Give Thanks: But Why?

Pray

Turn with me, if you would, in your Bibles to Luke’s Gospel. Turn to Luke chapter twenty-two, and today we are going to be in verses seven through twenty. Luke 22:7-20.

Now, as we have worked our way through this time leading up to Thanksgiving, this time leading up to the holiday, we have been focusing our attention, as a church, on what the Bible tell us about giving thanks. And the foundation for this time of study together has been found in what Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians chapter five, where he gives them a command as he closes his letter to them. And he says these words in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. He says:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Paul essentially tells this church, he says, “There is a way that you are to live. There is a way that you are supposed to orient your lives as followers of Christ.” He lays out for this church these specific things that they are to be doing. They need to be rejoicing, they need to be praying, and they need to be giving thanks. And as Christians today, we understand that this message to the church in Thessalonica that was written nearly two thousand years ago is still applicable to us. It’s what we have spent the last couple of weeks talking about. How, as Christians, we are called to living lives that are full of giving thanks. We’ve talked about who it is that we are to give thanks to, that we give thanks to God. And we’ve talked about what it is that we give thanks for, that we give thanks for who Jesus is and for what He has done. Today, as we look at this passage from Luke’s gospel, we answer the final question of why it is that we give thanks. Read with me from Luke twenty-two, beginning in verse seven. The Word of the Lord says:

Read Luke 22:7-20

This is the Word of the Lord.

Introduction

As a dad to two small children, Robert being four and Abigail two, what has become a regular thing around our house is that both of my children thoroughly enjoy asking the question why. Robert, for instance, will ask things like he did this past Wednesday night, and say things like, “Daddy, can I bring all of my dinosaurs to church tonight?” And I’ll tell him, I’ll say, “No son, you can’t bring ALL of your dinosaurs with us to church.” To me, there are already plenty of toys that he can play with in the nursery. In fact, I’d be willing to guess that there are even dinosaur toys in there that he has left behind. But that reasoning doesn’t really matter to him, he just wants to bring the dinosaurs. But really, my communication with Robert concerning explaining why is simply because I told him no and he needs to listen to me.

Then you have Abigail, my pretty blue-eyed princess. She loves to ask why too. She’ll come up to me and ask me if she can have candy, usually right before dinner. She’ll look up at me with those blue eyes, and she’ll say, “Candy?” And when I tell her no, it is always the same response. She says, “But…why?” I’m not sure if it is because she is my daughter and I’m a bit softer toward her than I am to my son, but I usually feel the need to explain myself to her. And so, as much as I can to a two-year-old, I explain that it will ruin her appetite for dinner and that if she eats what is on her plate, then maybe she can have some candy afterward.

Well, what we find in the Scriptures is that there is a command, that as Christians, we give thanks. But what is obvious in our passage today, is that we are given an explanation, or maybe better put, an example of it. Jesus gives us an answer to our question, “But why?” And He does this by doing exactly what we have studied the past two weeks. He shows us who it is that we give thanks to, and he shows us what it is that we give thanks for. And the way in which He does this is important for us to note. He gives us three things to keep in mind as we give thanks. That we would remember what God has done, that we would recognize what God is doing, and that we would look forward to what God will do. We give thanks as we remember what God has done. We give thanks as we recognize what God is doing. And we give thanks as we look forward to what God will do.

22:7-13 (What God Has Done)

Luke, all throughout his gospel account, has been very intentional in telling us exactly who Jesus is and what it is that Jesus came to do. In fact, last week as we were in chapter seventeen, we noticed that Luke specifically said that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem. And what we came to recognize is that Jesus was on the way there for the purpose of fulfilling the fact that He was to be crucified. That He was to die for the sins of all who would call upon His name as Lord and Savior of their lives.

