2006-12-10 Communion Dedication – Baldwin Christian Church 

After the Last Supper, Jesus and the eleven disciples left that upper room in the city, and they began walking through the streets toward the Mount of Olives.  We can read about that walk only in the Gospel of John, chapters 15, 16 and 17. 

Old Jerusalem sits atop mount Moriah, the place where God provided a lamb for Abraham.  Between the old city and the Mount of Olives lies the little valley called Kidron.  Jesus paused before crossing the stream on that moonlit night, and this is part of what He prayed there: 

John 17:24-26 

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 

26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. 

God hates sin.  In His Word we read that forgiveness for sin is impossible without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).  God created life; for us to die, it was not His purpose (2 Peter 3:9), but mankind continues to choose the things of death instead of life (Romans 1:25).  In His Word we learn that life is in the blood (Genesis 9:4).  Blood is the only thing that can hold back the wrath of God against sin. 

God’s purpose for you and me was not sin.  He created us to fellowship with Him, something far greater than anything we can ever imagine, but there was a wall separating us.  Jesus of Nazareth has made the Way for us through that wall. 

As He faced His own death, just hours away, Jesus prayed in verse 24, “I desire that these folks be with me”. 

He wanted this so much that He refused to call down legions of angels to deliver Him.  He wanted us to be with Him so much that He endured being spat upon and beaten beyond recognition.  His desire for you and I is that we might be with the Father.  He offered His pure body and unstained blood on the cross that might be reconciled to the Father (2 Corinthians 5:18), that the price of the blood upon our heads might be paid; the price we owe for even the least of our sins.  He loves you so much that He leaves the choice up to you.  You have a personal decision to make.  You can choose this life and at the end you will stand before judgment with only your own blood to pay that price; only your own righteous acts to plead the Judge with.  He did not need to die for you to make that choice.  He died to give you the opportunity to choose His life, a life of service, and be with Him where He is.