This Do in Remembrance of Me: A Sermon for Maundy Thursday

Luke 22:1-20

Luke 22:1–20 NKJV

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude. Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?” And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’ Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.” So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Introduction

We come together tonight on a day that is called Maundy Thursday in which we remember Jesus final Passover which He would have in this world. We remember the breaking of His body and the shedding of His blood for us by partaking in what is called “communion,” The Lord’s Supper,” or the “Holy Eucharist,” depending upon one’s faith tradition. The Eucharist, according to an Anglican priest named Frank Colquhon, is an acted out sermon. In the divine service, we hear the Word read and preached. Then we take the Eucharist together, letting each inform our faith. So, now, let us look at the preached text this evening from Luke 22:1-20.

Exposition of the Text

Luke informs us that the Feast of Unleavened Bread which is also called Passover was at hand. This was to explain to Gentile readers who were unfamiliar with the practices of the Jews. Technically, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is separate from the Passover Feast. But it followed hard unto Passover, so they were celebrated together. So was a day called “Firstfuits” in which the barley harvest was celebrated. The sequence of observance was first the Passover which was celebrated at the full moon. Then the Feast of Unleavened Bread started the next day with a Holy Sabbath. The next Day, Sunday was the waving of the firstfruits before the LORD. One should observe that this was the day in which Jesus rose from the dead as the firstfruit of the Resurrection from the dead. something Paul reminds us of in 1 Corinthians 15:20. All of these events together are important to our understanding of the Christian faith. It is solidly based upon what is today called the “Old Testament.”

Luke then sets the stage by telling us that the Chief Priests and the Scribes who were seeking for an opportunity to kill Jesus. Luke adds that even though they had been plotting how they might do this for some time, they were constrained by their continuous fear of the people. The Chief Priests were the elitists of the day. They owed their power to Rome. John mentions that they also feared that if they could not keep the peace that the Romans would remove them. they could not let Jesus, who in some ways could be described by the modern term “populist.” the Scribes served as religious lawyers help present a case before the Sanhedrin where Jesus would be tried. Since the Chief Priests, who were part of the group called the Sadducees based their authority upon the idea that they had been appointed by Yahweh. The sad truth is that they were actually appointed by the Romans. Their lineage according to the Torah was dubious at best. They might not have been the descendants of Aaron at all. We know that the Maccabees, who were from the tribe of Judah had arrogated the office of High Priest into themselves which was expressly forbidden from the priesthood. Nevertheless, most of Israel accepted them as the priests, other than the Essenes and a few others. So they were constrained to at least to put a sense of legitimacy to their desire to kill Jesus who had recently cleansed the Temple.

They spent some time plotting. They knew they had the Pharisees on their side. They and the Pharisees normally hated each other. The Pharisees were also a sort of populists on the surface. They held sway upon the people. Jesus was a direct threat to their religious authority. They wanted Jesus destroyed as well. It says that politics makes for strange bedfellows. Here we see an unholy alliance of Sadducees, Pharisees, and Romans acting together to kill Jesus. They were united in their derangement.

It would have been dangerous in their opinion to simply arrest Jesus in the Temple or among the crowd. They did not fear Jesus who had performed miracles including raising the dead. They did not fear the LORD either. They feared the people. I can only imagine that the lack of opportunity filled them with even more rage. They were so blinded by hate that they were willing to kill Jesus at the Passover when hundreds of thousands of Jews were assembled.

Luke then tells us that Satan entered Judas Iscariot. He was not just possessed by a demon, but by Satan Himself. He has been one of the twelve, just as Satan had once been numbered among the angels. He came to the Chief Priests and the heads of the Temple guard, offering to betray Jesus. The Chief Priest was full of joy! This was their opportunity. This made them override all caution, It was carpe diem (seize the day). They agreed to pay Judas what we know elsewhere the price of thirty pieces of silver. Little did they know that they were actually fulfilling the Scripture. As the bible states, if they had reasoned correctly, they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8) Judas made a solemn promise to betray Jesus. Now Judas schemed for the opportunity.

The text then tells us that Jesus sent Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover. The disciples were caught unawares. We know that the Passover was to be eaten by one’s family group. Jesus had observed the Passover every year with his parents and earthly brothers and sisters. The disciples would have celebrated the Passover with their families. But now, Jesus invites His disciples to the Passover with Him. Jesus here is establishing a new family identity which would become the Church. We do not celebrate the Eucharist with unbelievers, including unbelieving earthly family members. We celebrate the Eucharist with our new “forever family.”

Jesus told them where to go. They would encounter a man carrying a pitcher of water going into a house which had a large upper room. Seeing that the feast was being prepared in a large number of houses in Jerusalem, they would have encountered many people carrying pitchers of water. Perhaps the word “man” might offer a clue. Water was normally drawn by the women (or slaves) but not a man who was dressed as the head of the house. This unusual sight may have clued Peter and John, but it is enough to say that it was directly or indirectly the work of the Holy Spirit.

The next question is whether the head of this house was aware that he was to prepare the upper room for Jesus in advance. This may have been the case. But what if it wasn’t? Jerusalem had many houses with upper rooms for guests who came to Passover and other feasts by the thousands. Leasing these places out to guests we probably a good source of supplemental income. Seeing the Passover was the time of greatest occupancy, it might have been hard to find an upper room which was not let out. But, either way, this upper room was directed by the will of God as the place where the Last Supper was to be held.

