The Heart of Communion
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Understanding that Communion is a blessing that should be observed reverently and lovingly.
Text: John 18:28
Date: 04/02/2021, the Good Friday service.
Series: "Good Friday" Part 12
Occasion: Good Friday
Description:
As we continue our yearly Good Friday series, (which takes the events of that fateful day from just after the Last Supper to Christ's burial in the tomb); we come to the end of the Jewish trial and begin to make the transition to the Roman trial. But we won't get any further this evening than the front door! Because the same men who are actively involved with committing the greatest travesty of justice in the history of mankind by condemning the Son of God, are so worried about ceremonial defilement they will not pass through Pilate's door. We will use this event to discuss their actual defilement-- that of corrupting the heart of the Passover. And subsequently we will better understand the warning Paul gives us of taking Communion in an unworthy manner. In the process, we will learn that the Lord's Supper is one of God's great blessings and observe the sacrament reverently and lovingly, thereby capturing the true heart of Communion.
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I. Introduction, Ex. 10:27-29.
II. Exposition of the text, John 18:28.
A. Context
B. A corruption of the Passover.
1. The trek to Pilate's house, vs. 28.
a. The Jewish trial concluded.
b. Where the trial took place, Luke 23:7.
c. Determining the time of day.
2. Refusing to enter the Roman house.
3. Harmonizing the Gospels.
a. The wrong solution, Matt. 26:19, John 13:1.
b. Theories on the right solution.
i. The Passover week.
ii. Two ways of telling time.
iii. Just too busy doing evil.
4. The heart of corruption.
a. The irony of it all, Matt. 23:24, John 8:44.
b. Paul's warning for Communion, 1Cor. 11:27-29.
C. A vastly different Passover.
1. Absorbing the image of Communion, John 13:1-10.
2. An intimate relationship with Jesus, Matt. 20:28, John 13:8, 34-35.
III. Conclusion
