A Touchstone of Pure Theology
2026-04-23
A Sermon on Understanding the Words of Institution for The Sacrament of the Altar, Questions 1-2
What is the Sacrament of the Altar? It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink. Where is this written? The holy evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Saint Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ (cf. Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–25, ESV) In the name of Jesus, Amen. In ancient times, in order to test the purity of certain precious metals, men would take an article of gold or silver and rub it against a particular type of stone. This item—perhaps a gold coin or a silver cup—would then leave a line on that stone, and the shade and color of that line would tell the person what percentage of gold or silver was in that coin, necklace, or cup. These stones were called touchstones, and they were used to determine the quality of an item—how pure that coin or cup or necklace was. Now, the Lord’s Supper is a chief touchstone in theology. What a Christian believes or a pastor teaches about the Lord’s Supper reveals the purity of their doctrine—whether their doctrine is composed of what God’s Word teaches, or whether they have let man’s reason determine what is true. It is easy to compare Lutherans with American Protestants and conclude that, if you get down to it, the only difference is the Lord’s Supper. Many have made that observation, and it is somewhat true, but it is also a bit naïve. It is not just one small difference; it is the thing that determines the truth. If we apply the touchstone of the Lord’s Supper, we can see how, when they reject the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, American Protestants have shown that reason rules their theology, not God’s Word. Jesus speaks these words of institution on the night when He was betrayed. He knows that He is about to go to His death, to suffer and die for your sins. He knows that Judas is about to betray Him. He knows that this is His final sermon, the last night He has with His disciples. As we heard in our daily reading from Luke 8 this morning, when Jesus is before crowds, He often speaks in parables, and sometimes these are very confusing images. He speaks using flowery and poetic language, and He does that to confound those who refuse to listen to Him. But with His disciples, when they come to Him and ask, He explains all things. He speaks in riddles and parables to the crowds, but with His disciples—to whom He is going to entrust the mysteries of the kingdom—He teaches them clearly and plainly. And on the night when He is betrayed, Jesus does not launch into a poetic story about how His body is like bread, or how the cup of wine is like His blood because of its color. He does not say such things. Look at all the passages where He institutes the Supper: Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11. You will find no hint that He speaks in parables or riddles. Instead, what we read in the text of Scripture is that, at supper with His disciples, He takes bread and a cup of wine, gives thanks, and speaks plainly: “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you.” (Matthew 26:26, ESV) Then He takes the cup and says: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27–28, ESV, alt.) Now, our human reason struggles to comprehend how or why the eternal Son of God would give us His body and His blood under bread and wine. You can see, across the various denominations, how they wrestle with this and arrive at their own conclusions when they apply reason to these words. Roman Catholics, for example, philosophize about it and construct a whole system to explain this mystery, using and distorting the philosophy of Aristotle. They teach that the Supper only appears to be bread and wine, but those elements are absent, for once the Consecration is effected, only Christ's body and blood remain. Protestants apply their reason and conclude one of two things: either that Jesus was giving an object lesson—a memorial—or that somehow, in this Supper, we ascend to heaven by faith and there consume Christ’s body and blood in the heavenly courtroom. They teach that the Supper is not a receiving of Christ's true body and blood, but only bread and wine. But we Lutherans stick to the plain grammatical and logical sense of the text. We read that He took bread and said, “This is my body.” When He said this, He was holding the bread and speaking of the bread. He took the cup and said, “This cup is the new testament in my blood.” Therefore, we conclude that what is in the cup is His blood, and yet it is also wine. What is in His hand is His body, and yet it is also bread. We receive four things in the Sacrament: bread, Christ’s body, wine, and Christ’s blood. Reason aids us in understanding these words, but it must never be used to do away with what Christ actually says. And what we find here in this Sacrament is comfort. For when we confess rightly what it is—the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself—then we are prepared to hear and believe what it is given for. It is given for us Christians to eat and to drink, for the forgiveness of sins, as we will hear more in the coming weeks. Now, how does this all work? That is like asking how God made the world in six days by speaking it into existence, or how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. Reason must be made subject to Scripture. Our reason aids us in understanding Scripture, but we must not make Scripture serve our reason. Just because we do not understand how or why does not mean that it is not true. And why does He give us this Sacrament? So that you would know that your sins are forgiven by the shedding of His blood, and that you would also know that your body will be raised, just as His body has been raised. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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