Major Series / New Testament / Matthew
[0:00] All right, we're going to turn to God's Word now and to our reading this morning, which you'll find in Matthew's Gospel at chapter 28, 26. And that is page 832, if you have one of the church visitors' Bibles.
[0:16] We're continuing a study we began last week in these final chapters of Matthew, Matthew's preaching of the cross and of the resurrection of Jesus. And we're going to focus today really on what we find in verses 17 to 30.
[0:36] This whole chapter really comes together. We'll come back to it next week and focus on that and the part that goes right up to verse 46. But we're going to read this morning verses 17 to 30. I'm just going to introduce it by verses 1 and 2 of chapter 26 as well.
[0:53] When Jesus had finished all these sayings, that is, all the teaching of his earthly ministry, he said to his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.
[1:12] Verse 17, Now on the first day of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover? He said, Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, The teacher says, My time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.
[1:33] And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them. And they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, late, he reclined at table with the twelve.
[1:45] And as they were eating, he said, Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after the other, Is it I, Lord?
[1:58] He answered, He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
[2:09] It would have been better for him, that man, if he had not been born. Judas, who would betray him, answered, Is it I, Rabbi? He said to him, You have said so.
[2:24] Now as they were eating, that is, eating the Passover, Jesus took bread. And after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples. And said, Take, eat, this is my body.
[2:35] And he took a cup. And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out from many for the forgiveness of sins.
[2:50] I tell you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
[3:05] Amen. And may God bless to us his word. Well, turn with me, if you would, to the passage we read together. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 26, page 832, if you have a church and a Bible.
[3:25] I read this week in the newspaper a report from the Center of Digital Theology at Durham University. And it said that John 3, 16 is no longer a verse that is quoted by millennial Christians.
[3:42] No, the favorite verse by far on social media is Jeremiah 29, verse 11. I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future.
[3:54] And Dr. Peter Phillips, the director of the Center, said that this fits with the trend of displaying wellness and spirituality online. Millennials, he says, tend to share therapeutic messages.
[4:07] It's far more about their own identity and how faith can help them in the future. People don't want to put a verse about Jesus' death on the cross on social media, he said.
[4:20] It's a bit heavy. Therapeutic messages about me, my identity, and my future. That's what characterizes the Christian message, above all, on social media today.
[4:37] And I would add to that also on much of Christian music today. The cross of Jesus is a bit heavy to really talk about.
[4:50] But the thing is that right from the very beginning, the central message of the Church of Jesus Christ, the message of the cross, has always been scorned by the world. We preach Christ crucified, said Paul to the church in Corinth, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
[5:06] But to those who are called the power of God and the wisdom of God. And that's why he rebukes some of the distractions in the church at Corinth, which actually was just as self-absorbed as any modern church today, and insists on pulling them back to the only true gospel of the cross of Christ.
[5:25] The gospel, he says, he preached to them, and the gospel, and the gospel alone, which saved them. For I declare to you, as of first importance, says Paul, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.
[5:41] 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3. And indeed, actually, it's perfectly plain. If you read that popular verse in Jeremiah 29, if you read it in context, the hope that the prophet is speaking about is the promise of God's new covenant, of everlasting forgiveness for sins, of the mercy that would be revealed in the Messiah to come, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[6:04] And notice Paul is insisting on explaining the cross of Christ according to the Scriptures. It was a death, he says, for sins in fulfillment of what the Scriptures prophesied would come to pass.
[6:21] So you see, what we in the church are called to proclaim today about the death of Jesus is not some theory that was made up at some point in the church's history by various theologians about Christ's death.
[6:35] No, no, no. The meaning of the cross was explained long in advance of it happening by the Old Testament Scriptures themselves. And it was affirmed, of course, by the New Testament writers, the apostles of Jesus Christ.
[6:49] And, of course, standing behind them was the word and the action of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He taught his own followers with absolute clarity what his cross was all about.
[7:01] And Matthew in his gospel records this for us so that we can be absolutely clear about the explanation that Jesus himself gives about his own death.
[7:13] He records Jesus all through his gospel, through his teaching, teaching about his death. And here, in chapter 26, on the very eve of that death, he shows us Jesus absolutely determined to see his cross fully explained to his closest disciples.
