Ryle on Mark 14:17-25

Imported boundary: J. C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Mark from the Internet Archive DjVu OCR for the 1858 Robert Carter St. Mark volume. Title pages, preface, contents, running heads, page numbers, OCR boilerplate, and indexes are not mirrored. The source includes Ryle's printed Scripture text and exposition; this scan-derived text remains needs-verification.

Primary passage: Mark 14:17-25.

Source Text

if he had never been born. 22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. 23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them : and they all drank of it. 24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25 Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. 17 And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. 18 And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me. 19 And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I ? and another said, Is it I ? 20 And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve that dippeth with me in the dish. 21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him : but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed ! good were it for that man

* It may be well to observe in this connection, that it admits of much question, whether the common view of the word " passover" is the correct one. At any rate, the following passage from Bishop Lowth, on Isaiah xxxi. 5, deserves careful consideration. He says : " The common notion of God's passing over the houses of the Is- raelites is, that in going through the land of Egypt to smite the first- born, seeing the blood on the door of the houses of the Israelites, He passed over, or skipped those houses, and forbore to smite them. Bat that this is not the true notion of the thing, will be plain from considering the words of the sacred historian, where he describes very explicitly the action : ' For Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians ; and when He seeth the blood on the lintels and on the two side posts, Jehovah will spring forward over or before the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.' Exod. xii. 23. Here are manifestly two distinct agents, with which the notion of passing over is not consistent ; for that supposes but one agent. The two agents are, the destroying angel passing through to smite every house, and Jehovah the protector, keeping pace with him, who, seeing the door of the Israelites marked with blood, leaps forward, throws Himself with a sudden motion in the way, opposes the destroying angel, and protects and saves that house against him, nor suffers him to smite it." The words of Isaiah xxxi. 5, ought to be studied attentively, in order to understand the fitness and propriety of this interpretation. 307 These verses contain St. .Mark's account of the insti- tution of the Lord's Supper. The simplicity of the description deserves special observation. Well would it have been for the Church, if men had not departed from the simple statements of Scripture about this blessed sacrament ! It is a mournful fact that it has been corrupted by false explanations and superstitious addi- tions, until its real meaning, in many parts of Christen- dom, is utterly unknown. Let us however, at present, dismiss from our minds all matters of controversy, and study the words of St. Mark with a view to our own personal edification.

Let us learn from the passage before us, that self- examination should precede the reception of the Lord's Supper. We cannot doubt that this was one object of our Lord's solemn warning, " One of you which eateth with me shall betray me." He meant to stir up in the minds of his disciples, those very searchings of heart which are here so touchingly recorded : " They began to be sorrowful, and to say unto Him one by one, Is it I ? and another said, Is it I " He meant to teach His whole Church throughout the world, that the time of drawing near to the Lord's table should be a time for diligent self-inquiry. The benefit of the Lord's Supper depends entirely on the spirit and frame of mind in which we receive it. The bread which we there eat, and the wine which we there drink, have no power to do good to Our souls, as medi- cine does good to our bodies, without the co-operation of our hearts and wills. They will not convey any blessing to us, by virtue of the minister's consecration, if we do not receive them rightly, worthily, and with faith. To assert, as some do, that the Lord's supper must do good to all communicants, whatever be the state of mind in which they receive it, is a monstrous and unscriptural figment, and has given rise to gross and wicked superstition. The state of mind which we should look for in ourselves, before going to the Lord's table, is well described in the Catechism of the Church of England.

We ought to " ex- amine ourselves whether we repent truly of our former sins - whether we stedfastly purpose to lead a new life - whether we have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ - and a thankful remembrance of His death - and whether we are in charity with all men." If our conscience can answer these questions satisfactorily, we may receive the Lord's supper without fear. More than this God does not require of any communicant. Less than this ought never to content us.

Let us take heed to ourselves in the matter of the Lord's supper. It is easy to err about it on either side. - On the one hand, we are not to be content with staying away from the Lord's table under the vague plea of unfitness. As long as we so stay away, we are disobeying a plain command of Christ, and are living in sin. But, on the other hand, we are not to go to the Lord's table as a mere form, and without thought. As long as we receive the sacrament in that state of mind, we derive no good from it, and are guilty of a great transgression. It is an awful thing to be unfit for the sacrament, for this is to be unfit to die. It is a no less awful thing to receive it unworthily, for this is most provoking to God. The only safe course is to be a decided servant of Christ, and to 309 live the life of faith in Him. Then we may draw near with boldness, and take the sacrament to our comfort.

