Jesus was seated with his twelve apostles

JESUS WAS SEATED WITH HIS TWELVE APOSTLES
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
“And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the
twelve apostles with Him.” Luke 22:14.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Deepest Wound, Etc
Luke 22:3-6
W. Clarkson When everything has been allowed for Judas that the most ingenious and the most
charitable have begged us to consider, we must judge him to be a man whose conduct is to be
solemnly and seriously condemned. It is Divine Love itself that decides this question (see ver.
22; Matthew 26:24; John 17:12). The text suggests to us -
I. THAT OUR DEEPEST WOUNDS ARE THOSE WE RECEIVE AT THE HAND OF OUR
NEAREST FRIENDS. How much force is there in the parenthesis, "being of the number oft he
twelve! What deep pathos is in those sad words of the Lord, Verily I say unto you, that one of
you shall betray me" (Matthew 26:21)! This was a "sword that entered into his soul," a keen
distress, one of the very bitterest of all the sorrows of the Son of man. That one whom he had
admitted to his intimate fellowship, of whom he had made a friend, who had partaken of his
confidence and shared his strong affection, - that he should be the one to betray him to his foes!
There is no trouble possible to us so great as that which lies open to us on the side of our purest
and strongest affections. It is not our avowed enemy, nor the man to whom we are indifferent,
but it is our dearest friend, who has it in his power to lacerate our soul with the sharpest thrust,
and to spoil our life by throwing over it the darkest shadow (see Psalm 41:9).
1. Be slow to admit to the inner sanctuary of the heart; for he who has entrance there holds your
happiness in his own right hand.
2. Realize the responsibility of intimate friendship; it is not only a privilege, but an obligation; it
gives you power to gladden and to bless, but also opportunity to mar and to destroy.
II. THAT MONEY PLAYS A LARGE PART, FOR GOOD OR EVIL, IN HUMAN LIFE. They
"covenanted to give him money." It seems hardly credible that any man who had lived in the
society of Jesus Christ, and had witnessed his kindness and his purity, should take money for

betraying him. Other motives - those of resentment or ambition- are far less shocking and
revolting than this mercenary one. To betray his Master, his Friend, for thirty pieces of silver,
fills us with wonder and excites the deepest reprobation. But for what has not money been
responsible in human history? How large a part it plays in the great drama! What untold good it
is instrumental in effecting! What admirable virtues it is the means of illustrating I To what
deeds of folly and even of infamy the desire to obtain it has conducted! It is clear that men who
have been trained to hate immoral and criminal behavior with an intense hatred have been
induced to part with every principle they have honored, and to do the worst deeds they have
denounced, in order to obtain money, when they have found themselves pressed for its
possession. Probably no man who has not felt it knows the deadly force of the temptation. Who
shall say that he is safe from this powerful snare? It is probable that to obtain money more evil
deeds have been done than under any other inducement whatever. Therefore let every man
beware lest he subjects himself to this strong and fell temptation. Let neither an overweening
ambition nor extravagance of habit lead where the possession of more money becomes an
imperative demand. Moderation in desire and economy in habit save men from a temptation in
which, it may be, their souls would be entangled and their very life taken away.
III. THAT EARNESTNESS IS SURE TO SEEK ITS OPPORTUNITY UNTIL IT FINDS IT.
He "sought opportunity to betray him." By whatever motives inspired, Judas was intent on
compassing the act he had undertaken. And he did not wait idly until an opportunity offered
itself. He sought it. If evil is thus in earnest, how much more so should righteousness and mercy
be! These should surely be about their holy and loving work "with both hands earnestly."
Opportunity to raise, to help, to redeem, to restore, - this is not to be passively waited for, but to
be actively sought out. There is a very marked difference between readiness to work when we
are invited and even urged to do so, and that noble zeal which will not be contented without
finding material for activity. It is the difference between a goodness that you do not blame and a
goodness that you admire; between a life that will not stand condemned and a life that will be
crowned with victory and honor. If there are those who, in the interest of error and of evil, will
set about diligently to promote these ends. shall we not put forth our utmost energy on behalf of
truth and heavenly wisdom? If men can be found who will "seek opportunity" to betray, shall not
we with deeper devotedness "seek opportunity" to honor our Lord? - C.
Biblical Illustrator
With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you.
Luke 22:14-20
The last passover -- Christ's desire for it

J. Ker, D. D."This passover before I suffer! "It tells us, surely, that there was some connection
between the passover and the suffering of Christ, and a special connection in this passover at
which He and His disciples were now sitting down. Let us think of some of the reasons why the
Saviour desired so earnestly to join in this last passover before He suffered.
1. One reason was, that the passover had now reached its end, and found its full meaning. The
ancient covenant, which changed the slaves of Egypt into God's servants, gives place to the new,
which changes his servants into His sons, and commences that golden chain, "If children, then
heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ," etc. And here, too, are the means of the
redemption. The passover, which sprinkled with the blood of the covenant the door-posts in the
land of Egypt, descends until its last victim dies beneath the shadow of the cross of Christ. Its
efficacy is gone, for He has appeared who is to finish transgression, to make an end of sin, and to
bring in an everlasting righteousness. At best it was a shadow, but now the great reality has
come, "Christ our passover, sacrificed for us." It is no unconscious victim, but one who freely
gives Himself, the just for the unjust, that He may bring us to God.
2. Another reason why Christ desired to be present at this passover was, for the support of His
own soul in the approaching struggle. "Before I suffer!" He had a terrible conflict to meet, for
which He longed, and at which He trembled. We may feel startled at the thought that the Son of
God should be dependent on such aid at such a moment. And yet it is in keeping with all His
history — with the whole plan of redemption. The Divine and human are inseparably interwoven
in the life and work of Christ.
3. We are led naturally to this further reason — that Christ desired to be present at the last
passover because His friends needed special comfort. "To eat this passover with you before I
suffer." He desired to make His converse with them at this passover in the upper chamber a
strength and consolation to them against the sore temptations they were to encounter. And may
we not believe that Christ still prepares His people for what may be lying before them, and that
He employs His comforts "to prevent" them — to go before them — in the day of their calamity.
When darkness is about to fall, God has lamps to put into the hand by anticipation. He who made
His ark go before His ancient people in all their wanderings, causes the consolations of His Word
to smooth the way of them that look to Him. He knows what painful steps are before us in the
journey of life, what privations, what bereavements — it may be that the most solemn step of all
must ere long be taken — and He desires to eat this passover with us "before we suffer."
4. The last reason we give for Christ's desire to be present at this passover is, that it looked
forward to all the future of His Church and people. At the close of the last passover, Christ
instituted that communion of the Supper which has come down through many generations —
which goes forth into all the world as the remembrance of His death and the pledge of the
blessings it has purchased for us. How frail this little ark which His hand has sent out on those
stormy waters, but how safely it has carried its precious freight! And this presence of His, at the
first communion, looks still further — on to the period when, instead of His Spirit, we shall have
Himself. He desired to take His place in person at the first communion in our world, and when
the great communion opens in heaven, He shall be seen in His place once more.
(J. Ker, D. D.)
The Lord's Supper
A. E. Dunning.We need not look for great things in order to discover great truths. To those who
reach after God he will reveal his deepest secrets through things insignificant in themselves,

within the routine of common lives. No event occurs more regularly than the daily meal. None,
perhaps, gathers around it so many pleasant associations. Its simplest possible form, in Christ's
time, consisted in eating bread and drinking a cup of wine. Into this act, one evening, He
gathered all the meaning of the ancient sacrifices; all sacred and tender relations between
Himself and His followers, and all the prophecies of His perfected kingdom.
I. THE PREPARATION. "They made ready the passover." Note concerning the making ready
that —
1. It was deliberate. The room was selected and secured. The hour was appointed. Two of the
disciples were chosen to prepare the lamb and to spread the table. The Lord's Supper is not less,
but far more, rich in meaning than was the ancient passover. It requires the preparation of mind
and heart made by private meditation, and by the gathering together beforehand of disciples for
prayer, conference, and instruction.
2. It was exclusive, "I shall eat the passover," Christ said, "with My disciples." No others were
invited, because no others were fitted to share in the ceremony which He was to inaugurate.
3. It was familiar. He drew closer to His disciples as the time approached in which He was to
teach them how to celebrate His great act for the redemption of the world. Such times must be
cherished as the warm, spring hours of spiritual growth.
4. It was solemn. The shadow of the greatest tragedy in the world's history, close at hand, hung
over them, as they went through the silent streets to the prepared guest chamber. His manner, His
words, His actions, were filled with the consciousness of it.
II. THE BETRAYER POINTED OUT.
1. It leads each true disciple to self-examination.
2. It helps to reveal to Himself She false disciple. Judas knew that he was out of place in that
upper chamber. The Lord's table, which symbolizes the most intimate fellowship with Him, is a
means of leading selfish men to begin to realize the awful and utter loneliness of sin.
3. It helps us to realize the baseness of a false confession of Christ.
III. THE SUPPER INSTITUTED.
1. A new sacrifice. Oxen, sheep, and doves had for centuries been slain as a sign that through life
offered in sacrifice, human life that had been forfeited by sin might be restored. But from that
night the broken bread takes the place of all these, and represents to us the body of Christ given
as a sacrifice for sinners.
2. A new covenant.
3. A new kingdom, which was begun when first Christ through the Holy Spirit began to rule in
one human heart.
(A. E. Dunning.)
The happiness of attending The Communion
Anon.During the sunshine of his prosperity, Napoleon I. thought little of God and religious
duties. But when his power had been broken, and he was an exile at St. Helena, he began to see
the vanity of earthly things, and became earnest and attentive to religion. Then it was that he
returned a very remarkable answer to one who asked him what was the happiest day in his life.
"Sire," said his questioner, "allow me to ask you what was the happiest day in all your life? Was

