Jesus Is In Command

6 · Brief transition from the first point (command of history) to the second point (command of his betrayal), using the narrative progression of the text itself to signal the structural shift

And then they prepared the Passover as they had been commanded. And this now brings us to Jesus' command of his betrayal.

7 · Vince exposits Mark 14:17-21, explaining the Passover meal elements and their symbolism, then highlighting Jesus' sobering announcement of betrayal

Verse 17, "And when it was evening, He came with the 12, and as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, one of you will betray Me, one who is eating with Me.' They began to be sorrowful and to say to Him one after another, 'Is it I?'" And he said to them, 'It is one of the 12, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. For 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.' All right, so the meal's been prepared, and now Jesus comes.

With the rest of the 12.

And the Passover feast would have been— like, part of the feast is a retelling of the events of the Passover, a retelling of God's mighty acts of judgment and of deliverance. Judgment over Israel, deliverance over his people, all right? And it's a celebration of this, of God delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. During the meal, they would have drunk the first 2 cups of wine. Okay?

There are 4 cups in this celebration. The first 2 are done with the meal. They are the cups of sanctification and of deliverance in typical telling of this.

They would have eaten the bitter herbs symbolizing their harsh treatment by the Egyptians. They would have eaten the charoset symbolizing the mortar for the bricks that they would make while enslaved, the fruits symbolizing hope and renewal. They would have eaten the lamb as a reminder of the cost that saving their life came at, symbolizing the blood that covered and saved the people of God. This was a celebration of remembrance of God's triumph over both the gods and the government of Egypt and His deliverance of his people, as he says in Exodus 6, "With an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment." This is festive. This is remembering what God did.

And then Jesus turns it somber and sorrowful.

By saying, "One of you will betray me." One who is eating at the table with him, one who is dipping bread with him. The Psalms say, "He who shares a meal with me has lifted his heel against me." Jesus is likely alluding to that. And they ask, "Who is it? Who is it, Jesus? It's not me, is it?

Tell me it's not me." And there is no answer given in Mark's Gospel, only the warning. It would have been better for that man had he not been born.

8 · Vince supplements Mark's account with details from John's Gospel, explaining the seating arrangement and the significance of Jesus giving the morsel to Judas

And Mark records the disciples' sorrow.

And in John's Gospel, we're told a little bit more, aren't we? In John's Gospel, we see that John is reclining next to Jesus, and on the other side of Jesus is who? Judas, the one who was to betray him.

The arrangement of this meal would have put Jesus' head likely at Judas' feet. You see, when it says that John was reclined against his chest and he could lean back and talk with him, well, that means that Jesus' feet were closer to John's head, which means Jesus' head was closer to Judas' feet. Okay? This is a symbol, a place of intimacy. With the one who would betray him.

Moreover, when John says, "Who is it?" He says, "It's the one whom I give this morsel to after I dip it." And he dipped it and he gave it to who? Judas.

Again, giving food to someone back then Handing it to them by person was a symbol of intimacy and of trust and of even love and acceptance. Why? This is the guy who would betray him.

I can't help but think it's Jesus reaching out one last time.

And he's saying, "Man, I'm here. I'm here. Just repent. Come back to me." And he gives him the bread and he says, "What you are about to do, do quickly." Again, if you're gonna repent, do it now.

Right now. Time is short, Judas.

"And if you're gonna betray me, then go on and do it. Get on with it." And John records what? That when he took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him, and he went outside, and it was night.

9 · Vince asserts that Jesus was not a passive victim but actively chose Judas knowing he would betray him, demonstrating sovereign command even in the midst of betrayal

Jesus was not caught off guard by this betrayal. He knew it was coming.

He chose Judas even knowing what John says in John 6, "That one of you is a devil," and he was talking about Judas. And he chose him. He was in full command. Even in the midst of his betrayal, telling him, "You can come back or you can leave. Whatever you do, do quickly." quickly.

10 · Vince applies the Judas narrative to the congregation, arguing that all sin is betrayal and that just as Jesus showed patience with Judas, he shows patience with believers in their ongoing sin, continually offering repentance and reconciliation

And we can often think— I know I have— how can Jesus for 3 years stomach being around Judas? How for 3 years can He look at him knowing what's coming, knowing that he would be the one who comes and with a kiss who with a kiss betrays the Lord? How can he handle being in his presence?