[7:31] explained as a death for sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He teaches us right here that the cross is, in his own explanation, it is both a prophesied sacrificial death, working deliverance according to Scripture, and it's a purposeful substitutionary death, bringing forgiveness according to Scripture.
[7:58] I want to focus on the first of those things today. We'll look at the second next week. But in verses 1 to 30, the message of the cross is explained by Jesus himself in words and in signs as a prophesied sacrificial death.
[8:14] And it's all about deliverance into destiny for God's people in Christ. Look at verses 17 to 19. I don't need to read anything else, really.
[8:26] It's utterly plain from these verses alone, the connection that Jesus makes absolutely clear between his coming death and the whole meaning of the Passover.
[8:37] These two are absolutely intimately connected together in Jesus' mind. Remember how the chapter began. The Passover is coming and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.
[8:51] These events are inseparable in Jesus' mind. Look at verses 17 to 19. They all tell, don't they, about the preparation for the Passover. Now, if you read Mark's Gospel, there's a lot more detail here.
[9:04] Matthew has left all of that out to make it so crystal clear. His main point is the Passover. Passover, verse 17. Where will you prepare to eat the Passover?
[9:16] Verse 18. I will keep the Passover in your home. Verse 19. They prepared the Passover three times in three verses. It's the Passover. And more than that, verse 18 makes clear.
[9:29] It's because Jesus' time is at hand. They will do this. My moment of destiny is saying it's all bound up with the Passover.
[9:39] Do you think we get that? We know, don't we, from verse 16 that Judas is already on the lookout to betray Jesus. But Jesus is actually the one in control.
[9:51] He is going to determine the exact time and the exact manner of his death. Remember verse 2 we saw last time? It'll be in two days' time. It's going to be in the midst of the Passover.
[10:03] And he determined to have this meal with his disciples before he's betrayed so that he can explain to them exactly what his death means in terms of the great central festival of the Old Testament.
[10:19] The Passover. So look at verses 26 to 29. We can see Jesus uses this meal, his last supper with his followers, on the eve of his great work of deliverance.
[10:32] He uses it to explain, to interpret that deliverance. Just as the first Passover was eaten on the eve of the great deliverance under Moses.
[10:43] And it explained, it bore witness to the significance of the exodus from Egypt, what it was going to mean. And in doing this, you see, Jesus makes it absolutely clear that he saw himself.
[10:55] He saw his coming death on the cross as being the fulfillment, as being the ultimate reality of everything that the Passover signified and prophesied. After two days, he says in verse 2, the ultimate Passover really is coming at last.
[11:15] So we need to remind ourselves, don't we, what the Passover really did signify. Well, it signified and it explained the great event of the Old Testament, which was the exodus, where God rescued his people out of the bondage of Egypt and into the wonders of his promised land.
[11:35] And constituted Israel as his redeemed people, as a people in covenant with God. And God did that, remember, through a great visitation of judgment upon all his enemies.
[11:49] The angel of death visited Egypt, destroyed every firstborn in the land, every single firstborn, except those who were protected by the blood of the Passover lamb, daubed on their lintels, on their doorposts of their homes.
[12:06] So at the very heart of that deliverance in Exodus was the sacrificial blood. Blood that saved God's people from the angel of death. Blood that sheltered God's people from the judgment coming from heaven.
[12:22] And notice, no one, no one was saved on that dreadful night in Egypt just because they were an Israelite. But only if they actually took shelter under the blood of the Passover.
[12:37] And the Passover, more than any other event in the history of Israel, speaks of every aspect of sacrifice, of atonement, of deliverance. All of these things are elaborated in all the ceremonies and sacrifices that you read about, for example, in the book of Leviticus and elsewhere.
[12:55] But they're all encapsulated in that one great event, the Passover. The sacrifice of the lamb. The deliverance from the enemy.
[13:06] The atonement. Substituting the lamb for the firstborn. The protection from God's anger. The judgment of the destroying angel. All of that is what the blood of the Passover lamb achieved for the Israelites.
[13:21] But you see, the great deliverance out of Egypt was in a way only part of the story. It's not just a deliverance from. It's a deliverance into and a deliverance for.
