Sermon for Maundy Thursday

Is it I?

Mark 14:12-26

Maundy Thursday, 2009 B

Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. The Holy Scripture for our consideration this day is the Gospel reading from St. Mark.

Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare, that you may eat the Passover?” And he sent out two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us.” So his disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them; and they prepared the Passover. In the evening he came with the twelve. Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me.” And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one, “Is it I?” And another said, “Is it I?” He answered and said to them, “It is one of the twelve, who dips with me in the dish. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.” And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as the Gospel says, they killed the Passover lamb. There is no getting around it. Every Thursday of the New Covenant – of the New Testament – every Thursday of the Mandate – every Maundy Thursday – is clouded over for us by the pending death of our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. There is no getting around it – just as there would be no Passover feast for our Lord and his disciples without the slaughter of the Passover lamb; there would be no Holy Feast instituted for us this evening without the suffering and death of Christ our Lord.

The original Passover was for the deliverance of Israel, God’s children, from the oppressive slavery of Egypt. They ate as those prepared to make a long journey. The frames and lintels of their doors were marked by the blood of the Lamb. Death passed over those homes, sparing the firstborn men of the Israelites, but taking all of the firstborn among the Egyptians. Pharaoh finally relented and released Israel, and they were instructed to keep the Passover so that they would never forget the mighty deliverance God gave them.

By the time God delivered the Law to Moses, written in tablets of stone, the people had already forgotten about their deliverance. They had forsaken the God who led them out of Egypt for a false idol, but they repented and God made a covenant with them. They swore, in our Old Testament reading, that, ‘All the words that the Lord has spoken, we will do.’ How quickly it changed, however. They would fall and repent, time and again, cursing God and blessing him. They would wander in the wilderness until that generation died off, and only then would their great deliverance from Egypt reach its completion in the land of Canaan.

Even now, thousands of years later, we know exactly what it is like to struggle with temptation and sin, just like the Israelites, and our Lord has established another Passover which tonight we celebrate. Yes – celebrate. Even in the midst of the shroud of death hanging over Jesus’ life – we celebrate the better Passover; the Passover given and shed for us on the cross for the remission of sins. It is for this reason, after all, that our Lord gave himself into suffering and death. Though it is glorious, he did not do it for glory. Though it is powerful, he did not do it for power. Our Lord took on flesh and then gave that flesh not for himself; but for you. This is why he gives us this new Passover meal which we are to eat and drink for the remission of sins.

For the disciples at the first Lord’s Supper, it was similar to the children of Israel at the first Passover. They saw what was happening, but wouldn’t understand the full meaning of the event until it was revealed later by God himself. When the Israelites learned of the death of every firstborn son of Egypt, they understood the price and the deliverance promised in their meal before travelling. In the same way, it took the death and resurrection of Jesus for the disciples to fully realize what Jesus meant when he said and did those things on that Thursday night.

We, on the other hand, have the benefit of being able to look at the whole situation in hindsight. We can read it in our book and we also live it in the liturgy, Sunday after Sunday; hearing, seeing, tasting, and receiving the promises of God in Jesus. We see the logical progression Jesus is making from life to death and to life again. We see how he truly is the fulfillment of Moses and the Prophets. What they promise, he delivers. But Jesus himself is also a prophet and makes promises and predictions too. One of them that is often glossed over, and it almost happens in our Gospel, is that of his own betrayal.

We know from elsewhere who it will be, but in this account it is left a mystery. The disciples are all asking the question, ‘is it I?’ Only one of them is the betrayer Jesus speaks of, but it is significant that all the disciples ask this. We know that they will resolve not to betray Jesus, and that some, like Peter, will actually swear never to deny the Lord. The intentions of the disciples, of course, fall short. They quickly learn that it is easy to make commitments, but it is not always easy to keep their words.

It was no different for the children of Israel, and it is no different for us. How many times have we determined that we would live our lives for God? How many times have we made a promise to God, ourselves, or our neighbors and failed? How many times have we repented of such failure and asked for forgiveness?

In this Gospel it is the disciples asking the question of who will betray our Lord. ‘Is it I?’ they wonder. We ask ourselves the same question, but we know the answer better than the disciples. We know that we are all betrayers when it comes to God because we are all sinners. Is it I? Yes, it is me; and you too. Betrayal is what gives Jesus over to the cross, and we are all guilty.

We cannot also forget, however, how Jesus treats the betrayers at the Last Supper. One is certainly singled out and condemned, but even he tastes the body and blood of Christ in that heavenly meal along with the rest of the disciples. It is a powerful image – Christ knows his betrayer, and still gives himself over, even to the betrayer. But then this is what still happens, even today. We are not so foolish to think that we have no need of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross; we confess that we sin and are sinful, and we need forgiveness.

Dear friends, just as Christ did not withhold forgiveness from disciples, that forgiveness is not withheld from us. He gives himself over on the cross so that we might have that forgiveness, and not merely forgiveness we hear about or read about and understand, but forgiveness that comes to us, touches us, and truly feeds us. God is flesh and blood for us, to this day. As we asked in the first hymn, ‘what is this bread?’ It is Jesus’ body, resurrected for our salvation. ‘What is this cup?’ It is the blood of Jesus, shed to give us life. Even more than that, though, is that it is for us. So, ‘Is it I, Lord?’ Yes, it is you, and most importantly it is for you that Jesus gives himself on the cross, in the bread, and in the cup, to set you free and make you forgiven.

To Christ alone be all the glory forever and ever, amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.