Matthew Highlights

The Passover Memorial didn't just celebrate physical redemption and deliverance from the Egyptians but from darkness, Sheol (the underworld of death), the waters of chaos and the powerful Sea Serpent, Leviathan and Satan, as well, which were the spiritual forces behind Pharaoh and Egypt. It is not just deliverance from the Egyptians but from the gods (demons) behind the Egyptians (Ex. 12:12; 15:11). To better appreciate this, we need to remember a little Creation History, which will provide the biblical context for the Exodus account (Ex. 1-15). Here are some general points in no particular order:

1. The Creation turned the chaotic waters (Gen. 1:2) into the waters of life (Gen. 2:10-14) by the wind of the Spirit moving on the waters (Gen. 1:2), splitting them (1:6-8), pushing away darkness and threat of death (1:4-5) while bringing forth light and life (1:3-31).
2. In re-creating through Noah's Flood, God blew a wind over the earth, pushing away darkness and death (Gen. 8:1) and bringing in a new creation of light and life (Gen. 9:1).
3. Going to Egypt is always a descent, and this descent is tied to the descent into Sheol, the place of death, in the Jacob and Joseph cycle. Joseph's descent into Egypt (Gen. 37:25) is tied to Jacob's descent into Sheol (Gen. 37:35). Therefore, when the Israelites are delivered it will be an ascent out of darkness and death into the light of the LORD and abundant life in His Land of Canaan (Gen. 46:4; Ex. 13:3-5, 21-22).
4. In the Exodus, God again blows a wind, parts the sea and Israel is brought through darkness and death and brought into a new creation of light and life of the Lord.
5. The whole Exodus account is sandwiched between two large bodies of water–the Nile (where Pharaoh tried to kill the sons of Israel–Ex. 1:22) and the Red Sea (where God delivered His son Israel from the waters–Ex. 14-15).
6. The Egyptians were “death” experts because of their expertise in mummification and supposed understanding of the afterlife.
7. The LORD didn't just fight against Pharaoh's physical armies but against the Sea where He slew the Serpent in the Sea and congealed (closed) the gates of Sheol (Ex. 14:14; Ex. 15:3). In the Bible, the Sea Dragon is also known as Leviathan, Yam (Sea), Mot (Death) and Tannin (KJV-usually whale) and Rahab.
8. As God splits the sea in Gen. 1, so He splits the Sea Dragon (Job 26:10-13): v. 13–He divides the Sea with His power, and by His understanding He smites through the Proud (in Hebrew–Rahab).
9. In Ps. 74 God slays the Sea Dragon in five bodies of water: Sea, Waters, Springs, Torrents and Mighty Rivers (74:12-15). God also slew the Sea Dragon in five bodies of water in the Exodus: Streams, Rivers, Ponds, Pools of Water and the Sea (Ex. 7:19).
10. Egypt in the physical realm represented by Pharaoh belonged to Satan in the spiritual realm (Ezek. 29:3; Is. 51:9; Ps. 89:5-10 with Ex. 15:11).
11. The same strong arm of the LORD that brought about creation, destroyed Rahab and the Dragon and the great deep and who dried up the Sea (Is. 51:9-10), also brought about the redemption of Israel in the Exodus (Ex. 6:6; 15:16; Deut. 4:34; 5:15).
12. In Psalm 18 Israel (David, the Believing Remnant, esp. going through the Tribulation Period and the Lord Jesus Christ, esp. on the Cross) will be delivered from the waters of chaos of physical and spiritual enemies, who are trying to bring them down to death, Sheol (Ps. 18:1-19 also see Ps. 144:7 and 124:4).
13. God gave a rod or staff to Aaron that becomes a serpent (Tannin=Dragon) that swallows up all the other serpents/dragons/Satanic gods of Egypt (Ex. 7:8-12). The Egyptians will also be swallowed up (Ex. 15:11-12).
14. The first 9 plagues can be broken up into 3 sets of 3 plagues. The first plague of each set begins with Moses confronting Pharaoh in the morning from the bank of the river as Pharaoh wades in the water like a Sea Dragon (Ex. 7:15; 8:20; 9:13).
15. In the first plague Aaron smites the water of Egypt, turning it to blood, a sign of death (Ex. 7:19-20). In the second plague Aaron stretches his hand over the waters of Egypt, bringing up frogs, which in Egyptian belief were associated with the underworld of Sheol (Ex. 8:6).
16. It is only the one true LORD GOD of Israel who can split Sea, slay the Sea Dragon and congeal the gates of Sheol (Ex. 15), while simultaneously destroying Pharaoh and his armies.
17. This is all just a precursor to far greater exodus and deliverance in the end times at Christ's 2nd coming when the Sea Dragon, the Serpent, Satan with his minions will be permanently destroyed. And it is all based on Christ's victory on the Cross.
18. And then, when everything is said and done, THERE WILL BE NO MORE SEA (Rev. 21:1)!

Last Sunday we finished up our overview of the Passover Memorial. Matthew 26 contains a succession of Memorials:

The MEMORIAL OF MARY and her family, who are memorialized for their extravagant praise and love of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mat. 26:6-13), which is reminiscent of God's MEMORIAL OF THE BELIEVING REMNANT mentioned in Mal. 3:16-17.

Then we have the PASSOVER MEMORIAL (Mat. 26:17-21), which memorialized the Exodus deliverance, which was not just a physical deliverance from the physical realm of Pharaoh and his armies but a spiritual deliverance from the spiritual realm of Satan and his armies, who stood behind Pharaoh, as well. In other words, it wasn't just the Egyptians against the Israelites. It was the Egyptian “gods” (Satan and his cohorts) against the One True LORD God of Israel.

