The Lord’s Table as the New Testament Holy of Holies
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Introduction
This morning I want us to begin a two part study on the Eucharist.
And to do so I want to start with a somewhat startling thesis. My thesis is this:
1. The picture presented to us at the Lord’s Table depicts the heavenly Holy of holies. In other words, the picture we see when we look at the Table is not of Calvary (though Calvary is essential to it). Rather, the picture we see is the very throne room of God.
2. Importance: it is the heavenly Holy of holies (God’s direct throne room presence with His people) that defines the New Creation and is the fullness of the new life (“The Tabernacle of God is among men”- Rev 21:3).
Notice the result: if our thesis is true, then each week as you partake of the Table by faith, you are entering into the very sacred presence of God (you have come to your Father’s house, to dine with Him and His people at His table- Mic 4:1).
Now next week, we will show that God’s throne room presence is what defines the new heavens and earth and is the fullness of the New life.
But for now let’s turn to our thesis: The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of holies and depicts the Heavenly throne room of God.
I. The Table as the New Testament Holy of Holies
A] To help us understand this, I want to start with something familiar. During our service each week as we prepare to partake of the Table, the liturgy prompts us to pray the following FN#1:
we, thy humble servants, do celebrate and make here before thy Divine Majesty, with these thy holy gifts, which we now offer unto thee, the memorial thy Son hath commanded us to make; having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension
Question: Looking at the Table where do we see each of these:
1. Where do we see His precious death? Answer: This is my body given for you. This is my blood shed for you. Easy enough
2. Where do we see His mighty Resurrection? Answer: If Christ is not raised, this means that God did not accept His sacrifice as payment. Therefore we are still in our sins. Thus without the Resurrection, the Cross offers no hope worth remembering.
1 Corinthians 15:17 if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
3. Looking at the Table, where do we see His glorious ascension? Answer: Jesus, in fulfillment of the Old Testament priesthood, enters the heavenly Holy of holies and presents His perfect, accepted, and all sufficient sacrifice to God, and as a result, God applies its merits to His people FN#2.
Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (c.f. Lev16:15) FN#3
B] Notice the result: the very picture that God presents to us at the Table is the same picture that Scripture provides of the throne room of God, the true heavenly Holy of holies.
Revelation 5:6 And I saw a Lamb, as if slain, standing between the throne [of God] and the elders [i.e. the Church]
Importance: at the Table, the very scene that our Heavenly Father has placed before us for our remembrance, is the very actuality presented to Him for His remembrance in the heavenly court (Christ our all sufficient sacrifice).
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
C] Notice then the case made by Scripture that each week as you come to the Table, you are entering into the very spiritual presence of God that defines the heavenly Holy of holies
1. First, Scripture tells us that the way into the Holy of Holies has already been provided. (In other words, it is not something we will one day have but something that we already have)
Mark 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
2. Not only that, Scripture makes a direct connection between the Sacrament and entrance into the heavenly Holy of Holies. In other words, to partake of the Sacrament by faith is to enter into and participate in the spiritual reality the Table presents.
Hebrews 10:19 We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
Notice then, it is at the Table of the Covenant that this reality is presented to us in the most comprehensive sense this side of Christ’s return.
Bottom line: each week you participate in the very reality that is remaking all creation. God calls you out of the nations, out of the neighborhoods, market places, and communities of the world; and He brings you to His Holy Mountain, to His house, on His day (the Day of the Lord) that you may dine with Him and His people. At the Table God assures you that His ongoing presence and unfailing grace are at work in the very details of your life. He then sends you back out into His vineyard strengthened, renewed, and refocused to continue your share in His Kingdom labor
Micah 4:1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. FN#4
III. How then do I come?
1. I come with great reverence, awe, and devotion- understanding that I am coming into the very sacred presence of God. Therefore, I do not come casually or unprepared.
2. Second, I come rejoicing knowing that the very power that will remake the cosmos is already at work in the details of my life (inside and out). Therefore, I bring God my brokenness and needs that He may forgive, heal, and renew me.
Footnotes:
1] There are two ways we can go about establishing the ground work of our thesis. The one that I have chosen for our sermon is more antidotal. It draws on our liturgy and the understanding of the Table held by the Church down through the ages. The second way, which I have included in this footnote, is more theologically rigorous and thus a bit more tedious. It begins with the biblical principle of distinguishing the holy.
Over and again Scripture teaches us that there are degrees in which God’s presence is manifested. These degrees are clearly maintained in both the Old and New Testaments.
1) First, both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God is everywhere
Jeremiah 23:24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?“. (Acts 17:26-28)
2) Both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God is uniquely with His people
Leviticus 26:12 ‘I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. (Matthew 28:20)
3) Both the Old and New Testaments teach us that God has specifically identified Himself with the corporate worship of His people
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Deuteronomy 12:11)
4) In the Old Testament, God specially identifies Himself with the Holy of Holies. That is, God’s presence in the Holy of Holies is unique and the most sacred example of all His manifestations (thus the designation, Holiest of all holies).
Exodus 25:21 “And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. 22 “And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.
For simplicity sake, we shall call this manner of God’s presence His covenantal presence. Notice then, when we examine God’s covenantal presence, we find that it has two fundamental characteristics that distinguish it and make it unique:
B] But where do we find God’s covenantal presence in the New Testament? Answer: God’s unique and covenantal presence in the Old Testament is seen again in the New Testament at the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of Holies
Notice then, just as God administered His relationship with His Old Testament people at the Ark of the Covenant, on the basis of the many sacrifices, so too, He now administers this relationship at the Table of the Covenant on the basis of Christ’s onetime sacrifice.
1 Corinthians 11:25 This cup is the new covenant in My blood;
It is at the Table that Christ meets with His people as a people and administers His relationship with them.
In the end, regardless of what path we take (Antidotal or Distinguishing the holy) both lead us to the same exact conclusion. The Lord’s Table is the New Testament Holy of holies. It is the already-not yet participation in the very divine throne room presence that defines the essence of the new life.
2] Remember how essential to our salvation the Ascension is. On Easer Sunday, the very day of the Resurrection, Jesus tells Mary Magdalen not to cling to Him and try to keep Him there. For He must ascend to the Father.
John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father;
Earlier Jesus explains to the Disciples,
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
This is vitally important. Remember, it is the Holy Spirit who applies to us all that Christ accomplished for us. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the bridge between you and the Resurrection life.
3] Notice then the full picture of salvation that Scripture provides: a sacrifice is made (the Cross), it is deemed acceptable (Resurrection), and it is then presented/applied (Ascension)
4] At the Table we see the fulfillment of Micah 4:1 already underway- and not just see it, we are actual participants in this divine current of grace