Maundy Thursday – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Luke 22:14-20 “His Body and Blood Is the Highest Good”
March 28, 2024 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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Thy body, given for me, O Savior, Thy blood which Thou for me didst shed, these are my life and strength forever, by them my hungry soul is fed. With Thee, Lord, I am now united; I live in Thee and Thou in me. No sorrow fills my soul, delighted it finds its only joy in Thee. Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood be for my soul the highest good! (ELH #313 v. 11 &12)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 22nd chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 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, 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.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who says, “Do this in remembrance of me” for your good, coming to you in a beautiful mystery giving you forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, dear fellow redeemed:
The month of march is well known for the basketball tournament that is called March Madness. Many people fill out brackets, looking at the seeds given to the ball teams based on their record and strength of schedule. The teams have fought hard all season to get that high seed, but that is not what they are after. The high seed only helps them in their ultimate goal, to win the tournament and be crowned the champion of basketball. For the team that wins, this is the highest good in the sport. Like these ball teams, the Israelites were looking for the highest good. They believed they had it with their deliverance from Egypt. Their deliverance was only a foreshadow of what was to come. The Passover sacrifice pointed to the great sacrifice promised by God. As Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover meal 1,400 years later, Jesus would give them something new. He gives His Body and Blood and it “is” the highest good!
At the beginning of the night, the disciples were planning to eat the Passover with Jesus like they had done already. This night however, Jesus is preparing them for what is coming. He is giving them once again the same message He has been telling them all along, His life on earth is coming to an end. And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 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.” The thought of what He is going to suffer is weighing on His mind the farther into the night He goes. For Jesus to go back into the kingdom of God where the marriage feast of the lamb takes place, the lamb must go through one more Passover. It is at this Passover the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world will be sacrificed once and for all.
The disciples haven’t figured out what they are witnessing. St. Paul would later write, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). Jesus’ hour is at hand and this is the fulfillment of all things. The disciples will not only have a hard time with these events, but they will scatter. Peter will deny the Lord three times later that night. Thomas would disappear until after the resurrection. Jesus has been preparing them for this moment in time. They loved Jesus very much, but they weren’t up for the task. How can anyone expect to sit back and watch all of these events of suffering and death unfold? They have been following and listening to their teacher for three years and Jesus told them His Sacrifice will happen. As they fail to listen to Him, Jesus institutes this Supper for them.
Now we have joy because The Supper that was instituted for the disciples was instituted for us as well. And we need the Supper because we can’t maintain the sacrifices. When the Old Testament believers sacrificed animals, they did so with penitent hearts for the forgiveness of sins with the blood of the animal pointing to the blood that would be shed by the Lamb of God. As time went on, it was changed with many thinking that the sacrifice was something they did for God. Some believe that worshiping God is an act that we do for God, that He needs our worship. God isn’t a creature that needs to be fed. He demands perfection. Since we can’t give that to Him, He tells us that He isn’t looking for the sacrifice, but that in fact He wants penitent hearts. We don’t like to give Him our penitent hearts because that means we have to acknowledge that we have sinned against Him. We would rather turn it into a work to make us look good and not search through our failures. By doing so, we give into the devil and forget that God tells us that our good works are like filthy rags. It is this way of thinking that can cause us to take the Supper to our harm. Once we lose focus on what the Supper is about, we can then be tempted to not take it at all.
The devil will try to get people to think about all the ways they can mess up taking the Supper and that they are just unworthy to take it because our sins are too much for God. He was there that night and knows the benefits that it brings so, he looks to stop it. As the devil lies, trying to convince us we can’t be penitent enough, Jesus teaches His disciples that this new meal is very special and it is for their good. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 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 disciples did not know yet that this is one of the ways in which their Savior would remain with them after His ascension. Jesus has taken the elements on the table and told them this is His body and blood. The same body and blood that stood in front of them giving them the bread and wine and the same body and blood that He would soon shed for them on the cross.
For the disciples it would be hard to find any good that would come out of Jesus’ death. They see what the world sees, a man dying who did not deserve it. Yet the feeling that they had of failing their Savior, they now find comfort in the Supper. Jesus’ body and blood is the highest good. His death on the cross takes away their sins with His blood washing over them. He is present with them and it is here where they receive life. Jesus continued to strengthen them after He left them until, He called them to their heavenly home.
This gift is given to you as well because Jesus instituted this Supper as His last will and testament to be done in remembrance of Him. When you take the Supper, you are proclaiming to the world what you believe, that Jesus died on the cross for your sins. It is through this sacred meal you find comfort in the cross. It heals you of your imperfections. It’s not your work for God. He shows you that He has done it all, taken away your sins, and commands you to do this in remembrance of Him because of what He has done for you. You don’t do it out of obligation, you do it because He comes to you in an intimate way. This is the highest good for your Savior is at the altar. When your sins and the devil come lurking and you cave to them, Jesus says your sins were put on His back and they have been buried in the grave. He doesn’t leave you or forsake you. He is with you, giving you life and salvation.
These blessings are what make the sacrament the highest good. There is no better feeling than having Christ come to you in, with, and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. This is the best and one of the only sources of comfort you can find in the world. There is nothing that can give you peace of mind out there. All the world does is sap your strength as you think about what is going to happen next, will you survive the next big event, will your sins destroy you, or is this life worth living? So, Jesus gives you His body and blood as the highest good.
This is the power of the Means of Grace. Your Savior comes to you and when you take the Supper He dwells in you. He makes you whole. The world will try to break you down so that you feel unworthy. This Sacrament is given to the unworthy. As Jesus comes to you, you can rejoice because He has done it all for you. He is the sacrifice that God demanded. His life was that of perfection and His blood paid your ransom. As you lay your doubts aside and confess your sins, the Lord forgives you and gives you peace, allowing you to proclaim, “Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood be for my soul the highest good!” Amen.
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