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Remembering Christ Crucified Selected Scriptures October 5, 2003
On Monday I was listening to a sermon about the Lord’s Supper, and as I was listening to it I thought, “We are having the Lord’s Supper this Sunday. Maybe I should do something related to that since we never have done anything related to the Lord’s Supper.” I was planning on continuing our study on 1 John and bringing that to a close in the next couple weeks, but the more I thought about it, the greater burden I felt to preach on Christ and Him crucified to you this morning. The next thought that came to my mind was, “Well, what should I say?” What do you say about Jesus and the Lord’s supper and the incredible weight of this subject? What can a person say about it? As I pondered that question, my mind went to 1 Corinthians 11:24. I invite you to turn there this morning. 1 Corinthians 11:24. Paul was given instructions from Jesus Himself concerning the Lord’s supper, and here we find those instructions. In verse 24 Paul writes, And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” As I thought through that verse, it hit me, and I said, “That’s it! That is what I want to talk about this Sunday.” Do this in remembrance of Me. That was the Lord’s instruction to His disciples concerning this ordinance on the night He was betrayed. Do this in remembrance of Me. As we come to the Lord’s table this morning, we are commanded to come in remembrance of Jesus. We are commanded to take this bread and this cup in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for the sins of all who would call on Him. Do you come to this communion table, to this activity, bringing Jesus to mind each time you do it? Or is it a ritual, perhaps a religious thing that you do just because you’re part of the church, and this is what you do in church? Do you come in remembrance of Jesus? This morning I want to talk about Jesus, and I want us to spend some time just remembering Him before we partake of the Lord’s supper. I want us to be able to meditate on who it is that shed the blood represented in the cup and whose body was broken, represented by the bread. Do this in remembrance of Me. Naturally, the question arises, “What shall we remember about Jesus?” There are so many things we could think of as we remember our Lord Jesus Christ. John told us in John 21:25 that if all the things that Jesus did were written down, perhaps the world itself could not contain the books that would have been written! Clearly, there are many, many things we could remember. This morning, however, I want to focus on five things that explain exactly who Jesus is. All five of them are found in the Gospel of John. Jesus told us many things about Himself, and these five are very clear, and very direct, and this morning I want us to reflect upon them. So we will be looking at five metaphors about Jesus. A metaphor is figurative language to help explain a literal truth. For example, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower.” That is a metaphor to help us understand the power and strength and might and safety that is found in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is a defense for the righteous. Jesus gave us many metaphors about Himself, many pictures to help explain who He is. This morning I want to look at five metaphors found in the Gospel so that we can participate in the Lord’s supper remembering Jesus.
The first metaphor is found in John 6:35. Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” As we remember Christ who was crucified for our sins, the first thing to remember is that Jesus is the bread of life. What does this mean? This means that Jesus is the One who satisfies our needs. He is the only one who can give us what will truly satisfy us. He is our food, and it is Him that we should feed our souls with. When you think about bread, the picture is that which is necessary to sustain physical life. If you don’t eat, you’ll die. Of course, in the physical realm, even if you do eat bread, someday you’ll die. You can never prevent yourself from dying no matter how much bread you eat. Jesus illustrated this in verse 58 where He said, This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever. He was referring to the manna in the Old Testament. Manna was food from heaven. God provided it for the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness, but even though they ate this food that came from God’s supernatural provision, they died. If you feast yourself on Jesus, the promise is life forever. You will never die. Clearly Jesus is not talking about physical death. He is talking about eternal, spiritual realities. If you don’t eat the bread of life, you will spiritually die forever. You will die both physically and be forever cast into the lake of fire. But if you eat it, you will have eternal life. When we talk about eating the bread of life, what do we mean? Obviously this is a hard statement. How do we eat Jesus? How do we eat this bread of life? There are two ways, and I find them both in verse 35. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger; and he who believes in Me will never thirst. Do you want to eat the bread of life and live forever? You must come to Jesus. The first way to partake of this bread is to come to Jesus, and the second thing you have to do to feast yourself on Jesus is to believe in Him. Have faith that He is the Son of God and that He will satisfy your soul, both now and into eternity. The promise is that the one who comes will not hunger, and the one who believes will never thirst. There are so many things we hunger for, and there are so many things we thirst after. And we are so good at seeking them and finding ways to do them to make ourselves happy. But if we hunger and thirst after things, after what has been created, we will never be satisfied, and our thirst will never be quenched. The only way to be satisfied, the only way to have your thirst quenched is to hunger and thirst for Jesus. He is the only way to satisfaction. How is your desire for the bread of life this morning? Do you hunger and thirst after Jesus, or would you rather just relax and take it easy? Do you find your soul longing to have the bread of life, and do you find yourself hungering and thirsting after Jesus? He who comes to Me will not hunger; and he who believes in Me will never thirst. Do you want to be satisfied? Do you want to be content? Oh then teach your soul to hunger after Jesus! Teach your heart to desire Him! He is the one who is the bread of life! He will not let your hunger go unfed. If you hunger after Jesus, He will fill you. He will not let your starve or die of thirst. Go to Him, believe in His promises. Sit at His feet and just meditate on your great Savior and allow Him to feed your soul. This morning as we take the bread in our hands, let’s remember that He is the bread of life. Let your heart linger there for a minute or two. Let your heart be filled with love and joy for Jesus, knowing that He died so you can have Him. He died so you can know Him, so that He can meet your every hunger and thirst with Himself. Oh that we would always come to Jesus and that all of our desires would be directed toward this bread of life. We would never hunger, and we would never thirst. He is all-satisfying.
2. Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12)
Jesus is the bread of life, and to feed on Him you must come to Him and believe in His name. He will satisfy you with Himself. Secondly this morning, let’s remember Christ by what He said in John 8:12. In John 8:12 we read, Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus said, I am the Light of the world. Perhaps you don’t realize it, but this statement is crucial for us who are Gentiles. This was a radical statement that blew away the Jews. Even in Acts we see that the Apostles all didn’t understand this for quite a while. The Holy Spirit had to convince them that Jesus died for Gentiles also, and not just for Jews. We are so accustomed to the church being primarily Gentiles, and that is how it will be until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. It is what the Scripture has prophesied, but it wasn’t always just assumed like it is today. There was a time when salvation was seen as something only for Jews. We Gentiles were always on the outside looking in. We didn’t have the temple worship. We didn’t have the promises. We didn’t have the promise of Messiah. We didn’t have the Law. We were cut off from Christ, separate from the commonwealth of Israel, and we were without hope. The Gentiles in Jesus day were always on the outside looking in. And then Jesus came, and He boldly proclaimed, I am the Light of the world! Let that word world just linger in your mind. That means Gentiles. If you are not a Jew, and you are saved, this verse is crucial for you having any assurance that as a Gentile you have any right to Christ at all. If Christ didn’t die for the sins of the world, we who are Gentiles would still be on the outside looking in, with no hope at all. Just to put it in perspective for you, turn to Acts 13:46. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas are preaching the message of Jesus on the Sabbath at Pisidian Antioch. The Jews were not accepting of it. And in verse 46 we read a verse that should give every Christian Gentile goose bumps. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.” How did this impact the Gentiles? Look at verse 48. When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Here are the Gentiles, and they are listening to Paul and Barnabas preach to the Jews. There they are, on the outside, just hanging out around the synagogue hoping to maybe somehow get included. And then those history-altering words fell from the Apostle Paul’s mouth, Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. The Gentiles! And the Gentiles began rejoicing! At last, the Christ is for us! We are no longer excluded. Me, a dirty Gentile, defiled by pagan religions and false gods, always looking in from the outside, you’re turning to preach the Gospel to me? I had no promises from God! I had no covenants given to me! But you’re telling me they can all be mine in Christ? Oh praise God! They started rejoicing. You can only imagine their joy to learn that all these years of rejection from the commonwealth of Israel was no over, and they could have the Messiah. He is the light of the world! Have you rejoiced lately that Jesus is the light of the world? Have you realized that you, if you are a Gentile, had no claim to the God of Israel, but then came Jesus, and He proclaimed, I am the light of the world. “I didn’t just come for Jews,” Jesus was saying, “I came for the world. I came for every tongue and tribe and people group.” Remember this morning that Christ, crucified for sinners, is the light of the whole world! He is not just for Jews, and that is vital if you are not a Jew this morning. When you take that cup in your hand, and when you hold that bread, remember that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. It is by Him that you have life. He is your Light; He is your salvation.
