Give Thanks For The Cross

If you like, you may turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22 and verse 17.!

Then again he'll say, so and so will give thanks for the bread. Why do we do it that way? Well, we do it that way because Jesus did it that way.

See that in verse 17. After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among you. And then in verse 19, and he took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. Well, we give thanks for the cup and for the bread because he first gave thanks for the cup and the bread.

And isn't that startling? Of all the things that Jesus was feeling and thinking about as he looked forward to his crucifixion, he two times gave thanks.

He gave thanks. And I guess if you don't understand how or why that would be startling, just think about what the cup and the bread signified and pictured.

What was Jesus saying thank you for? He was saying thank you for this cup. This cup is the new covenant in my blood and this bread is my body given for you.

Thank you for these things. Lord, thank you. For my blood and my body broken and sacrificed for sinners. So two men are going to come up here and say thank you to Jesus for shedding his blood, for saving us, for having his body broken for us.

But before we ever did that, before ever sinners said thank you, Lord, for the salvation that you have given us. Jesus himself said thank you to God for what he did on the cross.

Thank you, God, for this. So Jesus stood on the brink of his of his hell. Of the wrath of God coming on him. And he knew what was going to happen.

He knew what he was facing. He knew he knew what was coming upon him. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.

Yet we considered him stricken. By God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him.

And by his wounds, we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression of my people, he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death.

And though he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him. And cause him to suffer.

And to all of that, Jesus said, thank you. Maybe you didn't understand why that's a bit startling. He knew what would happen.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me? So far from the words of my groaning.

Oh, my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer. And by night and I'm not silent. And you, our fathers, put their trust. They trusted in you and you delivered them.

They cried to you and they were saved. And you, they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man. Scorned by men, despised by the people.

All who see me mock me. They hurl insults, shaking their heads. He trusted in the Lord. Let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.

Many bulls surround me. Strong bulls encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey. Open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax. It has melted away within me. You lay me in the dust of death. They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones.

People stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. He was going to cry out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

He would be forsaken for the sins of his people. He would die with his enemies all around him, mocking him, mocking his faith. And Jesus looked ahead.

He looked at the cup. He looked at the bread. And all of it stood for. And he gave thanks. He said, thank you.

Before we come to communion, let's just think about that. Let's just meditate on Jesus giving thanks.

And let's begin by asking, did he do that from his heart? Was his heart really in it when he said thank you? Because, and the reason I ask that is because I know, and I'm sure you know as well, that I've sat down at many a table and said thank you to God and really didn't mean it a whole lot.

I've said things that I didn't really mean. And I know sometimes it's more ritual and habit than anything.

And so did Jesus give thanks just because that was what you did? That was just tradition. He's the one in charge of the meal. He's the charge of this Passover. And so it's his responsibility to say thank you.

And so there he does it. It's just one thing that you did. Now, can you really imagine that? Can you really imagine Jesus just saying something out of tradition and habit?

Because that's just what you did. No, he, he, he loved God. We just can't understand that, that he loved God with all of his heart, all of his mind, and all of his soul, and all of his strength.

And when you love God that way, you don't offer up habit and ritual and just because this is what you do. He chastised the Pharisees over and over again.

They, they draw near to me with their, their lips. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts, they're far from me. So that's us. That's the Pharisees, but that's what Jesus never did.

He couldn't stand and he never did it. Whatever he did, he did it with all of his heart. And so when he looked at the cup, knowing what it stood for, because he explains what it stands for.

And he looked at the bread, knowing what it stood for, because he is telling us what it stands for. He gave thanks. He said, thank you, God. So what?

So his heart was troubled. His heart was troubled, but his heart was still thankful. Still thankful. And so let's just keep thinking about that.

What was he thankful for? Well, it doesn't say explicitly, but just as we look on it and as we meditate, and as we think about what the cup and the bread stand for, we see what he was thankful for.

He was thankful that his blood would wash his people free from their sin. That his blood would wash his people sins away. And this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

So thank you that my blood will wash away their sin. He loves you so much that he is thankful that his own death will be the means by which you'll be forgiven.

So here's God's way for my people to be forgiven. Here's God's way for my people to have all their sins washed away. It will cost me everything.

It will cost me dearly. It will cost me all that I have. But thank you. Thank you that at long last my people's sins will be washed away and everything will be forgiven.

It will cost me my life. I will be nailed. I will be flogged. I will be pierced. But redemption is coming. Their salvation is at hand. Thank you, God. And all those deep stains, those terrible stains, those things in the past, those regrets, those sins that they can't cover, they can't hide, they can't somehow blot out, they can't get rid of.

All those deep stains are going to be blotted out completely. They're going to be forgiven. And my blood will do what they never could do.

Thank you. Thank you for what you are going to do. Thank you that what you're going to do through me. And it says it's going to secure for them a new covenant forever.