Finally, we find the LAST SUPPER MEMORIAL (Mat. 26:26-29; Lk. 22:19), which memorialized the Lord Jesus Christ becoming the reality and substance of all the pictures and types found in the Passover Memorial. In the Passover, the sin and death that belonged to the firstborn sons of Israel was transferred to a substitute, the lamb or goat, by which their whole household would be spared. At the Last Supper, Jesus explains that He will now take all the sin and death that had been temporarily transferred to lambs for the past 1500 years, and He will do what the blood of lambs or goats could not do. He will die at the time the rest of the Nation of Israel is sacrificing their lambs as the one and only firstborn son of Israel, Israel's ultimate Son, the Son of David and the Son of God. God will take all Israel's death and sin and transfer it back from the lambs and transfer it directly onto the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby dealing with Israel's national sin and death once-and-for-all and for all time! This lays the groundwork for the salvation of His whole household, His people, the Nation of Israel.

In SUNDAY'S MATTHEW BIBLE STUDY FELLOWSHIP (Matthew 26), we read about the Last Supper Memorial Jesus had with Peter and the 12, which concluded with the singing of Psalm 118. Psalm 118 is a step-by-step account of Jesus's last week, beginning with His crossing the Jordan and entry into Jerusalem and ending with the binding of the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar by the King's friends (Ps. 118:15-27). We find in Ps. 118 an alternate ending to Jesus's earthly ministry to the one we find in Matthew. Instead of being betrayed and dragged to His death by His enemies, He could have been triumphantly escorted to the Cross by His friends, who would joyously sing their farewells, knowing that they would see Him again in three days for GOD WAS GOING TO RAISE HIM FROM THE DEAD (Mat. 20:19; 26:32)! Remember Jesus had said over and over in Matthew that He must go to the Cross. He is going to die on the Cross at a certain time on a certain day. It didn't matter what anyone else said or did. When the nation of Israel was sacrificing their lambs for the Passover, Jesus must be sacrificed on the Cross, period. It was the Father's will: IT WILL HAPPEN! Jesus really takes Himself to the Cross. With one word He could have blown away all the Roman soldiers (Jn. 18:6), and at a moment's notice He could have called down 12 Legions (78,000 angels) of angelic armies (Mat. 26:53). Jesus is directing everything and will be on that Cross at the right time in perfect accord with the Father's plan (Mat. 26:39, 42). His friends could have escorted Him in faith to the Cross, singing Psalm 118 the whole way. But instead they denied Him and scattered in unbelief (Mat. 26:31-35), leaving Him all alone in the hands of His enemies. In not willingly operating according to Ps. 118 in faith, they ended up unwillingly operating in accord with Zech. 13:7: Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered

The binding of the sacrifice to the altar terminology is similar to what Abraham did in the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22:9). Abraham in faith obeyed God's Word with confidence and hope (Gen. 22:5) because he knew that God would raise Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:17-19). This was a picture of what God would do when He sacrificed His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, only where Abraham's hand was stopped, God's hand will not be stopped. In the same way, the Nation of Israel, if they had received Christ in faith, could have in faith obeyed God's Word in Ps. 118:14-29 and escorted Christ to His death. Instead, the nation as a whole rejected Him and put Him there in rebellious unbelief. All His followers left Him, so He had to do it Himself, all alone.

Someone in the discussion at the end of the message made the excellent observation that connected this to the account of Jonah, which is a thread that runs through the Gospel of Matthew (Mat. 12:39-40 and 16:4), referring to the sign of the death and resurrection of Christ in 3 days and 3 nights. You remember the Jonah story, if the ship and its passengers were to be saved, they must throw Jonah into the waters. They didn't want to do that, so they tried other things first, like throwing the stowage overboard and rowing with every ounce of strength they had to get to shore. But nothing worked. The storm was too big for them. Jonah MUST be cast into the sea. So, they finally took Jonah and threw him overboard, fearing the LORD exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD. And the LORD had prepared a great fish and Jonah was preserved in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights, and then the LORD his God brought him out the belly and back into life, “resurrecting” him (Jonah 1). And this led to the salvation of the ship and its passengers and brought about the repentance of Nineveh. The connections are almost too numerous and obvious to mention. Jesus too MUST be thrown into the waters of death, but no need for despair because God will preserve Him and resurrect Him in 3 days and nights, providing salvation to the “ship and passengers” of the Nation of Israel, who will extend those blessings out to the Gentile world for repentance.

For believers today, the Psalms are probably the most misused book in the Bible. Believers are told to devotionalize and spiritualize the Psalms, make them your own, name them and claim them for yourself. Take out God's word “David” and replace it with your own name. Take out God's word “Jerusalem” and replace it with your hometown. And worse of all, take out God's word “Israel” and replace it with the Church, the Body of Christ! In doing this, our religious leaders suggest, we are being spiritual. But this isn't spiritual; it's carnal. It doesn't value God and His Word; it trivializes them. So, here are some guidelines for reading the Psalms today in the Dispensation of Grace, and getting the most out of them.

1. The Psalms are for our learning but are not written specifically to and about us. The Psalms are part of the NON-Pauline Scriptures. That means that today we must read and study them following the instruction of our Apostle Paul in Rom. 15:4. The Psalms are not written specifically to and about us today in God's Mystery Program for the Body of Christ, but they are for our learning through right division of God's Word (Rom. 15:4-16). Someone trying to argue this point with me said that the Psalms tell us to “Trust in the Lord.” Aren't we supposed to trust in the Lord? Of course, the answer is yes and no. Yes, we most certainly are to trust in the Lord BUT we today in the Dispensation of Grace don't trust in the Lord for the same things as David did. Remember, David was participating in God's Prophetic Program for the Nation of Israel. In that program, God was manifesting THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN SAVING HIS FRIENDS AND DESTROYING HIS ENEMIES. Therefore, when David trusted in the Lord to destroy his and God's enemies, he was singing in complete accord with God's Word to Israel (Ps. 3:7; 54:4-5; 60:12; 79:10; 79:65-66; 118:7; and on and on in almost every Psalm!). But today, God has temporarily set aside His Prophetic Program with Israel, and we are participating in His Mystery Program for the Body of Christ, and in this program God is now manifesting THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN SAVING AND BLESSING HIS ENEMIES BECAUSE HE HAS NO FRIENDS! Therefore, if we pray David's prayer, we will be operating contrary to God and His Word to us. Today, we are not trusting in the Lord to destroy our enemies. We are trusting in the Lord to SAVE our enemies (Rom. 3:21-25; 5:6-11; 1 Tim. 2:1; et al.)!

