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4 !|| | "*aS|H \1; WBs _JK |B<bM| l»JMi| 5 g ■M»tWMBMa M . ' iKSEi H a |MHfl|jMMM|_ \j| [ The Memorial Supper. “And as they did eat, he said, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray Me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, is it I? And He an swered 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. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’’—Matt. 26: 21-29. Our study at this time contains the account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The curtain is now about to drop. Our Lord’s visible appear ance on the earth is soon to cease. Judas, the be trayer, has already plotted his doom. Just out yonder only a little way is Gethsemane, and lifting its skull-shaped head above Gethsemane is Gol gotha. It is a very significant occasion. What is done must be done quickly. This the Master knows, and his enemies also know it, for his betrayal has al ready been arranged. We are very anxious about what transpired in those last hours. Let us therefore come close and watch with care the Master’s every word and move ment. Directing the Passover. The first thing we observe him doing is giving directions concerning the eating of the passover. Observing the passover was a Jewish custom which He always kept. It had a double significance: It was a memorial, and a prophecy. As a memorial, it w r as to keep in perpetual re membrance the passing of the Red Sea, the coming out of Egypt, and the final deliverance from Egyp tian bondage. It was observed every year. No Jew would dare fail to observe it. As a prophecy, the passover pointed to the com ing Deliverer who should deliver His people from sin. Jesus, as a Jew, conformed to this old Jewish custom. He had come, to be sure, to work reforms, but He could best work his reforms from within, rather than from without. This is often true of reforms of today. Many a blow administered in the name of re forms has been ineffective because the reformer fancied that it could be administered better from without. This is why we have so many “come outers.” Men and women who have become dis satisfied with existing conditions in the church have come out, and now administer their reform strokes as outsiders. Such work generally comes to naught. The same thing is seen in polities. A man is fired with the idea of changing existing evils, and instead of creating a sentiment on "the inside of his party, pulls out and starts a new party. f Jn¥ET wtomaoM, mXWiFBr It sometimes happens that such a course is nec essary, but it is very seldom. The wisest course to pursue is the one which Jesus pursued: it is to work from within. I feel this way about the great question of temperance reforms. I do not believe that a distinct prohibition party will ever win in this country; certainly not until after w T e have done our best to influence existing parties. Predicts His Betrayal. The next thing we find Jesus doing at this feast is predicting his betrayal. “Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.” This was strange news to the disciples. It was strange news even to Judas, for although he had planned his betrayal, yet he must have been puz zled at the knowledge that Jesus had of it. No wonder they all said, “Lord, is it I?” Listen now at the answer of Jesus to this in quiry: “He that dippeth his hand with Me in the dish, the same shall betray Me.” This was not so much the identification of the betrayer, as it was a rebuke. They were all dip ping with Him in the dish. What He meant to convey was this: One will betray Me, one who is at present intimate enough with Me to eat out of the same dish with Me. One pretendedly so close, and yet having murder in his heart. What treachery! No wonder Jesus rebuked it. There is nothing baser and meaner than treach ery. To share the benefits of one, to profess friend ship and love, and at the same time carry in the heart enmity and disloyalty, is a thing that a brute would not be guilty of. I think this is what made Jesus so heavy-hearted in Gethsemane: To think that the men who had followed Him all along through His journey could not watch with Him in the great trial. This, too, when He had so tenderly asked them to do it. Such conduct is what makes life hard. Sometime ago I saw 7 an old horse roaming about in a pasture with no grass, and seldom any water. He was so poor he could hardly stand up. His shoulders bore the marks of many a pull. I said to some one standing near by, “What is the matter with that poor, old horse?” Has he done anything to cause such treatment as he is getting?” “Oh,” said he, “he is twenty years old—that old horse. He has been one of the best family of horses in this community, but he has now reached the place where he can be of no more service.” “And you have just put him out here to die?” said I. “Yes,” said he, “that is the way we do things in this country. We have no use for anything that cannot work.” This was bad treatment for the old horse, and I felt sorry for him, but I have seen many a man and woman treated that way. Many a faithful husband has been shoved aside because he has reached the point where he cannot make things go as once he did. Many a wife, many a mother and father have had to share a like fate. I have known churches to commit this sin. When the old preacher who had stinted himself and built up the enterprise, was afflicted, and, perhaps, could not keep up with the progress of vigorous youth he was shoved aside, and one who had never suffered at all was brought in to share his labors. Ingratitude! I know of no sin that will com pare to it. The man who is lacking in gratitude lacks the real quality of man. The Lord’s Supper. The next thing at the feast that Jesus did was to institute the Lord’s Supper. This is what I want us to consider most particularly at this time. We will observe; it was at the close of the Pass over feast. Nothing new was prepared. Jesus The Golden Age for April 19, 1906. Len G . Broughton did as He always did, used the elements at hand, to teach his lessons. The bread and the_ wine used at the institution of the Lord’s Supper was the simple unleavened bread of the Jews, and the red wine of the country. I have no idea that it was unfermented wine, although I am in favor of using unfermented wine in the Lord’s Supper of today as a means of ex pediency. The early church under Paul we know used fer mented wine, for some of them got drunk on it, and Paul warned them against drinking it for that purpose. The wine that Jesus used, as I believe, was di luted with water, but it was the ordinary fer mented wine which they used at that time. If any body wants to make capital out of this opinion of mine for the bacchanalian feasts of today, let him do it. My charge to him is, that he see to it that Jesus is a guest, and that He is pleased with what he does and says. If that is so, then there need be no further trouble. The Purpose of the Supper. But what is the purpose of the Lord’s Supper, and what is its place in the Christian world of today ? First, the Lord’s Supper is a Christian ordin ance, intended for Christian people, and Christian people only. No man who does not accept the blood of Jesus Christ as his passport for heaven can consistently partake of the Lord’s Supper. Belief in His life, however beautiful it may be, is not enough. It is in his blood that one must believe, and in His blood alone. To be qualified for the Lord’s Supper, one must see Jesus on the cross in his place, paying the pen alty for his sin. But this sight of Jesus, in itself, is not sufficient, he must see Him and accept Him, as the all-atoning, saving Savior. The Lord’s Supper, like the Passover, which it is to take the place of, has a double significance: It is a memorial looking back to Calvary, whence we were redeemed from the bondage of sin; and a prophecy of the coming again of Jesus Christ to rule and reign in the affairs of men. The apostolic church had this view: The Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians concerning the Lord’s Supper, said: “For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew forth the Lord’s death till He come.” What a beautiful ordinance this is. How its double vision breaks the light of the glory world into our souls. On the ore hand we see the droop ing head and the dripping heart of our Savior and Redeemer, and from the picture we get his last words, as if spoken from heaven today: “It is finished! It is finished!” On the other hand we behold our coming Lord and King, clothed in the robes of his Royal Majesty, accompanied by the hosts of the city of our God; coming to reign where once He was shamed. Oh, the mighty sweep of it: From Calvary to the throne! The Christian’s Duty. This ordinance is for the Christian; it is his right. The blood of Jesus Christ accepted as the ground of salvation is his passport. The old Jew ish Passover was obligatory upon the Jews. Moses commanded that they should observe it as an ordi nance for them and their congregation of the chil dren of Israel. Shall the Christian’s passover be less significant to him? He is saved by the broken body and shed blood of Christ. It means eternity; that which he memorializes. But alas, so many, for one rea son or another, shut ‘out from this privilege. I have found people who say they are unworthy, and therefore, they cannot take part in the Lord’s