it the day of your victory at Lodi? at Jena? at Austerlitz? or was it when you were crowned
emperor?" No, my good friend, replied the fallen emperor, "it was none of these. It was the day
of my first communion! That was the happiest day in all my life!" Sacramental service —
I. HOW INTENSE THE SAVIOUR'S LOVE FOR US MUST HAVE BEEN, in that His desire
was not extinguished by the knowledge that it was to be His death-feast.
II. HOW CLOSE HIS FELLOWSHIP WITH MEN, as shown in that He desired to spend such
an hour in their company.
III. HOW EAGER THE MASTER WAS TO MAKE THE DISCIPLES REALIZE THE
NEARNESS OF THE HEAVENLY BLESSING HE WOULD PURCHASE FOR THEM, and to
give them a pledge of it for their assurance. "I will not eat any more thereof, until it be fulfilled,"
etc. The Lord's Supper, then instituted, is thus designed to be —
1. An evidence of Christ's undying love.
2. An assurance of His intimate fellowship.
3. A confirmation of His promise of the everlasting blessedness.
(Anon.)
The Last Supper
D. C. Hughes, M. A.I. THE PASSOVER PREPARED. This preparation is suggestive of three
things.
1. The dispensation in which Christ and His apostles still were.
2. The all-comprehensive knowledge possessed by Christ.
3. That in the midst of enemies Christ still had friends in Jerusalem.
II. The passover eaten.
1. Our Lord's punctuality (ver. 14).
2. Our Lord's intense desire in respect to this passover.(1) Because the last He would celebrate
with them.(2) Because He would impress them with the connection between Himself as God's
Lamb, and the paschal lamb.(3) Because He would awaken in them an intense desire for His
second coming, when He would sit down with them in the Kingdom of God.
III. THE PASSOVER SUPERSEDED.
1. By the establishment of an ordinance which commemorates the true passover (see 1
Corinthians 5:7).
2. By the assurance of the better hope which this ordinance affirms (Hebrews 7:19-22).
3. By the emblematic re-crucifixion of our Lord, which should inspire them to a constant
remembrance of His personal love for them (1 Corinthians 11:24).Lessons:
1. Retrospection essential.
(1)Bread broken.
(2)Wine poured out.
2. Introspection essential (1 Corinthians 11:28).
3. Prospection essential (1 Corinthians 11:26).

(D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
The cup of sneering and of Communion
R. Ferguson, LL. D.I. THAT COMMUNION BETWEEN CHRIST AND BELIEVERS WILL
BE RENEWED IN HEAVEN. Even on this side heaven, seasons of pure spiritual communion
are not denied us. This exhausts the Saviour's idea. His words are to be taken not literally, but
spiritually. The wine is put for the thing represented — the joys and the felicities of the final
state, and to drink the wine new with Him is to partake the inmost pleasure of His soul.
II. THIS COMMUNION WILL BE PERFECT AND UNMIXED. We receive only in part; and
this necessarily renders every act of communion imperfect. But in heaven it will be otherwise.
Our nature will be so purified and transformed, as that every power and every property will be an
avenue to convey the stream of life and glory into the soul. The fellowship will be that of
perfected spirits. There will be no darkness in the understanding, no error in the judgment, no
guilt in the conscience, no sin in the heart.
III. THIS COMMUNION WILL RE UNINTERRUPTED AND ETERNAL. Sublime and
refreshing as are the seasons of spiritual joy which we experience on earth, they are, generally
speaking, but of short duration. Here perpetuity of enjoyment is impossible, but there it is
certain. The union between the Saviour and the soul will never be dissolved, and therefore the
fellowship will never end. Here we are overtaken by fatigue and exhaustion, but there we shall
be endowed with immortal vigour; here sickness and infirmity often intervene, but there the
inhabitants shall never say they are sick; here we enjoy communion at intervals, there it will be
eternal.
IV. THIS COMMUNION WILL BE HEIGHTENED BY THE PRESENCE AND THE
FELLOWSHIP OF THE WHOLE REDEEMED CHURCH. It is no common joy which we
experience even in the most private communion; but this joy is heightened when we can blend
with other souls in harmony with our own. What, then, must be the communion of the coming
world, where we shall hold immediate fellowship not only with God and the Redeemer, but at
the same moment, and in the same act, with angels and the whole Church of the redeemed?
Delightful is the union and fellowship of minds on earth! When heart communes with heart it is
like the mingling dew-drops on the flower. But this union will be heightened in heaven. There
we shall find none but kindred minds, with which it will be impossible not to unite. The
blessedness of the future world is in reserve for those only who belong to the kingdom of God on
earth. Into the heavenly communion none will be received, but those who have here held
fellowship with a risen and glorified Saviour.
(R. Ferguson, LL. D.)
He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it.
The Holy Communion
C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.I. HOLY COMMUNION — WHAT IS IT?
1. It is Christ's own ordinance. Being a communicant is the test of the reality of your Christian
profession.
2. It is the command of the Great Master. Emphatic, plain, straightforward, definite. A test of our
faithfulness RS the servants of Christ.
3. It is the dying wish of the best of Friends. You cannot disregard it, and be true to Him.

4. Its great importance is taught plainly by the teaching and practice of the early Church. It was
at first the only act of united worship. And it was celebrated at least every Lord's Day.
II. WHAT IS ITS NATURE?
1. It is a memorial. A picture for all time of Christ's body broken and blood shed for the sins of
man.(1) A memorial to God the Father. In our prayers we say, "through Jesus Christ our Lord";
or some such words; i.e., we plead before the Father what He has done for us. In the Holy
Communion we say, "for Jesus' sake" not in words, but in the very acts which He Himself has
taught us. Thus it is our highest act of prayer.(2) A memorial to ourselves. How easily we forget.
This refreshes our memory, and rekindles our love.(3) A memorial to an unthinking or
unbelieving world. A witness to men that we believe in Jesus, who lived and died and still lives
for us.
2. It is a means of grace. Jesus Himself is pleased in this ordinance of his own appointment to
give us Himself.
3. It is a bond of union between ourselves and others. In partaking together one sacred food we,
made one with Jesus, are brought nearer to one another.(1) A bond of union between those who
belong to the same earthly family.(2) A bond of union between those who belong to the same
congregation.(3) A bond of union between all Christians who love the Lord Jesus.(4) A bond of
union between those who are resting in paradise.
III. WHO OUGHT TO COME?
1. Those who know how poor their love is, and want to love God more.
2. Those who are trying to serve God, and fail because they are weak, and need strength.
3. Those who are sinful, but desire to become holy.
4. Those who are careful and troubled about many things, and long for rest.
IV. WHO OUGHT NOT TO COME?
1. Those who are sinning, and do not want to give up their sin.
2. Those who think themselves good enough. The selfsatisfied obtain no blessing, for they seek
none.
V. HOW TO COME.
1. Humbly. Why? Because we are not worthy to come.
2. Trustingly and simply. Taking God at His word, and not asking questions.
3. Earnestly. Meaning what we are doing. Not because others come, but because we realize that
in our sinfulness and our unworthiness we find the strongest reason why we ought to come.
4. Reverently. Humbly realizing the presence of Jesus, and earnestly desiring His blessing.
5. Regularly. Have a fixed rule about it. Do not leave it to be done at any time when it is
convenient or suits you.
6. More and more frequently. As you grow older you ought to be more earnest, and in order to
serve God better you must seek more help. The grown-up man is not content with the same
amount of food as the child; and the man who is desirous to grow up into the full measure of the
stature of Christ, needs more spiritual nourishment than the man who is only a babe in Christ.

7. Early. When your thoughts are fresh, your heart free from cares and worries, your mind
undisturbed by worldly things. Give to God the best you can. Let Him have the first of the day.
(C. J. Ridgeway, M. A.)
The Holy Communion
J. Burns, D. D.I. THE ORDINANCE ITSELF.
II. ITS CHARACTERISTICS.
1. A Divine ordinance.
2. A perpetual ordinance.
3. A binding and obligatory ordinance.
4. It should be a frequent ordinance. No Lord's Day without the Lord's Supper.
III. THE SPIRIT IN WHICH IT SHOULD BE OBSERVED.
1. Deep humility of mind.
2. Grateful love to Jesus.
3. Faith.
4. Love to all mankind.
5. Joyous hope.
IV. THE ADVANTAGES ARISING FROM OBEDIENCE TO THIS COMMAND OF
CHRIST'S.
1. The soul will be strengthened.
2. Christ will be increasingly precious.
3. Holiness will be increased.
4. Heaven will be desired.Application:
1. Address regular communicants. Come in a right spirit. Be watchful, humble, prayerful, etc.
2. Address irregular communicants. Why so? It is disobedience, inconsistency, injurious to
yourselves, Church, world.
3. Those who never commune at all.(1) The conscientiously doubtful. Do you hate sin? Believe
in Christ, etc. Are you willing to obey him? Then draw near, etc.(2) Those who are really unfit
for the Lord's table, are also unfit for death, judgment, eternity.
(J. Burns, D. D.)
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
R. M. Willcox.In preserving this festival, we are urged alike by affection and duty.
I. THE ACT.
1. To stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, we may point out the simplicity of this
act.
2. But though simple it is significant. The material forms and visible things, represent spiritual
and invisible realities.

3. The participation of this Sacrament is a manifestation of Christian unity (1 Corinthians 10:16,
17).
4. This act is commemorative.
5. This ordinance is also sealing. A pledge of Divine mercy. A covenant act.
6. This Sacrament is also prospective. "Till He come."
II. THE COMMAND. "This do."
1. Unanimously.
2. Frequently.
3. Gratefully.
4. Reverently.
5. Worthily. "Discerning the Lord's Body."
(R. M. Willcox.)
The Lord's Supper
Dean Vaughan.The Lord's Supper — what a title! How full of memories, how it carries us back
into the very heart of the past! What a solemn night it tells of — what a meeting — what a
parting! The Lord's Supper, however often it is celebrated, always ought to carry us back to the
institution. For the little company of the disciples it was a night of gloom. The week had opened
amid Hosannas; for a moment it had seemed as if the Saviour was to be the hero and the idol of
the multitude. But the acclaims died away. The bitter hostility of the rulers reasserted itself in a
series of angry or crafty assaults; and now we are on the very eve of that other and most opposite
cry — "Away with Him; crucify Him. His blood be on us, and on our children." The fortunes of
the new gospel, as man must judge, were that night at the very lowest ebb. As the event advances
it is made quite evident that this is a parting meeting, and that the Lord and Master knows it. He
speaks of Himself as departing, not on a temporary journey, but by a violent death. People who
are bent upon explaining away everything that is remarkable, still more everything that is
superhuman in the Gospels, have denied that the words "Take, eat, this is My Body; Drink ye all
of this, for this is My Blood," were words of institution at all. They say that they were merely a
pathetic way of typifying to the disciples His approaching death, and had nothing to do with any
future commemoration of it when He should be gone. It is not necessary to argue this point,
because we have the clearest testimony from the earliest date rationally possible; the testimony
of friends and foes; of Christians and Pagans; of St. Paul and St. Luke; of Pliny no less than , that
those who heard the words did understand them as words of institution, and did act upon them as
such. The breaking of the bread, the coming together to eat the Lord's Supper were phrases of
perpetual recurrence as soon as there was any Church founded, and wherever that Church spread
itself over Asia and Europe; and that custom, always, and everywhere, explained itself by going
back to the scene in the guest-chamber the night before the Crucifixion. But now, if the words
had this meaning, the thought comes upon us with great force, how wonderful is it that our Lord,
knowing that tiffs was His last night upon earth as a man in flesh and blood, instead of regarding
it as an end, looks upon it as a beginning, speaks of it as a preliminary, a necessary preliminary
to results foreseen and foreknown, in particular to what He calls the remission or dismissal of
sins, and gives directions for the perpetual remembrance of His approaching baptism of blood, in
an ordinance which is to have for its marked feature the symbolic eating and drinking of His own

