask you if you could please move to the center just to allow more people to come in from the sides. You are in the right place today. You are here because you want to remember what Christ has done for you. You are here because you want to say to the Lord, thank you.

Thank you for the cross. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for paying the price. Thank you for saving me. You are in the right place.

Let us begin by reading from God's holy word from the book of Revelation chapter one beginning in verse four. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us a kingdom of priests to his god and father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him, even so. Amen.

I'm the alpha and the omega, says the lord god, who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty. And verse 12, then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In the right hand, he held seven stars from his mouth, came a sharp two edged sword, and his face was like the sun shines in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet and as though as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me saying, fear not. I'm the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades.

We worship a living God. He's alone. He could die and could rise from the dead again. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you.

We thank you for the cross. We thank you for loving us unto death. We are wretched sinners now washed in the blood, now justified because of what Christ has done for us. Lord, we give you the glory, the honor, and the praise. Amen.

From John chapter three. No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Isaiah 53, one to seven. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was a chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is before its shearers silent, so he opened not his mouth.

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should But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. Perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Lord, we look to you tonight with unspeakable gratitude. Lord, these words on these on these, the screen and the songs that we sing do not do justice to the praise and the honor that you deserve. But, Lord, what what we have and what we can do, we give to you. And tonight, we have gathered to reflect on the greatest act of love that the world has ever known. Lord, open our eyes to see your love in a deeper way, in a personal way, in a transforming way.

And, Lord, we just ask that your son would be exalted as we discuss these things, sing about these things, reflect on these things, and worship you for these things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. You may be seated.

The gospel accounts harmoniously inform us that the precious lamb of God was crucified at a specific time until another specific time. We are told that he hung there suspended between the heavens and the earth beginning at 9AM, and he breathed his final breath at 3PM, totaling his suffering on the cross specifically to about six hours. And the Holy Spirit has preserved for us many snapshots of that dreadful segment of time. But tonight, we will turn our attention to the final three hours of Jesus' suffering as recorded by Luke. And so I invite you, if you have a copy of God's word in your hand, to meet me in Luke chapter 23, beginning in verse 44.

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed, and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God saying, certainly, this man was innocent. And all the crowds that had assembled for the spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

And all his acquaintances and the woman who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. There are three observations that we will make from this portion of scripture, though you can make many more. For the sake of our limited meditation, we will consider first the scene of this text. And from there, we will look at the statement made in this text. And finally, we will look at an interesting character who is the soldier in this text.

What we see here in the scene is in verse forty four and forty five. The spirit of God underscores for us a supernatural occurrence that took place during the span of these final three hours. We are told that at the sixth hour, which is noon, there was a blackout over the land that was triggered. In the words of Luke, it was the sun's light that had failed. And this incident was far from normal, and it was not to be expected.

This blackness that covered the scene cannot even fit under the category of a solar eclipse because history has proven that these phenomenons only last a few minutes. But in this case, we see that there is this veiling. There is this unexplainable kind of canvas that overshadows the cross specifically, though the span was greater, for a long period of time. And leading us to wonder this, who was it that was in charge of turning off the world's light for these three hours? And once we determine that, we have to ask why was it done.

I think the answer to the first question is quite obvious. It was God the father who did it. He was the one who unfolded this blanket of blackness. But why was it done? There have been many attempts to explain it, and I'm sure to the Jewish mind, even for the blasphemers who stood before the lamb of God at this very moment, they understood what this meant, at least to a certain extent.

Because the Hebrew scriptures in more than one place makes a clear connection between paranormal darkness and God's displeasure. And I wanna show you and just read to you one place where this is clearly explained, and you don't have to turn there. Just listen with a careful ear. Amos says in chapter eight of his book from verse nine to 10, and on that day declares the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. I will turn your feast into morning and all your songs into lamentation.

I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head. I will make it like the morning for an only sun and the end of it like a bitter day. The Jews were very familiar with the connection between this kind of activity that can only be explained by transcendent being and him expressing through it his judgment. And we see here that even this crowd, as I said earlier, interpreted the gloominess that surprised them that afternoon in such a way. You read it with me, did you not?

Well, let me remind you in verse 48 of the same chapter. And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. The same crowd who were mocking and scorning and rejoicing at the death of the blameless one, all of a sudden now turn their backs on that spectacle and make their way home mourning and ashamed. And some would even believe that what happened here, the response of these people was the beginning of a softening of the heart that would prepare them for the gospel being declared by the apostles in just a few weeks. Though this may be one purpose for this darkness, this is not the primary one because the words of Jesus Christ explain clearly what this is all about.

