There once lived a minister with his two daughters in a small village off the coast of Denmark, and this minister started a church that was founded on the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels and on the core value of simplicity that life in this community should be simple. No extravagance, no lavish things that dress would be modest, and mostly wear black or white, food would be soup and bread, not more than you need for your daily needs. And so they gathered a group, a small congregation who every Sunday would meet in the minister's home, and the minister would preach, and his two daughters would play the piano and sing, and they would have a meal afterwards, soup and bread. And this went on for many years, and the daughters were very devoted to their father, and even turning down marriage proposals in order to stay in the village and do the work of the church and work with their father. Well, one day the minister became sick and died, but the two sisters decided that they would carry on the work of the church, and so they continued to take care of the people. They had all gotten older at this point, only about nine or ten people in the congregation, but they would still meet Sundays, have a prayer service, sing him together, and then have a fellowship meal together, soup and bread. And as is usually with so many churches, all things came up through the years. Well, controversies. One man was convinced that another man in the congregation had defrauded him in a business deal. Two women began to gossip about one another behind each other's back. But one day a boat washed up on shore, and a woman who had fled her native France was in the boat, and the sisters found her, and they invited her into their home. And she introduced herself, her name is Babette, and she had nothing but the clothes on her back, and she asked if she could simply live with them, and she would serve them. Well, the sisters, of course, never had a servant. They were used to being the one serving, and they had no money to pay her, but they reluctantly agreed to allow her, and so they taught her how to do the laundry, and how to make the soup, and the bread, and take care. And she Babette quickly fit into the community, and many years they lived this way. So one day, Babette received a letter in the mail from a friend back in Paris, who had stayed there, and her friend had gotten into the habit of playing the lottery every month. One ticket for her and one for Babette, and it turns out that Babette had won the lottery, 10,000 francs, and when she told the sisters, they just assumed that Babette would go back to Paris and live there on her earnings or winnings. But Babette had other ideas. She said, I would like to continue to live with you, and if you would allow me, I would like to make a great feast in honor of your father, the minister, a great feast, that didn't sound like them, but they knew I would make Babette happy, and so they agreed. And on the day of the feast, as they began to gather the people to come to their house, a general in the army, who had once proposed marriage to one of the sisters, showed up, had happened to be in town, and paid a visit to them, and they changed pleasantries, and then they invited him to the mail. And as they all sat down at the meal, Babette began to serve them, one course at a time, began with bread and cheese, and a wine to be paired with them, delicious. And then the second course came out, a soup, and a drink to pair with that, better than any soup that they had ever had, and then a third course and a fourth course followed that, peasant, quail, all sorts of delicacies, and the people began to realize they had never had a meal this good. And by the time they got to the last course, the dessert course, the general realized why this all felt so familiar, he remembered that he had once had a meal like this, back in Paris, at the greatest restaurant in Paris, and when he happened to see who had prepared the meal, Babette, he realized that she was indeed the chef, that she had used all of her money to put on this feast. When this sermon series that we have been going through, at the table, we are going through the gospel of Luke, and we're looking at all the different meals that Jesus had with people, and how during the meal he revealed himself and realities of the kingdom of God, to the people that he shared the meals with. And the meal that we know more than any other meal about is what we call the last supper. Now it's not called the last supper because it's the very last meal that Jesus ate, but it's the last meal he ate with his disciples before he was crucified. And we celebrate that meal on Monday, Thursday, this coming Thursday, and we call it Monday, Thursday, not Monday, Thursday, not Monday, but Monday, that's a Latin word for commands, because at the meal, the last supper, Jesus commanded his disciples, loved one another as I have loved you. And what's interesting is all four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all include the last supper in their recounting of Jesus' life. They include different details, and John actually had the longest recounting. In fact, he takes five chapters to talk about all of Jesus said and did at the dinner, and there's only 21 chapters in the gospel of John. So one fourth, almost one fourth of the gospel is devoted to this one meal. Now we can spend a whole year preaching on all the things that happened in the last supper. We're not going to do that. We're just going to look today at the gospel of Luke and what he has to say. So if you were able, would you please stand for this reading of God's Word? Luke chapter 22, starting in verse 14. And when the hour came, Jesus reclined a table and he apostles with him. And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, the cup after they had eaten saying, this cup that has poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. And behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table, for the son of man goes as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he has betrayed. And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who is going to do this. A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercised his lordship over them. And those in authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you. Rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines a table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines a table? Then I am among you as the one who serves. You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you as my father assigned to me a kingdom. That you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. This is God's word for God's people for the good of the world. Please be seated. And most of the meals that we have looked at in this series, Jesus was a guest at the meal. But at this meal, this supper, Jesus was the host. He had prepared and put everything together for his disciples, his 12 disciples who would be his guests. And the occasion is the yearly Passover. A celebration, something that Jewish people still celebrate today. And it's a celebration of when God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, out of slavery in Egypt. And following a series of plagues, God brought on Egypt. And the night before the last plague, the death of the firstborn sons, God told his people that they were to take blood of a lamb and smear it above their doorposts. So that when the angel of the Lord came to claim the firstborn sons, he would see the blood above the doorposts and pass over their house. So the main three elements of the Passover meal were lamb and wine to signify the shed blood of the lamb and bread, which God commanded the Israelites to prepare as unleavened bread, signaling their readiness to flee Egypt and slavery. And so by celebrating the Passover, Jesus is honoring the past and celebrating the way that God had saved his people in history. But then he does something radical. He takes the bread and the wine and he gives it new meaning. And he says that they not these elements not only point to the past, but they also are about what is happening in the presence. They are my body and my blood. And of course we're shouting what would happen the very next day when he died on the cross. And then he goes further and says not only do these things tell us about the past and the present, they also are about the future. But because I will not eat this meal again, it is till it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God throughout the Old Testament. There are images of the great wedding feast of the lamb, the wedding supper of the lamb, and it's this that Jesus is pointing to in the future. The next meal with Jesus was full of talk about heaven because Jesus lived in light of eternity. Throughout Jesus' life he was constantly teaching about not only this life, but also about the next. He told many parables about the kingdom of God and about final judgment. He was incredible about a man named Lazarus and a rich man who both one went to heaven and one went to hell. He encouraged people to live in a sacrifice in such a way that they would be rewarded in the next life. And here in Luke's account of the last supper Jesus mentions the kingdom, meaning the coming of God's kingdom fully in the next life. And the new heavens and the new earth, in verse 16 he says he will not eat the Passover until it's fulfilled in the kingdom. In verse 18 he says he will not drink the fruit of the vine again until the kingdom comes. And then in verses 25 to 30, after the disciples just make fools of themselves arguing over who is the greatest. He rebukes them, but then gently reassures them that they will sit on thrones and that they will eat and drink at his table in his kingdom. So interesting, this on the last night of Jesus's life, what he chooses to talk about, what would you, if this was the last night you knew tomorrow you were going to die and you had a meal with 12 of your closest friends, what do you think you talk about? Maybe you relive old times, I think I would be maybe scared wanting to be encouraged, but Jesus spends his time trying to encourage his disciples, though he is the one who is going to die. And in John's account in Lord supper he goes into even more details about the future. He says that in my father's house there are many rooms and I am going there to prepare them for you. He says that he is going to heaven and that he will be sending the Holy Spirit to tell them to declare to them the things that are to come, to tell them more about the future. And then Jesus prays in the great priestly prayer in John 17 to the father saying I am coming to you father and that he desires for his people to also be with them in glory. See for Jesus there was no real separation between this life and the next life. He was constantly talking about either one or the other. He told people that his kingdom was not of this world but that his kingdom was coming and invading this world. And he was constantly trying to prepare people for life after death and it makes sense that Jesus speaks so much about eternity because Jesus opens the gates to eternity. Now I think everybody knows the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table how King Arthur was the great king of England and he chose men that would sit around his table. A man who had served him well pledged loyalty to him. Jesus tells us though here that in the kingdom that he is the king and he is the one who chooses who gets the sits with him at his table and at his kingdom. Verses 29 and 30. Let's read that again. He says I assigned to you as my father assigned to me a kingdom that you may eat and drink at my table and my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. What an amazing thing for the disciples to hear. But how do we get to this kingdom? The way into this kingdom is not through our accomplishments. It's not like the Knights of the Round Tables that we have to go on quests and earn our way in. We only get into the kingdom through the body and blood of the king. We get in because our king sacrificed himself to save us. And notice at this last supper that Jesus doesn't give his disciples just good advice or some mystical formula of how to make your way to King. What does he give them? He gives them himself. Red and wine. This is my body and my blood. Given for you and elsewhere in John 6, Jesus says whoever feeds on my flesh drinks my blood as eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. Now why would he say that? Why would he say that you have to eat his flesh and drink his blood? It's not because Christians are cannibals, but it's because only as we come into relationship with Jesus as we become one with him, as we become united to him by faith, only then are we made worthy and enabled to come into the kingdom of heaven. So Jesus makes an absolute claim that every person who has ever lived has to either accept or deny. He says that I am the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except for me. Friends, there's no other way into the kingdom of heaven. There's no other gate you can go through to get to heaven. It's only through Jesus, only through his body and his blood. Now there are of course people who don't believe in the afterlife. I think this life is all that there is. We have no proof. Friends, Jesus is the proof. He is the one who came from heaven to tell us about heaven and is the one who is bringing us there. If Easter proclaims anything, is that there is life beyond the grave. And once you become sure of that, it ought to shape the way that you live because it's clear that Jesus wants us to live in constant hope of eternity.
