CHRIST AND THE PASSOVER
‘And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.’
Luke 22:15
What were the reasons why the Saviour desired so earnestly to join in this last Passover before He suffered?
I. The Passover had now reached its end and found its full meaning.
II. For the support of His own soul in the approaching struggle.
III. His friends needed special comfort.
IV. It looked forward to all the future of His Church and people.

IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME
‘This do in remembrance of Me.’
Luke 22:19
We may, perhaps, obtain clear views of the nature of this central rite of the Christian Church if we regard it from four standpoints. Let us look upon it as—
Illustration
‘ “How often should we come to the Lord’s Table?” The Bible lays down no rule upon this point, and our Prayer Book only mentions “three times a year, of which Easter shall be one,” as a minimum. The service is one of free, spontaneous gratitude and love. The moment we begin to ask “How often?” we begin to forget its essential character. We then seek to impose hard and fast rules which tend to rob it of the spontaneity of love which should be its chief characteristic. But let us remember one thing: just in proportion as our hearts are set upon Christ and our lives are surrendered to Him, just in proportion as He occupies the centre of our affections, so shall we welcome with joy the opportunities of being the King’s guests at the King’s Table. The invitation, “Draw near with faith,” will never find us ready “to make excuse.” Our love for Him will be an elastic cord stretched between us, drawing us near to our Lord by its own tension.’
(SECOND OUTLINE)
THE COMMUNION FEAST
The Blessed Sacrament is love’s memorial.
I. It is a Communion.—It is an occasion for praising God for dear ones gone before, on whom the light perpetual shines. In some human faces we have seen the reflection of the Divine: we have seen the face of God. And these faces come back to us in a fair vision at Communion times, when we bless God’s holy Name ‘for all His servants departed this life in His faith and fear.’
II. The Holy Supper speaks of Christ dying.—‘As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death’ ( 1 Corinthians 11:26). It points back to that ‘meritorious Cross and Passion whereby alone we obtain remission of our sins.’ It brings afresh to our minds the Divinest scene in the Divinest Life.
III. The Holy Supper speaks of Christ’s coming.—The table is to be spread ‘till He come,’ and then there will be ‘one flock and one Shepherd.’ So Christ promised ( John 10:16). So Christ prayed ( John 17:21). So Christ purposed, for to that end He died ( John 11:52).
The Holy Supper is a connecting link between the first and Second Coming of Christ: like a rainbow having one end on Ascension Day and the other stretched out to the Second Advent.
Rev. F. Harper.
Illustrations
(1) ‘ “My poor Romola,” mourned her father Bernardo, “I have only to die, but thou hast to live, and I shall not be there to help thee.” “Yes,” replied Romola, “you will help me—always—because I shall remember you.” ’
(2) ‘Long ago in the Teaching of the Apostles they prayed: “As this broken bread was once scattered in grains upon the mountains, and, being gathered together, became one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy Kingdom.” ’

THE TRUE WAY TO GREATNESS
‘And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.’
Luke 22:24
The disciples had not yet clearly understood the true design of Christ’s mission, and the nature of His Kingdom; and hence the strife which rose among them concerning superiority. The true way to greatness taught by Christ to His disciples does not consist in power and authority according to our worldly opinions. It is not external, but internal in essence, and consists in kindness and service.
I. It is natural to aspire after dignity and honour.—It is not the creation of circumstances, but a part of the constitution of the human mind. It is therefore a holy and righteous principle. To be the greatest is no sin; but the desire to be accounted greatest is rebuked here. The principle is natural and right if it be rightly exercised. Some must be greater than others, and there must be the greatest, otherwise God would have dispensed to all the same talents and similar opportunities.
II. The best men may fail.—Observe here—
(a) The cause of their failure.
(b) The spirit of their failure. It was carnal, external, and worldly.
(c) The manifestation of their failure. It appears in various ways among men. Men seem to claim a superiority over others because of their age, but it does not follow that it gives claim to superiority. Character and usefulness are the only claims to superiority in the moral world.
III. Fidelity to Christ qualifies for higher spheres.—Observe—
(a) That adherence to Christ brings us into contact with the greatest trials. Prepare for a true knowledge of Christ.
(b) That all true disciples cleave to Christ, even in His trials. ‘Ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations.’ Trials cause a more entire devotedness to Christ and His service.
(c) Christ will honourably acknowledge and reward fidelity in His disciples. ‘And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me.’ Honour and dignity shall be the reward of those who faithfully adhere to Christ in all circumstances of life.