Let us learn, in the second place, from these verses, that the principal object of our Lord's Supper, is to remind us of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross. The bread is intended to bring to our recollection the " body" of Christ, which was wounded for our transgressions. The wine is intended to bring to our recollection the " blood" of Christ, which was shed to cleanse us from all sin. The atonement and propitiation which our Lord effected by His death as our Surety and Substitute, stand out prominently in the whole ordinance. The false doctrine which some teach, that His death was nothing more than the death of a very holy man, who left us an example how to die, turns the Lord's supper into an unmeaning ordinance, and cannot possibly be reconciled with our Lord's words at its institution. A clear understanding of this point is of great im- portance. It will place us in the right position of mind, and teach us how we ought to feel in drawing near to the Lord's table. It will produce in us true humility of spirit. The bread and wine, will remind us how sinful sin must be, when nothing but Christ's death could atone for it. It will produce in us hopefulness about our souls. The bread and wine will remind us that though our sins are great, a great price has been paid for our redemption. Not least, it will produce in us gratitude. The bread and wine will remind us how great is our debt to Christ, and how deeply bound we are to glorify Him in our lives. May these be the feelings that we experience, whenever we receive the Lord's supper !

Finally, we learn from these verses, the nature of the spiritual benefits which the Lord's supper is intended to convey, and the persons who have a right to expect them.

We may gather this lesson from the significant actions which are used in receiving this sacrament. Our Lord commands us to " eat" bread and to " drink" wine. Now eating and drinking are the acts of a living person. The object of eating and drinking is to be strengthened and refreshed. The conclusion we are meant to draw, is manifestly this, that the Lord's supper is appointed for "the strengthening and refreshing of our souls," and that those who ought to partake of it are those who are lively, real Christians. All such will find this sacrament a means of grace. It will assist them to rest in Christ more simply, and to trust in Him more entirely. The visible symbols of bread and wine will aid, quicken, and confirm their faith. A right view of this point is of the utmost moment in these latter days.

We must always beware of thinking that there is any way of eating Christ's body, and drink- ing Christ's blood, but by faith - or that receiving the Lord's supper will give any man a different interest in Christ's sacrifice on the cross from that which faith gives. Faith is the one grand mean of communication between the soul and Christ. The Lord's supper can aid, quicken, and confirm faith, but can never supersede it, or supply its absence. Let this never be forgotten. Error on this point is a most fatal delusion, and leads to many superstitions. Let it be a settled principle in our Christianity, that no unbeliever ought to go to the Lord's table, and that the sacrament will not do our souls the slightest good, if we do not receive it with repentance and faith. The Lord's supper is not a converting or justifying ordinance, and those who come to it unconverted and unjustified, will go away no better than they came, but rather worse. It is an ordinance for believers, and not for unbelievers, for the living and not for the dead. It is meant to sus- tain life, but not to impart it - -to strengthen and increase grace, but not to give it - to help faith to grow, but not to sow or plant it. Let these things sink down into our hearts, and never be forgotten. Are we alive unto God ? This is the great question. If we are, let us go to the Lord's supper, and receive it thankfully, and never turn our backs on the Lord's table. If we do not go, we commit a great sin. Are we yet dead in sin and worldliness ? If we are, we have no business at the communion. We are on the broad way that leadeth to destruction.

We must repent.

We must be born again.

We must be joined to Christ by faith. Then, and not till then, we are fit to be communicants.*

* There are two expressions in the passage now expounded, which deserve a special notice. One is, the " fruit of the vine." The other is " the kingdom of God." 1. The words, "fruit of the vine," applied by our Lord to the cup of wine which He had just been giving to His disciples, in the insti- tution of the Lord's supper, appear entirely to overthrow the Romish doctrine of transubstautiation. The wine, it appears, did not really and literally become Christ's blood, as the Roman Catholics say. Our Lord himself speaks of it as the juice of grapes, " the fruit of the vine/1 It is clear therefore, that when He said of that cup of wine before. " this is my blood," He meant nothing more than this, " this repre- sents- is an emblem of - my blood." 9 2 The words, " kingdom of God," applied by our Lord to a time