Who Do You Say That I Am? "The Greater Passover Lamb"

Well, over the last 10 weeks, we've been walking through the Book of Mark, centered on this title question. Who do you say that I am? It's the question that Jesus asks his disciples. It's the question that I've said is the most important question that we will answer in our lives. Who is Jesus?

And then once we say who he is, what are we going to do with him? And Mark has been doing what he's been doing through this whole book so far, is showing us bit by bit, scene by scene, who Jesus really is. Watched Jesus heal and restore what's broken and sick. We've seen him demonstrate power and authority over demons, even over creation, by calming storms. We've seen moments where his glory breaks through in undeniable ways, like this incredible moment of transfiguration up on the mountain with Peter, James and John.

And then we've seen all of these moments that have brought confusion because the Messiah that everybody was looking for isn't the Messiah that Jesus came to be. Instead of conquering through power, he tells his disciples that he must suffer and be rejected. That he came as a servant, this upside down kingdom to come, as a ransom for many. And all along the way, the disciples, they're trying to figure this out. Sometimes it seems like they get it.

Sometimes they didn't even notice when Jesus walked past. Sometimes they face plant like Peter. But every scene, this question keeps echoing, who is Jesus really? And today we come to this really significant moment, one of the most important moments in the entire story. A moment where Jesus sits at a table and shares the Passover meal with his disciples.

But this Passover, we'll find out, is unlike every Passover before it. The meal begins to reveal another of who Jesus is and why he came. And it sets up the practice of communion that we share in together every Sunday as a family here. And it powerfully points to a future meal that the Bible says will happen in heaven. We'll get to that here in a minute.

But what is Passover? What's Passover? This isn't just any meal. And to understand why this matters and why Jesus shared this meal, and to understand why we share in communion every week together, we need to understand why this meal exists in the first place. And so let's rewind all the way back to the book of Exodus.

About 1400 years before Jesus goes to the cross. God's people, the Israelites, are living as captives and slaves in the nation of Egypt. But this isn't for a short season. It's not just for a Couple generations. This is for 400 years.

That's a long time. To put this into context, our country, the United States, turns 250 years old this summer. That feels like a long time. Tack on another 150 years to that. And that's how long they've been slaves.

So this isn't just something they're going through. This is their whole identity. They were born into slavery, and their parents and their grandparents and their great grandparents, 10 to 12 generations of people. This is their identity. And after generations of slavery and silence and suffering and waiting, they begin to cry for help.

And God hears them, and he sends one who will come to deliver them. It's Moses. He sends Moses and says, moses, go talk to Pharaoh. Ask him to release the free labor. Which, of course, Pharaoh has no interest in releasing the free labor.

And so God sends nine plagues to basically discipline the nation of Egypt. And each one of these plagues is something interesting. He turns denial to blood. He sends frogs and gnats and flies and disease and darkness. But these plagues all correspond with an Egyptian God, a false God of the Egyptians.

And with each one, God is sending something that shows that he holds power over the very thing that they believe that their gods hold power over. And as terrible as these plagues are, Pharaoh still refuses to release them. And so God says there will be one final plague. It's the hardest and the darkest and the most difficult of all of them. Every firstborn will die.

People and animals, not just Pharaoh's household, not just the Egyptians. Every home in Egypt, including his own people. But he gives these very specific instructions that if they follow them, they will be spared from this terrible plague. They're to choose a spotless, unblemished lamb from their flocks, and they are to sacrifice that lamb and take a hyssop branch and put. Put like a paintbrush over their door frame, the blood of this lamb.

Then they're to cook and eat this lamb with unleavened bread and several other things. And they're to be fully dressed, staff in hand, ready to go, bags packed, so that when God gives the word, they're ready to go. And here's what Moses says will happen if they follow these instructions. Exodus 12:23. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will send the blood.

He will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. And so that night, when judgment comes, everything Hinges on one question. Not are you Egyptian or Israelite? Not did you say that you went to church when you were a kid? Not did you grow up in the church?

Not do you have money? Not anything other than is your home covered by the blood of the lamb? And everywhere that there's no blood, the firstborn dies. But in every home where the blood is present, God passes over, not because they're more deserving, not because they earned it, but because a lamb has died in their place as a substitute. And this is the final tipping point.

That Pharaoh not only decides he'll let them go, he tells them, get out of here. I don't want anything to do with you anymore. And all of this is such a significant symbolic moment in the history of Israel and in the history of what God's doing in this world that God says, you cannot ever forget this. Here's what he says in Exodus 12. He said, this is the day you were to commemorate for the generations to come.