Body and Blood. Brethren, this is a great thought. Our Lord in the same night in which He was
betrayed, the very night before tie suffered, did not look upon that betrayal or upon that passion
as a disaster, as a blow struck at His work, or His enterprise, but rather as its necessary condition.
It is the fore-ordained consummation. The same night in which He was betrayed, and in the
clearest foresight of His Crucifixion, He founds an ordinance, He institutes a sacrament in
express recognition, and for the everlasting remembrance, of His death of violence and torture,
of ignominy and agony. "Well, now let us pass on to the very words of the institution, so much
more surprising and startling than if they had merely spoken of commemorating His death —
"Take, eat, this is My Body"; "Drink ye all of this, for this is My blood." It would not have been
at all startling, and not at all surprising, if our Lord had hidden His disciples to come together
from time to time to meditate upon His cruel and suffering death. A mere man might have
thought of this, might even have made it a religious service to go over the particulars of His
passion, partly as a memorial to a lost friend, and partly for the encouragement of serious,
devout, and humble living. But this cannot be said of the expressions before us — "Take, eat,
this is My Body." "Drink this, for it is My Blood." So far from this being the common language
of a dying friend, it would be language of which all would shrink from the hearing or the
uttering. Brethren, it speaks for itself, that they must have regarded Him who said, "Take, eat,
this is My Body," as one altogether different from any common, or any merely human person. It
would be cruelty, it would be impiety, it would be insanity in any friend, living or dying, to use
such expressions concerning himself. They say this, if they say anything, "My death shall be
your life;" "My body is given, My blood is outpoured for you." In that death is involved the life
of the world. In that separation of flesh and blood which is the act of dying, the sins of the world
are taken away; yet this is not as a single isolated fact just to be accepted, just to be relied upon,
without corollary or consequence — not so. "I, the dying, the once dead, shall be alive again
after death, and be your life, not as a dead man, but as one alive after death; so must you deal
with Me. You must receive Me into your hearts, you must, as it were, eat Me and drink Me, so
that I may enter into your very being, and become a part of you; not as a man in human form
treading upon the earth, companying with you as a man with his friends, but in a totally different
manner, as one that died and was dead, but who now liveth to die no more; as one that has died
and risen again; as one that is now in heaven; as one that has the Holy Spirit, and sends Him
forth for perpetual indwelling in the hearts of His people. "So eat, so drink, for refreshing, and
for sustentation." The flesh profiteth nothing"; no, not though you could hold in the hand and
press with the teeth the very body of the Crucified. The flesh, even the sacred flesh, profiteth
nothing; "it is the Spirit that quickeneth." One moment of spiritual contact with the risen and
glorified is worth whole centuries, whole millenniums, of the corporeal co-existence.
(Dean Vaughan.)
The advantages of remembering Christ
C. Bradley, M. A.I. We are to inquire, first, WHAT IS IMPLIED IN REMEMBERING
CHRIST.
1. There is evidently implied in this remembrance a knowledge of Him, a previous acquaintance
with Him. He must have occupied much of our thoughts, have entered into our hearts, and been
lodged in the deepest recesses of our minds.
2. Hence to remember Christ implies a heart-felt love for Him.

3. Hence to remember Christ implies also a frequent and affectionate recalling of Him to our
minds.
II. Let us proceed to inquire why CHRIST HAS LEFT US THIS COMMAND TO REMEMBER
HIM.
1. He has done this for a reason which ought greatly to humble us. tie has said, "Remember Me,"
because He knows that we are prone to forget Him.
2. But our proneness to forget Christ is not the only reason why He has commanded us to
remember Him. He has given us this command, because He desires to be remembered by us.
3. The great reason, however, why Christ has commanded us to remember Him, is this — He
knows that we cannot think of Him without deriving much benefit to ourselves.
III. WHAT, THEN, ARE THE ADVANTAGES RESULTING FROM AN HABITUAL
REMEMBRANCE OF JESUS? This is our third subject of inquiry; let us proceed to consider it.
1. The first of these benefits is comfort to the soul, when wounded by a sense of sin.
2. An habitual remembrance of Christ has a tendency also to elevate our affections.
3. This heavenly-mindedness would lead us to a third benefit resulting from this remembrance of
Christ — patience and comfort in our afflictions.
4. The remembrance of Christ tends also to keep alive within us a holy hatred of sin. Nothing
makes sin appear half so hateful, as the cross of Christ; nothing so effectually checks it when
rising in the soul, as the thought of a dying Saviour. O let me never crucify the Son of God
afresh!
IV. BUT IF WE WOULD HABITUALLY REMEMBER CHRIST, LET US NOT FORGET
THE COMMAND GIVEN US IN THE TEXT. "This do in remembrance of Me." We soon
forget objects which are removed from our sight; and our Lord, who knows and pities this
weakness of our nature, has given us an abiding memorial of Himself. He has appointed an
ordinance for this very purpose, to remind us of His love.
(C. Bradley, M. A.)
Christ wanting to be remembered
R. Tuck, B. A.The Holy Communion is the memorial of our Redeemer's sacrifice.
I. CHRIST WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR US. We never
must forget the past, or lose sight of Calvary. Great Prophet, we must ever think of what He has
done to teach; Great Priest, what He has done to atone; and Great King, what He has done to win
the allegiance and devotion of our hearts.
II. OUR LORD WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED IN WHAT HE IS DOING FOR US. He lives
to carry on and to carry out His work of grace in our hearts and lives.
III. CHRIST WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED FOR WHAT HE IS UNDER PLEDGE TO DO.
We anticipate the coronation of our King, and the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Veils hide Him
now; we long for the vision of His face.
(R. Tuck, B. A.)
The Holy feast
J. B. Owen, M. A.1. A feast of charity.

2. A feast of commemoration.
3. A feast of sanctified communion.
4. A feast of hope.
(J. B. Owen, M. A.)
The Sacrament of Holy Communion
R. S. Brooke, M. A.I. A DIRECTION FROM CHRIST — "Do this."
1. Addressed by our Lord
(1)to the apostles, and
(2)through them to the whole catholic Church.
2. Spoken as a Friend to His friends.
3. Spoken instructively. As our Prophet.
4. Spoken authoritatively. As our King, Christ expects us to keep this our military oath with Him.
If an earthly commander had but to say to his servant, "go," and he went; and "come," and he
came; how much more "ought we to be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?" "See then,
oh believer, that ye refuse not Him who speaketh." Do not come to the Holy Table —
(a)formally;
(b)grudgingly, or of necessity.But come —
(a)humbly;
(b)reverently;
(c)faithfully.
II. AN EXPLANATORY MOTIVE — "In remembrance of Me."
(R. S. Brooke, M. A.)
The cup of reconciliation
Christian Age.Warburton and Tucker were contemporary bishop and dean in the same cathedral.
For many years they were not even on speaking terms. It was on a Good Friday, not long before
Warburton's death; they were at the Holy Table together. Before he gave the cup to the dean, he
stooped down, and said in tremulous emotion, "Dear Tucker, let this be the cup of reconciliation
between us." It had the intended effect; they were friends again to their mutual satisfaction.
(Christian Age.)
The Lord's Supper
J. Baylee, D. D.I. THE INSTITUTION OF THIS HOLY RITE. "This do" — that is, do what I
am doing. To do what Jesus did we are to take bread and wine. And we are to take this bread and
wine, not for an ordinary meal — for they "had supped'; and St. Paul says, "If any hunger, let
him eat at home," — but for a sacramental feast, a means of feeding in our souls upon the Body
and Blood of Christ our Saviour. Again, if we would do what Jesus did, we must, before we eat
that bread and drink that wine, have them consecrated: "Jesus blessed"; and, as St. Paul says, "the
cup of blessing which we bless." Next, we are to have a minister to consecrate them. We do not
find that any disciples meeting together could consecrate the elements, for in Matthew we are

told, that "Jesus blessed it and brake it, and then gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is
My Body." Again we find, that in doing this, our Lord accompanied it with prayer.
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER — "do this in remembrance of Me." The
remembrance of Jesus may be considered actively or passively — "this do in remembrance of
Me" — that is, to remind Jesus of us, or to remind us of Jesus. The expression may be applied
both ways, and may be profitably considered in either view. We have need of reminding Christ
of us, of our necessities, our wants, our joys, and our sorrows, as in Isaiah 43:26. In Numbers
10:9, we have the same truth of reminding God of us set before the Jews, and so s gain in
Malachi 3:16, 17. In this view of these words, we have then this truth set before us that, in that
holy ordinance, we remind Jesus of His covenanted mercy, of His dying love, the price it cost
Christ to purchase our souls, the greatness of His promises, the reality and truth of our faith in
Him, the necessity we have to bring before Him our weakness and our woes. We remind Him
that we do indeed believe in Him, and that, believing in Him, we cling to His precious covenant.
In taking of the memorials of His dying love, we remind Him that we are those of whom He has
said, "He that believeth on Me, though He were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and
believeth on Me shall never die." But again, the remembrance of Jesus, taken passively, implies
that we remember Jesus; our remembrance of Jesus implies, not merely a remembrance of one
act of the Saviour, of one truth, or one fact connected with His gospel or His life, but a
remembrance of Himself. He does not say, do it in remembrance of the cross-do it in
remembrance of the garden, but, do it in remembrance of Me — My person — My offices — My
qualities — My whole being — Christ Jesus our Redeemer — our Friend. Remembrance of
Jesus must vary in intensity, and affection, and character, in proportion to our knowledge of His
love, His grace, His kindness, and His truth, and of our habitual abiding in Him in our own souls.
III. WHO ARE THE PERSONS THAT OUGHT TO PARTAKE OF IT?
IV. THE DUTY OF OBSERVING IT. It was given for disciples.
(J. Baylee, D. D.)
The Lord's Supper an emblem and memorial
C. Bradley, M. A.I. It is AN EMBLEM. The question is, then, what unseen things do these
simple objects represent?
1. The human nature of Christ; His incarnation.
2. The death of Christ, too, is shadowed forth in this ordinance. We have more than bread before
us in it, it is bread which has been broken; and more than wine, it is wine which has been poured
forth.
3. The consecrated elements are emblematical also of the great end and design of our Lord's
incarnation and death.
II. Let us now go on to another view of this ordinance. IT IS A MEMORY. "This do," He says,
"in remembrance of Me." But it is not Himself simply considered, that our Lord calls on us here
to remember; it is Himself as these emblems set Him forth, given and bleeding for us; it is
Himself in His humiliation, sufferings, and death. Why the institution of an ordinance to bring
things like these to our remembrance?

