At Communion time, we often hear the familiar passage from 1 Corinthians 11:28, “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces seven “woes” to the congregation before him. In the crowd were some who were eagerly seeking Jesus, the hungry, the sick, the empty, and the lonely, those looking for the Way to a better life. There were also in the crowd, hypocrites, those whose religion was only surface deep. Jesus cried out, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” When we truly look on the inside of ourselves, do we see darkness and decay, or is it truly the home...of the Light of Life?
That familiar passage in 1 Corinthians 11 continues, “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.” Just because we realize that we have some cleaning up to do, does not mean we are not welcome at the Lord's table. In fact 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. The good news of the gospel is, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” God cleans us up!
Zacchaeus knew that he was a wee, little man and would not be able to come to Jesus on his short legs. When Jesus saw that he was eager enough to find him, that he, a grown man, climbed a tree just to get a glimpse, Jesus had compassion and was faithful to come into his home and life.
When we, in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds the Lord our God has made... When we see the clouds and hear the rolling thunder, and see His power throughout the universe displayed... We should consider just how small we are compared to a Great and Awesome God as that. We should consider the rottenness underneath the whitewashed facade, and seek Him out, whatever it takes, so that He can come into our homes and lives.
The miracle of the Lord's Supper is that the Most High has furnished a way for wee little men to commune with the Great and Powerful Master of the Universe. By taking this bread of life, we restore flesh to the decaying bones inside us. This cup of the blood of the Lamb washes us clean, from the inside, out.
Allow me to read a few verses from Psalm 51. I pray you will apply these to your hearts.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
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