You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, a lasting ordinance. Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants when you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised. Observe this ceremony. And when your children ask, what does this ceremony mean to you? Then tell them it is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord who has passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.

And for over a thousand years, this is exactly what they do. They observe the Passover meal every year. And as they do, every detail of the meal means something. The unleavened bread, the cup of wine that represents the blood, the meat of the lamb eaten, and the story told again and again and again. It was a reminder of God's deliverance of who they are and where they came from.

And for a thousand years, as they rehearsed and repeated this meal, it seemed that the only point of the meal was to look back. But we will find out that it's about even more than that. Let's hop into Mark chapter 14. And Jesus and his disciples are preparing for this meal, this Passover meal. With all this in our minds, let's zoom in to Mark 14.

Jesus sends his disciples to prepare for the Passover meal. They likely shared this meal together before this, but this was going to be very different from the meals that they've shared together before. And notice that this moment isn't just random. It didn't just happen. It's not reactive.

Notice the very specific instructions and preparation that Jesus gives here. Mark 14, starting in verse 12. On the first day of the festival of unleavened bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus disciples asked him, where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover? So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, say to the owner of the house.

He enters. The teacher asks, where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples? He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there. The disciples left, went into the city, and found things just as Jesus had told them.

So they prepared the Passover. Now, I read this, and it's just. It sounds kind of funny. It sounds like a spy novel or something where Jesus says, find the man carrying the pot, you know, and follow him, and wherever he goes, you go. And then to ask him this coded question.

And all of it will be taken care of. But this isn't random Jesus. This shows that Jesus intentionally prepared every detail ahead of time. The room is ready, the meal is ready, the moment is ready. Because what's about to happen at this table has actually been building for over a thousand years.

And so that evening, Jesus sits down with his disciples, and they share this familiar meal. These guys have done this every year since they were little. They know every turn. They know how it goes. There's a rhythm to the meal, a series of questions that the children ask.

And then the patriarch of the family answers those questions by retelling the story of Exodus. Exodus. And the unleavened bread is explained, the cup is lifted, and everyone remembers what God did in Egypt. It's like a familiar song that everybody knows all the verses, but this one takes a turn. Mark 14, verse 17.

When evening came, Jesus arrived with the 12. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who's eating with me. They were saddened, and one by one, they said to him, surely you don't mean me. It is one of the 12, he replied, one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.

But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man. It would be better for him if he had not been born. So now this meal that's meant to look back at God's faithfulness and salvation exposes betraya the table that was supposed to reflect covenant, faithfulness uncovers unfaithfulness. And they start looking at each other, asking, surely you don't mean me, Jesus. I mean, we're the guys that gave up everything to follow you.

We would die for you, Jesus, not us. And this should challenge us with the question, is it possible to spend our lives close to Jesus, maybe even following Jesus, participating in all the right moments, and still somehow miss him or betray him?

But before they even have time to kind of consume all of this, Jesus just takes the bread and begins to redefine everything they thought this meal was about. Verse 22. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, take it, this is my body. Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many.

He said to them, wait. Your body, your blood, Jesus, what do you even mean? That's not what this bread is about. That's not what this cup is about. And Jesus is reinterpreting his story they've been telling for over a thousand years.

And he's breaking the ending. This cyclical, repeatable, predictable story changes. It's not just about looking back to Egypt. Jesus says all of this was to prepare this moment where I will become the greater Passover lamb. And all those years of remembering, all those meals, all those lambs, they weren't the destination.

They were a thousand years of preparation setting the stage for this. The lamb that used to be on the table is missing. And now Jesus fills its place. Jesus is making it clear that he's stepping into the place of the substitutionary lamb, the greater Passover lamb. He's giving his life as a ransom for many, not by force, not by accident, but by choice.

But then he lays down a clue that points beyond the past, beyond this moment, and into the future. He says in verse 25, truly, I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. In other words, this moment is not just about what he's about to do. It's about what is still to come. While this will be his last Passover on earth, there's another table coming, another feast ahead.

And the Bible describes this future moment for us. Near the end of Scripture, after the cross, after the resurrection, after the spread of the gospel, in the beginning of the church, after all the waiting and longing, we're given this glimpse of what it all leads to. And this table isn't about death. It's a celebration of a long awaited wedding day. When Jesus and his bride, his church, will finally be one again.

It's a wedding feast described in Revelation 19. Let's pick up in verse 6. Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder shouting hallelujah. For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. And John tells us, fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people. Then the angel said to me, write this. Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.

And he added, these are the true words of God. And back at the table with the disciples, Jesus has completely redefined the meal that's always been about looking back. He uses it to help them understand what he's doing in real time, about to do on the cross. And he lifts their eyes and our eyes to this future feast together. The new Passover table.