And Matthew was the one who told us how Christ saw and experienced this darkness. Again, you don't have to turn there, but I just ask you to listen with a careful ear. In Matthew's gospel in chapter 27 verse forty five and forty six, now from the sixth hour, the same thing as our text here. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Eli Eli Levi Saba'tani.

That is my God my God, why have you forsaken me? It's clear that Jesus gives us the meaning of this darkness. During those three eerie hours, the son of God not only experienced divine judgment as the sin bearer of the world, but he experienced this pain from the withdrawal of the father's favorable presence from him, manifested through this thick darkness that veiled his face. This curtain of darkness was a declaration that the light of the father has been removed and for a period of time did not shine over the sun leaving him isolated with the sins of Adam's race on his shoulders. And what that means for you and me is that this separation that was really the essence of the son of God's suffering, The thing that he underwent here would secure your eternal fellowship with God.

The bible describes hell in many ways, and one of the descriptions of that horrid place, that is a real place, is that it is a place of outer darkness. And for the redeemed, that reality, that eternal reality is never to be feared, is never to be considered a possibility because as we just read here, the son of God sat in this divine darkness so that you could enjoy his eternal light forever and ever. This is the scene. But then we come to this statement because my God, my God, why have you forsaken me is not the only thing that Jesus Christ uttered from those sinless lips on that cross. In fact, the bible collects for us and preserves for us seven statements that Jesus made on the cross.

Seven is a good number. It's a number of perfection in the bible. It's the number of completion. And Jesus makes seven utterances. And the one that we read in our main text in Luke chapter 23 verse 46 is the final one of the seven where Jesus again says, father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

And much can be said about this statement, but our time limits us to only a couple of comments. What does it mean for Jesus to say this? Well, the first thing that it means is that it signals the restoration of the fellowship between the father and the son. I must tread here lightly. This is holy ground.

And I would caution you, student of the word of God, perhaps some preachers of the word of God, from making conclusions from this moment and in this text. Because the Bible does not give us give us extensive explanation of the theological mechanics of what is happening here. And so be careful and just work with what has been clearly stated in the word of God. Can I tell you something with honest admission? This time of the year is the most difficult time for preparation on my part because we understand the simplicity of the gospel.

When you dig deep and you look at the cross long enough, as clear and as simple as it is, there is profound mystery that should invoke a fear of God in our hearts. And he would never have to visit such a dreadful thing again. And look at the great eagerness that erupted from the sun. It says, then Jesus calling out with a loud voice. He did not say it quietly.

He did not say it with weakness, though you would think that after such bruising and unspeakable torture, you would say it with stammering lips, with brokenness in your voice. No. With a loud voice, with great force and great confidence, he declared his soon arrival into the loving hands of the father. But there's more here. Because the careful choice of words that Jesus makes at this time indicates something else, another snippet of his glory.

It shows us that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was in complete control of every moment of his suffering. Notice here that he said he would commit his spirit into the hands of the father and then he'd breathe his last. He determined when he would breathe his last. And he said it audibly when he would do it. And so tonight, let us not look at a helpless savior.

Let us not look at a victim who is hand hanging there. Yes. We are about to, in a couple of days, rejoice with great song and how Jesus, through his resurrection, conquered death. But he was a conqueror through and through. He wasn't a conqueror just on the third day.

No. No. No. No. He voluntarily surrendered his life into the hands of his enemies.

And all the way through, he willingly gave himself over to them. And even to this moment, he willingly surrenders his life into the hands of the father. He's orchestrating this every moment. So, yes, there is an element of this that makes us sad about what our sin has done, but we're supposed to look at a strong savior tonight. We're supposed to look at a warrior tonight, a warrior of love, One who laid down his life for a bunch of people who didn't deserve it.

And one who was again in total control every moment of this of this afternoon. And we see him here in control because he was not just a man, he was God in the flesh. And let me remind you of the words of the first Christian martyr who himself experienced the murdering of evil men. In Acts seven fifty nine, Stephen was being stoned. Let me read these words.

They sound familiar, do they not? And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. I find that amazing for many reasons. Let me tell you one of them. He didn't say father, receive my spirit.

He says, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Also, Jesus is alive. Well, he is alive. But why would why would he say Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth receive my spirit? Because Stephen and the early church understood that Jesus of Nazareth was not just a man.