So then, how do we today read and study the Psalms for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Rom. 15:4)?

2. From the human side: Minor Application–Something in David's History: From the human side, the Psalmist (usually David), inspired by the Holy Spirit, takes something from his history (usually something distressful but sometimes something happy) and writes a song (psalm) about it. Often times the heading of the Psalm tells us who wrote the psalm or who it is for (usually the musicians). Many time it also gives the specific historical situation (Ps. 18; 30; 51; 63; 92; etc.). When we are not told explicitly what the historical situation is (as in Ps. 118), we can many times determine the setting by being familiar with the Historical Writings of the Bible, especially the histories of David and Solomon and the Courses of Punishment. Certainly, if we can spend years learning a trade or getting an education and advanced degree, and if we can spend vast amounts of time learning our favorite sports statistics and watching entertainment, certainly we can spend a little time learning some of the highlights of Israel's history to better understand God's Word. It all comes down to the matter of priorities.
3. From the Divine side: Major Application #1–Applied to the Lord Jesus Christ: The Holy Spirit takes the Psalm and magnifies and expands portions of it, applying them to the ultimate Son of David, who is also the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The classic example of this is Ps. 22 where the Holy Spirit takes the Psalm far beyond anything David experienced and applies it to the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. This is also true of Ps. 118 where the Holy Spirit takes David's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and applies it to Jesus's (not so) triumphal entry into Jerusalem in His final week as He heads to the Cross.
4. From the Divine side: Major Application #2–Applied to the Believing Remnant of Israel, Especially During The Tribulation Period: More generally, the Holy Spirit makes David the representative of the Believing Remnant of Israel, and applies the Psalms to them, which will have special importance to them as they go through the Tribulation Period in the end times of Daniel's Time Schedule.

We make use of the Psalms in accord with God and His Word not by naming and claiming them for ourselves. Rather, we study the Psalms to watch God faithfully working in His Prophetic Program, fulfilling all His promises to the Nation of Israel, and when we see that Paul says it will strengthen our patience, enhance our comfort and increase our hope because we can rest assured that He will be just as faithful to us today in His Mystery Program, fulfilling all His promises to the Body of Christ.

1. MINOR APPLICATION: The Psalms are based upon something in the Psalmist's (usually David's) actual history. In our example of Ps. 118, we studied this last week.
2. MAJOR APPLICATION #1: This week we looked at Holy Spirit magnifying this Psalm and applying it to the earthly ministry of Christ, especially His final week, which we are reading about in Mat. 20-26. Jesus, as the rejected King, takes the same route David did but instead of being received by the people of Israel as David was, the rejected King was rejected again. The only ones to give Him full and complete welcoming praise are the two blind men in Jericho, who address Him as O LORD, O LORD, thou Son of David (Mat. 20:29-34). The multitudes of Israel reject this designation and rebuke the blind men (Mat. 20:31). They edited out of Ps. 118:25 O LORD, O LORD and replaced it with the lesser address of thou Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord (Mat. 21:9), and the populace of Jerusalem asked: Who is this? The best the multitudes could say is the Prophet from Nazareth. Incomplete and superficial praise indeed. Without the O LORD, O LORD, all these other titles are insufficient when addressing who Jesus really is. Then when Jesus went to the Temple instead of receiving a warm welcome like David did, the religious leaders refused to even address Him as thou Son of David who comes in the name of the Lord. In fact, the stone that the builders had rejected was still being rejected. The establishment of the Kingdom and the rejoicing of Jerusalem would have to wait until His 2nd Coming. For now, it was only weeping (Lk. 19:41) and woes (Mat. 23). The nation could have received Him as their Savior and King (as Israel did David in his days) but instead they continued to reject him. The Nation of Israel could have ushered Jesus to the altar out of faith singing Ps. 118 the whole way, offering Him up to God like Abraham did with Isaac, but instead they rejected and refused Him in unbelief. Jesus would have to do it on His own by His enemies.
3. MAJOR APPLICATION #2: Finally, the Holy Spirit magnifies these Psalms to be generally applicable to the Believing Remnant of Israel, especially as they go through the final 7 year Tribulation Period of Daniel's Time Schedule, the final installment of the 5th Course of Punishment (or Chastisement). During this time more than ever, they will need to rely on the Davidic Covenant for their salvation. It is there that God's mercy endures forever for them. They will need to learn from David that the LORD is on their side and to trust in Him alone, not men or princes, relying on the grace resident in His Jehovah Name for their salvation (Ps. 118:1-18). At Christ's 2nd Coming believing Israel will look on the one they pierced (when He acted as their sacrifice) and receive their King, and He will usher them through the gates of righteousness and into the Kingdom where the Lord Jesus Christ, who had been rejected the 1st time will be received the 2nd time, will be placed by God as the chief cornerstone on David's everlasting throne for the establishment of God's everlasting Kingdom over the Earth in His everlasting mercy (Ps. 118:19-26).

In SUNDAY'S MATTHEW BIBLE STUDY FELLOWSHIP, we began looking at the Lord's Supper. What is it exactly? We began to answer this question by laying some foundation work from 1 Cor. 10 where Paul gives some very helpful examples and defines his terms.

Historically man-made religious and man-centered theological systems claimed that they were the ones who decided what was and what was not the Lord's Supper. One major religion claims the Lord's Supper is a wafer and cup of wine that undergoes transubstantiation, becoming the actual body and blood of Christ so that He can be sacrificed over and over again. Others use only a cracker with grape juice claiming that they are remembering the death of Christ. Some do it weekly, others monthly or just periodically. It is usually considered a very solemn and somber ritual, though some treat it more like a common meal.

But all of this is fruitless because it doesn't matter what men and their religious and theological systems say. What matters is what God and His Word say! To illustrate this, Paul draws our attention to an example in Israel's history (1 Cor. 10:1-7), the Golden Calf Incident in Ex. 32:1-10. You remember what happened there. While Moses was up on the mountain talking with the LORD, the Israelites were down in the valley committing idolatry and fornication. They told Aaron to get Up, make us gods, which shall go before us! Aaron did as they commanded, gathering all their gold jewelry, and then he fashioned them into a molten calf, saying: These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Then Aaron made an official religious proclamation: TOMORROW IS A FEAST UNTO THE LORD. And the people rose early on the morrow and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play (a euphemism for sexual immorality) (Ex. 32:6).