What we come to find in this passage today, is that we have reached the point in the gospel narrative that the crucifixion of Jesus is now at hand. So, for Luke to be as detailed as He is, it is not surprising to us that we read that we have now reached Thursday of Holy Week, Passion Week, and Luke explicitly tells us that it is the day of Unleavened Bread. It is the Passover celebration, which means that it is the day that Jesus knows He is going to be betrayed. He is going to be arrested and put through trials of crimes that He didn’t commit. As a matter of fact, we read in the verses just prior to where we started today about just this. We read in verses two through six:

Read Luke 22:2-6

So it is in this context that we enter into this preaching text for today, in Luke 22:7-20. It is in this context that we keep in mind what is happening in Jesus’ life. And what we come to find in the first seven verses, in verses seven through thirteen, is that Jesus, even in the midst of this coming turmoil, gives us an example of what it means to give thanks, remembering what God has done. Jesus has a real desire to share and celebrate this Passover meal with His closest friends, the apostles. Look with me again at verses seven through thirteen.

Read Luke 22:7-13

Now, what we know about Jewish history, is that, going all the way back to Exodus chapter twelve, that the Passover celebration was to take place every single year, according to Exodus 12:6, on the 14th day of the month of Nissan. So, the Jewish people, each year at the same time, would gather and would celebrate this meal together to remember what it is that God had done for their people so long ago. They would focus their attention on remember that God had, about 2000 years prior to what we are reading today, done in bringing their ancestors out of bondage in Egypt. In fact, if you have your Bibles and you want to turn back with me to Exodus chapter twelve, we can read exactly what it is that they are celebrating.

Before we do, as you are turning there, let’s work through a bit of biblical history. What we know is that after the time of Joseph, the Israelite people had been enslaved to the Egyptians for over 400 years. And through the prophet Moses, God had saw to it that they be relieved of that oppression. And so, He sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh about the Israelites being released from under his thumb, that they could go and worship Yahweh. But Pharaoh heard this, and long story short, he denied them this opportunity. So God determined that He would send plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. They suffered through their water turning to blood; an infestation of frogs, lice, flies, and locusts; they saw their livestock die; they experienced boils and hail; they felt a darkness go over the entirety of the land.

But in Exodus 11, we read of a final plague that is to come. One that promised that every firstborn in the land of Egypt would die. From the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of the slave. That is, except for those who followed God’s instructions. They, and they alone, would be spared from the death that was to come. We read in Exodus 12:3-7 God says these words to Moses:

Exodus 12:3–7 ESV

Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

God continues in verse eleven, saying:

Exodus 12:11–14 ESV

In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

So God has given direction to Israel, and He tells them that He wants them to remember what it is that He is doing for them, and to remember it forever. So Jesus and His disciples enter into Jerusalem, and they recognize the fact that the Passover is at hand. And Jesus tells the apostles that they need to celebrate what God has done in the Passover. So He tells them to go into the city and find a place for them to eat the Passover meal together. Now, it looked a bit different than it would have back in Egypt on that very first night. Instead of eating in haste, instead of eating with their belts fastened and their sandals on their feet, they no longer did this in a hurried fashion. Actually, this had become quite the feast. One that required reclining at a table with pillows and a massive meal. So, clearly, it required a bit of preparation.

And so Jesus tells the two apostles, Peter and John, to go and find a place for them to feast. And the apostles ask Him where they are to go, and Jesus, in His sovereignty, has plans for them. They are to go and find this man who is carrying water and follow him to his house. When they get there, they are to ask the master of the how where it is that they can celebrate. Now, it may have been that this man was a follower of Jesus Himself. The Scriptures don’t tell us, but what we do know is that he would be willing to allow Jesus and His disciples to gather there that day.

And that is just what happens. Jesus, along with His apostles, sit and remember what it is that God has done for them. They celebrate the God who had saved their ancestors. The God who saved them and took away their oppression. The God who, in His infinite care and grace, had told their ancestors to paint the doorposts of their house so that they would be spared from death. Jesus gathered with His disciples, and He took a moment, as we’ll see in the verses to come, to celebrate and to reflect on this annual tradition of remembering God delivering Israel from slavery in Egypt.

We, as Christians, are to give thanks. Just like Jesus does. And we are to remember what it is that God has done for us. We thank God for what He has done! We thank God for His provision when we make it safe to work every day. We thank Him for protecting us when we get that good report from the doctor at a checkup. We thank God for how He continually proves Himself to be faithful and true.

