Matthew 26:20-30:  “When it was evening, He sat at table with the twelve disciples;  and as they were eating, He said, ‘Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’  And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to Him one after another, ‘Is it I, Lord?’  He answered, ‘He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me.  the Son of man goes as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!  It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.’  Judas, who betrayed Him, said, ‘Is it I, Master?’  He said to him, ‘You have said so.’  Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

At the Dominican Monastery of Milan, Italy, on the wall of the Dining Hall is a very famous painting.  I think, probably without exception, each of us has seen this painting - either the original or a reproduction.    The painting is “The Last Supper” - painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1495.

In his painting, da Vinci depicts the very moment when Jesus told His disciples, “One of you will betray Me.”  Beautifully portrayed is the speculation on da Vinci’s part of what the expressions and reactions of the disciples may have been.

What would it have been like to be there? - to watch the events of that night unfold - to be in the upper room with Jesus.  On the table is the Passover meal - symbolic of God’s deliverance - the last meal of the Hebrew people in Egypt.  Around the table, recline the disciples - a very diverse group of individuals - called together by Jesus - led by Him through 3 years of ministry - welded into an amazingly influential community that would be used by God to nurture the roots of the Church.

In the midst of this diverse group, Jesus took bread, saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.” and the cup, saying, “Drink from it - this is my blood of the covenant.”

If you had been there, which disciple would you have been?  Which of the disciples do you identify with the most?  As I have been thinking about communion - the Lord’s table - and this question, for myself, the answer really surprised me.

Consider these:

Peter and his brother Andrew - fishermen from Bethsaida,

James and John - often called the “sons of thunder”,

James the son of Alphaeus,
Philip,

and Bartholomew, who had been brought by Philip

Thomas the pessimist

Matthew the tax collector,

Thaddaeus,

Simon the Zealot - the revolutionary

and Judas Iscariot - the traitor - the thief who had been given charge of the treasury - Judas who kissed Jesus with affection and with the same act betrayed Him to death.

In humility we might not think of ourselves as a James or John - how could we be as righteous as they were.  Perhaps we are a Peter - someone who three times denied Jesus - but still returned to Him - or maybe Thomas who struggles to believe.

I have come to see myself as Judas.  In reality, none of us should think that we are so righteous - so without sin - that we would not have betrayed Jesus as Judas did.  In the diversity of that group - in the reality of that moment - the one who has the deepest sin and the greatest need is Judas.  In fact, Judas, in so many ways is the description of that group - and each one of us - following Jesus, yet living in sin, desperately in need of salvation.

The Lord’s Table brings each of us together - we are united in sin - and we are united with Jesus our Savior.

Consider something with me - the prophetic words of Isaiah:

(Isaiah 53:5) “He was pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging - by His stripes - we are healed.”

Two prize fighters enter the ring.  They circle and jab, weave and feint.  Finally, one lands a terrific blow to the head of his opponent.  Maybe you’ve seen slow motion footage of just such a blow.  The head is turned, pushed back and to the side - eyes are rolled back into his head, sweat flies from his brow and blood from his mouth - and where the glove impacts his face, his cheeks are smashed inward.  It is a gruesome picture of punishment and pain.  They say that blows like this literally dislodge the brain.

At the point of contact - the glove and the face - there is a union between the fighter who strikes the blow and the one who receives it.  The word Isaiah uses for “stripes” / “scourging” (Hebrew: habar) has the idea of union between the one inflicting pain and one receiving it.

We are united with Jesus at the place of His wounds because they are caused by each of our sins.

Do you remember in Airplane - the movie - the scene with the hysterical lady?  Well, maybe some of you may have missed that one.  Okay, it’s not exactly high on the culture list.  Anyway, the plane is in danger of crashing - and this passenger begins to scream hysterically - the stewardess turns to the doctor (played by Leslie Nielson) and says, Doctor, surely you can help this woman!” and the doctor says, “I can, and don’t call me Shirley.”

Then he slaps the women across the face real hard in an effort to bring her to her senses.  Behind him is a long line of passengers stretching down the isle of the plane, each one with a different weapon - boxing gloves, clubs, knives, brass knuckles, whips, etc. - each one waiting in line to take a swing at this lady passenger.

With Jesus, it is if we are all standing in line - each of us ready to take a swing at Him.  We would have been at the cross hammering or holding the nails.

When we bear false witness - gossiping, back stabbing, criticizing with impure motives - this is sin.  Entertaining adulterous thoughts - cheating - lying - idolatry - placing anything in a greater position of priority in our lives than God - these are sin.  The Bible says that, (Romans 3:10,23) “No one is righteous.... all have sinned....”

None of us is innocent - more spiritual, more lofty, more holy - each of us is guilty.  Isaiah says, “He was pierced through for our sins - He was crushed because of the evil we did (v.6) The Lord has caused the sins of us all to fall on Him.”  Each of us is like Judas.  Our sins put Jesus on the cross.

And yet Jesus says, “This is my body - eat it - this is my blood, drink it”  Jesus invites us to partake of Him.  If we are willing to admit that the wounds of Jesus were inflicted by us - to come in humility to the table of His broken and bleeding body - then we can come to the place where we are united in His salvation, His healing, and His resurrection.

Someone has said, “You are what you eat.”  When we eat physical food it provides the vitamins and minerals, the building blocks of our physical life - the sustenance of our physical body.

The same is true spiritually.  When we receive Jesus into our life - He becomes the means by which we live spiritually.  When we take communion, we are symbolically saying that He is the sustenance of our life.

Do you know how they kill wolves in Alaska - up in the ice and snow?  They put a stake or knife into the ice with the point sticking up.  Then, on the knife they put a large piece of raw meat.  When the wolf comes he hungrily attacks and begins to devour the meat.  As he is eating the wolf tastes the blood from the raw meat.  Soon, however he reaches the knife and he begins to taste his own blood.  His appetite, his desire for the food, is so great that the wolf keeps eating and literally eats himself to death.

Sin is like that.  We partake of sin and think that everything is wonderful.  But, the reality is that we are slowly killing ourselves spiritually, and even the Bible says, physically.

Jesus offers us a different food - Himself - His life and His salvation.  This morning, can you say that Jesus is the sustenance of your life?  Do you know His healing - His salvation?

Jesus said, (John 6:35) “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall no hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”  (John 10:10) “...I came that they (us) may have life, and have it to the full.”

The Bible says, (Romans 6:23) “...the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To receive Jesus - to take of His body and blood - is first, to admit that we need Him - that we have sinned.  Second, we must turn from pursuing sin and surrender our lives to Him.