So, there the Israelites were, murmuring, complaining, rejecting God and what He was doing at that time through His messenger Moses, desiring to return to Egypt and turn to the pagan idols and the devil gods that were behind those idols, engaging in all kinds of idolatry and sexual immorality (by the way, all things that the Corinthians were having trouble with as well!). And their great religious leader Aaron, no doubt decked out in his priestly garments, waving his priestly accoutrements, resonating his voice in a deep solemn tenor announced: WE SHALL HAVE A FEAST TO THE LORD TOMORROW! A LORD'S FEAST! In the midst of all this rebellion against the LORD, Aaron (like the so-called religious leaders of our day!) thought he had the authority to claim what was and what was not A FEAST UNTO THE LORD, A LORD'S FEAST, or perhaps going one step further: A LORD'S SUPPER! But he was wrong. What mattered wasn't what Aaron and the Israelites thought. What mattered is what the LORD thought!

And we find out exactly what the LORD thought of Aaron's presumed feast/supper unto the LORD in the following verses: And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down for thy people, which thou brought out of the land of Egypt, have CORRUPTED THEMSELVES! They turned quickly out of the way which I commanded them: They have made them a molten calf and have worshipped it and have sacrificed thereunto and said: These be thy gods, o Israel ... I have seen this people, behold a stiff-necked people: Now, therefore, let Me alone that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them ... (Ex. 32:7-10). Well, there you have it. The One who decides what is and what is not a LORD'S FEAST OR A LORD'S SUPPER or A LORD'S CUP or A LORD'S TABLE is ... THE LORD! It is not humans, even religious humans, even human religious leaders. It is the LORD.

This is as true today as it was back in Israel's history. So, the question we need to ask is not how your religious system does the “Eucharist” or how your denomination does communion or what your theological system says about the Lord's Supper. The only question we should ask is what does God say is a true LORD'S SUPPER, LORD'S TABLE, LORD'S CUP and LORD'S BREAD? What does He accept and acknowledge? We don't have to guess because right after Paul gives us the example of the Golden Calf Incident (1 Cor. 10:1-7), he goes on to give us the LORD'S SUPPER for today in the Dispensation of Grace that truly pleases Him.

Paul says that the LORD'S CUP today is a Cup of Blessing, that comes from fellowshipping (communing) around the blessings that flow out of the Blood of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16a), which include: Redemption, propitiation and forgiveness of sins (Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7), justification and life (Rom. 5:9-10) and reconciliation (Eph. 2:13). Today, we drink from the LORD'S CUP when we fellowship and associate together and relate one to another in intimate union with the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:9), enjoying and sharing the blessings made possible through His death on the Cross.

And the LORD'S BREAD that we break is the fellowshipping together in one Body, the Body of Christ. For we being many are one BREAD and one BODY (the spiritual Body of Christ) (1 Cor. 10:16b). Believers are placed by the Holy Spirit into the one Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), where their hearts are comforted, being knit together in Love (Agape Love–the self-sacrificial love of Christ on the Cross), built-up together in the full acknowledgement of the Mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, which was revealed to and through the Apostle Paul (Col.1:21-2:2; Eph. 3:1-9; Rom. 16:25).

In God's sight, a true LORD'S SUPPER, made up of joyfully and thankfully drinking form the LORD'S CUP and eating of the LORD'S BREAD at the LORD'S TABLE, only occurs when believers eat and drink together (which includes literal as well as metaphorical eating and drinking) in fellowship around the blessings that flow through the death of Christ for them, enjoying and sharing them one with another, being comforted and knit together in the Agape Love, which flows out of God's Mystery Truth revealed to and through Paul's distinct apostleship by the Holy Spirit.

Whatever man-made and man-centered systems may say (like Aaron), anything short of this displeases God. Just as Israel corrupted itself and turned quickly from the way God commanded them to follow through His spokesman, Moses, so too most of historic Christianity in its rebelliousness has corrupted itself and turned quickly from the way God commanded them to follow through His spokesman for today, the Apostle Paul (Ex. 32:7-8). They have replaced God's Mystery truth through the Word rightly-divided with their own human rituals out of their own vain imaginations. Like Aaron, to claim to offer a FEAST/SUPPER to the LORD in the midst of such rebellion is, in fact, not to offer up a LORD'S FEAST, SUPPER, TABLE, CUP or BREAD at all (1 Cor. 11:20) and can easily turn into a feast, supper, cup and bread of devils (I Cor. 10:20-21), something unworthy of the LORD, bringing guilt and shame onto themselves, others and the whole Body of Christ (1 Cor. 11:17-22; 27-28).

Last time we looked at Who Decided What Is A Lord's Supper and determined that it wasn't man-made religious or man-centered theological systems that determine it. It is not determined by what your religion or denomination or sect or church says. It is determined by the Lord and what He says in Paul's Epistles!

And what does God say about having a communal supper with fellow believers unto the Lord today in the Dispensation of Grace that pleases Him? For that we must start with 1 Cor. 10 not where most start in 1 Cor. 11. In 1 Cor 10, God says that today the Lord's Cup is the Cup of Blessing we bless, the communion (fellowship) of the blood of Christ. And the Lord's Bread that we break is the communion (fellowship) of His (spiritual) body, the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16-17). Of course, it is self-evident that these are not the same Cup and Bread found in the Last Supper of the Gospel accounts. In the Last Supper, the broken Bread represented Jesus's physical body that would soon be broken on the Cross which would occur when He drank from the Cup of Wrath, whereby shedding His blood for the “many” to provide for Israel's New Covenant blessings (Mat. 26-27). In the Last Supper the Bread was broken FIRST, which led to the taking of the Cup SECOND.

