The King's Feast

The King's Feast

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.' " And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening, He reclined at table with the twelve. 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 another, "Is it I, Lord?" 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! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." Judas, who would betray Him, answered Him, "Is it I, Rabbi?" He said to him, "you have said so." Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." 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 for many for the forgiveness of sins. 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."

Sermon: The King's Feast

God is the Great Storyteller. God loves to tell stories, and one of His favorites is the account of the Passover. More than that, He loves His people to hear it. He even set up the annual Passover ritual as a storytelling session. The youngest child present was to ask, "What makes this night different from all other nights?" And then came the story. It was so good that no child ever said, "Get to the good part," because it was all good.

There was the part about the bread. They had to eat unleavened bread, because they didn't have time to wait around for it to rise. There was the part about the dish with bitter herbs, reminding them that God was delivering them from the bitterness and misery of being slaves in Egypt. There was the part of them eating it in haste, with their belts tightened and sandals on their feet and a staff in their hand. That's because they had to be ready to follow their Shepherd Moses.

But it got even better. There was the part about selecting the lamb. They were not to eat it raw or boil it; they were to eat it roasted. And there were to be no leftovers. But the best part was what they did with the lamb's blood. They took a hyssop branch and painted the blood on the door. God would see that blood and save their firstborns from death. God would see that blood and pass over them.

But it got even better. Soon they would hear about what happened to the bad guy in the story, the evil king, the king of Egypt, the Pharaoh. The enemy of God who hardened his heart and opposed God. The one who made life miserable for God's people by enslaving them, drowning their baby boys, and using God's people for His own glory.

But then there came the really good part. God fought for His oppressed people, struck down the firstborn of that evil king, and all the Egyptians, while the Israelites made their getaway. "I'll catch them; I'll pursue them; I'll overtake them," that evil king thought. But he was going down. God blew open a path in the Red Sea for His people, and they went through on dry ground. But God brought back the water and plunged the evil king and His army into the sea, so that he sunk in those waters like a stone. All that was left was for God's people to sing to the Lord and dance, for God had brought them triumph.

But it gets even better, for that's not where the story ends. How sad if that were the end of the story. But there was an even bigger enemy to fight. One crueler, more hateful, and more evil than Pharaoh: it was that enemy named Satan. And what about death, the final enemy of man? And who was going to deal with the threatening perils of the sin that plagued mankind?

But fear not. In the fullness of time, the Great Storyteller took on flesh, and on this holy night begins to bring the story of the Passover to its fulfillment. If you thought the first Passover was the night of nights, this night is even better. This night, Holy Thursday. The night where the Spirit has gathered you to hear what Jesus did to ensure a happy ending to your story. For on this Passover, He will go forth to fight for sinners.

He celebrates the Passover with the Twelve in complete control of the situation. He is not caught by surprise. Fittingly, tonight's account even began with a question: "Where will You have us prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

The great Storyteller has come not only to speak but also to accomplish something. He's not going to make this up as He goes along. He's in complete control. He had already arranged for the Upper Room to be ready. As He said, it was His time.

Like the old story, the bitter herbs were there; Judas dipped his hand in. We know the unleavened bread was there, and the cup of blessing was there. The lamb was there. But where was the bad guy? Where's the king who's going to be brought down? If anyone deserves to be struck down in this account, it's Judas, that greedy, hardened betrayer, that tool of the devil. But Jesus loves him. Warns him, but also speaks tenderly and kindly to him, calling him "friend." If God strikes him down, He should strike us down too. Haven't you, too, been money hungry? Consider how often you've let greed have dominion in your heart. Consider your own deceit, your own lies, your own calloused heart. Imagine if your friends knew what you said about them behind their back. You, too, have betrayed friends, betrayed confidences, even been a traitor to the Lord. Consider how often your own sinful flesh has gotten the upper hand, and how God would be perfectly just to go after you and demand your blood.

But now we get to the really good part. God doesn't go after sinners like Judas or you or me. In a plot twist that man could have never thought up, God the Father goes after His own Son, the Messiah, God's Anointed, the King. He goes after Him until He has the blood that makes payment for your sin. Jesus is not only a good guy, but the perfect guy. He was nothing like evil Pharaoh. His heart was never calloused against God's Word. He loved the Father's will and cherished it. But the Father's will was to save sinners through the blood of His Son.

So for your sake, God the Father imputed your sin and the sin of the world to this King and plunged Him into a sea of wrath. For your sake, He went after the blood of His innocent Son that you might be spared and that the story of your life might have a happy ending. Take great comfort in this story. For that is what God's King is all about. That is why He came into the world. That after instituting the royal feast of His Holy Supper, He might shed the blood that causes death to pass over you.

He's not in any way a cruel King. He's the King of love. And yet He leaves that final Passover to offer His body to be struck down, that you might receive His very body and in this Sacrament be exalted. The words from His lips were never deceitful, never self-serving, but always in the best interest of sinners. Yet his lips are the ones that drink from the cup of God's wrath, so that your lips might sip the cup of blessing, the blood of the covenant, which gives you forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Now that's a great story. There's a happy ending we could have never thought up. The power of death passes over you because it didn't pass over Jesus. Death passes over you because the gift of Baptism has marked your bodies with His blood. Damnation passes over you because Jesus is your Crucified King, whose blood makes this meal a royal feast of feasts.

What makes this night different from all other nights? This is a night that we not only get to hear the story of how Jesus instituted a new and better Passover, but we also get to participate in it. For, St. Paul says, "the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16). Come, participate in the King's feast spread out here for you.

Amen.