[13:36] I think it's worth turning back to the book of Exodus, just so we see this very, very clearly. Turn back with you to Exodus chapter 6 and look at verses 6 to 8. You'll find that if you have a church Bible on page 48.
[13:48] These verses show us, you see, in a nutshell, the whole meaning of the Exodus and the Passover. And God gives four promises here.
[13:59] And incidentally, the four cups of wine in the Passover meal, they correspond to these four promises. Verse 6. First, to bring them out from under all the burdens of the old life.
[14:13] I will bring you out from the burdens of the Egyptians. And secondly, he says, I will deliver you from slavery to them, out of the bondage of Egypt. And thirdly, to redeem them.
[14:25] That is, to deliver them from their tyrant masters. I will redeem you with great acts of judgment. But not just that. Fourth, look.
[14:36] To deliver them for a whole new life. Verses 7 and 8. I will take you to be my people and I will be your God. Verse 7.
[14:48] And verse 8. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give you. Do you see, the Passover speaks not only of the blood of deliverance that saves from the past.
[14:59] But also the blood of the covenant that secures the future. It's the shed blood, isn't it, that saves God's people from the wrath of judgment, from the destroyer.
[15:11] And delivers them into freedom. And it's the shed blood that seals God's people as his people in covenant fellowship with him forever. That's why you have the shed blood both at the very beginning and at the end of the Exodus.
[15:28] So, when you read Exodus chapter 12, it tells all about the Passover. All about the blood. The lamb will be killed. You'll dip a branch of hyssop in the blood. You'll daub the doorposts with the blood.
[15:39] And when the Lord sees the blood, he will pass over you and not destroy you. And when your children say to you in years to come, what does this mean?
[15:50] You are to say it's the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover. And then, of course, you read on and God brings his people to great Sinai. And he says to them, I bore you on eagle's wings.
[16:01] I brought you out to myself. Now you will be my people, obeying my voice, keeping my covenant. And you'll be my treasured possession. And God gives them all his covenant commands of how to live as the people of God.
[16:14] And then, in Exodus chapter 24, he confirms that covenant with shed blood. Blood is sprinkled on the altar to bind God himself to the covenant.
[16:28] And blood is then sprinkled on the people to bind them in covenant with God. And Moses said, listen, Exodus 24, verse 8, Behold the blood of the covenant the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.
[16:44] Now you see, the Passover was a real deliverance. The blood of the covenant was a real promise of fellowship between God and his people. But it nevertheless foreshadowed and prophesied something far greater, something far more.
[17:00] Something promised by God from the very beginning of the story of the Bible, the answer to the ultimate problem of human sin. Ultimate deliverance from bondage to sin, from bondage to death itself, the result of the curse.
[17:17] A multi-dimensional deliverance just as is depicted in the Passover. From the burden of the old life, the guilt of human sin. From the bondage of the old life, from the power of sin and death that holds humanity.
[17:33] And from the tyrant master of sin, the great personality of sin, the devil himself, the serpent, who brought that curse. And a deliverance into a new and everlasting covenant of fellowship, at last with God himself, unbroken by sin and death of the curse.
[17:53] And right back from the beginning, God's faithful people, they knew that. Even way back then in Moses' day. Moses himself spoke, didn't he, of a day when God at last would decisively deal with his people's sin.
[18:08] Remember we looked at it when we studied Deuteronomy. He will circumcise your sinful hearts. That's how we put it. So that you will love the Lord with all your heart and all your soul.
[18:20] And you will live. And all through the story of Israel, the prophets, more and more, they foretold a coming day, didn't they? When at last God's servant would come and bear the sins of many.
[18:33] So that as Jeremiah promised in that verse, there would be a hope and a future. Because at last man's root problem will be dealt with. I will forgive their iniquity.
[18:46] I will remember their sins no more. It's what Jeremiah promised. And that was the heart of the covenant promise of God all through the ages.
[18:57] A promised sacrificial death for sins. To remove sin's curse forever. The ultimate Passover. The forever redemption.
[19:10] And on the very night before his death, Jesus Christ declared in words and in action with absolute clarity. That day has now come.
[19:23] This is the day the Lord has made. Look at verse 18 of Matthew 26. My time is at hand. And I will keep the Passover.