It's interesting in the traditional Passover meal there's a prescribed toast for the people to say and the toast goes like this. This year in Jerusalem next year in the kingdom. I love that. This year in Jerusalem next year in the kingdom. Now of course, Jerusalem for the Jewish people is the holy city and to celebrate the Passover meal in the holy city was as good as it gets in this life. But next year in the kingdom, to celebrate it in the New Heaven's New Earth is even greater. Do you live with an eager expectation of the New Heaven's New Earth? Do you live with the hope of next year in the kingdom? Now, here I need to do a quick little aside to make sure we are all on the same page about eternity. Because a lot of us, I have found, and one point I thought is that we think that heaven is just us going up into the clouds, maybe sitting on a cloud, playing a harp, singing amazing in grace, over and over for all eternity. And that's heaven, no matter, no wonder nobody wants to go. No wonder Billy Joel sang, I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun. But he's wrong because the biblical vision of heaven is heaven coming down to earth. He's coming and invading this world at the end of time and purifying this world. Jesus says in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, when we get a picture of the future, he says, behold, I am making all things new. Notice what he does not say. He does not say, I'm making all new things. He says, I'm making everything new. He's going to purify this world and everything good in it will continue into the next life, but without grief, without sorrow, without fear. I want you to think of the greatest day you've ever had in this life. Maybe it was a great vacation. Maybe it was your wedding day, the greatest day you've ever had. I want you to multiply that by a thousand. You'll begin to get a taste of what the new heavens and the new earth will be like. Whatever you love, whatever is right and good and true and beautiful will continue into eternity with God at the center. And we will never stop learning, never stop growing, never stop being thrilled in awe at the glory of God and the wonder of His creation. And I am convinced that one of our biggest problems is that we live such a narrow existence, naval gazing, thinking only about what's for dinner and what's on TV, rather than living for the full story that God intends for us to inhabit. Now, what does it mean practically to live in a constant hope of eternity? Well, the obvious first way that we live in the hope of eternity is in dealing with death. Because, of course, this life is all that there is and death is not only tragic but it is infinitely final and there is a little comfort outside of your memories of the person who has died. But if Jesus is right, that there is a kingdom ahead of us, then death is just a doorway to eternity. And there is infinite comfort in that hope. Now, that does mean that we don't grieve. We do. We grieve when people die. That's not what God intended. But we don't grieve as those who don't have hope. Now, the pastor whose daughter was killed in Nashville showed that kind of hope when he wrote through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again. A second way to live in the hope of eternity is in the area of ethics. Because if this life is all that there is, then do whatever you need to do to get ahead. The ends justify the means. As long as you don't get caught and shoot on your taxes, you can take advantage of the board, doesn't matter. But if there is a king and a kingdom awaiting, what you do now matters into eternity. God will not be mocked. We will not get away with anything. And on the other hand, those who suffer for righteousness' sake in this life will be rewarded in the next. And the third way to live in the hope of eternity is in the area of accomplishments. Because again, if this life is all there is, then grab for the gusto. Make sure you make your mark and everyone knows it. You get your name on as many buildings as you can. But if this life is just the beginning, the C.S. Lewis says the cover page and the title page of the great story that no one on earth has yet read, earthly fame and accomplishment are a lot less important than how much we love one another. This is why Jesus tells us, don't store up treasures here on earth, store them up in heaven. Friends, are you troubled in this life? Are you unsure about the next? Come to the table. Eat the bread, know that Jesus loved you so much that he gave his life in exchange for yours and rose again to guarantee your victory over death. Drink the cup, know that Jesus has cleansed you from all your sins, made you holy and fit for the kingdom if you have received him by faith. This year and also next year the kingdom, let's pray. Father, we thank you that the future is not a complete mystery. For you have revealed the end of the story. And the end of the story is that Jesus wins and that the victory of God will be complete. It was completed in principle on the cross and in the resurrection, but it will be worked out the final day. Father, we await that day with the spirits of the saints, we say, come, Lord Jesus, as we look towards the new heaven and the new earth, which you teach us how to live in a way that is always before us. And we are storing up treasures in heaven and living for that day, even as we live our best lives here. The name of Jesus we pray.