Matthew 26:26-30 - Significant Words - April 1, 2021

Some words that have been recorded in history are so familiar that they need no explanation or introduction. “In the beginning…” “It is finished.” “To be, or not to be: that is the question.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” “I have a dream.” Tonight, we’re going to closely examine some of the most significant words ever spoken. Words that have been repeated with a regularity and devotion like no other words in human history. In fact, in Latin, the words before us are simply called the Verba, “the words.” These are the words our Savior spoke when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. Why are they so significant?  

These words are words of proclamation, not prayer. Pastors aren’t praying to God when they speak these words. They aren’t asking, petitioning God to do something. Nor are they asking the congregation to do something. This is what Christian churches of the Reformed tradition believe. John Calvin viewed these words as an exhortation to the congregation to lift up their hearts in faith to where Jesus is – that is, in heaven (Oxford History of Worship, 322). (This is the rather slippery manner in which the Reformed would claim to believe that Jesus is “really” present in Holy Communion.) But you heard Jesus, you heard that these words are neither prayer nor exhortation. They are proclamation. With these words Jesus was simply proclaiming precisely what he was doing on the night he was betrayed and what he is doing right here as often as the church uses them in accordance with his institution and command.

These words are revelation, not incantation. An incantation is a spell. With an incantation, as long as you speak the words the right way, you have whatever they promise. Why would anyone think that repeating Jesus’ words is equivalent to casting a spell? Well, in the medieval church priests tended to consecrate the elements while facing away from the congregation (making it hard to hear what they were saying and see what they were doing) and they spoke the words in Latin – which most people did not understand. Some commentators believe that the Latin for this is my body – “hoc est corpus meum” – was understood as “hocus pocus” by the people – which is why to this day magicians use these words in their acts.

But Jesus wasn’t casting a spell, he was revealing information that couldn’t otherwise be known. Put yourself in the disciples’ shoes. They know a lot about Jesus already. They know that he is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). They know that he came to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). They know that he will be betrayed, convicted, condemned and crucified (Mark 10:33-34). They know these things, but they don’t really understand them. On this night, however, his last night before his death, Jesus pulls all the pieces together for them. He reveals to them that his body will be given and his blood will be shed in the same way lambs were handed over to be slaughtered in the place of those who offered them in the Passover.

Luther notes in his Small Catechism that the most important part of this Sacrament isn’t our eating and drinking, but the words “given” and “poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.” These words reveal to us why Jesus’ body is being given and his blood is being poured out: for the forgiveness of sins. Of course, anyone who knows the Gospel knows this, but the fact that these words are connected to a visible sacrament makes these words very personal. In this Sacrament, Jesus is not just bestowing forgiveness in general, he is revealing that the forgiveness he purchased and won on the cross is for you: (forgive me for naming names, but this forgiveness is for you _______________, personally). These words reveal that Jesus took your place under God’s wrath and condemnation. These words reveal that you have been given Jesus’ place, as a beloved and holy child of God. In a few minutes, we will join together to confess this truth according to the words of Luther’s Small Catechism. As we do, I encourage you to note how frequently we confess that this sacrament is “for you.” This sacrament bridges the gap between the salvation Jesus won for the world on the cross and believing individuals in all times and places. On the cross Jesus gave his body and shed his blood for the sins of the world; in the words of institution he reveals that in this Sacrament he delivers that same body and blood to you.  

So, these are words of proclamation, not prayer; of revelation, not incantation; and words of reliving, not recollecting. We don’t celebrate Holy Communion merely to remember what happened in an upper room 2000 years ago. We do it to recognize that in the Sacrament Jesus comes to us right here and right now. When you step forward in a few minutes to this altar, don’t imagine yourself in that upper room with Jesus, see through your eyes of faith that in these words Jesus comes here to be with you. In other words, the meal that Jesus instituted in that upper room is still going on today; it’s a meal that hasn’t ceased for 2000 years; a meal that continues every time believers gather to receive it and will continue until Jesus returns in glory.

That’s what we believe and confess. But that’s not what all Christians believe and confess. For the Reformed, for generic Evangelicals, it’s nothing more than a memorial meal; a sacred act done as a reminder of what Jesus did in the past and who is now in heaven but definitely not here and now. In other words, for the Reformed who deny Jesus’ real presence in this meal administered at this altar, the Sacrament is little more than a festival commemorating a dead man. For us, it’s the opposite. We don’t gather at this altar to remember a dead man, we gather here to eat a meal served to us by our risen and living Savior! This Sacrament doesn’t take us in heart and mind back to Jesus in that upper room; it brings Jesus here to us!

