What are the benefits of this eating and drinking?

What are the benefits of this Eating and Drinking?

Lenten Midweek 2

INI

The question of “what” concerning the Sacrament last week now shifts to “why”? Why should we eat His body and drink His blood? Or, as Luther asks in the catechism, “What are the benefits of this eating and drinking?”

Now, to be sure, we can only answer the question tonight rightly when we understand rightly the prior question of “what”. If we can’t get the ‘what,’ we can’t get the ‘why’. It’s the true body and blood of Christ. It isn’t metaphorical. It isn’t symbolic. It’s His true body and true blood. Because that’s what He instituted. That’s what He gives, though I fail to comprehend it. But we will be led to false conclusions concerning the “why” or “what benefit does it give me” if we understand it as a symbol or metaphor. Because metaphors don’t forgive sins. I can’t “symbolically” forgive someone. Hence, why Christians who don’t believe in Christ’s presence in the Sacrament, also don’t believe they receive forgiveness from it.

But since we do believe that Christ’s body and blood are given here in this bread and wine, we do know forgiveness is TRULY given! We couldn’t say anything otherwise! Because your substitute, the lamb of God, gives Himself to you here! He takes your place to be punished for your sins, and for the sins of the world! And He gives His beaten body and gives His shed blood in this meal to cover you! Since Jesus feeds you in this meal, you can have full confidence that He comes to give you what He promised in the Words of Institution: the forgiveness of sins. When received in faith, you can have full confidence and assurance that since you have this forgiveness, God saves you.

Now, to truly understand forgiveness, we must first realize the depths of our sin. God hates sin! He wants to destroy it! He wants to rid His people of it! It’s a growing cancer amongst God’s holy people. So, God sees that sin is something that must be dealt with. Or else, He’ll have no option but to destroy His people along with their sin. But getting rid of sin isn’t easy. It’s not as simple as a wave of a wand, or even something that just goes away with a word. Sin needs payment. Someone or something needs to suffer, to satisfy God’s wrath and hatred for sin. As Scripture says, “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Some Christians falsely conclude that God’s forgiveness is easy for God to do. That it requires little to no suffering on God’s part to forgive His people. But that’s simply not the biblical story. That’s just their impression. Such an attitude cheapens God’s grace, when in fact God’s grace is extremely costly. For life must be given for life. The shedding of blood is required for forgiveness.

The Passover Lamb from our Exodus reading really lays out specifically the idea that with the shedding of blood, there’s forgiveness. Verse 13 says, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall or destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” The Passover Lamb was commanded to be sacrificed. Its blood was to be gathered and smeared over the posts of their homes, that when the Lord passed by, He saw that blood and knows that life has been paid for with life. Because forgiveness IS costly. It DOES require blood. When covered with blood, the life of those who wore the blood was spared. That’s what we call forgiveness.

And we see the same pattern throughout Old Testament sacrifices: life is given for life. That’s how God forgave His people! That’s how a holy God can dwell with an unholy people! God forgives and saves through blood. He did this with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden with the shedding of animal blood that made provisions of animal skins to cover their nakedness and shame. He commanded Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at key salvific moments in their lives to build an altar and make a sacrifice to the Lord. He led Elijah to sacrifice at the top of Mount Carmel as he battled the false prophets of Baal, to show that Yahweh was the only true God to whom sacrifices are given. God commanded these sacrifices not because He was some blood-thirsty God. But because He desperately wanted His people to be holy, sinless, without blemish, that He might dwell with them.

So naturally, God did not CHANGE His ways in the New Testament. Rather, all these sacrifices from the Old Testament point us to the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross!  Now, the Father sent His only-begotten Son Jesus to be the bloody sacrifice, the substitute for sin in our place. For life must be given for life. Through His shed blood, we have forgiveness! And the angel of death may not see us in our sin. But he shall pass over us because He sees the cleansing, holy blood of Jesus which marks us.