And the truth is, we're no different than Judas, are we? We are all betrayers.

We are all rebels. We are all just as guilty of seeking our own kingdom, which is the same as Judas taking the 30 pieces of silver. Over.

Every act of sin is a cosmic betrayal. Every act of sin is a rebellion. Every act of sin is us taking our way instead of Jesus' way. And how often do we do that? How often do we betray our Lord with our sin or with our grumbling?

Or with our doubts and misgivings. See, every one of us is a Judas.

And the Lord is kind and patient with us, and He comes to us just like He did to Judas, offering, handing us bread, handing us bread.

Offering us to come back. You see, Jesus is in command, totally, fully.

Even in the midst of our betrayal, he's in command and he's seeking our repentance and reconciliation with him.

11 · Brief transition from the second point (command of betrayal) to the third point (command of death), maintaining the sermon's structural progression

And this brings us now to Jesus' command of his death.

12 · Vince exposits Mark 14:22-24, explaining the significance of the third cup (redemption), the afikomen tradition, and how Jesus reinterprets these Passover elements to point to his broken body and shed blood

Verse 22: And as they were eating, he took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to them and said, "Take, this is my body." And he took a cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them and they all drank of it. And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many." Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine till that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Now again, the Passover has 4 cups. They would have drank— drunk— drinking? They would have consumed 2 by now. I hate that word. When you start going in past tense, it's like, I don't know, man, they had it.

I believe that this cup referred to here is the third cup. Why the third cup? Well, the fourth cup is what's called the kingdom cup or the restoration cup or the cup of praise. The third cup is the cup of redemption.

And it signifies that God will redeem his people from sin and death. This cup would have also been eaten with a half piece of bread, right, that it's been broken in half at the beginning of the meal and then wrapped up in a cloth, most times buried. It's called the afikomen, which means that which comes after, okay? And look, I'm not Jewish, so I don't know all of the intricacies there. I'm not trying to convert us to Judaism.

But when you look at this stuff, it's crazy. And this bread would have been buried in its cloth, and all the kids would go hunt for it and search for it. And those who found it would get a prize.

They would get a reward for finding the bread which gives life that had been buried.

And Jesus takes this bread and he breaks it and he gives it to them and he says, "Take, this is my body." It signifies how his body would be broken and marred beyond recognition through physical torture. Of torture.

Scripture tells us that he would not even resemble a human being. He was so brutally beaten and badly scourged.

"Take, this is my body broken for you." Then he took a cup and gave thanks, and he gave it to them, and they all drank. "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.

13 · Vince makes a sweeping canonical theological claim that Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper not only reinterprets Passover but reframes all Old Testament covenants as pointing to himself and his sacrificial death

And with that statement, Jesus not only remakes the Passover celebration about him, he makes all of the Old Testament, all of the covenants given about him. Why? Because all of the covenants are built upon the Mosaic Covenant, and the, and, and the Passover was part of the Mosaic Covenant.

And when Jesus makes the Passover about him, he makes all things about him.

Because he is before all things, he has made all things, and all things are for him.

And his words here echo the first covenant that we see.

Okay, second covenant. First one was Abraham. How can I forget that? I wrote a very long paper about that.

It was tough.

But at Mount Sinai, when the Lord was giving the law to Moses, he says, bring up the 70 elders. And he brought the elders up and they slaughtered an ox. And he took some of the blood and he sprinkled it over the elders and over the people. And what did he say? What did he say?

"Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." Jesus was certainly retelling the Passover and he was saying that the Passover pointed to him. The Lamb, his blood is the blood of the covenant God made in accordance with all these words. How can I say that? Because Jesus says, "The Son of Man goes as it is written of him." Everything that we see is pointing to Jesus going to the cross.

He says, "This is the blood. This is my blood of the covenant." And he's going to the cross. And the Passover is one step closer to the cross.

14 · Vince asserts Jesus' voluntary self-sacrifice, emphasizing that his command meant he could have chosen differently but deliberately chose the cross in obedience to the Father to accomplish substitutionary atonement

Jesus is in command. And his command could have done something different.

Why? Because he is God himself incarnate. He could have chosen a different route. His command could have done that. When Peter cuts off off Malchus's ear, what does he say?

"Do not do that. Do you think I couldn't call and 12 legions of angels would be here?" His command takes him straight to the cross. His command of his death takes him to obedience to the Father's will where he would walk the road up the hill of Calvary and hang between heaven and earth in a sacrificial death to pay for your sin, to pay for my sin, to pay for everyone's sin who would ever believe.

He's in command.

He's been sent on a mission and he is in full command of everything, including his death and his blood was poured out for the disciples, poured out for you, and poured out for me and countless others. Full command.

The cross is no surprise to Him. The shedding of His blood does not catch Him off guard.

He went to die in the place of His people who broke the covenant, to take their place in judgment so that we could take His righteousness on ourselves.

15 · Vince synthesizes the gospel meaning of the Lord's Supper, drawing explicit typological connections between Exodus deliverance and Christ's crucifixion, and pointing forward to the eschatological fulfillment when Christ drinks the fourth cup in the consummated kingdom

The Lord's Supper is a living picture of the gospel, that Christ came into the world to save sinners by His death. On the cross, then is raised showing that the penalty of death has been satisfied by His blood that has been poured out. Death touched the immortal God so that it could never touch His mortal people.

Wow!

What grace! What love! The sacrificial act of God the Son. In the person of Jesus.

Exodus 6, "He has brought us out of slavery with outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgment." Wow. The Son of God.

Had his arms outstretched and the judgment fell on him.

And having poured out his blood unto death, having taken up his life again because he had authority to lay it down and to take it up, he awaits the day when he will bring the kingdom finally and fully to earth, and that day there will be another Passover celebrated in which the King will finally drink the fourth cup. I think that's what he means when he says, "I will not drink the fruit of the vine until I drink it new in the kingdom of God on that day." On that day, the cup of praise and kingdom and restoration will be consumed in joy by the Lord himself and his people.

16 · Vince transitions from exposition to application by posing the question of what communion means for the congregation in light of Jesus' command, setting up a multi-faceted explanation of the Lord's Supper's significance

So what does this mean for us? What is the significance of Jesus not only being in command, but part of his command is instituting the Lord's this supper right before He goes to the garden and prays and then is betrayed and then is crucified by sinful men?

What's the point? What's the significance of what we call communion?

17 · Vince provides a comprehensive theological exposition of the meaning of communion, building through six distinct but related dimensions: remembrance, proclamation, participation, presence, prophetic anticipation, and thanksgiving

Well, first, it is a meal of remembrance. It commands us to remember Jesus and His life lived perfectly. Righteously, completely holy, and obedient to the Father's will and all of His law.

It is a command to remember His death on the cross to pay for sins. It is a command to remember that death could not hold Him because death had no power over Him.

Paul tells us that it is even more than a remembrance. It's a proclamation. It is a proclamation of our hope, not in ourselves, but in Christ. It is a proclamation that hope has come to a world twisted, broken, marred with sin that has been groaning ever since Genesis 3 and will continue to groan until he renews all things. It's a proclamation of the gospel.

It's a proclamation of the future that Jesus will come and bring his kingdom. It's a proclamation that hope is alive for all who would trust in him.

But it's more than a proclamation.

It is a participation in the body and blood of Christ. Paul tells us that it is a participation in the blood of Christ when we take what? The cup of blessing, which is another word for the cup of redemption, the third cup. Little clues that Paul is dropping for us. It's a participation.

He says that the bread we take is a participation in the body of Christ, that we who are many are one body. For we all partake of the one bread.

But it's more than a participation.

It is a picture of the reality of Christ's presence with his people. In Matthew 18 and 28—18, where the hardest thing that a church will do, church discipline, Jesus says what? "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am with them there also." And then in Matthew 28, what does he say? "Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them. Surely I am with you to the end of the age." And taking the bread and the cup is a reminder of his presence.

But how is that— how is— how— it's more than a reminder though, I would say. It is his presence. How is it his presence though if he is on the throne? Well, I think Calvin helps us to understand this when he says, by the Spirit Christ lifts us up to where he is.