Today, we have a Lord's Supper on the Lord's Table when we drink from the Lord's Cup of blessing that was made possible through His shed blood on the Cross FIRST, and then enjoying those blessings and sharing them with our fellow believers in the Body of Christ SECOND so that the lost can be saved and the saved can be edified, built up in the Lord's things for today (1 Cor. 10:16,24, 33). Everything flows out of Agape Love because this is the only way that everything will be unto the glory of God (1 Cor. 16:14 with 1 Cor. 10:31).

So, we return to our original question. What is happening when an assembly of believers has a TRUE LORD'S SUPPER TODAY? A Lord's Supper that pleases the Lord? It all begins by communing or fellowshipping around the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:9) but that just begs the question of what fellowshipping around the Lord consists of:

1. There must be Fellowshipping around Paul's Gospel: Always in every prayer of mine (Paul) for you all making request with joy for your FELLOWSHIP IN THE GOSPEL (Phil. 1:5), the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of Christ as preached by Paul (Rom. 16:25). All apostate Christianity (Christianity in name only) rejects this Gospel and, therefore, they cannot be having a Lord's Supper or Communion or a Lord's anything else. Unfortunately, even among believing Christianity there is much confusion because they have lost the simplicity of the Gospel (2 Cor. 11:3-4), teaching other gospels that are not gospel for today, especially the Gospel of the Kingdom. In doing so, no matter what they call it, they also are not having a Lord's Supper in the sight of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:20). You cannot claim to be fellowshipping with the Lord if you are not fellowshipping around the Lord's Good News for today, the Gospel of Grace, Paul's Gospel. Plain and simple.
2. There has to be fellowshipping around God's Mystery Truth to its full acknowledgement (Col. 2:2): God's goal today through the distinct apostleship of Paul is to make everyone see what is the FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY (Eph. 3:9). Today, the Lord has revealed to and through the Apostle Paul a new Program, His Mystery Program, which had been kept secret since the world began, for a new People, the Body of Christ, with the new Purpose of re-establishing His Glory in the Heavenly Realm (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:1-11). This is to be distinguished, rightly-divided, from what He had revealed before through the Law and the Prophets with regard to His previous (and future) Program, His Prophetic Program, which had been spoken about since the world began, for His previous (and future) People, the Nation of Israel, with His previous (and future) Purpose of re-establishing His Glory in the Earthly Realm (Lk. 1:70; Acts 3:21). All apostate Christianity and even the vast majority of true believing Christianity has, for the most part, rejected God's Mystery Truth. While the latter has at least believed Paul's Gospel, unfortunately they have rejected the rest of Paul's Mystery teachings, such as, the Body of Christ being distinct from the Nation of Israel, the Heavenly not the Earthly purpose and participation in the pre-millennial rapture not the Christ's 2nd Coming, and many other things like these.

As was true of the Israelites in the wilderness who didn't like what God was doing with them and wanted to go back to Egypt in rebellion, so too those who reject what God is doing today with the Body of Christ in accord with His Mystery Program, likewise wish to return to a place where the Lord is not working, to an “Egypt” of rebellion. In short, you cannot claim to be fellowshipping with the Lord if you are not fellowshipping around what the Lord is actually doing today as revealed in God's Mystery Truth recorded in Paul's Scriptures. Plain and simple.

3. This must all occur within the FELLOWSHIPPING OF THE SPIRIT (Phil. 2:1), which involves giving believers the mindset of Agape Love that Christ had when as absolute God He became of no reputation, took on the form of a servant, came in the likeness of humanity and went to His death, even the death of the Cross for His enemies (Phil. 2:1-8; Rom. 5:5-10). Today, the Spirit is revealing and teaching believers Paul's Mystery Truths (Eph. 3:2-5) so that they can understand and appreciate the blessings God is freely giving us today: The All Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly Places In Christ (1 Cor. 2:12; Eph. 1:3). It is only through this fellowship of the Spirit that all things will be done unto the Glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). In short, you are not fellowshipping around the Lord if you are rejecting His Spirit's ministry to you. Plain and simple.
4. There must be a Fellowshipping of Service among the Members of the Body of Christ, a FELLOWSHIP OF THE MINISTERING TO THE SAINTS (2 Cor. 8:4). Paul puts it a little more succinctly in 1 Cor. 11:33: Tarry one for another!

Likewise, religious and theological systems today, and with them the vast majority of Christians, believe that they can have a feast or supper unto the Lord on the Lord's Table, drinking from the Lord's Cup and eating of the Lord's Bread all the while despising the things of the Lord! Despising His spiritual blessings in heavenly places for us today in Christ, murmuring and complaining, engaging in idolatry (which is coveting–Col. 3:5) and all manner of sexual immorality, turning away from His spokesman for today, the Apostle Paul (Rom. 2:4), rejecting His Mystery Program for the Body of Christ and wishing to return to His Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel. It is impossible, and Paul tells us exactly what the Lord thinks of it: I PRAISE YOU NOT! You come together NOT for the better but for the worse! I PRAISE YOU NOT (1 Cor. 11:17, 22)

A true supper unto the Lord, a true Lord's Supper today, only occurs when the assembly of believers is drinking from the Cup of blessings that flow from His death on the Cross for sinners as enumerated in Paul's Gospel and explained in the context of God's Mystery Program as revealed to and through Paul for us by the Holy Spirit, who motivates us in accord with Agape Love, giving us the mind of Christ, and empowers us to selflessly serve God by serving others unto their edification. Plain and simple.

In the context of 1 Cor. 10-11, a Lord's supper occurs when an assembly of believers, characterized by fellowshipping around the Lord (1 Cor. 1:9), comes together for a meal to celebrate the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fellowshipping around the Lord requires fellowshipping around Him and the things that are important to Him today, namely, Paul's Gospel, the Gospel of Grace, the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of Christ understood in the context of His Mystery Program, which is what the Holy Spirit is revealing and teaching today (1 Cor. 1-2; Eph. 3:1-11). You cannot claim to be fellowshipping with the Lord if you disregard, deny, reject, trivialize Him and/or the things that are important to Him.

