The Upper Room - Matthew 26:17-30 - February 22, 2026

That god in his infinite love for rebellious creation made the way for us to be forgiven, for us to be reconciled, and for us to be adopted into the family of god. That's the beauty that we see before us every time we come to his table, that all of this junk in life is temporary, that we have this to look forward to, The empty cup that we have to look forward to, that he is going to do exactly what he said he was going to do. Write these words down for they are trustworthy and true. There will come a day when we will all stand face to face to Jesus Christ. Those words are trustworthy and true. It is going to happen. We are all going to come face to face with our creator, and we're gonna have to answer for what we've done in this life. [01:30:36] (62 seconds)  #ForgivenAndAdopted

So Jesus took this cup, this cup of redemption, and made it something brand new to his disciples. This was no longer about the fact that they were redeemed out of Egypt. It was now that they were gonna be redeemed by the blood of the spotless lamb of god, Jesus Christ, for all eternity. This was no longer a temporary celebration. This was no longer a placeholder for what god was going to do. God was now doing what he promised through the Passover because in the Passover, they were commanded to take the blood of a lamb and put it on the lentils and the door of the frame and the lentil of their doors. So, we're putting blood here, here, and here. [01:22:59] (41 seconds)  #RedeemedByTheLamb

This is what the cup is talking about. When Jesus says, this is my blood of the new covenant for the forgiveness of many, this is what he's talking about. That he's gonna be crushed and purist and killed for our sin and only through the blood of the spotless lamb of Jesus Christ can we be forgiven. That's the new covenant. That's what he is talking about. Then he says this, I will not drink it again. I'm missing slides. Sorry. I'm missing a slide. So, let me back up because I don't know went. The blood of the covenant is in Jeremiah. So, let me read that quickly because this is what Jeremiah says. Jeremiah 31 verses 31 to 34. [01:24:52] (56 seconds)  #IsaiahFulfilled

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, know the lord for they all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. So, we now, because of the shed blood of Christ, because of this new covenant, when we enter into this new covenant that we can only enter through by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we get the holy spirit indwelling us. We now have the holy spirit living inside of us and this is what Jeremiah is talking about. That's the new covenant, right? That that I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts. That is that is him giving us the indwelling of the holy spirit as a sign and the seal of this covenant of his blood. That through that, we can be his. [01:26:18] (48 seconds)  #LawWrittenOnHearts

So, when we come to the table and we take this bread that Jesus broke and blessed, we are coming in celebration of the freedom from sin that we only have Jesus Christ. So, that's when we're when it says, this is my body broken for you. We know that that's what he's talking about. We know that he is talking about this picture that they have and the the disciples would have known exactly what was going on. Like, this is the bread of celebration because of our freedom. Then it says that he he went from there and then it says that he took the cup. Right? He says, [01:22:10] (38 seconds)  #BreadOfFreedom

But what it comes down to is and I will just say this unequivocally. You need Jesus Christ. You need Jesus Christ. I want you to be at the marriage supper of the lamb. Be a celebration like no other. It'll be a celebration like we have never experienced at that marriage supper of the lamb, and then we will drink that fourth cup with the lamb. I want you to be there. Would you stand and pray with me? [01:39:06] (29 seconds)  #NeedJesusNow

So, in the midst of this Passover, so we see this, like, we can see and read like, as they're eating, we just think there's a meal, he gives them bread, he gives them the wine, that's what's on the table. This is a very specific cup. This is a very specific reason that Jesus did it this way, that he is taking this bread, this bread of affliction as they call it, but the Afcoman is supposed to be celebration. The Afcoman is not like the bread of affliction that's left for the seder portion. This is a celebration of what god has done for them and the freedom they now have in god as Jews because they're no longer slaves. [01:21:36] (34 seconds)  #AfikomanCelebration

Then, they're gathered around the table and it's festive and it's job, it's jovial. People are rejoicing. They're having a good time. They're eating a good meal. And then whoever is the master of the feast is the one that determines when the meal is over. And he determines that by taking the Afcoman, taking the bread, breaking it, and distributing it to each people, each person at the Passover. And then after they he would do that, he would pour the third cup. And they would all, as they're taking the Afcoman, they would all take of the third cup. It would be communal. Cup would be passed around. Okay? [01:18:57] (51 seconds)  #ThirdCupCommunion

But what it comes down to is and I will just say this unequivocally. You need Jesus Christ. You need Jesus Christ. I want you to be at the marriage supper of the lamb. Be a celebration like no other. It'll be a celebration like we have never experienced at that marriage supper of the lamb, and then we will drink that fourth cup with the lamb. I want you to be there. [01:39:06] (26 seconds)