The Scripture, the Sacrament, and the Holy Spirit

1 Corinthians 11:23-26               Luke 24:13-35

The Scripture, the Sacraments, and the Spirit

Years ago, a pastor and biblical scholar lay unconscious on a life-support system in the Intensive Care Unit. Before entering the hospital for his third open-heart surgery, this man had preached on the text, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21) The release that death in Christ promised was certainly an attraction for him and yet, on the other hand, for those who waited and prayed, it seemed more necessary for him to remain in the body to complete the important work he was doing. There were still so many books to write, lectures to deliver, debates to engage in, and students to be taught. Surely God would grant him more years to complete his work?

Yet that same afternoon, the surgeons broke the news that his heart was simply too weak and that, when they had tried to wean him off the assisting device, he had peacefully exited this earthly life and entered eternity. 

How does one deal with what to those praying seemed illogical and unreasonable? How does one deal with the perception that God is perhaps not always in control of all events? What is it that keeps us, as believers, on track during those times of apparent failure and chaos? 

I’d like for us to take a walk with two of the otherwise unknown disciples of Jesus as they travelled toward Emmaus. The events during Passover had left them mystified and stunned. They were sorrowful, as those who are without hope. They had followed a man called Jesus for a while firmly believing that he was the long-awaited deliverer – the Messiah. They had walked with him, talked with him, eaten with him, and remained with him even when the crowds deserted him. They had seen him do the impossible. They had seen him turn water into wine, multiply a tiny amount of food to feed more than five thousand people and then later more than four thousand people, and change the hearts of sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans, and prostitutes. He had healed lepers, raised the dead, calmed a storm, driven out legions of demons, and walked on water. They had heard him teach, rebuke those who misinterpreted the Scriptures, and silence his critics. They had heard him expound the Scriptures like no one they had ever heard before.

Surely, he was the one who would finally deliver them from foreign domination and oppression? Surely, it was just a matter of time before he would reveal himself to be the Messiah and lead Israel to victory and a glorious restoration.  

But now their dreams had been shattered. The one in whom they had placed so much hope had died a criminal’s death on a Roman cross. One moment, as they entered Jerusalem along with cheering crowds, they were certain that he would be crowned king…but then the unthinkable happened. 

How could it be that he who could do such great miracles could not avoid such a tragic and pathetic end? How could he who saved others, not save himself? Could he who made all things – he who upholds all things – he who controls all things -could he not have prevented his own murder? Could he not have called on legions of angels to come to his defence?

But as they were discussing these sad thoughts, a man came up from behind them and began to question them about their melancholy conversation. At first, they were amazed that he did not seem to have known about the tragic events that had taken place in Jerusalem, but they revealed their misery and despondency to him anyway. 

They had thought….they had believed…but then something quite contrary to all their hopes and dreams and prayers had happened. Imagine their surprise when the stranger, instead of sympathising with them, rebuked them rather harshly for their dull minds. Then he began to take them through the Scriptures…this was no proof-texting or hopping from one Messianic prophecy to another…no, this was a Bible Study equal to none. 

The stranger began with Moses, the first five books of the Bible, and then moved on to the prophets and the rest of Scripture. This was a low-flying, high-speed summary of the teaching of all of Scripture. The stranger showed them that throughout the Scriptures, a consistent divine purpose was being worked out, a purpose that in the end could only mean the cross. The awfulness of sin is found throughout the pages of the Old Testament, but so is the deep, unfathomable love of God. And it is the combination of these two that made calvary inevitable. 

The two disciples had a faulty understanding of what the Scriptures taught and therefore drew wrong conclusions about the cross. In their attempts to explain the events of life in terms of human logic, they had failed to grasp the significance of divine purpose. 