1. Partly, perhaps, on account of the joy Christ Himself feels in the recollection of them. His
heart overflows with joy at the thought of His cross and passion, and He would have us think of
them and sympathize with Him in His joy.
2. The remembrance of Christ's incarnation and death is of the utmost importance to us; therefore
also He may have established this memorial of them among us. "All our fresh springs" are in our
crucified Lord, and therefore He brings Himself frequently before us as our crucified Lord that
we may go to Him as the great source of our mercies, and take of His blessings.
3. There is another reason to be given for the setting up of this memorial of our Lord's sufferings
— it is our liability to forget them.
(C. Bradley, M. A.)
Christ's vicarious deathA single verse, written on paper, now yellow with age, hangs on the wall
of a nobleman's study in London. It has a remarkable history, and has, in two notable instances,
at least, been blessed of God to conversion. The verse was originally composed by Dr. Valpy, the
eminent Greek scholar and author of some standard school books. He was converted late in life,
and wrote this verse as a confession of faith: —
"In peace let me resign my breath,
And Thy salvation see;
My sins deserve eternal death,
But Jesus died for me."On one occasion Dr. Marsh was visiting the house of Lord Roden, where
he held a Bible reading with the family. He mentioned Dr. Valpy's conversion by way of
illustration in the course of his remarks, and recited the verse. Lord Roden was particularly
struck with the lines, wrote them out, and affixed them to the wall of his study, where they still
are. Lord Roden's hospitable mansion was often full of visitors, among whom were many old
army officers. One of these was General Taylor, who served with distinction under Wellington at
Waterloo. He had not, at that time, thought much on the subject of religion, and preferred to
avoid all discussion of it. But soon after the paper was hung up he went into the study to talk
with his friend alone, and his eyes rested for a few moments upon the verse. Later in the day
Lord Roden upon entering his study came upon the general standing before the paper and
reading it with earnest face. At another visit the host noticed that whenever General Taylor was
in the study his eyes rested on the verse. At length Lord Roden broke the ice by saying, "Why,
General, you will soon know that verse by heart." "I know it now by heart," replied the general,
with emphasis and feeling. A change came over the general's spirit and life. No one who was
intimately acquainted with him could doubt its reality. During the following two years he
corresponded readily with Lord Roden about the things which concerned his peace, always
concluding his letters by quoting Dr. Valpy's verse. At the end of that time the physician who
attended General Taylor wrote to Lord Roden to say that his friend had departed in peace, and
that the last words which fell from his dying lips were those which he had learned to love in his
lifetime. A young relative of the family, an officer who served in the Crimea, also saw it, but
turned carelessly away. Some months later Lord Roden received the intelligence that his young
acquaintance was suffering from pulmonary disease, and was desirous of seeing him without
delay. As he entered the sick-room the dying man stretched out both hands to welcome him; at
the same time repeating Dr. Valpy's simple lines. "They have been God's message," he said, "of
peace and comfort to my heart in this illness, when brought to my memory, after days of
darkness and distress, by the Holy Ghost the Comforter."

The ordained memorial
C. H. Spurgeon.I. THE MAIN OBJECT OF THE SUPPER IS A PERSONAL MEMORIAL. "In
remembrance of Me." We are to remember not so much His doctrines, or precepts, as His person.
Remember the Lord Jesus at this Supper —
1. As the trust of your hearts.
2. As the object of your gratitude.
3. As the Lord of your conduct.
4. As the joy of your lives.
5. As the Representative of your persons.
6. As the Rewarder of your hopes. Remember what He was, what He is, what He will be.
Remember Him with heartiness, concentration of thought, realizing vividness, and deep emotion.
II. THE MEMORIAL ITSELF IS STRIKING.
1. Simple, and therefore like Himself, who is transparent and unpretentious truth. Only bread
broken, and wine poured out.
2. Frequent — "as oft as ye drink it," and so pointing to our constant need. He intended the
Supper to be often enjoyed.
3. Universal, and so showing the need of all. "Drink ye all of it." In every land, all His people are
to eat and drink at this table.
4. His death is the best memory of Himself, and it is by showing forth His death that we
remember Him.
5. His covenant relation is a great aid to memory; hence He speaks of — "The new covenant in
My Blood." We do not forget Adam, our first covenant-head; nor can we forget our second
Adam.
6. Our receiving Him is the best method of keeping Him in memory; therefore we eat and drink
in this ordinance. No better memorial could have been ordained.
III. THE OBJECT AIMED AT IS ITSELF INVITING. Since we are invited to come to the holy
Supper that we may remember our Lord, we may safely infer that —
1. We may come to it, though we have forgotten Him often and sadly. In fact, this will be a
reason for coming.
2. We may come, though others may be forgetful of Him. We come not to judge them, but to
remember Him ourselves.
3. We may come, though weak for aught else but the memory of His goodness.
4. It will be sweet, cheering, sanctifying, quickening, to remember Him; therefore let us not fail
to come.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Sacrament better than a sermon
C. H. Spurgeon.Frequently to me the Supper has been much better than a sermon. It has the same
teaching-power, but it is more vivid. The Lord is known to us in the breaking of bread, though

our eyes have been holden during His discourse. I can see a good meaning in the saying of Henry
III., of France, when he preferred the Sacrament to a sermon: "I had rather see my Friend than
hear Him talked about." I love to hear my Lord talked about, for so I often see Him, and I see
Him in no other way in the Supper than in a sermon; but sometimes, when my eye is weak with
weeping, or dim with dust, that double glass of the bread and wine suits me best.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
The ends for which the Holy Communion is appointed
James Foote, M. A.1. It is appointed to be a memorial of Christ.
2. It is a standing evidence of the truth of Christianity.
3. It furnishes an opportunity of the open profession of the Christian religion in general, and,
especially, of our trusting in the sacrifice of Christ for forgiveness and acceptance with God.
4. Another end of the Lord's Supper is to be an act of Church fellowship, or communion.
5. The Lord's Supper gives an opportunity of covenanting with God, and engaging to be the
Lord's. He who partakes of the Communion is, by that very act, as completely and voluntarily
bound to serve the Lord, as if he had engaged aloud to do so in the plainest terms of speech, or
subscribed, with his own hand, a written deed to that effect. It follows, too, by necessary
consequence, that, though he is not bound to anything to which he was not in duty bound before,
yet, if he abandon himself to sin, he is justly chargeable with breach of engagement. This
argument does not rest on anything peculiar to the Supper; but it applies to it with particular
force.
6. Another very comprehensive end of this ordinance is to be a means of cherishing all the graces
of the Divine life. We say of cherishing them, not of implanting them; for, though the grace of
God is not to be limited, and may reach the heart, for the first time, in any circumstances, those
who partake of the Lord's Supper ought already to be possessed of the Christian character in
some degree.
7. Once more, this ordinance is intended to lead our thoughts forward to our Lord's second
coming. It is not only retrospective, but prospective. It is not only a remembrance of something
past, but an anticipation of something future.
(James Foote, M. A.)
Remembering Jesus
H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.In remembrance of Him! What a flood of recollections comes back
to us as we think on these words. To every class, age, and character amongst us those words are
spoken. To you babes and children He says, "Do this in remembrance of Me, the Child Jesus,
who for you once lay as a babe in the manger at Bethlehem, who for your sakes grew as a child
in favour with God and man, who was obedient to His parents, a gentle, holy Child; do this, be
obedient, be gentle, be loving, keep your baptismal vow in remembrance of Me." It speaks to
you, young men, and says, "Do this, keep yourselves pure, flee fleshly lusts which war against
the soul, be helpful, be earnest, not slothful in business, labour honestly in your appointed task,
do this in remembrance of Me, who as a young man was pure and earnest and helpful, who
laboured patiently and obscurely in lowly Nazareth." He speaks to all Who have money or time
or influence at their disposal, He says, "Do this, go about doing good, feed the hungry, clothe the
naked, comfort the fatherless and the widow; never turn your face from any poor man; if thou