Third, Jesus is the door of the sheep. Turn over a couple pages to John 10:7. This is so thrilling and marvelous. Jesus is the door of the sheep. Reading John 10:7, So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. There are two main thoughts there in that section that I want you to see as we remember Jesus this morning. Jesus is the door to salvation, and entering through Him brings abundant life. Jesus is the door to salvation. Do you want salvation? Do you want to have your sins forgiven and be reconciled to God? Do you want to know your Creator and be in relationship with Him? There is only one way to do it; enter through Jesus Christ. Later, in John 14:6, Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. You do not get to God any way except through Jesus. You cannot work your way there. Buddha cannot get you there. Mohammed offers you nothing that will help you get to God. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. He is the door, and if you want salvation you must enter through Him. You must come to Him and believe in Him alone for salvation. If you do, you will have life, and you will have it abundantly. Do you want abundant life? Who doesn’t, right? Who wants to live life at the lowest level possible? Who wants to have the lowest quality of life possible? No one! We all want abundant life, and Jesus said, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. What did He mean? Let me start with what He did not mean. Jesus did not mean that He came so you can have an abundant life in this worlds terms. He did not come so you can increase your wealth in this world. He did not come so you can have nicer and nicer cars, and bigger and bigger homes, and more and more money, and a new boat, and golf every weekend, and short work days and long weekends. Jesus did not come to give this kind of life. So many people see these things and that is life to them. So you have to be careful when you say things like this, that Jesus came to give us abundant life. Jesus did not come so we could live the American dream. Well then, what does He mean? Jesus meant that He came so that we might have Him. He is the abundant life. That is what He means when He says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. He is the life! The life is not something separate from Him. The life is not something that He gives us that isn’t connected to Himself. Jesus is our life. That’s what Paul meant when he wrote, When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col 3:4). Jesus is the abundant life. What could be more abundant than the very life of God Himself through Jesus? What is there that could surpass it? What hobby could be more thrilling, what possession could bring more satisfaction? God has offered us Himself through His Son Jesus. He has offered us His very life, eternal life knowing Him face to face forever! What could be more abundant? Oh that we could realize that Jesus is the life, and that we could just seek Him with the zeal that we seek our earthly pursuits! This morning, when you take communion in remembrance of Jesus, call to mind that He is the door. He is the way to salvation, to this abundant life of knowing Him. He is the Light of the world, bringing salvation to all who will call upon Him, and He is the bread of life who satisfies your soul.
4. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18)
Fourth, Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus said in John 10:11, I am the good shepherd. In this verse I hear the echo of Psalm 23:1, The Lord is my shepherd. Jesus, the Son of God, is your shepherd this morning if you have heard Him call you out of darkness into light. He is the one who leads you beside the still waters. He is the one who walks with you through the valley of the shadow of death. He is the one who comforts you with His rod and His staff. He is the one who causes your cup to overflow. This metaphor of Jesus as the good shepherd is powerful. The good shepherd is characterized in two ways. First, He knows the sheep. John 10:14. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me. This means that Jesus, the Lord God, has a unique, personal, intimate knowledge of His sheep. Are you one of His sheep this morning? Then He knows you. He is intimately acquainted with you. You have to understand that this knowing here is not knowledge that you exist. Jesus is not saying that He knows that His sheep exist. He knows everyone in that sense. He knows those who are not His sheep in that way. Jesus is aware of everyone who is alive. But He knows His own sheep. He has a relationship with them. He guides them. He leads them. He cares for them. He leads them to the pasture and to the waters. He protects them. And His sheep know Him. Do you know Him this morning? Does He know you? Do you have intimate, personal fellowship with the good shepherd? There is perhaps no more intimate, tender picture of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament than this one. Oh how comforting to know that Jesus knows His sheep like this! He is not merely aware of your circumstances if you are His sheep. He does not merely know about you. He knows you! He cares for you! If we could just come to realize this, and trust in this, what a world of difference it would make in our level of stress, in our anxiety, in our priorities, in our decisions, in everything! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, knows me! He loves me! I am His sheep and He is my good shepherd, and no matter what happens around me, I have this intimate relationship with Jesus Christ Himself! How can this be? How can we, being the dirty, stinky, stupid sheep that we are, have a relationship with such a good shepherd? How can these things be so? Jesus tells us in verse 11 and again in verse 15, and then He explains it further in verse 18. The second characteristic of the good shepherd, and the reason the sheep can even be part of His fold, is because the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said, “the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” The good shepherd dies for the sheep. He gives up His own life so that they might live. Again in verse 15, I lay down My life for the sheep. Just in case you miss the point, Jesus states it clearly in verse 18, No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. Who was responsible for Jesus’ death? Herod? The Jews? Pilate? God the Father? Yes, all of these played their part, and they all were involved in the eternal plan of God in some way. But Jesus said, I lay it down on My own initiative. Jesus laid down His life, and it was His initiative, His doing. He had authority to lay it down of His own will. When you hold the bread this morning, remember that Jesus is the good shepherd. No one took His life from Him. He laid it down for you. He chose it. He took the initiative. It was His authority that pointed Him to the cross. Don’t ever see Jesus on the cross as merely a victim of unfortunate circumstance. He laid down His life of His own initiative. He willingly died for you. That bread represents His body that was broken because He decided to break it. It is very symbolic in Luke 22:19 where Jesus is at the Last supper with His disciples, and He is instituting communion, and we read this: And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it. Who broke the bread? Jesus broke it. His body was broken for you, and He chose to break it. Jesus loved the sheep so much that He broke His own body to save their lives and souls. Jesus Himself laid down His life for you. Think about it this morning. Remember Him, there, the night He was betrayed, telling His disciples after breaking the bread, “This is my body!” And then taking the cup, and saying “This is my blood and it is for the forgiveness of sins.” And then remember Him laying down His life. There He was in the garden, betrayed by His own disciple whom He had mentored for three years, betrayed by a kiss. There He was, healing the soldier’s ear. There He was on trial before Pilate, and Herod, and the Jews as they tried everything to find a reason to kill Him. There He was scourged so that His back was ripped to shreds. There He was with the crown of thorns on His head, being mocked and spit upon. There He was, so beaten and bloody and weary that He couldn’t even carry His own cross. There He hung, on the cross, nails through His flesh, blood poured out for the sin of the world, crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And there He was, bearing the full wrath of God for the sins of the sheep, the dirty, stinky, foolish sheep who are so amused by the things of this passing world when the Son of God has offered them life! Think about Him this morning! Do this in remembrance of Him. He is the good shepherd, and He laid down His life for you. He came and He did it of His own initiative. He didn’t have to do it. No one forced Him to do it. It was His own initiative. Remember this morning that Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, and He knows you. Oh the good shepherd knows His sheep, and He loves them, and He cares for them. What a thought, that the Creator of the universe cares for me! Sinful, wretched, ungrateful, small-minded, selfish, foolish me! Have you remembered Him lately? Have you sat and meditated on Him lately? Remember Christ crucified! He is the good shepherd.
5. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25-26)
Thankfully, that’s not the end of the story. Jesus said in John 10:18, I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. What did He mean? He meant, “I give My life when I want, and I take it back when I want, and nothing in heaven or hell or earth or anywhere else can stop Me. I have authority to die, and I have authority to live again!” And He did rise again. And that is why He could say in John 11:25-26, even before His resurrection, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies; and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Jesus, fifthly, is the resurrection and the life. He is the resurrection, meaning that resurrection is only found in Him, just like life is only found in Him. He is our resurrection. Without Him we would have no resurrection to life. We would all be condemned and forever sentenced to the lake of fire. That is not the kind of resurrection we want. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is the one who raises us and gives us eternal life. He is the life. How do you get this type of resurrection? How do you have the life? Jesus said, He who believes in Me will live even if he dies. Do you want to live? Believe in Jesus. Put your trust in Him. Trust Him! If you do, you’ll live even if you die. Now that is a hard thing to explain, but I think it can be explained, and I think a good explanation of it is found in Luke 21:16. Jesus is talking to His disciples about things to come, and He says to them, You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish. What’s He saying? He just told them that some of them would be put to death. How can He say that they will be put to death but not a hair of their head will perish? What does He mean? He’s saying this: “They can kill your body. They can chop off your head or burn you at the stake or crucify you, but they can’t kill you ultimately. No matter what they do to you, because you believe in My name you will live even if you die.” The Lord is my helper. What can man do to me? Well, he can kill you. He can take away your life, but not ultimately. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. That means that it doesn’t matter what happens to you in this life, not a hair of your head is going to perish. If you believe in Jesus, you can have people do anything they want to you, but they cannot kill you because even if you die, yet you shall live. He even went further. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. That’s just another way of saying that you’ll have eternal life. Your life will never end with Jesus. You will be with Him forever. You will have eternal life through faith in His name. Oh beloved, do you remember this morning that Christ was crucified, but He also was raised, and He is the resurrection and the life? He is your resurrection! Because of Him even if you die, you’ll live. Not a hair of your head will perish. Why should we ever be afraid? Why should we ever be anxious or stressed? We are often afraid and anxious and stressed, but we have to remember that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus asks a very important question at the end of verse 26. He says, Do you believe this? Do you believe this this morning? Do you believe that even if you die, you will live through faith in Jesus, and you will have eternal life? Have you come to terms with this reality and built your life around it because you believe that it’s absolutely true? If you do, then take from the bread and the cup this morning. Take from them and feed your soul on Jesus. Take some time to remember Him. He is the bread of life. He is the light of the world. He is the door of the sheep. He is the good shepherd. He is the resurrection and the life. Let your soul feast on Him this morning, your crucified and risen Christ. Now, I don’t know what you might be thinking this morning, but I can imagine at least two responses to what I’ve just said. The first response might go like this, “I want to do what you’re talking about, but I don’t know how. I want to allow my soul to feed on Jesus, and I want to be satisfied by Him every minute of every day, and as I take communion I want my heart to love Him and believe in Him like never before, but I can’t seem to figure out how to make that happen.” I can imagine that response. Here’s what I would say to the heart that thinks that. If you want to feast your soul upon Jesus this morning, tell Him. Just say to Him, even now, what your heart desires to do, and ask Him to give you a heart that prizes Him like this. Ask Him to give you a heart that can take these 5 pictures of Him and love Him for them and treasure Him for them. Ask Him to show you Himself so that you cannot see anything else in this world because His glory outshines it all. Go to Him, and sit before Him, and then, when you’ve asked Him, reflect on these truths. Everyone knows what it feels like to be satisfied with something. Perhaps it’s your favorite drink after working outside in the hot sun, and you come in and taste it and think, “Mm, that’s good.” And you feel so refreshed and revived. That emotion multiplied by ten thousand is what you are aiming for when you remember Jesus and allow your soul to be fed by Him. That feeling of satisfaction, that feeling of enjoyment, that is what you should feel for Jesus Christ, but in an infinitely greater way. So meditate on Him, think about who He is, remember Him, and ask Him to fill your soul with awe and wonder at His glory and greatness. Allow the eyes of your soul to see Him and be satisfied. Perhaps, though, you have a different response. And perhaps your response goes something like this, “I’m already satisfied. My life is fine, thank you very much. I am content. So why should I remember Jesus? Why should I reflect upon Him?” Or maybe you think to yourself, “This is all fanaticism. You’re just a fanatic. You’re just taking this way too far. Feasting my soul on Jesus, feeding on Him, desiring Him, intimacy with Him. That’s all right for you, but not for me. I’m doing fine where I am.” What can we say to such a response? They are the same response, you have to understand that. Both responses are saying that there is little desire, if any, to delight the soul in Jesus, one is just couched in more religious terminology. So what can we say to this? There is something we can say, and what I am going to say I say not to condemn you or put you down, but to help you I want to help you this morning, that is my goal. So here is what I would say: If there is anything in you this morning that even has the smallest desire to desire to know Jesus like this, or if there is any fear of judgment when you stand before Him to be examined, then do this, compare the infinite, almighty, glorious Son of God with your small, finite, perishing, meaningless pleasures. Just reflect on the glory of God for a few minutes, and just think about the wonder of an infinite Creator who has made you and knows everything about you and who will someday judge you. Think about the incredible opportunity of knowing Him through Jesus. Think about Jesus. Isn’t He worth this kind of fanaticism? Isn’t He worth everything you have and are? Isn’t He worth more than friends and fun and hobbies and sports and comfort and ease and family and wealth and any other pleasure this world can offer? Think about Him and reflect on who He is. Take just a few minutes and ponder these truths about Him from this morning. What will you have in the end when life is gone? All that will be left is your relationship to Jesus Christ. Is it fanatical, then, to spend all of your energy trying to improve that? Is it just for the extremist to do everything he can to know this great Savior and God? Jim Eliot said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Everything that contents you that’s not Jesus is worthless in the end. And it doesn’t even compare to knowing Him. I plead with you this morning, if you think I’m a fanatic extremist, reflect on Jesus and ask yourself honestly, isn’t He worth your all? Isn’t He worth your life? And then pray to God that your soul might be satisfied in Him. Let’s pray. [Home page] [ ]
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