Redemption made Manifest
- Not merely performing a drama
- The redemptive body and blood of Christ are made new again
- In this sanctuary the most precious treasure in the world is delivered to us
What happens here in the Divine Service, and throughout the church year, is not some sort of a theatrical play or a dramatic retelling of history. Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and culminating on Easter Sunday is often treated like a spectacle, something to be observed like attending one of the shows at Chanhassen, only this is more emotionally driven. Dramas are entertaining, but they’re foreign to the Divine Service, because this is no mere playacting but it is the real deal.
See, if this were merely a spectacle, something you observe, then ultimately what happens here is just a bunch of empty rituals. If they’re empty rituals, then you might treat them like a joke or some sort of casual enterprise. But instead, since this is the real deal, what happens here is quite powerful even if it happens so regularly and habitually. Here, in the Divine Service, you do not just watch redemption history, but Christ’s redemption of the world is made manifest in this room at this time among these people.
To help illustrate this, the Passover among the Israelites was more than a night of remembrance. Of course, in that meal they would bring to mind the salvific works of God, they would remember God’s mighty acts that took place in history, but it was more than that. It wasn’t just like celebrating a birthday or anniversary, where we reminisce about times gone by. Instead, at the Passover meal the Israelites did not merely remember the historical event of the Exodus, but they relived the Passover as their own deliverance. “It was a night of watching by the Lord, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; so this same night is a night of watching kept to the Lord by all the people of Israel throughout their generations.” Dearly beloved, it is the same for you this night and every Sunday!
When you kneel at this rail, the same body and blood that Jesus delivered to His apostles in the upper room is laid upon your tongue. In the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord gives to His people the very same body and blood that was crucified upon the cross for the forgiveness of sins. In this meal it is the same Christ, the same true Passover Lamb, who was sacrificed for you. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The reason that you proclaim the Lord’s death when you partake of the Lord’s Supper, is because you are receiving and participating in the very same fruits of the Lord’s death on calvary.
Perhaps it’s hard to fathom, that the Lord of all creation, the King of kings and Lord of lords, is present here upon this altar, but here He is. Who are we that the Lord should dwell in our midst? We’re just some ordinary folks in Minnesota! Who am I to handle God’s body and blood? I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips! It’s hard to comprehend that the Lord would even bother with us, and yet, here He is according to His promise.
Thus, the Lord’s redemption of His people is not foreign to us, but is made manifest in our very presence. The still point in a turning world, the greatest moment in history, the most powerful act of love, the glory of glories is right here in this sanctuary when the body and blood of Christ is given to His people for the forgiveness of their sins. Every salvific work of God, from clothing Adam and Eve in the Garden, to rescuing Noah aboard an ark, from crossing the Red Sea, to saving Daniel from the lion’s jaws, is completely fulfilled on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and that victory is made manifest among us here at this altar when the salvation of God is received by simple Christians like us.
Here in this sanctuary the most precious treasure in all the world is delivered to us. Ponder that for a moment. What we have under the humble forms of bread and wine is a treasure that surpasses all others. Even if the richest man in the world were to offer you all of his fortunes in exchange for this treasure, what you have here is better. All the treasures in all the world couldn’t atone for even one of your sins, and yet, one drop of Christ’s blood is potent enough to forgive the sins of all the world, and the Lord bids you to eat and drink. Indeed, my cup runneth over as the blood flowed forth from Jesus’ pierced side.
Yet, the reality of what we receive does not match the things we see with our eyes, and therefore we must teach our hearts to believe that these things are far more than meets the eye. As such, Christians have long added more ceremony to this part of the liturgy in order to teach us to receive these things with faith. Remember that this is the body and blood of God, and those who take Him unworthily will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. So let us receive this divine and holy gift with the greatest love and reverence.
When pastors serve at this altar, or the elders assist them, they don’t toss things about like it’s a snack at a party, but they handle these precious treasures with the utmost care. When you approach the body and blood, you bow, not to me because I’m a servant like you, but to the Lord who is present. Then you kneel, remembering your sins and worshipping Christ Jesus who approaches you. And then the bread you eat is no cracker, but it is the body of Jesus sacrificed for you that cleanses your every sin. You either receive it directly on the tongue, or placed firmly upon your palm, because this is handled with care like we would handle newborn. Then the cup that approaches contains a liquid of inestimable worth, not just the fruit of the vine, but the fruit of the cross. Because liquids are easy to spill, we must be diligent in making deliberate movements so that it is not spilled. Inside of those little cups is God’s blood, so drink every drop, and set the cup in the basket gently, remembering that the residue inside is greater than the holy of holies.