[19:35] And this Passover is the deliverance of which the former, great and wonderful as it was. But it was but a shadow, a pattern in history of this. This, look at verse 28.
[19:47] This is my blood of the covenant. Which all the blood of those lambs, those bulls and goats prophesied and spoke of. This is the blood that really will at last achieve forgiveness of sins forever.
[20:03] This is the blood that will seal the everlasting covenant of grace and forgiveness. The new covenant that will never ever be broken. See, Jesus could hardly be clearer, could he?
[20:15] In saying this fulfills all that the law and the prophets spoke of. And that's Matthew's emphasis all the way through his gospel. If you know his gospel, he's so big on the continuity of the story of Jesus with everything that's gone before in the Old Testament.
[20:32] Begins with that genealogy going right back to the beginning. But Jesus, he is so clear, is the climax of the story. His life and above all his cross brings this story to its completion.
[20:44] All the prophets and the law prophesied until John the Baptist, is what Jesus says in Matthew 11. But now, it's all being fulfilled. The kingdom of heaven is now forcefully advancing as promised.
[21:01] And so when your children say to you, what does this supper mean? Fair to say, it's the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover. Where he passed over our sins once and for all.
[21:14] Verse 28. Because of his blood of the covenant. Poured out for many. For the forgiveness of sins. Because as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5.
[21:27] Christ, our Passover lamb. Has been sacrificed for us. In our place. As our substitute.
[21:37] The blood of the lamb. For the blood of every one of God's true sons and daughters. Because remember, every single household in Egypt.
[21:49] At the time of the Exodus. Had a dead body. At Passover, didn't it? God's judgment was real and terrible. And there was. And there must be. Either a dead child.
[22:01] Or a dead sacrificial lamb. But there was. A death in every house. And so it is in the great Passover.
[22:14] God's ultimate judgment on sin. Christ died for our sins. According to the scriptures. His death was a Passover sacrifice.
[22:24] That worked. Real deliverance. A death that delivers from the bondage of the past. And into. A great destiny for the future. In fellowship with God. Forever.
[22:36] For everyone who receives. And trusts. In that shed blood. You see the meaning of the cross of Jesus Christ.
[22:46] Is emphatically not. That Jesus merely sets us some sort of example. Of what love means for us to follow. It's quite impossible. To think that.
[22:57] If we take Jesus' own vivid explanation. Of these things seriously at all. He's quite plain. His death is a Passover. It's the Passover. It's a great deliverance. That God himself works for his people.
[23:09] By providing everyone who trusts in him. With a shelter. From judgment. With a way out. From bondage. Only by the shed blood of the Passover lamb.
[23:21] The blood of his own. And it's all from God. It's all God's doing. It's not our doing. But. Jesus is equally clear. Isn't he? It must be received.
[23:33] It must be believed. It must be made your own. It must be appropriated. It must be appreciated. This great liberation. From bondage to death. And into a destiny of life. For the children of God.
[23:44] It only comes. Doesn't it? If you embrace Christ and his cross. If you trust in him. As the way of deliverance. Look at verse 27. Drink this cup. He says. All of you.
[23:55] Drink this cup. God's deliverance is not automatic. It's not something that comes. Just from privilege of birth. Or even just by knowing about.
[24:07] Jesus Christ and his cross. It comes. To those who receive. His offer of mercy. Drink this cup. You must says Jesus. You must. Make it your own.
[24:19] That's the way it was at the first Passover. At the first Exodus. Moses proclaimed the good news to the people. Didn't he? The gospel. Of a promised redemption. Through the blood of the Passover lamb.
[24:29] But the people had to respond. Because God said. It's when I see. The blood on your house. That I will pass over you. Any Israelite who was presumptuous.
[24:41] Who said. Well I'm an Israelite. I'll be fine. God will be fine with me. Won't he? God won't judge me. Our God's a God of love. We know that. I don't have to do anything. God's a God of love. I'm an Israelite. I'll be fine. That Israelite woke up the next morning.
[24:55] To find a dead son. In his house. Didn't he? Yes. God is love. Yes. God does give freely. The good news.
[25:05] Of his salvation. His shelter. But you must respond. You must embrace. Christ's way of salvation. You must drink his cup. Anything. Anything less.