Can we see something similar in the modern Church of today? To address the changing cultural thought and practice of society, the Church has largely sidestepped the fountain of wisdom found in the Word of God choosing to preach instead from the shallow pots of human wisdom. Many sermons sound more like self-help tracts than biblical exposition. Like Israel of old, we have rejected the living water and hewn out for ourselves broken cisterns that cannot possibly sustain us. The Word of God is the chief source of sustenance for the Church. Man cannot live by bread alone, but rather by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We cannot know life apart from what God reveals in Scripture…indeed, we cannot know him apart from what he reveals about himself in Scripture. 

Without the Word, the Church is just one more human institution offering human solutions to human problems. Without the Word, the Church will wither and shrivel and diminish and decrease as it experiences a severe famine of what alone can provide life in its fullness. It is only the deep, profound, life-changing knowledge of the Scriptures that can cause the Church to stand firm in the face of the onslaught of secularism. It is only faith in his promises that will keep the Church from following the pessimism of the age. Has it ever occurred to you that those who oppose us are often the most angry and depressed and despondent and lost people you have ever met? They are arrogant in their misery. 

But is the modern Church any different? Have we not largely embraced the doom and gloom of our times? Is it perhaps because we have lost sight of the power of God’s Word? For years, mainline seminaries have undermined the Word, teaching that God’s power was relevant only for a bygone era. That we have grown up now and we know those things are not true. 

But let’s continue our journey. As the three travellers approach Emmaus, the two persuade their newfound friend to stay the night. It may be that what he had to say made sense to them or perhaps they were simply concerned for his welfare. But as they sat down to eat dinner, the stranger took bread, something which the host usually would do, said the blessing over it, broke it and gave it to them. This simple action somehow caused them to remember…

Now, I know that many scholars argue that this was not the Eucharist and they have long lists of reasons why it cannot be so…some ask where was the wine while others wonder how these two could have known about the sacrament as they are not mentioned as being present at the last supper. But I humbly wish to differ, and I have a few reasons of my own. The reports of biblical writers do not always satisfy our craving for more information. These two could well have been present in the upper room without being mentioned because they were not the important element of the story…or seeing that they had heard the report of the women regarding the resurrection, they could have been filled in as to what Jesus had said and done at that final meal is they were not present themselves.

However, whether they were present or only heard about the meal afterwards, the important point is that at the institution of the sacrament of holy communion, our Lord instructed his disciples to take of the bread he had broken and to eat it as an intimate symbol of remembrance of what he was about to do for them on the cross. So for me, it doesn’t matter if this was a re-enactment of the Last Supper or not, because the central issue was the intimate nature of what Jesus did. 

Who was seated at the table with them and who broke the bread? Why not let the host break the bread (as would be customary) if the action was not significant? But in breaking the bread and giving the pieces to them, Jesus repeated in illustrated form what he had just been teaching them along the way: that the Christ must suffer these things in order that they might have eternal life. 

Is that not what the sacrament is meant to convey to us who belong to Jesus? The symbols of bread and wine convey to us the reality of our deliverance from sin and our adoption into the family of God. It really is quite a simple ritual, but its significance is foundational to the reality of the Church…it addresses our past, our present, and our future…regardless of what may happen in life, the sacrament teaches us that we are inseparably united with Jesus and his ministry. Holy Communion is at once both a meal of remembrance as well as a meal of proclamation.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:26 that ‘as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns’. It is in the partaking of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper that we can look past the physical trials of this life and see our Lord triumphing over sin, death, and the devil. The sacrament reminds us that we have been bought at a great price, but it also reminds us that Christ will come again to consummate his kingdom. It is a feast of victory and should instil in us an unshakeable hope, faith, and adoring love.

But it is with the breaking and the sharing of the bread that the eyes of the disciples were opened, and they recognised the stranger as their Lord and Saviour…risen from the dead, just as the women had reported. Then, suddenly, he disappeared.

And immediately joy so overtook them that they abandoned all the human reasons that caused them such great despair and they returned to Jerusalem despite the danger of travelling at night. They burst into the upper room only to discover that the Lord had already appeared to Simon Peter as well. And as the joyful pandemonium that surely ensued reached a near hysteria, the room suddenly fell silent as the Lord himself stood in their midst. 