hast much, give plenteously, if thou hast little do thy diligence to give gladly of that little, do this
in remembrance of Me, the Man Christ Jesus, who went about doing good, who gave up all time,
glory, honour, wealth, life itself, for others, who sought out the ignorant and those who were out
of the way, who dried the widow's tears, who ministered to the sick, who was not ashamed to
help and comfort even the publican and the fallen woman, who suffered hunger and thirst, and
want, and insult for His people; O you, who are called by My name, do this in remembrance of
Me, for in that ye do such things unto the least of My people, ye do it unto Me, and verily ye
have your reward." To you who are anyways afflicted and distressed lie speaks and says, "Do
this in remembrance of Me, bear this cross meekly in remembrance of that bitter cross of Mine,
for what sorrow is like unto My sorrow, what night of agony can equal that night in Gethsemane,
what grave can now be without hope since that one grave in the Garden which was unsealed on
Easter morning?"
(H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)
The memorial of Jesus
J. R. Leifchild, M. A.I. THE INJUNCTION OF A DEEPLY DEVOTED FRIEND.
II. THE INJUNCTION OF A DEPARTED FRIEND.
III. WHAT DO WE SPECIALLY COMMEMORATE BY OUR COMPLIANCE WITH THIS
COMMAND? His death, as a sacrificial atonement for our sins, and as the most remarkable
display of His love for us, though sinners.
IV. In commemorating Christ's death by this ordinance, WE RECALL THE IGNOMINY,
REPROACH, AND SHAME HE ENDURED ON OUR BEHALF.
V. Reflect that THESE THINGS, MORE THAN ALL OTHERS, ARE WORTHY OF BEING
HELD IN EVERLASTING REMEMBRANCE.
VI. HERE, TOO, WE KEEP IN REMEMBRANCE TRANSACTIONS IN WHICH EVERY
GENERATION HAS THE SAME INTEREST, AND WHICH PRESENT TO ALL THE SAME
MOST INVITING AND SOLEMN ASPECTS.
VII. Once more, in the same direction of thought, we observe that, IN THE CELEBRATION OF
DEEDS OF PROWESS AND PATRIOTISM, THE REMOTER THE PERIOD OF THEIR
PERFORMANCE, THE LESS IS THE INTEREST AWAKENED BY THEM, while in relation
to the great event which we this day commemorate, THE REMOTER THE AGE AND
GENERATION, THE DEEPER WILL BE THE INTEREST FELT IN IT, AND MORE
NUMEROUS WILL THEY BE WHO CELEBRATE IT.
VIII. IN THIS ORDINANCE CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED UPON TO REMEMBER AN
UNSEEN FRIEND, UNTIL THE APPOINTED PERIOD OF HIS REAPPEARANCE.
IX. FROM THE SIMPLE NATURE OF THE SYMBOLS EMPLOYED, WE INFER THAT
THIS COMMEMORATION IS TO BE UNIVERSAL AS THE CHURCH, AND EXTENSIVE
AS THE WORLD.
X. Notice the PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THIS COMMAND AS DISTINGUISHED FROM
ALL OTHERS ENJOINED BY DIVINE AUTHORITY. This commemorative command is not
issued to us so much in the manner of a Lord and lawgiver, as in the character of a claim of
gratitude and affection. The Creator commands thus, "Do this and live; or, fail to do, and die." So
does the Lawgiver command — "Thou shalt do this in fear of Me, and of the penalties of

disobedience." But our Lord's command in the text speaks to us in a very different manner. He
does not say, "Do this in fear of Me as God," but "Do this in remembrance of Me, as Redeemer"
— "Do this, I beseech you, as you love Me, and as I have loved you. I have done My work — 'It
is finished.' Now do your part in remembrance of this finished work." In obeying this command,
we obey it as having especial and peculiar reference to the Mediator. Other commands, like those
of the moral law, respect the providence and moral government of God, and the benefit of man
— this one directly issues from, and gives glory to, the dying Redeemer, the God-man, "the
Author and Finisher of our faith." In His other commands Christ addresses us as our Master, our
Shepherd, our Divine and Supreme Teacher — in this He instructs us in our duties to God, to our
neighbour, and to ourselves. All His other commands appear to point OUTWARDS in the
direction of various rights and duties; this command only points REWARDS: others, away from
Himself — this, to Himself, "Do this in remembrance of ME — in remembrance of My body,
My blood, My death. That death which I endured for your sakes, do you at least remember for
My sake."
(J. R. Leifchild, M. A.)
Design of the Lord's Supper
National Baptist.I. COMMEMORATIVE.
1. "In remembrance of Me" — the end.
2. "Do this" — the means.
II. REPRESENTATIVE.
1. The bread, or Christ's body, represents His personality, or the Incarnation.
2. The wine, or Christ's blood, represents His work, or the Atonement.
3. The bread and wine, the body and blood, represent the incarnate career.
III. PROCLAMATIVE. An immortal witness to the crucifixion (1 Corinthians 11:20).
IV. COVENANTIVE (Luke 22:20). The engagement both Divine and human.
V. COMMUNICATIVE (1 Corinthians 10:17).
VI. ASSOCIATIVE. Personal membership in Christ is universal co-membership of Christ's
people.
VII. ANTICIPATIVE (Matthew 26:29). The dirge glides into the paean. Hint of the new heavens
and new earth. Bridegroom and bride at the same marriage-supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-
9).
(National Baptist.)
The blood of the new covenant
The Weekly Pulpit.I. THE NEW COVENANT OF FORGIVENESS AND LIFE. The new
reminds of the old. From the old we may learn what to look for as essential features of the new.
Take three illustrations:
1. The covenant with Noah, on leaving the Ark.
2. The covenant with Abraham, on entering Canaan.

3. The covenant with Moses, on leading the people from Egypt. The new covenant is an
engagement between God and man, through Christ, who acts as representative of God to man
and of man to God. It implies mutual pledges. On God's side is pledged forgiveness; remission of
sins; and life, in its fullest, highest meaning. On man's side is pledged the obedience of faith.
II. THE BLOOD WHICH SEALS AND SANCTIONS THE COVENANTS. Look again at the
three cases mentioned. Each covenant was sealed with blood. Noah took of the clean beasts for
his offering, which devoted the spared lives to the service of God. Abraham divided the
creatures, when he entered into his covenant. And Moses sprinkled with blood both the book and
the people, when the covenant was ratified. Why always with blood? Because the blood is the
symbol of the life, and, so, shedding blood was a symbolical way of taking a solemn vow to give
the whole life to obedience. Then see how Christ's blood becomes the seal of the new covenant.
Take Christ as Mediator for God. He condescended to our weakness, and pledged His very
being, His very life, to His faithfulness towards us. In this sense He is God's sacrifice. Take
Christ as mediator for man. And in this He is man's sacrifice. Then two things come to view.
1. He seals our pledge that we will spend life in obedience, serving God up to and through death.
In accepting Christ as our Saviour, we acknowledge that He has taken this pledge for us.
2. In giving His blood, His life, to us to partake of, Christ would give us the strength to keep our
pledge. Illustrate by the Scottish Covenanters, opening a vein, and, signing with their life-blood
the "Covenant" on the gravestone, in Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh. What, then, is the pledge
which we take afresh in each sacramental act? Obedience unto death. The obedience of faith.
What is the pledge we receive afresh in every sacramental act? The assurance of Divine
forgiveness, and eternal life. Why do we take the sacramental emblems together? In order that
we may be mutual witnesses; and then true helpers one of another in keeping our pledge.
(The Weekly Pulpit.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(14-18) And when the hour was come.—See Notes on
Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17. The other Gospels name “the evening.” St. Luke uses simply “the
hour” as referring to the appointed time, “in the evening” (literally, between the two evenings,
i.e., the close of twilight; see Exodus 12:6), for the “killing,” the lamb being eaten afterwards as
soon as it was roasted. It is characteristic of the comparatively late date of St. Luke’s narrative
that he speaks of “the twelve Apostles,” while the other two reports speak of “the disciples.”
(Comp. Luke 9:10; Luke 17:5; Luke 24:10.)
Benson CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/luke/22-14.htm"Luke 22:14-18. When the hour
was come, &c. — When the evening approached, Jesus left Bethany; and every thing being
prepared by the time he came into the city, they all sat down at the appointed hour. And he said,
With desire I have desired — That is, I have earnestly desired it. He desired it, both for the sake
of his disciples, to whom he desired to manifest himself further, at this solemn parting; and for

the sake of his whole church, that he might institute the grand memorial of his death. For I will
not any more eat thereof until, &c. — That is, it will be the last time I shall eat with you before I
die. The particle until, used here and Luke 22:18, does not imply that, after the things signified
by the passover were fulfilled, in the gospel dispensation, our Lord was to eat the passover. It is
only a Hebrew form of expression, signifying that the thing mentioned was no more to be done
for ever. Until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of heaven — That is, until the deliverance of
mankind from the bondage of sin and death is procured by my death and resurrection; a
deliverance typified by that of our fathers from the Egyptian bondage, to keep up the memory of
which the passover was instituted. And he took the cup, and gave thanks — Having spoken as
above, Jesus took a cup of wine in his hand, that cup which used to be brought at the beginning
of the paschal solemnity, and gave thanks to Almighty God for his great goodness to his people,
mentioning, no doubt, some of the principal instances thereof, especially their redemption, first
from Egypt, and then from Babylon. And said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves, for I
will not drink, &c. — As if he had said, Do not expect me to drink of it: I will drink no more
before I die. Or, his meaning might be, After what passes, this evening, I will not drink any more
with you of the fruit of the vine; therefore, as it is the last paschal supper that I shall partake of
with you, let that consideration be an additional reason for your celebrating it with peculiar
seriousness and devotion. Until the kingdom of God shall come — Till the gospel dispensation
shall be fully opened, or till that complete and spiritual redemption, which is typified by this
ordinance, shall be fulfilled and perfected.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary22:7-18 Christ kept the ordinances of the law,
particularly that of the passover, to teach us to observe his gospel institutions, and most of all
that of the Lord's supper. Those who go upon Christ's word, need not fear disappointment.
According to the orders given them, the disciples got all ready for the passover. Jesus bids this
passover welcome. He desired it, though he knew his sufferings would follow, because it was in
order to his Father's glory and man's redemption. He takes his leave of all passovers, signifying
thereby his doing away all the ordinances of the ceremonial law, of which the passover was one
of the earliest and chief. That type was laid aside, because now in the kingdom of God the
substance was come.
Barnes' Notes on the BibleWhen the hour was come - The hour of eating the paschal lamb,
which was in the evening. See the notes at Matthew 26:20.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary14-18. the hour—about six P.M. Between three and
this hour the lamb was killed (Ex 12:6, Margin)
Matthew Poole's CommentarySee Poole on "Luke 22:3"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd when the hour was come,.... When it was evening, the
last of the two evenings, when it was dark, at least after six o'clock; See Gill on Matthew 26:20.
he sat down; or lay along on a couch, as was the custom; see the note, as before:
and the twelve apostles with him; for Judas, after he had made his bargain with the chief priests,
Scribes, and elders, came and took his place with the rest of the apostles, both to cover his sin,
and to watch the best opportunity of betraying his master.
Geneva Study Bible{4} And when the {e} hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles
with him.

