Poured out for many... you and me

Matthew 26:26-46  The Lord’s Supper Instituted

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ²⁷ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; ²⁸ for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

³⁰ After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

³¹ Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ ³² But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ³³ But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” ³⁴ Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ³⁵ Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

The Garden of Gethsemane

³⁶ Then Jesus *came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and *said to His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. ³⁸ Then He *said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”

³⁹ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

⁴² He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” ⁴³ Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. ⁴⁵ Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”

In today's text we begin with Jesus sharing the bread and wine with His disciples in what has become for us as believers communion or the Lord's supper. Regardless of our individual doctrines and beliefs about how and when we should take communion, there are a few things I believe we all can agree on. Whether we participate in the body and the blood of our Lord each week or at certain times throughout the year, we should never allow it to be reduced to tradition or ritual. When Jesus says that the cup is the new covenant in His blood we need to never take that lightly. The new covenant includes the forgiveness of sins, that alone is more than any of us deserve or could have earned by our own works of righteousness. The forgiveness of sins leads us into a restored relationship with God. Through the new covenant we have full access to God and all the benefits of His kingdom. The act of communion reminds us of the communion we have with God. Communion comes from the combination of the words common and union. Jesus says:  

¹⁸ “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ²¹ He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (John 14:18-21)

That's the common union we share through communion,  I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

The one other thing I think most believers would agree with is that we are not to participate in the body and  blood of Christ is we have unconfessed sin or unforgiveness in our lives.  Jesus says that " this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.",   to participate in communion, the new covenant with unconfessed sin in our lives is to take what has been poured out for us and pour it onto the ground. One final thought about this, I have been in churches that say if you are not right with others, if you have unforgiveness, you should not participate in communion. While there is truth in the fact that we should not take communion while we hold onto unforgiveness, it is not right to exclude ourselves from communion. In doing that we are really choosing the sin of unforgiveness over the blood of Christ. We should rather confess and forgive. "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.(Matthew 6:14-15) How arrogant and stupid, to actually choose unforgiveness over Christ.

The text then moves to the account of Jesus predicting Peter's denial of Him. That part is well documented and retold frequently in the teaching and telling of the events leading up to the arrest and crucifixtion of Jesus. The part that is often overlooked is that the same was true of the other disciples as well.   Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night",...  Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.     Just as Jesus said they did all fall away. Rather though than criticize them, we should recognize that we too have probably been guilty of falling away from or denying Jesus and for us the circumstances probably didn't include fearing for our lives. There are martyrs, those who give up their lives rather than deny Christ. The day could come when even in this country we are faced with that same challenge that other Christians are faced with. For now though we should be willing at least to not fall away or deny Jesus just because it is not poular. Matthew 10:32-33 is a strong reminder of our need to stand by our faith in Christ.

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 

The last thing I want to look at in the text today is Jesus rebuke to Peter and the disciples when He was praying in the garden.  ⁴⁰ And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? ⁴¹ Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”    For any of you who have attended an hour long prayer time you can probably understand the statement that  the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  It can be very easy for our minds to wonder and think about the things of the day whether past or planned. Experts who study brain function say that our minds process anywhere from 2100-3300 thoughts per hour. It's no wonder then that we have a hard time focusing on prayer.  Paul has this to say about prayer in 2 Corinthians 10: . ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, ⁴ for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. ⁵ We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,   

Paul says then that in prayer we are to take all 2100-3300 of our hourly thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Verse 3 gives us the key to our ability to do that. We do not war(pray) according to the flesh. If not by the flesh what then? Romans 8:26-27 says:

²⁶ In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; ²⁷ and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.      We bring every thought captive to Christ by yielding to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ in us.

I would also add this tip that even as you pray with your mind do it out loud when ever possible. It is much easier to remain focussed with our thoughts and prayers when we speak them out rather than think about them. Our prayer time is a time of conversation with God. Isn't it better for Him to hear our prayers and requests than to have to sort through the 2100-3300 thoughts running through our minds?

Jesus sais the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Paul said we war(pray) not according to the flesh,  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful. One of those weapons we have in prayer is to pray the Word of God. Isaiah 55:11 says this about God's word:

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

That's a devinely powerful weapon in prayer.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, thank You for the new covenant and all of it's promises that I have through Your finished work on the cross Jesus. Thank You that You have given me communion as a reminder of the common union I have with You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May I be quick to confess and turn from any sin in my life including the sin of unforgiveness. Holy Spirit empower me and enable me to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, both in prayer and throughout my day. I yield to You Holy Spirit, knowing my flesh is weak. Strengthen and enable me to do all that I do today to the glory of God and Jesus Christ my Savior.    Amen