It doesn’t necessarily look like us sitting down on the 14thday of the month of Nissan. But it certainly still looks like what we saw the disciples do in these coming verses. Because we follow the command that Jesus gives in these verses, and we remember what God has done in sending His Son as a sacrifice. And I know I’m getting a bit ahead of myself here, but we still take unleavened bread, and we still share a cup. We look back on the fact that God has always provided. That God has always saved. And that He has brought us out of the slavery that we experience in our sin, by sending His Son to die for our sins. And we thank Him as we remember what it is that He has done.

22:14-15, 17, 19-20 (What God is Doing)

Jesus not only recognizes what God has done though. He also recognizes what it is that God is doing. We’re going to bounce around this a bit, but look at what Jesus says in verses fourteen and fifteen:

Read Luke 22:14-15

Now look at verse seventeen:

Read Luke 22:17

And finally, verses nineteen and twenty:

Read Luke 22:19-20

Just look at what happens here. I mean, this is just phenomenal. Jesus, fully aware of what is to come, fully aware of the fact that immense suffering is imminent, as we read in verse fifteen, that He desires to eat this Passover with them before He suffers. He knows that is why they were headed to Jerusalem. And here He reminds the disciples of this. That He is there to die. There to be crucified. He’s fully aware that His death is right around the corner. Yet, He gives thanks.

Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus tells the disciples that the bread He is passing them is a representation of His body. That as they break it, they should know it is His body being broken. He tells them that as He passes them the cup, that it is a representation of His blood being shed for them. And what does Jesus do? He gives thanks. What an example for us! What an example that is for us to follow.

We can see all throughout the Scriptures this same idea of thanking God for what He has done or is doing. We see it in our own lives even. Yet almost every example is one that is good. It comes naturally to us to thank God for the good things that we experience. But what we see Jesus doing here is not that. He is thanking God even in the midst of His suffering. Even in knowing that there is a crucifixion to come. And what Jesus does is He raises the bar for us. He understands, and this is where the Passover celebration really comes into play, He understands that He is the one who is going to have to be that pure sacrifice. He is the one who is going to have to shed His blood, so that those who place their faith in Him will be saved. Yet, He still gives thanks for what God has done for His people. And He still gives thanks for what God is about to do to Him and through Him.

It's not the only time that we see Jesus give thanks in the gospels. We read in John six and we see Him give thanks as He breaks bread and divides fish to feed the five thousand. We read in verse eleven of John six:

John 6:11 ESV

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.

We see Jesus give thanks to God for the good that He is about to do in raising His friend Lazarus from the dead. We read in John 11:41-43 these words:

John 11:41–43 ESV

So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”

Jesus, in this moment around the table with the disciples, takes the moment to thank God for what He is doing. For the fact that He is breaking this bread and telling the apostles that it is His body broken for them. And as He shares the cup, He takes a moment to thank God for the fact that He is the one whose blood would be shed.

Church, as followers of Christ, not only are we commanded to give God thanks for what He has done in our lives, but we are commanded to give thanks for what God is doing in our lives. Even when it isn’t easy. Even when it isn’t something that we see as good. I want to encourage you all today, that we would give our thanks to God even when it is hard. Even when we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil. Even when, as my Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Scarlett, always told me growing up, even if we are crying while doing the dishes, we are to thank God for the way He is working in our lives. Because, and I promise you this is true, because God will always continue to work according to His will, and His will is always what is best for us. So we thank Him. We thank Him for what He has done, and we thank Him for what He is doing.