That’s the benefit we receive in the Lord’s Supper. Real body, real blood, sacrificed in your place to satisfy God’s wrath on your sin. That’s a real, costly grace. That’s a REAL God coming down to earth type of forgiveness that you receive in this eating and drinking. That’s why this meal does truly forgive your sins. And as Luther correctly says, “these words, ‘given and shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins’, show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.”

So, this fully explains the benefits of receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Supper through faith in the words of Christ’s institution. Now, I’ll shift to a different question: how often should we partake of this benefit? Can I receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation more than once? The answer is… YES! And you should! Because it’s what your Lord told you to do. He has the clear command to “Do this!” that is, partake of this supper! Do this in remembrance of me! Remember what I have done for you! Remember the death I died in your place! Remember that I’ve given my life, for your life! And we don’t remember these things merely in an intellectual way. Rather, we remember these things by DOING it – that’s what the Hebrew word “remember” indicates! It indicates an action! So we continually come to this meal to be fed by the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation because our spiritual enemy that we daily battle against, HATES IT!

For where there is forgiveness of sins, the devil’s plans are thwarted. Remember, His goal is to remove you as far he can from God’s forgiveness, from trusting in God’s words. Thus, the devil HATES it when you go to the Lord’s Supper repenting of your sins and trust in God’s forgiveness as the words of the meal proclaim. Because through this wonderful gift, God’s kingdom comes, and His will is being done, and God is delivering you from temptation and keeping you from the evil one! For through this wonderful gift, Christ gives us victory over sin, death, and the devil. And He strengthens us to put to death our sinful desires, and He strengthens us to live a new life in Him.

THIS IS WHY OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES CENTER AROUND THIS MEAL. Because meaningful spiritual battle happens at this rail. We receive His body and blood as a “daily pasture and sustenance” as Luther says. Christ gives His body and blood here to seek and destroy sin within you. Thus, Christ conquers Satan here. For Satan has nothing to accuse a Christian of when they’re smothered with Jesus’ forgiving body and blood!

Since life is given for life here, you’ve been set free from your bondage to your sin and are free to live a new life to God apart from your sins! We receive this meal as a true treasure and gift. Because Christians are attacked CONSTANTLY by the sinful flesh, the world, and devil. And so, this life giving meal is the medicine of immortality that cures you and gives you life in body and soul.

Since these benefits are so great, we gather weekly around this meal. What gives this meal its forgiving benefits isn’t my faith, my heart, or how I feel it’s special. And so, many Christians have before said that I want to take the Lord’s Supper only once a month, or once a quarter, lest it no longer becomes a special gift to me. But such a statement is a bit misplaced. Because its not our faith that gives the Sacrament value, it’s what Christ gives that makes it valuable!

Bryan Wolfmueller, an LCMS pastor, has answered the question, “Does having the Supper too often take away from its specialness?” in this way.

This is a regular concern for Christians. They worry that frequent Communion would tempt people to despise the Sacrament. Afterall, Thanksgiving can’t be had every week. But this brings us to the mystery of spiritual satisfaction. Regarding earthly things, desire and satisfaction are opposites. If I desire and hunger for food, it is because I do not have it. When I have eaten and am full and satisfied, I no longer desire food. But spiritual things work differently. When we have the Lord’s Word, we want more of it. Or sadly, when we don’t have the Lord’s Word, we despise it even more. The more we skip church, the less we want to go to church. With the gifts of the Gospel, the more we are satisfied with them, the more we long for them. It’s always possible to despise the Sacrament. But frequent communion is an aid against this.”

So as you can see, the issue isn’t that we have it too much. The issue is that we should have it as often as we can receive it! As often as Christians gather in the remembrance of Jesus, we should ‘do this’. Because the gifts and benefits it gives, aid us in our spiritual battle against Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh. And when this great gift is received in true faith, we can rest assured that life was given for life. Thus, we truly have peace with our heavenly Father.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston