5th Sunday in Lent – Sermon 98

13th February 2011 Off By Derek Buckthorpe

Prayer to start

May the words of my lips and the thoughts of our hearts be graciously received for the Glory and Honour of our Lord Jesus Christ

AMEN

Introduction

Eating Out! – something we all enjoy

Whether its to celebrate a birthday – an anniversary – The blue Velvet Ball –

Good food – good wine – good company – all help to make it an occasion to remember –

On the Thursday of the final week in Jesus’ life – Jesus planned a special meal out – with His friends

A meal linked with the Jewish Festivals of the Passover and Unleavened Bread –

For Jesus it was important that all the right preparations were made – that everything was done as God required

After all – this celebration would not only be an important occasion for His disciples – but also for the whole of mankind –

  


First Point       Josiah – re-introduction of the Passover-

 

Our OT reading looks at the preparations made for the Passover meal – which was re-introduced – by Josiah – after a long period of absence –

Josiah was king of Judah – from 640 to 609BC and came to the throne at the age of 8

His grandfather Manasseh – who – “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” – ruled -for 55 years and openly supported pagan practices – and idol worship – And although he repented later in life – there was little change back – in the people – by the time Josiah came to the throne

Josiah introduced some major reforms – in order to turn the people back towards God –

He – purged Jerusalem and Judah – of its high altars – and false idols – and he ordered the repair of the – temple – in Jerusalem –

And it was during the temple building work – that a surviving copy of the “Book of the Law” – was found – and he used this to give – a further boost – to his reformation movement

He ordered the book to be read out to the people – and encouraged them to serve the Lord their God – as long as they live-
and to cement its importance – decreed that the Passover would again be celebrated– in Jerusalem and He would participate in it –

Altogether the king and his officials – provided over 37,660 sheep and goats – and over 3,880 cattle for the celebrations.

For the Passover celebrations – everything – had to be done as God required – The priests were given special duties – and the people encouraged to follow what was laid down – by Moses – David and Solomon –

The Passover ceremony symbolized the old covenant – at the time of the Exodus – when God rescued the people from bondage in Egypt – when he used plagues to turn the heart of the Pharaoah – even to the point of slaying the first-born of every family and animal in Egypt –

The Ceremony is in two parts – first the offering of the sacrifice – and second – the eating of the meal –

The high point of the sacrifice was when the priests sprinkled blood –onto the altar – to represent the smearing of the lamb’s blood – on the door posts of the Israelite homes – they did that – so that the Angel of death – could Passover them – without harming the firstborn of their family –

For the eating of the meal – the people were to roast the lamb over the fire – with bitter herbs – and prepare bread -without yeast – when the food was distributed – it was to be eaten quickly – to signify the speed at which the first Passover meal – had to be eaten – so as not to delay the start of the journey

The Passover meal celebrated an act of the past – and it reminded them –that without the blood of the Lamb – there was no reason for celebration – and no means of salvation

Josiah’s reforms gave the people a new hope – a new beginning – by recalling the covenant that had brought about their freedom and their golden age of prosperity – he helped the people realize that – because God had lived among them in the past –He could do so again

But it would required another descendent of David – to actively become the Passover Lamb – before the people could really enter into an unbreakable covenant – with the Lord

 

Point 2    Jesus – Preparations for the Passover Meal –

 

In Luke’s account the Passover (on the 14th of Nisan) and the Festival of the Unleavened Bread (from the 15th to 21st of Nisan) – were interpreted as one long Feast –

Elaborate preparations would be put in place in Jerusalem – to cope with the large influx of people – roads repaired – bridges made safe – tomb walls – whitewashed- to make sure pilgrims didn’t mistakenly touch them – and become unclean –

The Roman guards – usually based at Ceasarea – would have been drafted in – in large numbers – to cope with the crowds –

For a month before – the story and meaning of the Passover – would be retold – in Synagogues – and homes – and two days before – in each household – there would be a ceremonial– hunt for the leaven – to make sure there’s none in the house –

All lodgings in Jerusalem would be free – and the only pay a host could receive – was the skin of the lamb – eaten at the feast – Every male Jew who was of age – and who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem – was bound by law to attend –

Jesus wanted this last meal to be a significant – memory maker and free from interruptions –

So His preparations – had to be done in secret – so as not to arouse the suspicions of His enemies –

He’d taken steps to secure a room for the meal – and sent Peter and John –ahead to Jerusalem – to buy and prepare the food items – and to look for a man carrying a water jar who would take them to a specially prepared room – It was a pre-arranged signal –

The man would have be easy to spot – since carrying a water jar was considered to be women’s work – although probably if they were given that same task to do today – they might have more of a problem –

The better class of houses had two rooms – with a small room placed on top of the other – this upper room was reached by an outside stairway – and it was often the type of accommodation – used by Rabbis to meet with their favourite disciples –

Along with Jesus’ preparations – other plans were being hatched –

Once the Jewish leaders had decided to kill Jesus – their main problem was how to arrest Him – without provoking a riot –

They had been powerless to do anything – because of His popularity -but now that Judas – one of Jesus’ inner circle of twelve – had stepped forward to betray Him – their problem had been solved

Its significant that although Jesus would know of the plot that was being laid for Him – He still invited Judas – to join Him at His table – For Judas it would be a last chance for salvation – for Jesus it would be His last chance to prepare His friends for what lies ahead

  

Point 3     Our Passover Meal – Holy Communion

 

So we’ve heard about Josiah’s preparations for the Passover meal- and Jesus’ preparations for the Passover meal – what about ours?

What preparations do we make before receiving our Passover meal – from Jesus

When we come to Jesus’ table – to receive the bread and wine – we come as betrayers – like Judas – our sins make us unclean – But still Jesus welcomes us – and offers us a chance to turn back to Him – are we prepared to accept His offer of love and friendship – turn to Him for help – and welcome Him into our lives

When Jesus took the bread – and broke it – He used it – to show us how He is giving up His body to be crucified – for each one of us – How He is breaking – and bearing God’s anger because of the sins we commit – are we prepared to acknowledge and repent of our sins – turn to Him for help – and welcome Him into our lives

When Jesus took the wine – He used it to show us – how He would shed His own blood on the cross – for our forgiveness – Jesus is saying that His death – would be enough to free us from guilt – and declare us innocent – are we prepared to accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness – and to forgive others – turn to Him for help –and welcome Him into our lives –

The sacrificial meals of the OT – were made over and over again – because the peoples sins had not been paid for – 100,000’s of animals were slaughtered each year in an attempt to seek freedom from the guilt of sin – When Jesus came to the cross – as the sacrificial lamb – He paid for all our sins – all our guilt – once and for all

Jesus regarded His whole ministry as a Passover – throughout His life He reminded the people of significant moments in the OT history – and of God’s rescue plan for them – a plan that would reach its climax in His last pilgrimage to Jerusalem – for the festival itself – when His blood would be shed for the salvation of all –

 

 

Conclusion

 

Making preparations for an important meal – is no easy task – there are lots of things to think about – lots of things to do –

When we come to Jesus’ table – we have to realize that God has been making His preparations from the very beginning –

And when we accept His invitation to come and dine with Him and receive the gift of His Son – we it will be a guaranteed success

When we dine out with Jesus – we will be receive a meal of a lifetime

 
 
Prayer to Finish

 Lord God, we thank you for gathering us together through your Son Jesus Christ, who opened wide His arms on the cross, and gave His life to bring us peace.
Send your Holy Spirit among us so that your love may live in us, so we may set each other free from pain and hate and things misunderstood and fill the earth with laughter and offer back to you a wholesome harvest
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord

AMEN