22:16, 18 (What God Will Do)

Jesus give sus this look at what it means to give thanks to God, remembering what He has done. HE gives us this look at thanking God, recognizing what He is doing. And then He gives us this beautiful conclusion to this command of giving thanks by sowing us in verses sixteen and eighteen that we should give thanks to God and look forward to what He will do. And He explains to the apostles that what they are about to experience together, this celebration, is something that He will not partake of again for quite a while. And He shares this with hem in verses sixteen and eighteen, where we read:

Read Luke 22:16, 18

What Jesus proclaims at this moment is not that He won’t eat or drink again until He returns. In fact, we read about Jesus having breakfast with the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. But what He is telling them is two-fold. On one level, Jesus is reminding them of the fact that His crucifixion is coming, that He won’t be there to celebrate the Passover in the next year. But He is also recognizing the fact and declaring to the apostles that there is something that they, along with Him, should be looking forward to.

Jesus is insisting on the fact that there will be a celebration that is to come. One that is made available because of the suffering He is about to experience. That in His death, He would die so that we wouldn’t have to. And that in His resurrection, we could live in Him forevermore. And what Jesus is pointing to is the fact that all who place their faith in Him as Lord and Savior of their lives would be able to truly experience what He had spoken of in parables before. That there would be a magnificent wedding feast and marriage supper to look forward to. One that will be experienced and celebrated in eternity. And so Jesus gives thanks for that, and He looks forward to what God will do.

We can’t help but be reminded of what John the Revelator writes in Revelation nineteen, where He writes in Revelation 19:6-9 these incredible words:

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Jesus looks forward to what God will do! And He invites us as His followers to do the same. Not just to give thanks, remembering what God has done. Not just to give thanks, recognizing what God is doing. But to give thanks, looking forward to what God will do. That in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are invited to celebrate with Him, to give thanks with Him, to worship with Him, to be made new with Him.

Conclusion

When Abigail looks up at me and asks me that question, “But why?” I can’t help but try to explain to her that the candy will spoil dinner, or ruin her appetite. As Christians, we are commanded to give thanks to God. And often we find ourselves looking at Him, asking Him, “But why?” And we see Jesus explain it to us in this passage today. Because we are commanded, we ought to just do it. But God, in His infinite mercy and wisdom, still shows us why. He allows us to see that we are to give thanks because of what Jesus explained during that Passover celebration.

You see, during the Passover, the Israelites would lift up four cups throughout the meal. And we find the basis for this in Exodus 6:6-8. They would lift the cup of sanctification, and they would thank God for bringing them out of the burden of Egypt. They would lift the cup of deliverance, thanking God for rescuing them from bondage. They would lift up the cup of redemption, thanking God for redeeming them. And finally, they would lift the cup of praise, and they would thank and praise God for choosing them as His people.

But at this Lord’s Supper, at this Passover celebration, Jesus imitated what we find in Psalm 116:12-13, where the psalmist is asking himself the question, “How can I repay what blessings I have received? How can I thank God for what He has done?” He writes:

Psalm 116:12–13 ESV

What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,

So Jesus, He lifts up the cup during this meal, and He shows His disciples that He is the cup of salvation. John writes in John 12:32, these words of Jesus, where we read Jesus say:

John 12:32 ESV

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

What we find is that He is in fact the one who would be lifted up. He is the cup of salvation. Jesus expresses this by lifting the cup as He did, by declaring that it is His blood that would be shed. That this was the inauguration of that new covenant. He gave thanks at this moment for what God had done, for what God was doing, and for what God would do.

As Doug and Robin come back up and lead us in this hymn of invitation, I want to encourage you to think about what it is that you are thankful for. Consider what your answer will be, as you are seated around the table this coming Thursday, when you are asked what you are thankful for. Consider who it is that you are thankful to. Consider what it is that you are thankful for. And consider why it is that you are thankful. I want to encourage you, that as you consider these things, that you would follow the example that Jesus has given us. That you would remember what God has done. That you would recognize what God is doing. And that you would look forward to what God will do.

I’ll be down front during this song. If you have questions about what this means, I would love to talk to you this morning. Maybe you want to come kneel at the altar and pray. Whatever it may be, please do not leave here today without hearing what God has done for you. That He was willing to send His Son to die for your sins, so that you wouldn’t have to. And that He raised His Son from the dead so that you could live with Him forever, looking forward to the celebration of the marriage supper of the Lamb in eternity. Church, if you would, please stand with me and let’s pray.