[25:17] Is to heap scorn. Is to heap derision. On that precious blood of Christ. But when you do. Respond and drink his cup.
[25:28] You find that all that he promised. Is true. That he is a great redeemer. And he delivers. Into a glorious destiny. There's a lot more in this chapter.
[25:41] And we're going to look at it. More next week. But this morning. I want to just be. Absolutely clear. About what Christ's death. On the cross. As the great Passover. What that really means.
[25:52] For us today. Because Jesus' death. In terms of. The Passover. It helps us to see. That the true gospel. Is a really wonderful message. For us.
[26:02] About the past. And about the future. First. You see. Christ's Passover. For us. Means something truly wonderful. About our past. It means that all of us.
[26:14] Who receive. The forgiveness. Poured out in his blood. Have received. A decisive. Deliverance. From bondage. In his.
[26:25] Passover. We have come. Out. Of the bondage. And the slavery. Of that foreign country. Of sin and death. In which we've been imprisoned. And we've come out of it.
[26:36] Forever. Everything you see. That. God promised the Israelites. Through that deliverance. In Exodus 6. Everything was. Was prophetic.
[26:47] Of the lasting. Deliverance. That has now. Been worked. In Christ. For the many. Look at verse 28. Many. Both Jews. And Gentiles. For all.
[26:58] Who receive Christ. As their Savior. And Lord. Just as. Exodus chapter 6. Promised. And prophesy. It is a deliverance. In those same. Three wonderful. Dimensions. First.
[27:09] There's a. Lasting. Deliverance. For us. From all the. Burdens. Of the old life. Of the guilt. Of our sins. Which are real. Which are terrible. Before God.
[27:21] Every spot. And stain. In your life. And mine. Everything. You're so ashamed of. Or you should be ashamed of. Every shortcoming. It's left behind.
[27:34] In a world. That you have left behind. Forever. Through. The cross of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Isn't that a wonderful thought? God. And. There is also.
[27:44] Lasting. Deliverance. From the bondage. From the slavery. Of that old life. From the power of sin. As your master. To control. Your whole life. Your inability.
[27:55] To break away. From sinning. Just like. The addict. Can't break away. Himself. From the power. Of the pusher. That is broken. Forever. In Christ's deliverance.
[28:05] There is a real. Deliverance. Paul says. Sin shall have. No dominion. Over you. Any longer. Because of.
[28:18] Above all. Thirdly. There is deliverance. Which is real. And which is lasting. From the tyranny. Of the master. Of this world. From the devil himself. The one who accuses us.
[28:29] Day and night. About our sin. And our shame. The gospel says. He is defeated. Just as in the exodus. God said. Pharaoh. And your Egyptian masters. You will see.
[28:39] No more. They are covered. In the red sea. So it is. Through this Passover. As Paul says. He disarmed. Rulers and powers. And put them to shame.
[28:51] Triumphing over them. In his cross. What a joy that is. What a joy. To the tender hearted. Christian. Who so often is crippled. By a sense of shame. By a sense of guilt.
[29:02] By the accusations. Of evil. Want to know. That our accuser. Is cast down. Those wonderful words. In Revelation 12. He is overcome. By the blood.
[29:13] Of the lamb. And that. All of that. You see. Is what Christ's death. As a Passover. Means. For you and me. Paul says.
[29:25] In Colossians 1. He. Has delivered us. From the domain. Of darkness. And transferred us. Into the kingdom. Of his beloved son. In whom we have redemption. Liberation.
[29:37] The forgiveness. Of our sins. That's what Jesus Christ offers us. Real deliverance. Forever. Drink this cup. He says. All of you.
[29:48] This is my blood of the covenant. Poured out for many. For the forgiveness. Of your sins. For the forgiveness. And maybe you think of yourself.
[29:59] As a Christian. But. But you find all this talk. About Passover. About sacrifices. About forgiveness. Only through shed blood. You find it unsavory. You don't like it. You resist it.
[30:10] It seems so awful. But if you think that way. Let me ask you this question. Have you. Ever. Forgiven someone.
[30:20] For a really. Terrible. Great wrong against you. Maybe some great betrayal. By a friend. Or a family member. Even a spouse. Or something equally. Wounding.