The single word, remembrance (Luke 22:19), makes this clear. The Greek word is used in the Bible in only one place outside of the words of institution. It’s in Hebrews 10:3. There the author contrasts the repeated sacrifices done at the Temple with the one and done sacrifice of Christ on the cross. These sacrifices reminded them of their sins year after year (Hebrews 10:3). You know how at the most inopportune times your conscience brings back to your consciousness some sin you’ve committed in the past? So vividly that you can taste it, touch it, taste it – and be flooded with guilt? That’s what Jesus wants this Sacrament to give you regarding your forgiveness. Jesus wants you to come to this altar to receive forgiveness with your mouth so that you can touch it, see it, taste it – and have your conscience flooded with comfort and relief. These words are not words of recollection but reliving.

And, finally, these are words of unity, not division. “Ha,” you may be thinking – because you know that after the consecration I will only invite those who are communicant members of Risen Savior or of other WELS and ELS churches in our fellowship to participate. “Ha,” you may be thinking because the practice of closed communion appears to be one of the most divisive and polarizing practices in all of Christianity. “Ha,” you may be thinking because you’ve had members of your own family here in church and you’ve been divided from them because they’ve had to stay in their seats while you came forward.

You may scoff at my saying that closed communion brings about unity not division. But did you know this? We’re not alone. Not only has closed communion been the regular practice throughout the vast majority of Christian history, but to this day not only confessional Lutherans but also Roman Catholics and the Orthodox practice it. Consider this: the only major denominations that are staunchly pro-life, that reject the ordination of women, and that don’t condone homosexuality are also the only denominations that – at least in their official doctrine – practice closed communion. Maybe we’re on to something?

Yes, it’s true, on this side of heaven these words can be divisive. That’s because even though Jesus fills everything in every way (Ephesians 1:23), there’s still only one Jesus present here at this altar. What I mean is that we can’t each have our own version of Jesus that we confess to be present here at this altar. One Jesus can’t be both truly present here and only symbolically present at the same time. One Jesus can’t teach us both to ordain women and not to ordain them, to bless homosexual unions and not to bless them, to pray to Mary and not to pray to Mary, to baptize babies and not to baptize babies One Jesus can’t mean both “When I return I will judge the living and the dead” and “when I return I will establish an earthly kingdom” at the same time. Jesus can be everywhere with everyone all the time, but he can’t be a logical fallacy. He can’t be a living contradiction. He’s not a piece of clay that each of us can mold however we want. There is only one Jesus present at this altar and that is why we can’t possibly stand shoulder to shoulder with anyone who doesn’t confess this one Jesus.

And yet, the same Sacrament that illustrates the division we see on this side of heaven also illustrates our communion with those on the other side. There’s a good reason that the words spoken just before we receive the Sacrament include: “therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song.” There’s a reason why in the prayer for communicants we say, “in this sacrament time and eternity meet as we celebrate a foretaste of the feast now enjoyed by all who are in heavenly glory” (CW Altar Book, 245). There’s a reason why many older, especially Scandinavian, churches made the design decision to construct a communion rail that was a half-circle – a visible illustration of the spiritual reality that when a believer is done kneeling on this side of the rail, they simply move to the other to celebrate the same Holy Supper.

This means that when we step up to this altar, we’re not alone. We are joining the great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language who are in heaven around the same altar (Revelation 7:9). Yes, these words may divide us from those in this world who do not believe in and confess the one Jesus revealed in Scripture – the only Jesus that actually exists. But it also unites us with all those around the world and those in heaven in have taken their seat at the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:1-10). These words don’t primarily divide, they primarily unite us in faith here and now and unite us with believers of all times and places.

Some words don’t need any explanation or introduction. If everyone took Jesus at his Word, the words of institution would need no further explanation. I pray that after tonight you understand and believe that these words are words of proclamation, not prayer; of revelation, not incantation; of reliving, not recollecting; of unity and not division. But most of all, I pray that when you hear these words, you believe that Jesus is really present here for you, to offer you his very real body and blood for the very real and very personal forgiveness of your sins. Amen.