In verse 14, it states that when the hour was come, Jesus reclined at the table with His disciples. At first, we might think of the word “hour” as a time marker. It could have easier been said, when the meal was ready, Jesus reclined at the table. From the Gospel of John, we see that the word “hour” has a much more significant meaning. We see this when Jesus in Chapter 2 tells His mother that His time had not yet come (John 2:4). He uses the word “woman” here rather than “mother” or “mom” which seems odd. It occurs again at the crucifixion where Jesus entrusts the care of His mother to John where he says “woman, behold thy son (John 19:26). This was the hour for which Jesus came, to do the will of His Father rather than His mother. We also read in John 13:1:

John 13:1 NKJV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

So should we place any significance to Luke’s mention of “hour” here? There is an interesting correlation between Luke and John. Later in this chapter, Luke mentions a dispute broke out among the disciples on who should be the greatest. Jesus replies to them that the truly great one is the servant (Luke 22:26). John does not mention the dispute per se. Instead we have an acted out sermon in the form of the foot washing which is a demonstration of servanthood. We see how the Holy Spirit interleaves the witness of John and Luke into a harmonious account to be taken together. So, even though Luke does not bring out the significance of the word “hour to the extent that John does, we should see the word as being used to describe a predestined event in the will of God. We are not looking at a sixty minute segment of time, but an event grounded in eternity which manifested itself in earthly time, a time in which Jesus dies for us.

Jesus then says that He greatly desired to eat this Passover with His disciples. Literally it reads: “With desire, I have desired.” This is an Aramaic was of emphasis. We do not know if Jesus had ever eaten the Passover with His disciples before. We already talked about the family nature of the holiday. But even so, this was special. The Jews would have a young boy ask the question why the Passover was the greatest day of the year above all others. Then the elder would answer that this was the night that Israel was freed by the mighty hand of the LORD from Egyptian bondage. But this special Passover which Jesus ate with His disciples talks of a far greater liberation, the greatest of the greatest of days.

As part of the Passover feast, a young lamb without blemish was sacrificed, roasted and eaten. But here Jesus says “before I suffer.” They would have eaten a lamb at the meal, but a far greater lamb was present at the table, the One “which taketh away the sin of the world.” The lamb at the feast was to be entirely consumed. None was to be left over. But at this special Passover, we realize that Jesus gave Himself completely in our behalf. He held nothing back. He gave His body to be broken and His blood shed.

In the course of the Passover feast, Jesus reinterpreted its meaning in terms of Himself. He told them that He would not eat the Passover again until it was fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. In the midst of Jesus impending suffering and death is the promise of resurrection. He would eat the Passover again, which would only be possible if Jesus arose. We sometimes concentrate upon the suffering of Christ this night. And it is important that we do so. But our understanding needs to be put into the context of resurrection. Suffering and death do not have the last word, but life.

Jesus took the bread and broke it. We remember His words every time we celebrate the Lord’s supper. Take, eat, this is my body.” Luke says “which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.” This is the reason was are gathered here on this Maundy Thursday evening. We also remember the cup which Jesus commanded all present to drink from. He tells us that this is the blood of the New Covenant. We are to drink from this cup which Jesus said He would by no means partake until all was fulfilled. He had another cup to drink from, the cup of wrath.

Application

So we come here tonight to remember the Last Supper. We are invited to His table as members of His eternal family, a family which consists of people of all races and tongues who believe on Jesus. We rejoice in that we were invited. It is strictly an act of grace. Apart from this, we have no right to come. We were not there at this first Lord’s Supper, but as Christians have done since the time Christ walked the earth, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and remember. We remember that His body was broken for us on the cross and His blood shed for our sin. We also remember that we also remember forward to the day in which we will be fully united with Him at the full manifestation of the Kingdom at the end of time,

We come here to remember why this day is greater than all the other days of the year. We get to celebrate an hour in the life of God. We celebrate this Maundy Thursday, even though it is more correct to see that the Last Supper actually commenced on Friday as the Hebrew day begins at sunset. We see this special hour not just as a earthly period of time. In a sense, the hour of God started when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The hour of the life of God culminates in the rejection, arrest, crucifixion and death of Jesus. But this hour of God also includes His resurrection as well.

In saying that we take this special hour of our earthly conception of time to remember all that Jesus has done for us, we also rejoice in this hope, God did not allow His Son to see corruption. Nor did He leave Him in Sheol (Psalm 16). However, like David, if we perish before He returns, our bodies will be rendered again to dust. But we will rise in a new body which is free from sin. Jesus entered into an hour of our suffering. In fact, He suffered above that of any man. We too shall suffer. Sometimes, we suffer as the result of the actions of others like Jesus did in part. Sometimes we bring suffering upon our own heads. Worse yet, sometimes we cause others to suffer. This is why we confess our sin before we partake of the Holy Food. This communion serves as the sign of our reconciliation to God. We should also extend the olive branch of reconciliation of others, those who have wounded us and seeking forgiveness from those we have wounded. This reconciliation is only in Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the important thing is that people be reconciled to God, and this on His terms.

While we are in an hour of suffering, realize that the Lord sends His angel to minister unto us. Let us also be watchful and stay awake during this hour and not fall asleep like the disciples did in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let us take full advantage of the time God has granted us to be busy at the work He has called us to do.

The Passover has been prepared. Let us proceed to His table.