(4) Christ, having ended the passover according to the order of the law, forewarns them that this
will be his last banquet with them in terms of this earthly life.
(e) The evening and twilight, at which time this supper was to be kept.
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT CommentaryHYPERLINK "/context/luke/22-14.htm"Luke 22:14-18. On Luke
22:14 comp. Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17. “Describitur, Luke 22:15-18, quaedam quasi prolusio
s. coenae, coll. Matthew 26:29,” Bengel.
Luke 22:15. ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἐπεθύμησα] I have earnestly longed, Genesis 31:30. See Winer, p. 413 [E.
T. 584]. This longing rested on the fact (see Luke 22:16) that this Passover meal was actually His
last, and as such was to be of special importance and sacredness. Thus He could only earnestly
wish that His passion should not begin before the Passover; hence: πρὸ τοῦ με παθεῖν.
τοῦτο] pointing to: this, which is already there.
Luke 22:16. οὐκέτι κ.τ.λ.] namely, after the present meal.
ἐξ αὐτοῦ] of the Passover.
ἕως ὅτου κ.τ.λ.] till that it (the Passover) shall be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. The
rationalistic interpretation: “sed aliquando vos in coelo mecum gaudiis propriis ac summis
perfruemini” (Kuinoel), is purely arbitrary. Jesus means actually a Passover (specifically such a
one, not merely the Messianic feasts in general, Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30; Luke 14:15) in the
Messiah’s kingdom, which should hold the same relation to the temporal Passover as that which
is perfect (absolute) holds to the incomplete. This corresponds to the idea of the new world (of
the ἀποκατάστασις, παλιγγενεσία), and of the perfected theocracy in the αἰὼν μέλλων. Comp. on
Matthew 26:29. The impersonal view (Paulus, Baumgarten-Crusius), according to which the
meaning is said to be: till the establishment of the kingdom shall be brought about, is an evasion
opposed to the context. Completely without foundation, moreover, Schenkel says that the
adoption of the Gentiles into the divine covenant is the fulfilment of the Old Testament Passover.
Luke 22:17 f. According to Luke, Jesus, after He had spoken quite at the beginning of the meal
the words, Luke 22:15-16, receives a cup handed to Him (δεξάμενος, not the same as λαβών,
Luke 22:19), and after giving thanks hands it to the disciples that they might share it (the wine in
it) among themselves (observe the emphatic ἑαυτοῖς), for He assures them that He should
certainly not drink, etc. He therefore, according to Luke, declines to drink of the Passover wine,
wherefore also in Luke 22:18 the absolute οὐ μή, but in Luke 22:16 the relative οὐκέτι οὐ μή, is
used.
REMARK.
Although this refusal to drink the wine, which is not to be explained away, is in itself
psychologically conceivable in so deeply moved and painful a state of mind, yet it is improbable
in consideration of the characteristic element of the Passover. In respect of this, the drinking of
the Passover wine was certainly so essential, and, in the consciousness of the person celebrating

the rite, so necessary, that the not drinking, and especially on the part of the Host Himself, would
have appeared absolutely as contrary to the law, irreligious, scandalous, an interruption which,
on the part of Jesus, can hardly be credible. Since then Mark and Matthew, moreover, have
nothing at all about a refusal of the wine, but rather do not bring in the assurance, οὐ μὴ πίω
κ.τ.λ., until the conclusion of the meal, Mark 14:25, Matthew 26:29; and since Matthew uses the
emphatic ἀπʼ ἄρτι, wherein is intimated that Jesus had just drunk with them once more,—the
narrative of Luke, Luke 22:17-18, is to be regarded as not original, and it is to be assumed that
Jesus indeed spoke, Luke 22:15-16, at the beginning of the meal (in opposition to Kuinoel and
Paulus), but that what is found in Matthew 26:29 has been removed back by the tradition on
account of the analogy of Luke 22:16, and placed after Luke 22:16, beside which Luke 22:17
easily appeared as a link, without the necessity of attributing to Luke the construction of a piece
of mosaic from a twofold source (as Holtzmann wishes to do), especially as Luke 22:17 is not
yet the cup of the Lord’s Supper. According to Baur, Evang. p. 482 f., Luke must have been led
by 1 Corinthians 10, where, moreover, the ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας is emphatically placed first, to
distinguish two acts in the Lord’s Supper (comp. also Ritschl, Evang. Marcion’s, p. 108), one
with the leading idea of κοινωνία, and the other with that of ἀνάμνησις. He must have here
represented the first by the help of Matthew 26:29. He must thus probably still have expressly
brought in the supposed leading idea of κοινωνία, as Paul also has done in respect of the bread.
In general, the use made by Luke of the Pauline Epistles, which here even Hilgenfeld (comp.
Holtzmann, p. 237) considers as unmistakeable, is quite incapable of proof.
Expositor's Greek TestamentHYPERLINK "/context/luke/22-14.htm"Luke 22:14-18. Prelude to
the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:20, Mark 14:17).
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges14-38. The last Supper.
14. when the hour was come] If the meal was intended to be directly Paschal, this would be
“between the two evenings” (Exodus 12:6); a phrase interpreted by the Jews to mean between
three and six, and by the Samaritans to mean between twilight and sunset. Probably Jesus and
His disciples, anxious to avoid dangerous notice, would set forth towards dusk.
he sat down] Rather, reclined. The custom of eating the Passover standing had long been
abandoned.
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 14-38. - The Last Supper. Verse 14. - And when the hour was come,
he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. The preparation had been made in the "large
upper room," and the Lord and the twelve sat down, or rather reclined on the couches covered
with carpets, the tables before them laid with the dishes peculiar to the solemn Passover Supper,
each dish telling its part of the old loved story of the great deliverance. There was the lamb the
Paschal victim, and the bitter herbs, the unleavened bread and the reddish sweet conserve of
fruits - commemorating, it is said, by its color the hard labors of brickmaking, one of the chief
burdens of the Egyptian bondage - into which the Blaster dipped the sop, and gave it to the
traitor-apostle (John 13:26). The Lord reclined, probably, at the middle table; St. John next to
him; St. Peter most likely on the other side; and the others reclining in an order corresponding
more or less closely with the threefold division of the twelve into groups of four. The Supper
itself had its special forms and ceremonies, which the Lord transformed as they proceeded in
such a way as to change it into the sacred Supper of the New Testament.
Vincent's Word StudiesThe apostles

Both Matthew and Mark have the twelve.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
CHRIST AND HIS TABLE COMPANIONS NO. 3107
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1908.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,AT THE METROPOLITAN
TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with
Him.” Luke 22:14.
THE outward ordinances of the Christian religion are but two—and those
two are exceedinglysimple—yet neither of them has escapedhuman
alteration. And, alas, much mischief has been workedand much of precious
teaching has been sacrificedby these miserable perversions!For instance, the
ordinance of baptism, as it was administered by the apostles, representedthe
burial of the believer with Christ and his rising with his Lord into newness of
life. Men had to exchange immersion for sprinkling and the intelligent
believer for an unconscious child—and so the ordinance is slain! The other
sacredinstitution, the Lord’s Supper, like believers’ baptism, is simplicity
itself. It consists ofbroken bread and wine poured out—these items being
eatenand drunk at a festival—a delightful picture of the sufferings of Christ
for us and of the fellowship which the saints have with one another and with
Him. But this ordinance, also, has been tampered with by men. By some, the
wine has been takenawayaltogether, or reservedonly for a priestly caste.
And the simple bread has been changedinto a consecratedhost. As for the

table, the very emblem of fellowship in all nations—forwhat expresses
fellowship better than surrounding a table and eating and drinking together?
This, indeed, must be put awayand an “altar” must be erected!And the
bread and wine which were to help us to remember the Lord Jesus are
changedinto an “unbloody sacrifice,”and so the whole thing becomes an
unscriptural celebrationinstead of a holy institution for fellowship! Let us be
warned by these mistakes of others never either to add to or take from the
Word of God so much as a single jot or tittle! Keep upon the foundation of the
Scriptures and you stand safely, and have an answerfor those who question
you. Yes, and an answerwhich you may render at the bar of God! But once
allow your own whim, or fancy, or taste, or your notion of what is proper and
right to rule you, insteadof the Word of God, and you have entered upon a
dangerous course!And unless the grace of God prevents, boundless mischief
may ensue. The Bible is our standard authority—none may turn from it. The
wise man says in Ecclesiastes, “Icounselyou to keepthe King’s
commandment.” We would repeat his advice and add to it the sage preceptof
the mother of our Lord, at Cana, when she said, “WhateverHe says unto you,
do it.” We shall now ask you in contemplation to gaze upon the first
celebrationof the Lord’s Supper. You perceive at once that there was no
“altar” in that large upper room. There was a table. A table with bread and
wine upon it, but no altar! And Jesus did not kneel—there is no signof that—
He sat down. I doubt not, after the Oriental mode of sitting, that is to say, by a
partial reclining, He satdown with His apostles. Now, He who ordained this
supper knew how it ought to be observed. And as the first celebrationof it was
the model for all others, we may be assuredthat the right way of coming to
this communion is to assemble around a table—and to sit or recline while we
eat and drink togetherof bread and wine in remembrance of our Lord!
While we see the Savior sitting down with His 12 apostles, letus inquire, first,
what did this make them? Then, secondly, what did this imply? And, thirdly,
what further may we legitimately infer from this? I. First, then, we see the
GreatMaster, the Lord, the King in Zion, sitting down at the table to eatand
drink with His 12 apostles—WHAT DID THIS MAKE THEM? Note what
they were at first. By His first calling of them they became His followers, for
He said unto them, “Follow Me.” Thatis to say, they were convinced by
sundry marks and signs, that He was the Messiahand they, therefore, became

