|
Introduction:
I want to direct
your attention to one word found in verse 26. It is the little word
“till.” The central ideal of what Paul is saying is that in the Lord’s
Supper we are proclaiming to one another and to a lost world that Jesus
died, He rose again, and one day He shall return. The Lord’s Supper is a
standing provision against man’s forgetfulness of what Jesus has done
and is yet going to do for us. That is why the word “till” is there.
I.
“TILL” IS A
WAITING
WORD
“Till” is a
waiting word. Jesus said to His disciples as He says to you and me, “The
Lord’s Supper is celebrated until that great celebration in the
skies.”The people of God are waiting for someone. Jesus is coming again,
and in this communion we affirm that fact. “Till” is not speculation but
anticipation.
II.
“TILL” IS A
WORKING WORD
Have you noticed, in the parables of Jesus,
how many times that note is struck.
You see, “till” is a working word; we are called
to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Perhaps the best
known is Matthew 25, the parable of the talents. The man gives to his
servants, to one five talents, to another three, to another one. He goes
away. He comes back and there is a reckoning of their labor. That's the
sense of this word “till”; it's a working word. The master says 'Go on,
and do what you will with what I've given you until I return.' “Till' is
a working word. We will work till Jesus comes.
III.
“TILL” IS
A WONDERFUL
WORD
You proclaim the Lord's death “till He come.”
Paul did not say “if He come.” Paul did not say “In case He come.” He
says, “till He come.” No doubt about His coming.
May not be sure as to the time, but I am sure
about the event. The Lord's Supper is to assist us in our remembering
Him "till he comes." There is a historical purpose in the Lord's supper,
and there is a prophetical purpose in the Lord's Supper. The Lord's
Supper is the proclamation of what has happened and the promise of what
will yet happen. When we participate and partake of the Lord's Supper,
we are not only looking back to the cross, but we are looking forward to
His coming again!
Conclusion:
Let us commemorate.
Let us celebrate till, He comes.
|