Observe the graciousness of our Lord at this point. He allowed them to touch him and feed him to prove that he was no mere spirit or phantom or apparition. And then, once again, he opened the Scriptures to them: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Remembrance and proclamation…

These two elements are the essence of what the sacrament of Holy Communion is all about. Remembrance and proclamation. We make a huge mistake if we think this meal is about us. It is all about Jesus and what he has done for the life of the world. For this reason, this meal should propel us out into that world so that all might hear the truth of what it represents. This meal calls us to be witnesses to Jesus.

A daunting task to be sure, but the disciples were told that they would not be alone in this endeavour. They were instructed to wait in Jerusalem until they had received power from God to assist them in their holy vocation. This same Holy Spirit who was poured out upon the Jerusalem Church at Pentecost has been received by all believers ever since. As Paul says, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not his.” So, if you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit living in you and therefore you have full access to the power of God. 

But where then is this power in the modern Church? Is it only given to a select part of the Body of Christ? Is it a have-and-have-not situation? Does the power of the Holy Spirit only manifest itself in ecstatic expression and demonstration of the supernatural? And is he bound to our bidding? If this is so, why does the one New Testament Church that appears to exercise every so-called spiritual gift receive some of the strongest rebukes from Paul? Or otherwise stated, if possession of the so-called gifts of the Spirit is the mark of the true Spirit-filled Church why then was the Corinthian Church so corrupt?

The Holy Spirit is the source of power to the Church, but not solely in dispensing gifts and abilities. The main reason for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was to empower and equip the Church for the work of witnessing to the world. To proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns. The power of the Spirit lies in his purpose to serve as a witness to Jesus. It is the Spirit of God who compels us to share the wonderful message of life with the world. It is the Spirit who prepares and changes the hearts of those whom God calls to himself. 

It is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. It is the Spirit who not only inspired the authors of the Scriptures but who also illuminates our minds as we read so that we might clearly understand what was written. Just as we cannot know God apart from the Scriptures, so too we cannot comprehend the Scriptures properly without the work of the Holy Spirit. He also enables us to speak…as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” And it is the Spirit who imparts and sustains life to the Church…he witnesses in our spirit that we are children of God.

Now, we’ve looked at Scripture, the Sacrament, and the Spirit, but what’s the point? I think we find the point in the one thing that connects all three…they all serve as witnesses to Jesus. Scripture points us to Jesus. The sacrament points us to Jesus. And the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus. And it is at this juncture that the Church finds her power and her purpose. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that makes us who we are and that compels us to do what we are called to do. To proclaim the Lord’s death until his return…to be witnesses to Jesus.

Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have no life, no message, and no purpose. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15: 14, “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.” But thanks be to God as he has led us and will continue to lead us in triumph through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So, how does one deal with what to those praying might appear to be illogical and unreasonable? How does one deal with the perception that God is perhaps not always in control of all events? What is it that keeps us, as believers, on track during those times of apparent failure and chaos? 

If we focus on the world and its events, our answers to such questions may be very similar to the downhearted, dispirited, despairing conversation of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Could it be that we, as the Modern Church, need a divine visitor to come alongside us and to open the Scriptures to us? Do we perhaps also need a reminder of the cosmic implications of the cross portrayed so vividly in the elements of broken bread and poured-out wine? Do we need the inner conviction of the Holy Spirit to enable us to see our Lord Jesus crowned with glory and honour, seated on his universal throne, presently reigning until he has brought all his enemies into subjection to his rule? 

Where is your focus today? Is it on Jesus and his purposes? May I encourage you to saturate your mind with the study of the living Word, having the one who inspired the Word – the Holy Spirit – as your guide and tutor. You might just be pleasantly surprised at the outcome…

Scripture, sacrament, and the Spirit…may they all remind you that while it is true that Jesus died for you, it is equally true that he died for all, and you are the one who is called to proclaim that truth.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024