Dear Christians, let us this night be filled with renewed zeal and awe at what the Lord here offers. This is no silly musical theater, but the throne room of God. Here heaven and earth meet, the cross and the resurrection intersect, and God joins you to Himself in holy communion. Don’t be filled with anxiety over the enormity of this moment, for here the Lord gives you His peace which surpasses all understanding, and for that reason receive these treasures with that strange mixture of fear and love and excitement we call faith.
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Jesus Drinks the Cup of God’s Wrath
- God’s wrath is a cup that must be drunk
- Jesus drinks the cup and is satisfied
- We receive the overflowing cup of blessing
From the cross Jesus uttered, “I thirst.” Moments later a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch was offered to our Lord and He drank, finally declaring “It is finished,” “and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” Isn’t it strange that our Lord would mention His thirst, especially when He had previously been offered wine mixed with gall and He refused it. Is our Lord simply picky about His beverage of choice, or is there more going on here than meets the eye?
Regarding these different drinks offered to Jesus, both of these drinks were readily available among Roman soldiers, but for different purposes. The wine mixed with gall or myrrh was a type of strong drink, often offered to those being crucified as a type of mercy, in order to deaden their consciousness and pain. The soldiers would also drink this because crucifying a man was miserable and sickening, so it would dull them after they’ve done that dirty work. This drink Jesus refuses, because His work of being crucified requires His mind to be clear, not foggy. He takes the suffering like a man. He meets death head-on in all its fierceness, conquering it by suffering to the fullest extent, since He offers up His own life for us, and no one takes it from Him.
The sour wine, or vinegar, was treated like a type of energy drink of sorts. It did not deaden the mind or ease pain, but it was meant to freshen the body and mind, giving a new sort of clarity. Soldiers would drink this rough or weak wine in battle and when working to keep their energy. Likewise, after the soldiers had labored in crucifying these men, nailing them, lifting their crosses, they would have also drank to refresh themselves. When this is offered to Christ, He drinks it, so that He meets death with increased freshness and vigor. He does not die with His senses dulled by either strong drink or physical weakness, but with the utmost clarity.
With those drinks explained, there is still more going on here in this scene, with Jesus thirsting, drinking, and being satisfied. For the cup that Jesus drinks is more than the sour wine; in fact, it’s the cup of God’s wrath. Right before the Triumphal Entry, Jesus foretold His death, and then James and John asked to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in His kingdom. Jesus replied: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” Later, in Gethsemane, Jesus prayed: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Then, at Jesus’ arrest, Peter cuts off Malchus’ right ear, and Jesus rebukes Peter, saying: “Put your sword in its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given Me?” This cup is the cup foretold by the prophets: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send You drink it.” The Psalmist sings: “In the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”
Sin deserves God’s wrath. This earth, corrupted by our sin, must drink God’s wrath and be utterly consumed by it. A foretaste of this wrath was poured out on the earth at the time of the flood, drowning nearly everyone and everything upon the face of the earth. The only ones preserved amidst the flood of God’s wrath were those aboard the ark.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the ark. For He has come to drink the cup of God’s wrath. He thirsted for righteousness. He is the Righteous One who makes many to be accounted righteous when He bears their iniquities. His thirst for righteousness is only quenched when He is crushed for our iniquities, when His soul is poured out in death like a drink offering poured at the base of the altar, when the cup of foaming wine is held to His mouth and He drinks the cup of wrath. Then, “out of the anguish of His soul He is fully satisfied.” His thirst for righteousness is satisfied to the full. Our atonement is complete because God’s wrath has been drunk to the full by Jesus, and He declares: “It is finished,” before He bows His head, gives up His spirit, and dies.
The cup of wrath which ought to drunk by us, is drunk by Christ, and His life is poured out at the altar of the cross when the soldier pierced His side with a spear, “and at once there came out blood and water.” From the pierced side of Jesus flows forth a crimson flood, filling not a cup of wrath, but a cup of blessing. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” This is important: the cup of God’s wrath is poured out on Christ, and if we are to be spared God’s wrath and drink the cup of blessing, we must be part of Jesus’ body, the church.
Remember, Jesus is like an ark which keeps His Christians safe from the flood of wrath, but those not inside of the ark, those not inside of Christ and the church, are drowned. The final judgment is worse than the first! For on the final day when Christ returns, He will bring His saints to paradise, and He will also come as the Judge. Not only is He an ark, but a funnel, and the cup of God’s wrath shall be funneled through Him upon the earth, and the unbelieving world, Babylon the great, will drain the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath and perish forever.
Therefore, flee to Christ, my friends! Look upon Him whom we have pierced with our sins! See in His blessed wounds His love and His mercy. Find in Him a refuge from sin and death. Come speedily to the altar of God where His fills the cup of blessing with His blood, and His blessings for you overflow in abundance. Eat, drink, and be fully satisfied with this abundant cup of God’s grace poured out for you.