The very definition of the word “fellowshipping” means people coming together who value the same things, have the same interests, are heading the same direction, who have, in short, the SAME MIND, which in the case of the Lord's Supper would be having THE MIND OF CHRIST operating in the Agape Love way (Phil. 1:1-8; 1 Cor. 2:12-16). To claim to be fellowshipping around the Lord while rejecting His things, like Paul's Gospel, the Gospel of Grace, and/or the Preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the MYSTERY (Rom. 16:25), is NOT fellowshipping with the Lord. It may be hypocritical monologuing with the Lord, but one thing it is NOT is fellowshipping with the Lord.

Paul gives the Golden Calf Incident as an example. In the midst of Israel's rejection of the Lord's things and rebelliousness against Him, their religious leader, Aaron, decided to have a feast, a supper, unto the Lord. The Lord was quick in giving His own opinion on Aaron's “Lord's Supper”: Moses get out of the way so that I can go down and consume them (1 Cor. 10:7; Ex. 32:1-10)! That's the problem in Corinth as well. In the midst of all their rejection of the Lord's things and rebelliousness against Him, like Aaron and the Israelites, they claimed to be having suppers unto the Lord, a Lord's Supper. But the Lord was again quick to give His opinion of the Corinthian's Lord's Supper through the Apostle Paul: Paul, go and tell them that NO! That is NOT a Lord's Supper!! I praise you NOT. You come together NOT for the better but for the worse! All your so-called suppers unto the Lord are doing is despising the church of God (the Body of Christ) and shaming its members. I praise you NOT (1 Cor. 11:17-22)!!!

So, putting this all together: A true Lord's Supper is carried out by a group of believers who are fellowshipping around the Lord and His things. They are responsive to the Holy Spirit ( ie., they have the Fellowship of the Spirit--Phil. 2:1), who teaches them Paul's Gospel, the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of Christ (ie., they have the Fellowship of the Gospel--Phil. 1:5) in the context of the Mystery (ie., they have the Fellowship of the Mystery--Eph. 3:9), which equips them to serve one another selflessly out of Agape Love unto their edification (ie., they have the Fellowship of Ministering to the Saints--2 Cor. 8:4). If this characterizes an assembly of believers 24/7, then when they come together for any purpose, including a meal, it will truly be unto the Lord, a true Lord's Supper, that is pleasing and acceptable to Him.

And when this happens, they will indeed be showing, putting on display, proclaiming, preaching Christ's death until His return at the Rapture (1 Cor. 11:26). To the lost, salvation (1 Cor. 10:33). To the saved, edification (1 Cor. 10:23-24). And to the powers and principalities in Heavenly places, to the whole angelic realm: THE MANIFOLD WISDOM OF GOD (Eph. 3:10)!

So, do I think the “Lord's Supper” is “for today”? The answer is yes and no. It is most certainly not the religious ritual historic Christianity has embraced, carried out for the most part by those who have perverted the simplicity of the Lord's Gospel of Grace, the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of Christ, and who have rejected the Lord's Mystery Program truth for today that comes through Paul's distinct apostleship. Rather a true Lord's Supper is a supper unto the Lord, whereby a group of believers with the Mind of the Lord fellowship around the Lord and His things—His Gospel in the context of His Mystery Program--using the occasion as an opportunity to serve the Lord by serving others based on the Lord's Agape Love displayed at the Cross, and which the indwelling Holy Spirit overflows into our hearts by faith as we look at the Lord Jesus Christ and His Cross.

This is one of the most frequent questions I have gotten during our study of the Gospel of Matthew: Why didn't the disciples understand Christ's Death and Resurrection? People try to grapple with this question by going to two extremes. One extreme is rather blunt: How stupid could they be? Or maybe a little more politely: How could they be so dull, so dense? The other extreme by the more sympathetic suggests that they couldn't be that stupid and dense so God must have hidden this truth from them, and they usually go to Lk 18:34 for biblical support.

Of course, the underlying presupposition to both these answers (and all answers in between, for that matter) is that if WE were in the disciple's shoes, WE would never have been so stupid, dull and dense. WE would have quickly embraced what Jesus said and completely and enthusiastically received it in faith! But is this true? Or, are we just fooling ourselves? Through Paul, God has plainly taught that in the Dispensation of Grace He is dispensing spiritual blessings not physical blessings (Rom. 1-8 and Eph. 1-3 for starters). So, what do we say? Spiritual blessings are ok ... but what I really need, God, are physical blessings! Give Me Those! NOW!! Again, God plainly has explained in Paul's Epistles that today His Purpose is to re-establish His Glory in the Heavenlies. Yet what do we say: No, God, I'm not really interested in the heavenlies. I'm interested in my own little world in the earthly sphere! I need YOU to get involved in that and serve me! NOW!! And then we spend our prayer lives trying to coerce God to do what He has expressly said He isn't doing today! Doesn't this sound like what Peter and the disciples were doing?

Today, we as believers are no better at hearing, believing, accepting, and embracing God's truth than anyone else has been in history. Think about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the Israelites after the Exodus. God personally fellowshipped with Adam and Eve in the Garden, yet they followed the serpent. One asks: How could they have been so dumb and foolish? And at the Exodus God delivered the Israelites and destroyed the Egyptians, yet on the other side of the sea, they murmured and complained and desired to leave the Lord and return to Egypt! How could they be so stupid? How could they respond that way? Well, they responded the same way we respond to most of God's truth for today—by rejecting it in unbelief. The problem wasn't that God hid Himself from the Israelites. In fact, the very purpose of the Exodus was to reveal and teach them about the Grace Resident in His Jehovah Name. But in rejecting that, it became covered over with the wisdom of the world, making God's truth fall by the wayside, ultimately being hid from them.

Let's, as they say, get real. Peter and the 12 were no more UNresponsive to Jesus's teachings at that time than we are Unresponsive to God's truth for today. The indisputable fact is that Jesus taught them CLEARLY about His death and resurrection OVER-AND-OVER-AGAIN (Mat. 16:21; 20:17-19; Mk 10:32-34; Lk 18:31-33; Jn 12:32-33, and many other times), and He expected them to hear, believe and operate in accord with that knowledge. If Jesus revealed this truth to Peter, but it was, in fact, impossible for Peter to understand because God hid it from him, then how could Jesus legitimately rebuke Peter in Mat 16:23 for not knowing it? It is impossible. Are we to think that while God the Son was revealing these truths to the disciples, God the Father was immediately hiding the same truths from them? That would be an odd way for the Triune Godhead to work, especially since Jesus says repeatedly that the words He says are only the words of the Father (Jn 14:10,24)!