He was coequal in divinity and ability with the father. And so Jesus could hear Stephen and Jesus could receive his spirit because Jesus is God. And that makes sense to why this transaction is so significant. We are not celebrating a prophet's death merely. We're not celebrating a good teacher who at one point in history gave some good maxims for people to regulate their lives with.

We are looking at a transaction that is taking place that would not just split time in two, but would determine your faith for eternity. There's something else going on here than just someone being nailed to a cross. This someone is someone more significant than you can imagine. And so, Stephen tells us that, but it wasn't just Stephen who understood that. There was a soldier who understood that as well.

And that's when we come back to our main text and we read in verse 47. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, certainly, this man was innocent. Now this centurion was no insignificant figure. A centurion would be in charge of many, many soldiers. This man was overseeing this execution.

This man was supervising Jesus' torturing and the blaspheming, and we should have no hesitation to believe that he actually participated in it as well. And this centurion has seen many crucifixions, I'm sure. He was promoted to manage this one, at least, so surely he had some kind of a resume. But this centurion who has seen many, many, many hang on a Roman cross, for the first time, see something that he's never seen before. We're told here that when he saw what had taken place, he praised God, a Gentile, a Pagan, an unbeliever.

How can this be? Well, I'm sure that the midnight at midday had something to do with it. In another gospel accounts, we're told also that there was a great earthquake. I'm sure all of that quickly registered in in his mind that this is this is not mere coincidence, but it wasn't just those things that were happening around him. It wasn't just creation crying out.

It was creation crying out in the way that it did with what this man saw and heard from this man who had above his head, king of the Jews. It was this centurion who heard from the dry and cracked lips of this man, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And it was a centurion who witnessed this Jesus not only praying to God, but looking over to a true criminal who offered his last minute faith. And this Jesus assuring him that he would have eternal life by declaring, today you will be with me in paradise. And it was a centurion who also silently observed this Jesus, not just looking over to his side, but looking down below and seeing his mother and concerned while he is dying there gasping for for air of her well-being in his absence.

And so he organizes something for her to be taken care of when he would leave, And he looks over at the disciple that laid his head on his bosom and said, behold, this is your mother. And looked at her and said, behold, your son. And it was the same Jesus who also in his humanity would say with great dignity, I thirst. And it would also be a strange sound to the centurion who, yes, heard him say, I thirst. Who, yes, even before that heard him say, my god, my god, why have you forsaken me?

But this what is this all about where he with great strength declares it is finished, indicating that there is some kind of transaction that is taking place beyond human perception. And finally, his concluding remark would be a prayer. The last person on his lips would be the father. And from his heart, the centurion would hear Jesus hearing saying rather, father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Surely, no man has ever died this way.

And if there is anyone who would confess that, it was the centurion. And it's Matthew who gives us even greater detail of this admission that this centurion makes, and not just the centurion, but the band of men that were with him. Again, listen carefully from Matthew 27 verse 54. When the centurion and those who are with him keeping watch over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly, this was the son of God. Not just that he was innocent, not just that he was righteous, These brutal, heartless, mean, Gentile men in this moment, praise God, and with awe declared publicly, this was the son of God.

How amazing that, again, you have a pagan making this admission as he stands in the crowd of a bunch of unbelieving Jews who for three years witnessed a man fulfill prophecy, who for three years never saw him sin, never heard him make a mistake, and have only done miracle after miracle to prove that he is more than just a man. And yet, right at the cross, you have a confession from a distant fellow who says this is the son of God. Foreshadowing for sure the coming harvest of a people that are not connected to the covenant people of God. Foreshadowing a collection of a sheep that are not of this fold, and fulfilling what Jesus had said earlier in John that when he would be lifted up, he would draw all men unto himself. How marvelous it is.

And I wonder if all of us in this place have come with the common agreement with this centurion that this death is no ordinary death and that this man is no ordinary man. Do you believe that? You know, it's not very difficult to become emotional at the sight and the sound of the crucifixion of Christ. You had this centurion praising God. That's wonderful.

And you had this crowd beating their breast. It's it's nearly impossible to not be moved about this truth, but being moved is not enough. Being reverent for an hour and a half once a year on Good Friday is not enough. Yes. It is emotional.

Yes. It is sobering. Yes. It is historical. Yes.