So there's something going on by the Spirit in our hearts conversing with us of the presence of God.

But it's more than a participation. I would say it's a prophetic look forward. It is a look forward to the great wedding supper of the Lamb when we will enjoy the Passover served by the bridegroom Jesus himself. What a day that will be. It is a look forward to when Jesus finally drinks the fourth cup of the Passover and drinks it new with his disciples.

That includes us and everyone else who has believed in his name. What a look. What a picture.

And it's more than a look forward.

"When does it end, Vince?" I think this is the last one, okay? It's a thanksgiving. It is a thanksgiving of what the Lord has done. Redemption, forgiveness, new life, faith, a changed life, a changed way of thinking, a changed relationship with God, being brought out of the kingdom of darkness, transferred into his kingdom of marvelous light. Many things we have to be thankful for.

And in many centuries, the church has called it the Eucharist. It's— that comes from the Greek eucharisteo, meaning to be grateful, to feel thankful, or to give thanks. When we partake of the elements of the Lord's table, we are indeed giving thanks for all that he has done.

18 · Vince synthesizes the multifaceted meaning of communion into a single celebratory act and draws the final typological connection between the Passover blood on doorposts and Christ's blood covering believers' sins, grounding the celebration in trust in Jesus' sovereign command

And so as we take these elements that I forgot once again, as we partake of the elements, that is what we do.

It is a celebration of the Passover of the Lord as seen fully and truly in Christ, our Passover Lamb, having been sacrificed for his people. It is a celebration of all those things, a remembrance, a proclamation, a participation, a picture of his presence, a prophetic look, and a thanksgiving.

Just as the Passover was a celebration of the night God passed over the houses marked with blood. We celebrate the true Passover of God in passing over his people, passing over their sins.

Why? Because we've been marked by the blood. It's a reminder that there's nothing that I have added to my salvation except the sin that made it possible, and it's a celebration of the one who came to take it fully. It's a celebration that Jesus is in command, and his command took him to the cross. And since he was in command, We can trust him.

It's a celebration of trust.

19 · Vince transitions to the observance of communion, giving pastoral instruction distinguishing between believers who should partake and non-believers who should observe, grounding the warning in Pauline teaching about unworthy participation

So we will now celebrate, and by celebrating, we will trust again his sacrifice for our sins.

And as we take communion, if you have not trusted in Christ to pay for your sins, I ask that you observe this meal. You know, Paul tells us that if we take the bread or the cup in a manner unworthy, and the manner unworthy is that without faith, he says what? That we eat and drink judgment upon ourselves.

But if you have trusted in Christ to pay for your sins, church, let's open the bread.

20 · Vince leads the congregation in the physical act of taking communion, structuring the observance around Jesus' own words from the institution narrative and calling for reflection on Christ's broken body and shed blood

Jesus says to his disciples, "Take, this is my body." Let us reflect on his body broken and given for us.

Church, let's eat the bread. Now let's open the The juice.

Jesus says to his disciples today, "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many." Let's reflect on the Lord pouring out His blood for many for the forgiveness of their sins.

Church, let us drink the cup.

21 · Closing prayer after communion that reiterates the sermon's main thesis (Jesus was in command, not a victim), asks for the congregation to remember and walk in hope, and includes an evangelistic prayer for any non-believers present to receive new life and saving faith

And then let's pray. Father, thank you, Lord, for your grace, for your mercy.

Thank you for sending your Son.

Who was not a helpless victim of the Roman government, who was not caught off guard by the events of his betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion.

No, Lord, he was in command.

He took each step with purpose.

He took each step with conviction and with hope and with trust in the plan of God to redeem the people of God. Father, let us remember that, Lord. Let us walk in the hope of what He has accomplished for us. And Father, if someone is here today that is not— has not trusted in Christ, Lord, I pray that— I pray, Lord, that you would grant new life and that that new life brings repentance.

No, Lord, that was wrong. I pray you would grant new life. New life does bring repentance, and that they would repent of their sins as they're being commanded to, and they would have faith that Jesus paid for their sins. Lord, I pray that now for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Let's stand together.