So then, in what sense were these truths “hid” from them so that they didn't understand them? We cannot read things into Lk 18:34. It says these truths were hid from them, but it doesn't say God is the One who hid them, making them impossible to know. Matthew gives us the direct answer to this question. After instructing the disciples regarding His upcoming death and resurrection (Mat 16:21), Peter rejects that truth and rebukes Jesus (16:22). In Peter's thinking, and the thinking of Israel's religious system, the idea of a Messiah and King who would go through humiliating suffering and die on a Roman Cross was most definitely not an option. They thought the real Messiah and King must come in Power and Glory, destroying the Gentiles! Peter was telling Jesus to turn away from doing it God the Father's way and to instead do it his, Peter's, way! Thus, Jesus's counter rebuke of Peter commanding him to: Get thee behind me Satan (16:23)!

According to God and Matthew, Jesus's teaching about His death and resurrection to His disciples became hidden not because God was hiding what Jesus said from them but because: THEY WERE SAVORING NOT THE THINGS THAT BE OF GOD BUT THOSE THAT BE OF MEN! Jesus's truths became hidden to the disciples, for the same reason God's truth for us today has for the most part become hidden to us: Because they and we replace God's things with our own things. His truth with the world's lies. His desires and interests with the interests and desires of men, all of which blinds us to them and hides them from us because of UNBELIEF.

We have been seeing throughout the Book of Matthew what happened when Jesus's disciples refused to hear the words of Jesus and accept the plan of God. Oh, they “heard” the words “physically” but they didn't accept them in faith and cling to them as their own. Instead, they tried to replace and bury them with their own words of men and their own plan (Mat. 16:21-22). Their own plan didn't include persecution, suffering and death on a Roman Cross (Mat. 16:23). The disciples thought they could win by trusting in the power of their flesh and the sword rather than on God (Mat. 26:41, 51). Instead of trusting in Jesus's and God's way, they tried to get Jesus and God to do things their way, and ended up becoming spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted, because they couldn't do it on their own. Everything had to be done in accord with Jesus's words and God's Plan of the Cross. End of story.

According to their own thinking, the Cross meant that all their plans were coming apart at the seams. But if they had listened to Jesus, they would have known that the Cross, in fact, meant that all the things of God's plan were coming together into one coherent and complete whole. They thought the Cross was a reason for despair and defeat. If they had listened to Jesus, they would have known that it was, in fact, full of hope and victory because of the resurrection. They thought the Cross would lead to everything being left unfinished. If they had listened to Jesus, they would have realized that, in fact, the Cross completed everything in God's Purpose for Israel and the establishment of her Kingdom. They thought the Cross brought to ruin of all that God had promised. If they had listened to Jesus, they would have known that it was, in fact, the fulfillment of all God's promises and would provide for the restoration of national Israel in her Kingdom and the re-establishment of God's Glory on earth!

As a result of rejecting Jesus's words and God's plan, and being unable to fulfill their own plan, the disciples fell spiritually asleep and became emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted (Mat. 26:36-56). And the same thing is true for us today in the Dispensation of Grace when we reject the Risen Lord's words with regard to what He is doing today in His Mystery Program as revealed to and through the Apostle Paul.

God says that today what is important to Him is His Mystery Program for the Body of Christ. So how does most of historic Christianity respond? We don't like Your Mystery Program, God. We want to be involved in Israel's Prophetic Program, and we try to go to the Law, Old Testament, Gospel Accounts and Pentecost to live the Christian life rather than the one place we could have really found it: Paul's Epistles. God says that today He is giving spiritual blessings, not physical blessings (Eph. 1:3). So how do we spend our “prayer” time? By trying to coerce God into changing plans, do what we say, and give us physical blessings. God says the only works that He accepts are the ones that He does in and through us. So, what do we do? We rely on ourselves to try to produce the Christian walk. God says He created a new entity called the Body of Christ for His Heavenly Purpose. What has most of historic Christianity said? No thanks God, we prefer to be Israel in your Earthly Purpose. On and on we could go with examples.

The fact is that we cannot claim to be fellowshipping with the Lord if we are denying His words and rejecting what is important to Him. You can say you are. You can pretend you are. But you are NOT (1 Cor. 11:20)! We can say we are praying, but if we have thrown away what is important to God and don't think much of what He values most today in the Dispensation of Grace, then all we are really doing is having a monologue with ourselves. Contrary to traditional teaching, getting saved is not our way to get God involved in our things. Getting saved is God's way to get us involved in His things! Is it any wonder that like the 12 in Matthew, despair and defeat characterizes our Christian lives? Overall, we respond to God's teaching to us as found in Paul's Scriptures, no differently than Peter and the 12 responded to Jesus's teachings to them. We think that our plan is much better than God's, and that if we could just coerce and conjole Him into changing plans and doing it our way everything would run well.

So, the next time we wonder why Jesus's disciples were so unresponsive to His teachings, maybe what we should be really asking is: Why are we so unresponsive to the Risen Lord Jesus Christ's teachings to us as recorded in Paul's Letters?

On Sunday we continued to follow Jesus on His way to the Cross and Resurrection. We looked at Jesus' trial before Pilate and the account of Barabbas, after which Pilate sends Jesus to the Cross.

Two thousand years before this account in Matthew, God told Abraham to go Mt. Moriah to sacrifice his only begotten son Isaac but his hand was stopped from doing this by the Lord, who instead promised that He would provide HIMSELF a sacrifice (Gen. 22:2-14). Fast forward about one thousand years, and we see David buying a threshing floor from Araunah the Jebusite to build an altar unto the LORD on that same mountain, Mt. Moriah (2 Sam. 24:24), which becomes the Temple Mount and the city of Jerusalem. Fast forward another 30 years, and we see Solomon building the Temple on this site on Mt. Moriah (2 Chron. 3:1). Fast forward another thousand years, and we see Jesus on this very same Mt. Moriah, in this very same Jerusalem, in this very same (re-built) Temple, and He has come to carry out what He promised to Abraham 2,000 years before. He has come to provide HIMSELF as the sacrifice. God the Father will offer up His only begotten Son on the Cross and through that provide the basis for not only completing His Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel to re-establish His glory on Earth, but also to complete His Mystery Program with the Body of Christ to re-establish His glory in the Heavenlies. Then, like the two wheels twirling in a finely tuned watch, God's two programs will be “twirling” in perfect accord, displaying the “time” of God's Glory forevermore (Eph. 1:10).

In the person of Joseph of Arimathea we have a little vignette of how salvation worked in God's Prophetic Program with Israel. Each of the four Gospels give a little bit of information about Joseph that is found in Mat. 27:57-60; Mk. 15:43; Lk. 23:50-51; Jn. 19:38. If we put these pieces together, we learn that Joseph was a rich man from Arimathea, a Jewish city. He was a respected member of the ruling Sanhedrin, which had just condemned Jesus to death although he did not consent to it. We also learn that he was a just and good man and a disciple of Jesus. Both of these terms refer to a relationship with the only Just and Good God. Evidently, Joseph heard and believed the Gospel of the Kingdom and just like Abraham 2,000 years before when he believed God's Word to him, God counted Joseph's faith for righteousness.

In other words, Joseph was spiritually “saved” in the sense of being justified before God and His Tribunal of Judgment of sinners unto eternal life by faith without works. All Joseph's individual and personal sins were forgiven, and he is eternally secure. The Apostle Paul explains that while neither Joseph nor Abraham knew anything about the Death and Resurrection of Christ, God did. Based on the work of His Son on the Cross, God can remain just while declaring unrighteous sinners right before Him by faith (Rom. 3:24-28).

So, Joseph has his big problem taken care of, but he still has another problem. According to the Gospel of John, yes, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but he was a secret disciple of Jesus because he feared the Jews (Jn. 19:38) who also was waiting for the Kingdom of God (Lk. 23:51; Mk. 15:43). And this is where the problem arises. Being a secret disciple is one way of denying Christ, and this is what Jesus said to His disciples about that:

Fear them not therefore, for nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in the light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body but are not able to kill the soul ... Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before My Father. (Mat. 10:26-28, 32-33)

While Joseph was justified before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life, by being a secret disciple, he was jeopardizing his desire to enter the Kingdom and participate fully in its benefits and privileges. He wanted to live the eternal life he already had in Israel's long promised Kingdom. We saw in many of the parables that unfaithful members of the Believing Remnant could lose out on privileges in the Kingdom, like living outside the land of Israel in the darkness of the Gentiles rather than living in Israel basking in the light and presence of the King under the full national blessings of Israel's New Covenant. Also, they might miss out on participating in other special privileges like attending the Marriage Banquet, etc.

In short, to participate in all Israel's blessings Joseph not only needed to be justified before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life, but as a member of the Believing Remnant he also needed to be justified before Christ at His 2nd Coming so he could live out that eternal life in the Kingdom, participating fully in all of its great blessings.

So, what is Joseph going to do? And this is where our final piece of information fits in. This rich Jewish man, Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the ruling Sanhedrin, a justified and good man before God, yet who kept the fact that he believed in Jesus and was one of his followers a secret as he waited for the Kingdom of Israel, that Joseph: Went in BOLDLY unto Pilate, and CRAVED the body of Jesus (Mk. 15:43). His discipleship to Jesus was no longer secret. He revealed it to the world. BOLDLY he defied all danger and opposition of the Gentile powers and the Vain Religious System of Israel. In CRAVING he pleaded for, demanded, the body of Jesus, and then placed Him in his own family tomb. The one who had already been “saved” in the sense of being justified before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life by faith without works was now on the path of also being “saved” in the sense of being justified before Christ at His 2nd Coming for entrance into the Kingdom and participation in all of its blessings by faith plus works.

Matthew, Mark and Luke focus mostly on the latter of these two salvations, justification before Christ at His 2nd Coming when faithful members of the Believing Remnant will be “saved” or delivered out of the Tribulation Period with its persecution and physical death and will be ushered into the Kingdom by faith plus works. The Gospel of John, however, focuses more on the former of these two salvations, justification before God and His Tribunal where sinners are “saved” from their sin and spiritual death unto righteousness and eternal life by faith.

Today in the Dispensation of Grace, like Abraham and Joseph, when we believe in God and His Word to us we too are “saved” in the former way: Justified unto eternal life before God and His Tribunal by faith without works. Of course, what we believe today and what Abraham and Joseph believed in the past are not the same. Abraham believed God's promises to him, which were later codified in the Abrahamic Covenant, and God counted his faith for righteousness. Joseph believed the Gospel of the Kingdom, and God counted his faith for righteousness. And today when we believe Paul's Gospel, the Gospel of Grace, the Good News of the Death and Resurrection of Christ, God counts our faith for righteousness—justification before God and His Tribunal unto eternal life (Rom. 3-4).

But unlike Abraham and Joseph, who were a part of God's Prophetic Program with the Nation of Israel, today in the Dispensation of Grace we are part of God's Mystery Program for the Body of Christ. Unlike Joseph and Abraham, we are made alive with the resurrection life of Christ and seated together with Him in the Heavenlies immediately the MOMENT WE BELIEVE, by faith without works (Eph. 2:4-9). Mixing up these biblical “salvations” has caused much despair and confusion both inside and outside Christianity. For the unsaved it has confused the way of salvation by adding works to faith. And many believers get confused and begin questioning their own salvation or worry that they can lose their salvation.

We must put away all this confusion. Salvation before God and His ultimate Tribunal for all people born into the world since the Fall of Adam as ungodly sinners on enemy status before God, always has been and always will be by grace through faith without works. In Israel's Prophetic Program, however, believers who have first been justified before God by faith are also given the opportunity to be justified before Christ at His 2nd Coming, not to receive eternal life but to live out the eternal life they already have in Israel's long-prophesied earthly Kingdom by faith plus works.