The sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not spared from death because of any merit or worthiness or innocence of their own, but for the sake of the Lamb that was sacrificed in their stead. The blood of that Lamb covered them from death, it shielded them from the Angel of Death. And the flesh of that Lamb fed them for the journey out of bondage into freedom.
All of this on account of divine and holy Love, the grace and mercy of the Lord their God. And that is already to speak of Christ Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. And it is all fulfilled for you in Him, the one Lord Jesus Christ. He is the firstborn Son of God, who is not spared from death, though He committed no sin, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth. He is the firstborn Son of God from all eternity, who was in time conceived and born as the promised Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the true Israel. And He has become the Lamb of God, who takes upon Himself and takes away the sins of the world. He is sacrificed for you and all as the true Passover Lamb.
His Sacrifice has been completed once-for-all in His death upon the Cross, and there is no other sacrifice for sin, nor is any other needed. His Victory is sure and certain. It is finished and perfect.
And yet, the Passover requires, not only the sacrifice of the Lamb, but also that His holy and precious Blood be applied to you, that it should cover you; and likewise, that His Flesh should be given to you, and that you should eat His Flesh in repentant faith and with thanksgiving.
It is true, as you have heard from the lips of Jesus, that you are already clean by the Word that He has spoken to you; for He has called you by His Gospel, and He has enlightened you with His gifts of grace and peace. In Holy Baptism He has washed you with water and His Word; He has there forgiven you all of your sins, and He has poured out His Holy Spirit generously upon you.
But consider your day-to-day life and your circumstances in this world. You do not love and serve your neighbor as Christ Jesus loves and serves you. Perhaps your neighbor does not need you to wash his dirty feet — or perhaps he does — but your neighbor does have needs, in any case; and he is set before you as an object of divine Love, so that you also might love and serve him or her, as the Lord Jesus Christ has humbled Himself and served you, even unto death upon the Cross.
But the truth is that you do not love your neighbor as Jesus loves you, certainly not consistently and all the time. You do, however, sin every day in the way that you think, in the way that you speak, and in the way that you act. Indeed, you are surrounded on all sides, within and without, by sin and death — by your own sins and weaknesses, and by the sins of others against you — and by all the assaults and temptations of the devil and the whole fallen world around you, all seeking to destroy you by grabbing you away from God and plunging you into bitter death and judgment.
Your own covetous lust (whether for money, for sex, for food and drink, or for entertainment) can so easily lead you astray into sin and finally death, as happened in the tragic case of Judas Iscariot. How often do you compromise yourself for wealth or pleasure? And how often do you excuse your selfishness and sin, supposing that you are in a position to call your own shots? But to pursue that path is to open your heart and mind, your body, and your life to Satan and his wicked ways.
All of which is also to say that, if the Lord Jesus does not continue to wash you by His Word and Spirit, to cleanse you with His Blood and feed you with His Flesh in divine mercy, then you shall have no part in Him. If He does not continue to catechize you with His Wisdom, you shall perish. You shall be consumed and destroyed by the Angel of Death on account of your unbelief and sin.
So, then, do not be like Simon Peter in this case, questioning and resisting the Word of the Lord and His Means of the Gospel. Rather, hear and heed the Word of Christ Jesus, and trust Him to serve you, to love you with the ways and means He has provided for you in divine and holy Love. Remain in the House of His God and Father, and so keep the Feast at His Table. Live and love as a child of God, and give no place to the devil in your heart, mind, or behavior. But where you have fallen into temptation and sin, return to the Lord your God by fleeing to His mercy in Christ Jesus.
Now, it is certainly true that your life as a Christian disciple of Jesus is one of joyful peace, of faith and hope and confidence. And how shall we not give thanks and praise to our dear Lord on such a night as this one, in particular? But with that, so are you also called to live in the fear of the Lord, and to exercise sober judgment and repentance by His Word and Spirit in this sinful world.
“Repent.” That is the preaching of Jesus. “Examine yourself.” That is the teaching of His Holy Apostle, St. Paul. “Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments,” and so learn to confess to your pastor those sins that you discover in yourself, in your thoughts, words, and actions. That is the teaching of the Lord’s faithful servant, Dr. Luther. Judge yourself rightly in the light of God’s Word. Acknowledge your sins, your weaknesses, and your mortality.
And knowing your many and great needs, confess your sins and receive the forgiveness of Christ Jesus, your Savior. Be returned to the cleansing and Life-giving waters of your Holy Baptism by the right use of His Word in Confession and Holy Absolution. And as He remembers you in love and speaks to you in peace here in His Supper, so eat the Flesh with which He feeds you, and drink the Blood with which He removes your sins, shelters you from death, and brings you into Paradise.
Here at the Table of the Lord is where and how you learn to love and serve your neighbor, and so to live as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ; because here at this Table is where and how the Lord Jesus loves and serves you as His own beloved. So is He faithful and gracious even to the end.
Here is the Hour of His Glory, where He is glorified in His grace and mercy toward you as your beloved Lord and Savior; because here is where the Glory of His Cross, His Victory over sin, death, and the devil, is given to you and poured out for you, unto Life and Salvation in Him.
Here the devil cannot have you or tyrannize you anymore; not while the Word of Christ rings in your ears, in your heart, in your body and your mind. Nor can your sin accuse you or harm you; not while you cling by faith to the forgiveness of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. And not even death can touch you forever; not while you rest and remain in the Body and Blood of the Lamb.
Though the world may shed your blood and slay you, yet the Lord Himself prevails for you and saves you from sin, death, and hell. For you are baptized into Christ Jesus, and here in His Supper you abide in Him — and He abides in you — unto the Resurrection and the Life everlasting.
It is the Lord’s Passover, and you are His Israel indeed, whom He sets free from bondage and brings through the wilderness into the good Land that He has promised; that you may live with Him in His Kingdom, and worship Him and serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all your days, even to the close of the age, when you shall see Him face to face and live forever.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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