His followers. Followersmay be at a greatdistance from their leaderand
enjoy little or no communion with him, for the leader may be too greatto be
approachedby
2 Christ and His Table Companions Sermon #3107
2 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 54
the common members of his band. In the case of these disciples, their
following was unusually close, fortheir Masterwas very condescending. But
still, their communion was not always of the most intimate kind at first and,
therefore, it was not at the first that He called them to such a festival as this
supper. They began with following and this is where we must begin. If we
cannot enter as yet into closerassociationwith our Lord, we may at least
know His voice by His Spirit and follow Him as the sheep follow the shepherd.
The most important way of following Him is to trust Him and then diligently
to imitate His example. This is a goodbeginning and it will end well—for
those who walk with Him today shall rest with Him hereafter—those who
tread in His footsteps shallsit with Him on His throne! Being His followers,
they came next to be His disciples. A man may have been a followerfor a
while and yet may not have reacheddiscipleship. A followermay follow
blindly and heara great deal which he does not understand, but when he
becomes a disciple, his master instructs him and leads him into truth. To
explain, to expound, to solve difficulties, to clear awaydoubts and to make
truth intelligible is the office of a teacheramong his disciples. Now, it was a
very blessedthing for the followers to become disciples, but still, disciples are
not necessarilyso intimate with their Masteras to sit and eat with Him.
Socratesand Plato knew many in the Academy whom they did not invite to
their homes. My brothers and sisters, if Jesus had but calledus to be His
disciples, and no more, we would have had cause for greatthankfulness. If we
had been allowedto sit at His feet and had never sharedin such an
entertainment as that before us, we ought to have been profoundly grateful.
But now that He has favoredus with a yet higher place, let us never be
unfaithful to our discipleship! Let us daily learn of Jesus!Let us searchthe
Bible to see what it was that He taught us and then, by the aid of His Holy
Spirit, let us scrupulously obey! Yet there is a something beyond. Being the

Lord’s disciples, the chosenones next rose to become His servants which are a
step in advance, since the disciple may be but a child, but the servant has some
strength, has receivedsome measure of training and renders somewhatin
return. Their Mastergave them power to preach the gospeland to execute
commissions of grace—andhappy were they to be calledto wait upon such a
Masterand aid in setting up His kingdom! My dear brothers and sisters, are
you all consciouslyChrist’s servants? If so, though the service may at times
seemheavy because your faith is weak, yetbe very thankful that you are
servants at all, for it is better to serve God than to reign over all the kingdoms
of this world! It is better to be the lowestservant of Christ than to be the
greatestofmen and remain slaves to your own lusts, or be mere men-pleasers.
His yoke is easyand His burden is light! The servant of such a Mastershould
rejoice in his calling—yetthere is something beyond even this. Towards the
close ofHis life, our Masterrevealedthe yet nearerrelation of His disciples
and uttered words like these—“HenceforthI call you not servants, for the
servant knows not what his lord does, but I have calledyou friends, for all
things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” This is a
greatstep in advance. The friend, howeverhumble, enjoys much familiarity
with his friend. The friend is told what the servant need not know. The friend
enjoys a communion to which the mere servant, disciple, or followerhas not
attained. May we know this higher association, this dearerbond of
relationship! May we not be content without the enjoyment of our Master’s
friendship! “He that has friends must show himself friendly,” and if we would
have Christ’s friendship, we must befriend His cause, His truth and His
people! He is a friend that loves at all times—if you would enjoy His
friendship, take care to abide in Him! Now note that on the night before His
Passion, ourLord led His friends a step beyond ordinary friendship. The
mere followerdoes not sit at table with his leader. The disciple does not claim
to be a fellow commoner with his master. The servant is seldom entertained at
the same table with his lord. The befriended one is not always invited to be a
guest. But here the Lord Jesus made His chosenones to be His table
companions. He lifted them up to sit with Him at the same table, to eat of the
same bread and drink of the same cup with Himself. From that position He
has never degradedthem—they were representative men and where the Lord
placed them, He has permanently placedall His saints! All the Lord’s

believing people are sitting, by sacredprivilege and calling, at the same table
with Jesus, for“truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son
Jesus Christ.” He has come into our hearts and He sups with us and we with
Him! We are His table companions and shall eat bread with Him in the
kingdom of God!
Sermon #3107 Christand His Table Companions 3
Volume 54 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 3
II. So now we shall pass on, in the secondplace, to ask, WHAT DID THIS
TABLE COMPANIONSHIP IMPLY? It implied, first of all, mutual fidelity.
This solemn eating and drinking togetherwas a pledge of faithfulness to one
another. It must have been so understood, or otherwise there would have been
no force in the complaint, “He that eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel
againstMe.” Did not this mean that because Judas had eaten bread with his
Lord, he was bound not to betray Him, and so to lift up his heel againstHim?
This was the sealof an implied covenant—having eatentogether, they were
under bond to be faithful to one another! Now, as many of you as are really
the servants and friends of Christ may know that the Lord Jesus, in eating
with you at His table, pledges Himself to be faithful to you. The Masternever
plays the Judas—the Judas is among the disciples. There is nothing traitorous
in the Lord—He is not only able to keepthat which we have committed to
Him, but He is faithful and will do it. He will be faithful, not only as to the
greatand main matter, but also to every promise He has made! Know then,
assuredly, that your Masterwould not have askedyou to His table to eat
bread with Him if He intended to desert you! He has receivedyou as His
honored guests and fed you upon His choicestfoodand thereby He does as
goodas say to you, “I will never leave you, come what may. And in all times of
trial, depressionand temptation, I will be at your right hand and you shall not
be moved—and to the very last you shall prove My faithfulness and truth.”
But, beloved, you do not understand this supper unless you are also reminded
of the faithfulness that is due from you to your Lord, for the feastis common
and the pledge mutual. In eating with Him, you pledge your faithfulness to the

crucified. Beloved, how have you kept your pledge during the past? You have
eatenbread with Him and I trust that in your hearts you have never gone so
far aside as to lift up your heel againstHim—but have you always honored
Him as you should? Have you actedas guests should have done? Can you
remember His love to you and put your love to Him side by side with it—
without being ashamed? From this time forth may the Holy Spirit work in our
souls a jealous fidelity to the Well-beloved which shall not permit our hearts
to wander from Him, or suffer our zeal for His glory to decline! Again,
remember that there is in this solemneating and drinking together, a pledge
of fidelity betweenthe disciples, themselves, as well as betweenthe disciples
and their Lord. Judas would have been a traitor if he had betrayed Peter, or
John, or James. So, whenyou come to the one table, my brothers and sisters,
you must henceforth be true to one another. All bickering and jealousies must
ceaseand a generous and affectionate spirit must rule in every bosom!If you
hear any speak againstthose with whom you have communed, reckonthat as
you have eatenbread with them, you are bound to defend their reputations. If
any railing accusationis raised againstany brother in Christ, reckonthat his
characteris as dear to you as your own! Let a sacredFreemasonrybe
maintained among us, if I may liken a far higher and more spiritual union to
anything which belongs to common life. You are members, one of another—
see that you fervently love eachother with a pure heart. Drinking of the same
cup, eating of the same bread, you set forth before the world a token which I
trust is not meant to be a lie. As it truly shows Christ’s faithfulness to you, so
let it as really typify your faithfulness to Christ and to one another! In the
next place, eating and drinking togetherwas a tokenof mutual confidence.
They, in sitting there together, voluntarily avowedtheir confidence in each
other. Those disciples trusted their Master. They knew He would not mislead
or deceive them. They also trusted eachother, for when they were told that
one of them would betray their Lord, they did not suspect eachother, but
eachone asked, “Lord, is it I?” They had much confidence in one another and
the Lord Jesus, as we have seen, had placedgreatconfidence in them by
treating them as His friends. He had even trusted them with the greatsecretof
His coming sufferings and death! They were a trustful company who sat at
that supper table. Now, beloved, when you gather around this table, come in
the spirit of implicit trustfulness in the Lord Jesus. If you are suffering, do not

doubt His love, but believe that He works all things for your good. If you are
vexed with cares, prove your confidence by leaving them entirely in your
Redeemer’s hands. It will not be a festival of fellowship to you if you come
here with suspicions about your Master. No, show your confidence as you eat
of the bread with Him. Let there also be a brotherly confidence in eachother.
Grievous would it be to see a spirit of suspicion and distrust among you.
Suspicionis the death of
fellowship! The moment one Christian imagines that another thinks badly of
him, though there may not be the slightesttruth in that thought, yet
straightwaythe rootof bitterness is planted! Let us believe in one another’s
sincerity, for we may restassuredthat eachof our brothers and sisters
deserves to be trusted more than we do. Turn your suspicions within and if
you must suspect, suspectyour own heart! But when you meet with those who
have communed with you at this table, say within yourself, “If such can
deceive me and, alas, they may, then will I be contentto be imposed upon
rather than entertain perpetual mistrust of my fellow Christians.” A third
meaning of the assembling around the table is this, hearty fraternity. Our
Lord, in sitting down at the table with His disciples, showedHimself to be one
with them, a brother, indeed. We do not read that there was any order of
priority by which their seats were arranged. Ofcourse, if the Grand
Chamberlain at Rome had arrangedthe table, he would have placed Peterat
the right hand of Christ— and the other apostles in graduated positions
according to the dignity of their future bishoprics! But all that we know about
their order is this—that John sat next to the Savior and leanedupon His
bosom. And that Petersat a goodway off—we feelsure he was because it is
said that he “beckoned”unto John. If he had sat next to him, he would have
whispered to him—but he beckonedto him—and so he must have been some
way down the table, if, indeed, there was any “down” or “up” in the
arrangementof the guests. We believe the fact was that they sat there on a
sacredequality—the Lord Jesus, the elder brother among them—and all else
arrangedaccording to those words, “One is your Master, evenChrist, and all

you are brethren.” Let us feel, then, in coming to the table again at this time,
that we are linked in ties of sacredrelationship with Jesus Christ who is
exalted in heaven, and that through Him our relationship with our fellow
Christians is very near and intimate. Oh that Christian brotherhood were
more real! The very word, “brother,” has come to be ridiculed as a piece of
hypocrisy and well it may, for it is mostly used as a cant phrase and, in many
casesmeans very little. But it ought to mean something. You have no right to
come to that table unless you really feelthat those who are washedin Jesus’
blood have a claim upon the love of your heart and the activity of your
benevolence!What? Are you to live togetherforever in heaven and will you
show no affectionfor one another here below? It is your Master’s new
command that you love one another—willyou disregardit? He has given this
as the badge of Christians—“Bythis shall all men know that you are My
disciples”—notif you weara gold cross, but—“if you have love, one to
another.” That is the Christian’s badge of his being, in very truth, a disciple of
Jesus Christ! Here, at this table, we find fraternity. Whoevereats of this
sacredsupper declares himself to be one of a brotherhood in Christ, a
brotherhood striving for the same cause, having sincere sympathy, being
members of eachother and all of them members of the body of Christ! God
make this to be a factthroughout Christendom even now, and how will the
world marvel as it cries, “See how these Christians love one another!” But
this table companionship means even more—it signifies common enjoyment.
Jesus eats and they eatthe same bread. He drinks and they drink of the same
cup. There is no distinction in the food items. What does this mean? Does it
not sayto us that the joy of Christ is the joy of His people? Has He not said,
“ThatMy joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full”? The
very joy that delights Christ is that which He prepares for His people! You, if
you are a true believer, have sympathy in Christ’s joy—you delight to see His
kingdom come, His truth advanced, sinners saved, grace glorified, holiness
promoted, God exalted—and this also is His delight! But, my dear brothers
and sisters and fellow professors, are you sure that your chief joy is the same
as Christ’s? Are you certain that the mainstay of your life is the same as that
which was His meat and His drink, namely, to do the will of the heavenly
Father? If not, I am afraid you have no business at this table! But if it is so
and you come to the table, then I pray that you may share the joy of Christ.

