Third Commandment:
Remember the Sabbath Day by Keeping It
Holy
Bible Narrative:
Mark 14:12-26
God made the Sabbath Day holy. That’s a given. That’s Genesis 2! And yet the Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy!
What’s up with that?
Here’s the deal! “God wants it to be holy for you.”[1] The
Sabbath Day is holy in itself but in the Third
Commandment God wants it to be holy FOR YOU! Incredible!
How then is the Sabbath Day kept holy FOR YOU? The answer is this: “when …
[you] make use of God’s Word and exercise … [yourselves] in it.”[2] The Sabbath is about you being all ears! Being all ears to God’s Word! I.E. it is about hearing God’s Word!
For in, with, and under His Word God talks. God speaks. God speaks to you through Jesus the Word made
flesh! And He speaks to you through His
written Word – the Bible. The Bible, as
God’s Word is to be preached, taught, and pondered! God’s Word is to be HEARD WITH YOUR
EARS!
It is to be heard because God’s Word is a living,
dynamic, vigorous, energetic, efficacious Holy Spirit-filled act of
speech! God’s Word is vibrant and all
creative. “Let there be light!” “Be fruitful and multiply!” “Lazarus, come out!” “I baptize you in the Name …” The
Lord’s Word proclaimed does exactly what it says. It gives precisely what it commands. The Lord does and gives what His Word says!
I have to go on extolling! There’s even more! Where the Lord’s Word is going on – being
mouthed – preached – proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is going on! I.E. where the divine Word -- there the Holy
Spirit bestows and grants divine holiness – sanctifies! Hallows!
Did you hear that?
God’s Word hallows! God’s Word
holies! God’s Word sanctifies! All because His Word is most holy![3] The Word bestows and gives the very holiness
of the Triune God Himself! TO YOU! AND FOR YOU!
Through your ears!
Any day from the New Testament on, in which God’s
Word is preached, taught, proclaimed is a holy day – a Sabbath Day for
you! For in that Word God is speaking to
you! In and through that Word the Lord
deals with you! And by His Word He
hallows, holies, and sanctifies you the sinner.
The Third Commandment is about being occupied with God’s Word! Hearing the preaching! Holding it sacred! Gladly hearing and learning it! Not blowing it off! Or treating it as a nothing!
Tonight you are given to hear! The Lord Jesus! He does a Passover like none ever
before! He speaks words that were never
ever spoken or heard at any Passover meal in the history of Israel!
On the very day on which it was “customary to sacrifice the
Passover lamb,” the Lamb is provided.
The Lamb is there! The Lamb is
the Lord Jesus Himself! He is THE Lamb
of God! The Lord provides! The perfect and without blemish Lamb! The divine Lamb – the only One that takes
away the sin of the world – that atones for all sin and for every sinner! And Passover Lamb Jesus will be
sacrificed. That’s tomorrow. Good Friday.
This evening is the night on which He is
betrayed. Judas! Hands the Lamb over to sinners. To be bound!
To be crucified on the altar of the cross! “I tell you the truth, one of you will
betray me – one who is eating with me … It is one of the Twelve … one who dips
bread into the bowl with me. The Son of
Man will go just as it is written about him.”
It is according to the Word! The Word – the prophecies – are doing what
they promised! What they predicted! “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he
who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me,” (Psalm
41:9)! The divine Word from that Psalm
is doing what it says. Giving what it
says! To the Word made flesh Jesus – on
the night in which He was betrayed!
In the midst of this Passover meal Jesus takes
bread. He gives thanks and breaks
it. He takes a cup. He gives thanks for it. Then, as He hands out the bread and the wine
to His disciple there are more words! LORD
Jesus speaks! From His mouth! “Take this bread. It is my body.” “This [cup of wine] is my blood of the new covenant
which is poured out for many.”
What? Is He
serious? Yes, deadly serious! Has He lost His mind? No. He
is of very sound mind! The Lord says
what He says. Means what He says. Does what He says! Gives what He says. THIS IS HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.
This is what He bequeaths! This is the inheritance! The gifts!
The bread IS His Body! The wine
IS His Blood! It is His Body born of the Virgin! He doesn’t have another one! It is His Blood that flows in His
arteries! He doesn’t have any other kind
of Blood! Both are to be received with
your mouth! Eaten. Drunk.
With His words Jesus makes a covenant! Or a promise!
“This is my blood of the new covenant.” This is the language of Exodus 24:6-8! Moses
took the blood of the animal sacrifices and sprinkled it on the Israelites and
said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you …”
Here, on the night He was betrayed, the LORD – the
LORD Jesus takes the cup of wine and declares:
“This is my blood of the new covenant.” Not the blood of animals! BUT “MY BLOOD!” BUT THE BLOOD OF THE GOD-MAN HIMSELF! With these words Jesus suffers Himself to
die! As THE ONE AND ONLY SACRIFICE FOR
SIN! THAT IS WHAT IS “NEW” HERE!
His Blood is divine Blood that purifies from all
sin! Divine Blood for cleansing! Divine Blood for forgiveness and
salvation! The Blood of God Himself in
the very Body in that man Jesus that is given into death on the cross once for
all at the end of the ages to do away with sin!
With the bread He gives His Body to eat. With the wine He gives His Blood to
drink. “This is my blood of the new
covenant which is poured out for many!”
FOR MANY – AND FOR YOU! HE IS GOD THE LORD FOR YOU! IN THIS WAY.
THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR WAY!
In the Sacrament tonight Jesus holies you, hallows
you, sanctifies you! His most holy Word
hooked together with the bread and wine bestows what He promises. Jesus Himself speaks to you tonight. Into your ears go His Words! Into your mouths goes what His Words
say! “Take this bread. Eat it.
It is my Body. Drink the
cup. It is my Blood. It is the new covenant in which I prove that
I am God for you!”
It is a Holy Communion! He comes.
He gathers. He speaks. He takes your sin! He clothes you with His holiness! It is holiness -- His – for you! And with His Words that you hear tonight at
the Sacrament you have forgiveness – the
forgiveness He won for you at Calvary!
With His Good Friday forgiveness bestowed with His Words “given and shed
for you,” you also are given life and salvation!
Jesus is the LORD.
He is LORD God for you! And you
are His holy, hallowed, sanctified people!
All bestowed with His Words!
Happy hearing!
Happy eating and drinking according to His Words!
In the Name of Jesus.