BUY A SWORD
‘Be that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.’
Luke 22:36
This is a remarkable text, but strangely overlooked. It must evidently be taken figuratively. The sword is only an emblem. It was meant to teach His disciples that after their Master left the world they must diligently use all reasonable means to promote and defend the cause of His Gospel; just as a soldier knows he would be useless if he went into battle without weapons, so ought the follower of Christ to know that he must be a fighting man, and leave nothing undone to secure success if he would war a good warfare. There are three growing evils around us which demand the watchful attention of Churchmen in this day, and about each of them I would persuade every Churchman to awake and buy a sword.
I. The times require us to contend earnestly for the inspiration, supremacy, and sufficiency of the whole Bible.
II. The times require us to contend earnestly for the great doctrinal principles of our Church.
III. The times require us to contend earnestly for the continued recognition of Christianity and of God by the Government of this country. In plain words, we must resist the growing disposition to disestablish the Church of England and put an end to the union of Church and State.
—Bishop J. C. Ryle.
Illustration
‘Many people do not realise what the practical result of Disestablishment would be. I ask them to remember that as soon as the Church is disestablished the rulers of this country will have nothing to do with religion, and would leave the supply of it to the principles of free trade and the action of the Voluntary system. In a word, the Government of England would allow all its subjects to serve God or Baal—to go to heaven or to another place—just as they please. The State would take no cognisance of spiritual matters, and would look on with Epicurean indifference and unconcern. The State would continue to care for the bodies of its subjects, but it would entirely ignore their souls. Gallio, who thought Christianity was a matter of “words and names,” and “cared for none of these things,” would become the model of an English statesman. The Sovereign of Great Britain might be a Papist, the Prime Minister a Mohammedan, the Lord Chancellor a Jew. Parliament would begin without prayer. Oaths would be dispensed with in Courts of Justice. The next King would be crowned without a religious service in Westminster Abbey. Prisons and workhouses, men-of-war and regiments, would all be left without chaplains, or left to the uncertain ministration of the Voluntary system. I loathe the idea of a great nation like England, so highly favoured and privileged, ceasing to recognise God. I had far rather see our next Sovereign crowned in Westminster Abbey by the President of the Wesleyan Conference, with an extempore prayer, and the Archbishop of Canterbury standing as a private individual in the crowd, than see our Government turning its back on Christianity altogether.’

THE AGONY OF CHRIST
‘And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’
Luke 22:44
There are no flowers so beautiful as those which grow in Gethsemane and in the Garden by the Cross. Gethsemane has been called ‘the rose garden of God.’
I. The agony of Jesus was unique.—Do you see that lone Figure prostrate on the cold ground under the olives ( Matthew 26:39)? Do you hear the night wind moaning through the trees? He asks for human sympathy, but finds none. In His unknown agony the drops of blood fall on the turf. ‘Not My will, but Thine be done’; in those words lay the victory and the glory of Gethsemane. In fact, the battle was won as He wrestled in prayer under the olives, and then He walked calmly to the high altar of the Cross.
II. The Christ of Gethsemane can teach us to say, ‘Thy Will be done’ in earth’s darkest days.
III. Gethsemane’s angel.—‘And there appeared unto Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him’ ( Luke 22:43). Every Christian life has its Gethsemane of some kind, but every Gethsemane has its angel.
IV. If it is denied that Christ bare any penalty for sin, how can we explain the agony in the garden, or the cry on the Cross—‘My God, My God, why didst Thou forsake Me?’
Rev. F. Harper.
Illustration
‘Here are some verses by F. W. Faber on “The Agony,” very touching and beautiful:—
My God! My God! and can it be
That I should sin so lightly now,
And think no more of evil thoughts,
Than of the wind that waves the bough?
I sin,—and heaven and earth go round,
As if no dreadful deed were done,
As if God’s Blood had never flowed
To hinder sin, or to atone.
I walk the earth with lightsome step,
Smile at the sunshine, breathe the air,
Do my own will, nor ever heed
Gethsemane and Thy long prayer.
Shall it be always thus, O Lord?
Wilt Thou not work this hour in me
The grace Thy Passion merited,
Hatred of self and love of Thee?
Oh, by the pains of Thy pure love,
Grant me the gift of holy fear;
And give me of Thy Bloody Sweat
To wash my guilty conscience clear.’

THE SAVIOUR’S LOOK
‘And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.’
Luke 22:61
I. The Lord’s look.—Has there ever been a painter who had genius enough—it would have to be genius direct from heaven—to paint the look that Christ cast upon St. Peter? There would be, at least, three things in that look—sorrow, love, and encouragement.
( a) Sorrow that St. Peter, after his promise, ‘I am ready to go with Thee both to prison and to death,’ should prove so sorry a coward.
( b) Love—a love so great, so strong, that it cannot be quenched even by a denial such as this.
( c) Encouragement. ‘I have prayed for thee.’
Has there ever been a poet—the man who is supposed to know most about the human heart—who could write down on paper what St. Peter must have felt when the Lord turned and looked upon him?
II. The denial.—Now what is the use of a story like this? You say, if I had been in St. Peter’s place I should not have acted as he did. But you are not in St. Peter’s place; you are here. St. Peter denied Christ. Do we ever deny Christ to-day? Every time we do Christ turns and looks upon us. On the first Good Friday, Pontius Pilate asked the question: ‘Which do you choose—Jesus or Barabbas?’ Which do you choose to-day?
III. The right choice.—If we only all chose Christ, what a bringing down of that great city the Holy Jerusalem out of heaven there would be! And when we do so choose Him, the Lord turns and looks upon us; but the look is altered. It is no longer a sad one; it is a glad one. We say we love Christ. Do we not want to make Him glad? And so, when the great question is put to us—and it is always being put, every day—‘Are you this Man’s disciple?’ we will turn a deaf ear to our passions, which urge us to deny the Master, and range ourselves bravely on the side of Christ, calling upon our great Elder Brother to help us to make our lives worthy of the children of the Father Which is in heaven.
—Rev. W. C. Heaton.
Illustration
‘What were some, at least, of the downward “steps” that were to make the “fall”? Pride, neglected duties, jealousy, a deaf ear, sleep, rashness, fear, desertion, falsehood, treachery, alienation, rejection? Side by side let me place, for a moment, the steps up the opposite side of the hill. A look from Jesus, a look to Jesus, bitter tears, faith restored, love—deeper love, simpler love, humbler love—love that makes no comparison, a bravery not his own, a bravery that never failed, a dedicated life, a lifelong humiliation in lifelong service, a sin made grace, and the fall of one, in the beautiful alchemy of Omnipotence, turned into the strength and the comfort and the salvation of many.’