May you joy in Him as He joys in you and so may your fellowship be sweet!
Lastly on this point, the feastat the one table indicated familiar affection. It is
the child’s place to sit at the table with its parents, for affectionrules there. It
is the place of honor to sit at the table. “Martha served, but Lazarus was one
of them that sat at the table.” But the honor is such as love and not fear
suggests. Menat the table often revealtheir minds more fully than elsewhere.
If you want to understand a man, you do not go to see him at the Stock
Exchange, orfollow him into the market, for there he keeps himself to
himself—you go to his table and there he reveals himself. Now, the Lord Jesus
Christ satat the table with His disciples. ‘Twas a meal, ‘twas a meal of a
homely kind—intimate communion ruled
Sermon #3107 Christand His Table Companions 5
Volume 54 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. 5
the hour. I am afraid, brothers and sisters, we have sometimes come to this
table and gone awayagainwithout having had communion with Christ—and
then it has been an empty formality and nothing more. I thank God that
coming to this table every Sabbath, as some of us do, and have done for many
years, we have yet for the most part enjoyed the nearestcommunion with
Christ here that we have ever known, and have a thousand times blessedHis
name for this ordinance! Still, there is such a thing as only eating the bread
and drinking the wine and losing all the sacredmeaning thereof. Do pray the
Lord to reveal Himself to you. Ask that it may not be a dead form to you, but
that now, in very deed, you may give your heart to Christ while He shall show
to you His hands and His side, and make known to you His agonies and death
wherewith He redeemed you from the wrath to come!All this, and vastly
more, is the teaching of the table at which Jesus satwith the twelve. I have
often wondered why the church of Rome does not buy up all those pictures by
one of its most renowned painters, Leonardo da Vinci, in which our Lord is
representedas sitting at the table with His disciples, for these are a
contradiction of the Popish doctrine on this subject! As long as that picture
remains on a wall and as long as copies ofit are spreadeverywhere, the

church of Rome stands convictedof going againstthe teaching of the earlier
church by setting up an “altar” whenshe, herself, confesses thatbefore it was
not consideredto be an altar of sacrifice, but a table of fellowship at which the
Lord did not kneel, nor stand as an officiating priest, but at which He and His
disciples sat. We, at least, have no rebukes to fear from antiquity, for we
follow and mean to follow the primitive method! Our Lord has given us
commandment to do this until He comes—notto alter it, but just to “do this,”
and nothing else, in the same manner, until He shall come again! III. We will
draw to a close by asking WHAT FURTHER MAY BE INFERRED FROM
THIS SITTING OF CHRIST WITH HIS DISCIPLES AT THE TABLE? I
answer, first, there may be inferred from it, the equality of all the saints.
There were here 12 apostles. Theirapostleship, however, is not concernedin
the matter. When the Lord’s Supper was celebratedafter all the apostles had
gone to heaven, was there to be any alterationbecause the apostles had gone?
Not at all: believers are to do this in remembrance of their Lord until He shall
come. There was no command for a change when the first apostles were all
gone from the church. No, it was still to be the same—breadand wine and the
surrounding of the table until the Lord came. I gather, then, the equality of all
saints. There is a difference in office, there was a difference in miraculous gift
and there are greatdifferences of growthin grace, but still, in the household
of God, all saints, whether apostles, pastors, teachers,deacons, elders, or
private members—being all equal—eatat one table. There is but one bread;
there is but one juice of the vine here! It is only in the church of God that
those words, so politically wild, canever be any more than a dream—
“Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.” There you have them where Jesus is—not
in a republic, but in the kingdom of our Lord and SaviorJesus Christ where
all rule and dominion are vestedin Him! And all of us willingly acknowledge
Him as our glorious head and all we are brethren! Neverfall into the idea that
older believers were of a superior nature to ourselves. Do not talk of Saint
Paul, Saint Matthew and Saint Mark unless you are prepared to speak of
Saint William and Saint Jane sitting over yonder— for if they are in Christ,
they are as truly saints as those first saints were!And I think there may be
some who have even attained to a higher “saintship” than many whom
tradition has canonized! The heights of saintship are, by grace, opento us all
and the Lord invites us to ascend!Do not think that what the Lord workedin

the early saints cannot be workedin you. It is because youthink so that you
do not pray for it—and because you do not pray for it, you do not attain it!
The grace ofGod sustained the apostles— that grace is not less today than it
was then! The Lord’s arm is not shortened! His power is not straitened. If we
can but believe and be as earnestas those first saints were, we shall yet subdue
kingdoms and the day shall come when the gods of Hinduism and the lies of
Mohammed and of Rome shall as certainly be overthrown as were the ancient
philosophies and the classicidolatries of Greece andRome by the teaching of
the first ministers of Christ! There is the same table for you and the same food
is there in emblem—and divine grace canmake you like those holy men, for
you are bought with the same blood and quickenedby the same Spirit! Only
believe, for “all things are possible to him that believes.”
Another inference, only to be hinted at, is that the needs of the church in all
ages will be the same and the supplies for the church’s needs will never vary.
There will still be the table—and the table with the same items upon it—
bread, still bread—nothing more than bread for food. Still wine, nothing less
than wine for drink. The church will always needthe same food, the same
Christ, the same gospel. Out, you traitors who tell us that we are to shape our
gospelto suit this enlightened 19th century! Out, you false-hearts who would
have us tone down the everlasting truth of God that shall outlive the sun,
moon and stars to suit your boastedculture which is but varnished ignorance!
That truth of God which of old was mighty through God to the pulling down
of strongholds, is still mighty, and we will maintain it to the death! The church
needs the doctrines of grace today as much as when Paul, or Augustine, or
Calvin preachedthem! The church needs justification by faith, the
substitutionary atonement, regenerationand divine sovereigntyto be
preachedfrom her pulpits as much as in days of yore! And by God’s grace she
shall have them, too! Lastly, there is in this truth, that Christ has brought all
His disciples into the position of table companions, a prophecy that this shall
be the portion of all His people forever. In heaven there cannot be less of
privilege than on earth. It cannotbe that in the celestialstate, Believerswill be

degradedfrom what they have been below. What were they, then, below?
Table companions. What shall they be in heaven above? Table companions
and blessedare they that shall eatbread in the kingdom of God! “Many shall
come from the Eastand from the West, and shall sit down with Abraham, and
Isaac, and Jacobin the kingdom of God.” And the Lord Jesus shallbe at the
head of the table! Now, what will His table of joy be? Setyour imagination to
work and think what will be His festival of soul when His rewardshall be all
before Him and His triumph all achieved! Have you imagined it? Can you
conceive it? Whatever it is, you shall share in it—I repeat those words—
whateverit is, the leastbeliever shall share in it! You, poor working woman,
oh, what a change for you, to sit among the princes of Christ’s palace ofglory,
near to your Lord, all your toil and needs forever ended! And you, sadchild of
suffering, scarcelyable to come up to the assembly of God’s people—and
going back, perhaps, to that bed of languishing—youshall have no pains
there, but you shall be foreverwith the Lord! In the anticipation of the joy
that shall be yours, forget your presenttroubles, rise superior to the
difficulties of the hour and if you cannot rejoice in the present, yet rejoice in
the future which shall so soonbe your own! We finish with this word of deep
regret—regretthat many here cannot understand what we have been talking
about—and have no part in it. There are some of you who must not come to
the table of communion because you do not love Christ. You have not trusted
Him. You have no part in Him. There is no salvationin what some people call
“sacraments.” Believeme, they are but delusions to those who do not come to
Christ with their heart! You must not come to the outward signif you have
not the thing signified. Here is the way of salvation—“Believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” To believe in Him is to trust Him. To
use an old word, it is recumbency—it is leaning on Him, resting on Him. Here
I lean on this platform rail. I rest my whole weight on this support before me.
Do so with Christ in a spiritual sense—leanonHim. You have a loadof sin,
lean on Him—sin and all! You are all unworthy, weak and, perhaps,
miserable. Then caston Him the weakness,the unworthiness, the misery and
all! Take Him to be all in all to you—and when you have thus trusted Him,
you will have become His follower!Go on by humility to be His disciple, by
obedience to be His servant, by love to be His friend and by communion to be
His table companion! May the Holy Spirit so lead you, for Jesus sake!Amen.

BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 22:14 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him.
KJV Luke 22:14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with
him.
• Deuteronomy 16:6,7; Mt 26:20; Mark 14:17
• Luke 22 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
• Alfred Edersheim - The Paschal Supper
THE LAST SUPPER
THE FINAL PASSOVER
/files/images/lastsupper1.jpg
/files/images/lastsupper1.jpg
Painting Basedon DaVinci's "LastSupper"
Parallel passages:
Matthew 26:20 Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve
disciples. 21 As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray
Me.”
Mark 14:17 When it was evening He came with the twelve. 18 As they were reclining at
the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me–one
who is eating with Me.”
Notice that the painting based on Da Vinci's original "Last Supper" is not Biblically accurate -
Jesus and the disciples were not seated at a table but reclining on their left side with right hand
free to take the items off of the low table. Note also the light in the windows behind Jesus which
is also incorrect for the Passover was to be eaten after the sunset. The point of course is to not get
your theology from even the most beautiful paintings in the world but from the Word of God.
When the hour had come - The hour refers to the evening hour as specified in the other
synoptic accounts ("when evening came" - Mt 26:20; "when it was evening" - Mk 14:17) for
Passover was traditionally celebrated in the evening. Now on the year Jesus died (most favor 30
AD but some like John MacArthur favor 33 AD - see note at end of this paragraph), the 14th of
Nisan fell on a Friday. How do we know it was a Friday? Mk 15:42 says "When evening had
already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath." In other

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