A new covenant. A new relationship. So at long last, it hasn't been since the Garden of Eden, but at long last, God's people and God are going to be one.

And they're going to be right. And so thank you, God. Thank you for what you're going to do. Thank you for my blood, which is going to do that for them.

And then he said, thank you for his body broken for many. Thank you for his body given for you. So a body broken.

It's not something that we would say thank you for. But it was something that Jesus said thank you for. Well, how was it that Jesus even came to have a body?

To even give to anyone. To give away. To have broken. Well, he was in very nature God, but he did not consider equality with God something to be able to do. Be grasped. Something to be held on to at all costs.

The status of being God. The worship of being God. It's something to be grasped. But it says he made himself nothing. The incarnation was God the Father sending him.

But it was Jesus who took upon himself the form of a servant and made himself nothing. He made himself nothing. So it was God's plan. But Jesus' heart was in it. Jesus was the one that actually took the human body to himself.

He humbled himself and he took on flesh. And so Jesus is now ready to say thank you that this was your plan. Thank you now that because of my incarnation, because of me becoming a man, now I have I've been brought here to this place.

I've been brought to this place where now I have a body to give for my people. And my broken body will give them life. And my wounds will heal them.

Thank you. But more than that, Jesus was not dragged to the cross. He went thankfully to the cross.

It's hard to come up with an illustration for something like that. He went thankfully to the cross.

Scorning its shame. And for the joy set before him, he endured it. And he was thankful that it was his. He was thankful that it was his.

And it wasn't ours. He was thankful that it was his. And it was coming on him and not us. Most of the time, you can imagine when someone that you love is suffering.

And you wish you could do something for them. You wish you could do something for them. But you can't. You're helpless. You don't know what to do. You can't do anything. And we feel so helpless. So you can imagine Cindy Scott this week as she saw Meredith going through what Meredith was going through.

And she can't do anything about it. Can't fix the problem. There's nothing we can do. But Jesus says, thank you that I can do something. Thank you that now I can do something.

I can rescue them. I will drink the bitter cup so they never have to. Thank you that I will be able to suffer so that they will never have to suffer. And I will drink the bitter cup so that they can drink the river of water of life forever and ever.

Thank you that this suffering is going to come on me and not them. Why does someone say thank you that I'm suffering and not the other person? It's because he loves his people.

He would more gladly suffer than have and watch them suffer. And so I'll be torn and beaten. And it will be me who cries, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But it will be so that they never have to cry that. So they never have to experience that. So they never have to feel down in their heart. God slapping their hands away as their hands are lifted up.

Well, we are thankful that he is our savior. And he is thankful to be our savior. And now, just finally, do you see your Lord's heart towards you now?

Now, if he was thankful to go to the cross for you, if he's thankful to go to the cross for you, to give his body and his blood, don't you think he'll be glad that he can intercede for you and that he can rule and reign for you and that he can do all things for your good, to rule for you, and so that when you need prayer, he is there to pray for you.

And when you need guidance, he is there to guide you. And when you need a strong arm to protect you, don't you think he'll be thankful that he can do that? So, dear Christian, he was glad to save you then.

Won't he be glad to save you now? So do you need a savior? We never get over our need for a savior. So do you need a savior? Are you struggling with some sin?

And you go down and you go down and you go down again. And the battle is thick. It's furious. It seems like it's two steps forward and one step back. And maybe that's even putting a good face on it.

You're in the middle of it. You're in the middle of the trial. You're in the middle of the difficulty and the challenge. And you're put at your wit's end and you can't do anything about it.

And so you're put into that place where, you know what? It's really clear that you need a savior. That you need Jesus to be Jesus for you.

You need a savior in real life. Not just a name. Well, he's thankful that he can save you. He was thankful that he could save you then.

He's thankful that he can save you now. And then if you're unbelieving. You're still going your own way.

You're still bent on doing whatever you want. Do you see Jesus' heart towards you now? Even as you are enemy of God.

He's willing to save you. If he could stand at the brink of the cross and say thank you.

Thank you for the cup. Thank you for the bread. Thank you for what this is going to. All this. Thank you for what I'm going to go through. Do you see his heart towards sinners?

He's more willing to save you. Than you are to be saved. He's more willing to walk into the fire to rescue you. And so he stood on the brink.

And he said thank you. And so if he did that. Won't he save you if you call on him? I think the biggest doubt so many people have.

Is that he. Is he really that good? Jesus said thank you. He's really that good. And so the reason you're not saved right now.

Is not because he's not willing. The reason you're not saved. Is you aren't being willing. His heart. His heart's wide open. His hands are wide open. And so what do you do?

You close with him. You run to him. You throw yourself on him. You say save me. I need a savior. Be that for me. So give him all of your sin.

Give him all of your need. Come poor. Naked. And blind. So you come just as you are. Come just as you are.

And he's more than enough for you. You see the gospel portrayed tonight. Why don't you believe it? Thank you.