You cannot deny it as much as you would want to. But the point of what Jesus has done is not so that he can be admired from a distance. It's so not that he can have his pity for a brief evening so that you would understand the legal implications of it and that you would realize how personal this death is to you in 2024 even. Do you know why Jesus Christ went to great lengths to die in the way that he died? It was because it was the only way for sinners like you and me to receive eternal life.

There is no other way. There was no other sacrifice that could be made. The only thing that would satisfy the justice of god is if god the son would come in the flesh and die in the way that he died. And he died in this way, not as a universal application to all men that no matter what you do, no matter what you believe, what has been done will apply to you, and we're all going to the same place. That is not true.

What has been done here is a gift, but you have to open your hands and receive it. You have to accept it. You have to understand that this is something that's been extended to you, but it's not gonna be forced on you. God so loved the world that he did this. God so loved you that he did this.

And you might be, in your own estimation, the worst sinner that you know. Know this, that what Jesus did on the cross, he had every sin in mind when he died for sin, including yours. You might have stumbled in this place with great shame, but that shame can be erased when you stand in the light of the love of Jesus Christ. And not only can it be erased just in this intense moment where the gospel is being declared and you're participating in a worship service. No.

It can be permanently removed from your conscience. If you but understand that what he asks of you after the great lengths that he made is that you would see him there, and you would understand that he died for you. Yes. I'm here to stand on the authority of the word of God to tell you that he died for you. And your response would be what he demands, that you would repent and believe, that you would change the way you think.

That's what repent really means. You would change the way you think about life, about sin, about your existence, about God, and you would align it with God's word. And all you need to know up to this point is simply this, that you have transgressed. You have done wrong. You have offended a holy God.

And that if you were to die in this moment, you would stand before him condemned. And with great justice, you would be expelled from the presence of God, and you would experience his eternal wrath. And there's no one who can stand with you or before you to change God's mind when you stand before him. And with that terrible news, with that horrific news, you would also hear the good news, which is what makes us Christians, that your fate, that your verdict can be changed when you realize again that in his love, he's willing to receive the wrath on your behalf. That's what he did on the cross.

And that he drank the cup of your judgment. And he did all of that so that you would believe that he made that payment. And in believing in him, you would be accepted by him. You would receive that payment. That's what it means to believe.

You're saying, I'm not just acknowledging that you did this two thousand years ago. Now I'm trusting that this is sufficient for my salvation. I'm trusting. I'm I'm giving you my heart. If this is what you really did then and applies to me now, then here's my life.

And not just giving my life in some mere profession, But in that profession, you would relinquish and you would turn from sin. You would say, if my sin did this, then I turn my back on sin and I turn my face towards Christ, and I will love him and follow him all the days of my life. But listen to this. The moment you confess and believe that Jesus Christ is lord, that he did die this death, and that he did raise from the grave, you will be forgiven in that moment, justified before God, Forgiven, check this out, forever. Forever.

Why why are we here tonight? We're here tonight because we are reminding ourselves and celebrating that we have been forgiven forever. Forever. We're not here to sacrifice another goat as they did in the old covenant so that this year's sins can be erased. No.

No. No. We look to the one who has in one sacrifice made it all done. It's all complete. It's all finished.

And we look back, yes, even after two thousand years and realize that God is satisfied with the blood of Jesus Christ. And it's applied to you if you believe on him. I invite you to believe on him, and let me now address the Christian before we break bread together. Do you doubt his love? Do you doubt your standing before him?

Do do you ever think to yourself, I don't know if I can smile at death because I'm not fully convinced that he has truly dealt with my record of wrong. Do you feel more confident on days where you're performing better in your holiness and in your obedience And on days where though you hate your sin, you've collected dust on your feet as you traverse through this world. See, what makes us Christians, what makes us different is that when you believe on him, it's finished. And, yes, there's fruit to follow, and, yes, there should be transformation. Yes, there should be a direction that you're walking you're walking in.

But listen, why we're here tonight is not to, again, reflect on our love for him, but on his love for us. He died for me. And I'm here to declare before God and before man as I come to this table that what he did is enough for me. I'm not here to help what Jesus did for me. I'm not here to add to his work on the cross with my righteousness, my holiness.

I'm here to rest in Christ. I'm here to surrender everything, even the confidence of my own righteousness, and say, Lord, I believe that you have saved me and that I am forever yours. And so let tonight be a death blow to your doubt. You belong to him, and he will complete the work that he started in you. He will.