[30:31] Something deeply. Deeply hurtful. If you have. You know. Don't you. You know. That is so. So difficult. So costly. To do. Forgiveness.
[30:42] Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Does not come easily. In fact. It may well be. You have never been able. To forgive. That great thing. Against you. Because it is so difficult. Real forgiveness.
[30:53] Costs. Greatly. That is why our whole world. Is still full of fractured relationships. Unreconciled. Relationships. But you see.
[31:03] God's. True forgiveness. In Christ. Is not phony. It is real. And it forgives. And reconciles. The greatest. Rupture. Of all. Our.
[31:13] Our betrayal. Of our own maker. That is. That is. That is why. It is so. So. It is so. Costly. To God himself. In the blood.
[31:24] Of his own. To bring. People. Back into fellowship. With him. So think about that. Think about the truth. Of your. Fellowship.
[31:34] With God. Could that ever. Ever. Have been bought. Cheaply. Or maybe you're not yet. A Christian believer. But you know. That you do need.
[31:45] Forgiveness. That you need. Liberation. From many burdens. In your life. Maybe you're all too aware. That your life. Is a mess. That you're.
[31:57] Burdened. Crushing burdens. You need. Deliverance from it. Well you're right. To feel helpless. Because you can't. Help yourself. But you can.
[32:10] Get that help. From Jesus Christ. And he offers that. Precisely that. To all. Total deliverance. From the bondage. Of your past. Forever and ever. That's.
[32:20] That's the good news. Of his gospel. That's why it is good news. That's the cup. That he holds out. To many. Including you. If that is you. But you know.
[32:33] Even if you've been. A Christian believer. For a long long time. As I have. We still need this message. Don't we? Again and again. Just as the. As the Passover. Was again and again.
[32:44] Every year. To remind the Israelites. Of this great thing. We need to be reminded. Don't we? Of this wonderful truth. That our past. Is behind us. It's gone. And it's gone forever.
[32:56] Through Jesus blood. Of the covenant. Poured out for sins. It really is. And when Satan. Tempts you. To despair. You need to remember that. And you need to know that.
[33:07] That's why we need. The gospel word. Again and again. Every single week. Every day. That's why we repeat. The Lord's supper. Again and again. Month by month. As we're doing. This very morning. Because it speaks to us.
[33:19] Doesn't it? A visible word. A tangible word. Even. A word about our deliverance. Which is achieved. Once and for all. On Calvary. But made effective.
[33:32] Forever. Points us back. To Christ's Passover. As something wonderful. Truly wonderful. That has saved us. From our past.
[33:43] A real deliverance. From bondage. Forever. But it also. Points us forward. Doesn't it? As that first Passover did. It tells us. Christ's Passover. Means something truly wonderful.
[33:54] For our future. Remember that fourth promise. In Exodus 6. The Passover. Was not just about deliverance. It was about. A great destiny. A future. I will take you.
[34:06] To be my people. And I will be your God. And I will bring you. Into the land. That I swore to give Abraham. And I will give it to you. As a possession. That is the apostle Paul.
[34:19] Put that in Colossians 1. He has delivered us. From the domain of darkness. And transferred us. Into. The everlasting kingdom. Of the son of his love.
[34:30] Jesus Passover. Means something truly wonderful. About our future. We have a destiny. As God's people. In his glorious kingdom. Forever and ever. Look at verse 29 here.
[34:43] Jesus is talking there. About that fourth Passover cup. The Hallel cup. It was called. The cup that commemorates. That last promise. Of the Passover. That promise of fellowship.
[34:53] With God himself. The promise of intimacy. In the very place. Where God himself dwells. And you see what he says. To his disciples. We're not drinking. That fourth cup tonight.
[35:04] Not yet. Because this cup. That we have drunk together. The cup of forgiveness. In my blood. My death. It is at last. Really going to bring you.
[35:15] Into the father's house. Forever and ever. Into his everlasting kingdom. Where we shall eat. And drink together. In real fellowship with him. In resurrection bodies.
[35:25] Forever and ever. That's the ultimate goal. That's the destiny. That we're saved into. Not just the undoing of the past. But the recreation.