Jesus wants them to remember what God has done, recognize what he's about to do, and anticipate what's coming. The Passover lamb was pointing to him. The sacrifice was pointing to him, the salvation was pointing to him. And it's all made possible through his death, his blood, his resurrection. And it all leads to this heavenly table.

The wedding supper of the Lamb is finally celebrated as sin is finally defeated and death is, is dead. And the people of God sit down and feast with him in heaven. And all this helps us understand the significance and it helps us reframe this weekly meal of communion that we share together in. This whole sermon is just a giant setup for communion.

It reframes, it reestablishes what communion is about and why we choose to remember it together every Sunday as a family. And I don't want to miss all of this as we come to the meal again today, because I think if we're honest, we can be distracted in this moment. We can kind of take this little wafer and this little cup of juice and we can maybe say the right things, maybe consume them, maybe even thank Jesus for them. But they don't hold the depth and weight and power that they actually hold for us. And my hope is today that this would just breathe, a fresh breath on communion for us.

This is a meal that is not ordinary. It's a meal that asks a question, not just do you understand this. But are you trusting this past, present, and future that God has established for us? Because just like that first Passover night in Egypt, everything still hinges on one reality. Not who you are, not how long you've been around church, not whether you're sitting near Jesus, not whether or not you're covered by.

But whether or not you're covered by the blood of the Lamb. That's it. That's the question. Whether or not his death, his blood, counts for you? Do we believe that what he paid, we don't have to pay?

See, it's possible to be at the table right there with Jesus and still miss him. Judas was there. He shared in the same meal. He ate the same bread. He drank the same cup, and he missed it.

This moment of communion isn't just about participation. It's not just about going through the motions. It's about seeing Jesus as He truly is, trusting that he has done what he says he has done, and allowing his sacrifice to cover us again and again and again. And so, before we take communion, I want to give us all a moment to be honest, to ask a few questions. Where in your life have you been near Jesus, but not actually trusting Him?

Where have you been going through the motions, but maybe your heart has drifted.

Where are you trying to carry something that he says he has already carried? And here's the invitation. Place yourself under the blood of the greater Passover lamb. Trust that what Jesus said at that table is true, that his body was given freely for you, that his blood was poured out freely for you, that he willingly stepped into the place of the sacrificial lamb. Which means that you and I don't have to carry the weight of this anymore.

The guilt, the shame, the pressure to hold everything together. The stuff that no one else knows about. He already paid for it. And maybe you've never trusted that ever before. Maybe this is news to you today, that Jesus died and his blood is for you.

And if that's you today, please come talk to one of us after the service. Come find me. Talk to our prayer team. They'll be on either side of the room. After the service, go to the information desk.

But don't leave today without asking all the questions that you have, even the ones that you think that we don't want to hear, because we've all got questions, too. But this is the invitation that the greater Passover lamb died for you. So come have that conversation. And for those of us who do trust him, maybe we are the ones sitting around the table every Week. This is a moment to remember and to look forward, because this is not the last table.

Every time we share this simple meal, we're proclaiming what God has already done. We're celebrating what he's doing in our lives right now. And we are practicing, rehearsing, preparing for this beautiful wedding supper that we get to celebrate together in heaven. It's a preview, it's a foretaste, it's a reminder that one day we will get to sit with him in person, and everything that's broken will be made whole.

And before we eat the bread and drink the cup, we're gonna take a few quiet moments to just sit with these questions that we have asked. And I don't want to rush through this time. We're gonna put them on the screen. I just want you to sit in this moment and seriously ask yourself these questions. Where in your life have you been near Jesus, but not actually trusting Him?

What has become more valuable to you than Jesus right now? Right now, in this moment? What are you carrying right now that Jesus already willingly paid for? So don't rush through this. And when you're ready in your own time, take the bread his body given for you, take the cup, drink the cup his blood willingly poured out for you, covering you, saving you.

And as you eat and drink, let your mind imagine what is still to come. This beautiful celebration, this feast coming. And because of the greater Passover lamb, John said, blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. Because of the greater Passover lamb, we've been invited to sit at the table. Our team can bring you Communion.

If you just want to raise your hand, they'll be happy to bring it to you. But let's pray. Jesus, thank you. Thank you. Today's message was a little more dense and heavier than normal.

And I just thank you for the weight and the significance of it. And I pray that as we pursue you in this moment through communion, that you'd help us to be honest about answering these questions.

Help us to remember what you've done, help us to celebrate what you're doing, and help us to turn our hearts toward that beautiful future that you've promised. Thank you. It's in your precious name we pray. Amen.