Matthew 26:17-18. Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples carne to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? And he said. Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.
See here the blending of Christ's humiliation and his Godhead. The Master had no room of his own in which he could keep the passover. He had not even where to lay his head; yet such was his power, that he had only to send messengers to one whom he knew, though perhaps the man knew not him; and as soon as ever the message was delivered, the large upper room, furnished and prepared, was at once freely tendered for the celebration of the supper. Jesus Christ, even in his lowest estate, had the hearts of all men beneath his control.
Matthew 26:19-21. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
This was a very unpleasant thought to bring into the midst of those who were gathered there for the memorial feast, yet it was most suitable for such. a message to be spoken at the passover, for at its institution the Lord said to Moses, «With bitter herbs they shall eat it;» and here was something bitter enough. I hope we shall have our Master's presence at the communion table, yet it will be well for our joy to be sobered with such a painful thought as this, there may be a traitor with us even here.
Matthew 26:22. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
The habit of self-suspicion, rather than suspecting somebody else, is a good one. If there is anyone in this place who is going to commit a gross sin, why may it not be myself? The natural tendency of each one of us is to say, «I shall never do such a thing as that, I am sure.» Ah, me! If grace were truly reigning in our heart, we should each one be suspicious of itself, and not of others, and the question of each one would be, «Lord, is it I?» Not one of the apostles asked, «Lord, is it Judas?» or, «Is it So-and-so?» but every one of them began to say unto him, «Lord, is it I?»
Matthew 26:23-24. And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
Remember, this «woe» applies, not only to Judas Iscariot, but to anyone else who betrays Christ. Oh! if, under the pressure of persecution, or if, being bribed by some present pleasure, or if, through our own natural fickleness, we should betray our Master, woe unto us! May the Lord, by his almighty grace, keep us from committing such a sin as that! If we do betray our Lord, it would have been better for us that we had not been born.
Matthew 26:25-26. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating,
While yet the paschal supper was proceeding: «As they were eating,»
Matthew 26:26. Jesus took bread, and blessed it,
Or, as the marginal reading says, «gave thanks for it,»
Matthew 26:26. And brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
That is to say, «This represents my body.» Our Lord could not possibly have meant that the bread was his body, for there was his body sitting whole and entire at the table; and they would have been astonished beyond measure if they had understood him literally. But they did not do so, for they were well used too the Oriental custom of leaving out the word for «like», and just saying, «It is so-and-so.» Besides, Christ had also said, «I am the door,» «I am the way,» «I am the good Shepherd;» and there is also that striking sentence, «I am the rose of Sharon.» No idiot ever understood these passages literally; and those are more foolish than idiots who render literally these words: «This is my body.» They are wickedly, and wantonly, and willfully foolish, in thus misrepresenting our Saviour's meaning.
Matthew 26:27. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
That is,» Drink of it, every one of you.» Was this the institution of the Lord's supper? Yes; but what say the Romanists? Why, that the people may not drink of the cup, and so they keep it away from them; but our Saviour says to this representative company of all his disciples, «Drink ye all of it.»
Matthew 26:28-29. For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you. I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
«In that joy-day, that day of days, when the battle will have been fought, and the victory won for ever, then will I pledge you in my Father's kingdom, and keep the feast with you for ever there.
Matthew 26:30. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Oh, how brave it was ion the Master's part to sing a Psalm just before he went out to be betrayed and to be crucified! Our second reading is also concerning the Lord's supper. Turn to the first Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 20. The Corinthian church, as I have often explained to you, was one that had no pastor. They had what is called «open» worship, everybody speaking who pleased; and there being no kind of government or discipline, they fell into every sort of disorder conceivable, and even the ordinance of the Lord's supper was utterly degraded among them. Here is what Paul wrote to them:
This exposition consisted of readings from Matthew 26:17-30; and 1 Corinthians 11:20-34.