And you will know the greatest energy for holiness. You will know the greatest fire to serve God. You will know the greatest strength to resist worldliness. The deeper your understanding of his all sufficient love really is. When you explore that and when you compound that in your heart, watch what will happen to you.

And here I am today pathetically trying to communicate just how magnificent his love is for you. The plight of the preacher is great. How do you communicate divine love? How do you communicate this transaction that deals with your faith once and for all? I try.

But I trust that more than just preaching it, praying behind it would make your heart come alive and knowing the great love that Jesus Christ has for you, forgiven sinner. You belong to him. And today, we come now to prepare our hearts to rehearse that truth with the ordinance that the same Lord Jesus Christ has given his church, that as you take a piece of this bread and as you hold this cup symbolizing his blood, what you're saying and what you're tasting once more is that's right. Christ came into this world, and he took on flesh, and he lived out the obedience that I could never dream fulfilling. Even your imagination would not be able to reach the height of obedience that Christ accomplished.

Let me give you a sample of just how great his obedience was, and it was on your behalf. He loved God with all his mind, with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his strength, every second of his life. There is not one moment in the life of Jesus Christ where he failed to love God with such such supreme delight and perfection. And when you accept Christ, you know what that means? That kind of righteousness is transferred over to you.

So when God looks at you, you know what he sees? He sees a person that has loved God perfectly with all your imaginations, with all your words, with all your actions, with all your go abouts. Everything that you've done because of Christ is seen as Christ's perfect obedience. That's what you're looking at when you're looking at that piece of bread, and that's what you're tasting when you put it in your mouth. And then that blood, that cup, the fruit of the vine, when you taste it, you you remember that no sacrifice you can make, no plunge of religious aestheticism, You do will come close to the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

It's what he did on that cross, what he used to stain that those wooden beams. And as we sang, the the the earth being stained with royal blood, it's only that blood that God will look at and say, this is what I will pass over. This is what I whoever's hiding underneath that, whoever applies this, I will pass over and judgment will never come even close to the threshold of your life. It's his blood that satisfies God. And as I taste it, I remember that I am clothed in Christ, and his blood applies to my account, never to be revoked, never to be changed.

It's done. It's done. Come with your heart light in knowing that this is your inheritance. So as the singers now I'm calling the singers to come up, please. They're going to sing, and we're going to not stand but sit and just meditate on the words that they will sing over us, and then we will come and open the table for you and join us at the table to take the elements.

We will give thanks for both, and then we will enjoy what Christ has done for us together. I just ask that you remain in reverence, in silence as the team prepares and sings, and let your heart be ready to partake.

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At this time, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, if you have confidently put your faith and trust in him, and this ordinance is for you. If you're a person who is visiting and and you know that you haven't given your life to Christ, we welcome you. We're so glad that you can join us tonight. But this is something that the Lord has given to his church, to his people, because it's a declaration of faith. And the Lord Jesus takes this table very seriously, and so we ask that you participate by observing as we participate in this actively.

And if you are a person here witnessing this, maybe for the first time or you never understood the significance of it, again, what you're seeing is people coming to this table, taking this piece of bread, taking this cup as a symbolic participation of what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. Really, in translation, you're you're seeing people saying, I'm not good enough nor will I ever be good enough to have eternal life. It's what Christ has done for me. And so if you have put your trust in Christ, we welcome you to the table, and we ask that you remain, seated after you receive those elements for our time of prayer, and then we will eat together. Please join us.

It has been an evening of remembrance. We remembered the cross by singing. We remembered the cross when we read the scripture. We remembered the cross when we heard the word of God preached. And now we're going to remember it in the most beautiful and intimate way by partaking in the Lord's table.

Let's read from the gospel of Luke chapter 22, just a few verses Beginning in verse seven, then came the day of unleavened bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. This is just a few hours before the cross, before what we just heard about tonight. So Jesus sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat it. In verse 14, and when the hour came, he reclined at the table and the apostles with him. It is the feast of the Passover.

God has commanded every Israelite to observe this feast. And now Christ is doing the same with his disciples. But there is something so great about this Passover. It foreshadows what's going to happen next day. It foreshadows the cross of Jesus Christ.

The Jews were to remember the deliverance from Egypt, and the cross will bring to our memory our redemption, our deliverance from sin. Christ knew that next day, just in a few hours, it would be very difficult. He knew that he would be delivered into the hands of sinners. He knew that the forces of evil would come together against him to persecute him and kill him. He knew that next day would be a difficult day, a dark day, yet he has to go through it.

He knew that next day would be a dark day, yet without going through it, we will never see light. He knew that next day would be a sad day, but he has to go through it because without it, no one will experience full joy. He knew that the next day, he will taste death on our behalf because he knew he has to go through it because without it, none will experience the forgiveness of sins and have eternal life. Now he's meeting with his disciples in verse in verse 15, And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a cup.

This is the first cup, by the way. This is not the cup of communion yet. And that's the cup of the first cup of the Passover. And when he had given thanks, he said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

Now comes the communion. Now Christ got to begin instituting the Lord's table in verse 19, and He took bread. And when He had given thanks I love this. Christ our Lord give thanks. It's an occasion to give thanks.

In a few hours in the Garden Of Gethsemane, he will plead his case to God. He will pour his heart to God. In a few hours, he will sweat, sweats like droplets of blood. But now, it's an occasion to give thanks. It's what we do tonight.

We get thanks. He gave thanks and He broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Lord, we thank you that you have given yourself for us, for our redemption and atonement for sin. We thank you that you have substituted, You became our substitute there on the cross, and we praise you.

And now as we break this bread and eat it, we remember you. We remember the cross. We remember your eternal and changing love. Let's eat it together. Verse 20.

And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. The old covenant was written on tablets of stones. This new covenant is in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ poured out for you, my disciples, poured out for you who love me, poured out for you who believe in me, poured out for you, my people, my church, my bride. Let us give thanks for the cup. Lord, we thank You for Your blood.

We thank You that You have died for our sins. And now we remember that blood that was shed for us, that holy, pure blood of the lamb of God who was shed who was who that was shed for us on the cross. We remember you and we thank you forever. Let's ring it together.

Amen. Hallelujah. God is good. Well, we reached the near conclusion. We must end by giving thanks and song rejoicing in our savior.

And so if you would join us as we stand to do just that.

My

Fellow Christians, you and I get to go home tonight and lay our heads on our pillows knowing full well that we have peace with God. And people are predicting that 2024 is going to be a very chaotic year, not just here in The States, but around the world. But isn't it wonderful to know that despite all of that, we have peace with God? And you might be going home looking forward to laying your head on your pillow because you live with people who are not peacemakers. They cause much sorrow and trouble in your life.

If that is so, remember you have peace with God. You have peace with God. For you who don't have peace with God, If you were distracted throughout this whole evening, remember this. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. That name is Jesus Christ.

And when you call upon that name with a heart that is ready to be restored unto God, ready to repent of your sins, ready to be rinsed from your record of wrong, he is so good that he will save you right there and then. Call upon that name. Christian, I wanna encourage you to do something practical this weekend. Tomorrow is what is known as silent Saturday, a reminder that though things may seem bleak and seems like things are not going the way we thought or hoped, God is working in the background. I wanna encourage you.

If you live on your own, do this on your own. If you have friends you wanna do this with, if you wanna do this with your spouse, take time this weekend at least to open up a portion of the gospel and read it with your family. Take just take turns reading. Maybe it's three chapters. One person reads one chapter, one other person reads half a chapter, and just let the word of God wash over your mind, wash over your hearts.

Let it wash away every fear. Let it recalibrate your focus of what life is really about. I challenge you guys to do that, and it will only add joy to this weekend. And so let me pray for us as we conclude this evening. Lord, we ask that these truths that we heard, that we do know, but Lord, have melted our hearts afresh, that they would be sealed in our affections, and that they would bleed into our obedience.

We want to love you more because you first loved us. Help us, Lord, in moments of great doubt and worry and concern. And no matter what we lose in this life, no matter what's taken from us, no matter what pain we endure, Lord, we have this assurance that we have eternal life, that we have a perfect standing before a perfect God. Help us rehearse that. Help us run to that.

Let the gospel be our reflex. In any moment, in any situation that robs us of our joy, May we remember that we are the richest in this world because we have Christ. And, Lord, we pray that you prepare our hearts to celebrate you this Sunday. And, Lord, we ask that as we gather again this Sunday, that you would meet us here with resurrection power. We need your power in this dark age.

We need your power in this hopeless time. We need your power, so let your power come. We look to you with great gratitude in our hearts. Thank you for being in the midst. Thank you for touching us, Lord.

May it only continue as we make our way home. Protect us. And, Lord, may this weekend be a life transforming time as we reflect on the good news of Jesus Christ. And it is in that name we pray. Amen.

Amen. The love of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. God bless you.