[35:37] Of a relationship with God. In a whole new creation. The new world. Of the father's kingdom. A world where sin. And where the bitter legacy of sin. Death itself. Is destroyed forever.
[35:49] The Passover brings us. Into the ultimate promised land. Forever. The death of Jesus. Is a coming home. A coming home to glory. A coming home to God.
[36:00] For everyone. Who embraces. The Lord Jesus Christ. Who drinks his cup. It's nothing less. Than the discovery. Of our true destiny. As human beings.
[36:10] What we were made for. That will at last. Be realized forever. Through. The great Passover. At Calvary. Through this new covenant. In Jesus blood.
[36:24] Through that. God says at last. I shall be their God. And they shall be my people. And they shall all know me. From the greatest to the least. For I will forgive. Their iniquity.
[36:34] I will remember their sins. No longer. Just as Jeremiah promised. That's why his promise was for a future. And for a hope. And it's not just for us as individuals.
[36:46] That's wonderful enough as it is. Christ's Passover sacrifice. Has delivered this whole fallen world. From its bondage to decay and death. Death.
[36:59] Death. That's the thing. Isn't it? That destroys above all. Our greatest loves. Our greatest loved ones. But it brings deliverance from that. And into a new world.
[37:10] Where one day. All of this world's grim past. Will be forgotten. Finished. Forever. Overtaken. By the great celebration. That Jesus speaks of here. In verse 29.
[37:22] The cup of eternal fellowship. In the kingdom of the Father. Well we also. Like the disciples. We have to wait. Don't we? For that cup. Until Jesus comes.
[37:32] In the glory of heaven. But it is assured. Now. Already. For every single one. Who has drunk the cup. That he offers now. The cup of forgiveness.
[37:43] In his blood. That's. That's Matthew's. Clear message. In these words. In front of us. This morning. That's what Jesus wants us. To understand. About his death. A long promised.
[37:54] Sacrificial death. It is the true. Passover. It's not just. A symbol of love. It is a mighty work. Of God's redeeming love. It delivers us forever.
[38:06] Out. Of the bondage of sin and death. And into a glorious destiny. In the Father's house. Is not a message. That we need to hear. Again and again.
[38:19] Is not a message. We need. When we're struggling. When we're burdened. With our sins. When we're filled again. With a sense of shame. Perhaps when we're facing.
[38:30] Ourselves. Decline and death. Or the death of a loved one. In. Christ. Jesus. Our deliverance. Is accomplished. Our destiny. Is guaranteed.
[38:44] Just as we close. Notice. Verse 30 there. Tells us. Doesn't it. That the end of the supper. They sang a hymn together. That was almost certainly. The end of the Egyptian Hallel.
[38:56] The Psalms. From 113 to 118. Almost certainly. These words. They sang together then. With the words we. Sang at the beginning of the service. Let me read to you. Some of the words. They would have sung.
[39:06] Led by Jesus himself. Open to me. The gates of righteousness. That I may enter through them. And give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord.
[39:17] And the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you. That you have answered me. And become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected. Has become the cornerstone.
[39:28] This is the Lord's doing. It's marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. And be glad of it. This is the day at last.
[39:39] The gate is open. And that all may enter. And find that great way of salvation. All because Jesus was faithful to the last. All because he said. My time is at hand.
[39:50] I will keep the Passover. All because Christ. Our Passover lamb. Has been sacrificed for us. Friends. That is what the cross of Jesus means.
[40:01] For many. Many. Many. For all. Indeed. Who will drink the cup that he offers. The cup of forgiveness in his blood. It means that the gate of the new world.
[40:13] Is open. And it means that we may enter through it. And give thanks to the Lord. For the great things he's done. In delivering us. Into a true destiny with him.
[40:26] Forever and ever. Forever. Christ. Our Passover lamb. Has been sacrificed for us. Amen. Let's pray. For God so loved the world.
[40:39] That he gave his only son. That whosoever. Believes in him. Should not perish. But have everlasting life.
[40:50] I we thank you. That Christ. Our Passover. Has been sacrificed for us. And so Lord. Let us also keep the feast. Not with the old leaven.
[41:01] Of malice. And evil. But with the unleavened bread. Of sincerity. And truth. For Christ's sake.
[41:13] Amen.