The Last Supper (2)

You know if you were here last week we just started this new series called my cup runneth over,

And really last week we looked at this passage that really lays out our foundation as followers of Christ.

And it was this question of who do we say Jesus is?

What does that say about who we are?

And finally how does that call us to live.

And we talked about how because of who Jesus is, and what he has done, we are called to die to ourselves and come alive in Christ.

So if you missed last week, I guess you are okay, because I gave you the minute cliff note version.

But this really lays down our foundation as Christ followers, and I imagine its something that stuck in the disciples head.

And this week what happens is our series has a shift, because we move from this foundation to focusing on these last few days of Jesus life.

And one thing is you have ever been around someone who you know is getting ready to pass or only has a limited time left, you know that you are taking in everything.

I mean you are listening to what they are saying, and really you are leaning into every momment.

and really where we are today, is these last moments Jesus and all of his disciples will be together, for a final meal.

And so we will be in Luke 22:7-27 and my prayer for us as we go through this week but also for the following weeks is for us to lean into what is happening here.

And so we will just be starting in verse 7-13 and it says this:

Luke 22:7–8 NIV

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”

So before we get to far into this, this is all happening as a festival called passover is happening

And essentially Passover was this festival of deliverance,

Because roughly 1500 years before this the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, and some of us know this story,

but to make a long story short God sent plagues as a way to tell Pharo to free the people

And what happened is pharros heart was hardened, and what happens is the story culminates with this plague where the first born son of every family would die

But what God told the Israelites to do was put lamb blood on the door frames and this plague would passover their household.

And essentially because of this the Isralites were set free.

So I want us to picture just how tense things are in the city,

Because here are the Isralites once again under an oppressive goverment called Rome and they are coming to celebrate this holiday of deliverance from an oppressive goverment.

And so tensions are high in the area

And now there is this guy going around saying he is the Messiah which people would have taken this as he is the deliverer.

And so people are probably keeping a close eye on Jesus and his disciples.

But I want to get back into the text because all of this is happening and Jesus tells two of his disciples to prepare the passover meal.

And this was a meal remembering what God had done for the Isralites and the meal had all of these different parts to it.

And so they prepared this meal.

And I guess a point I just want to sit on is yes they are preparing a meal aas they do this, but their was a deeper preperation taking place,

Because as they are remembering what God has done, I imagine this is preparing them for what he is about to do.

And here is what I want us to get because as we live life,

There is this preparation that we should be doing, where we are preparing our hearts for what God wants to say to us.

Arika and I are going on a short little vacation to visit my family in a few weeks and I am super cheap so we are using Spirit

But if you have ever flown on Spirit, everything is an upgrade, you want to print your ticket 20 dollars, you want to pick your seats 100 dollars

And the baggage is the biggest wqy they get you, because the only thing you can bring are personal items,

And so you have to make sure you measure it out perfectly or else they will charge you a huge amount to check it.

And so theres this preperation that I have to do to get ready to fly on Spirit

But you know I think about that and if we prepare for vacations and really even smaller things in our life, don’t you think we should be really intentional to prepare our hearts for what God is doing in our life.

And actually part of the big preperation was removing Yeast fromt he house because it represented sin, and so they would go through the house and prepare by getting rid of yeast.

I was reading one scholor and they said the parents would actually hide yeast from the kids and they would get it out of the house, so before Easter egg hunts you had Yeasteregg hunts

But really the season of lent we are in is about preparing our hearts so we can see Jesus more clearly.

AAnd we want to be removing these things that are pushing us away from God.

And there is something beautiful here, because not only are they preparing their hearts, but as we prepare our hearts God goes before us to prepare the way.

Because look what happens in verses 9-13. It says:

Luke 22:9–13 NIV

9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. 10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.” 13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

So they get there and while they are getting ready to prepare, Jesus has already taken care of the biggest part, which is finding a location.

And this might be a small point but I think something that should help us feel better whenever God calls us to do something, is its not just about what we are doing, but we believe that God goes before us, whether it is a ministry we are called to do, we do not believe we are just the one person going to change someones life, but God is already moving in their life.

If its our own struggles, What if God is already doing something in our heart and maybe has already given us people to walk with us.

Because we are called to prepare, but ultimatley it is God who goes before us

And lets look at this next part because all of this happens and they get to the actual meal starting in verse 14. It says:

Luke 22:14–22 NIV

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”

So the disciples and Jesus are now having this meal, and this is a meal they have had a million times

And so Jesus starts with the bread, and the bread during passover represented affliction and freedom

On one hand it represented that they were slaves in Eygpt, but on the other hand it represented that God freed them.

And you can picture Jesus having this meal, but instead of him saying the bread, He goes this is my body, broken for you.

Basically he is making an important shift.

In the past you were reminded of the affliction you experienced in Egypt and the freedom you had when you were free

But now I want you to remember the brokeness of your sin and the freedom you have in me

And then they probably do the other parts of this meal, but at the end He says this is my blood poured out for you.

And this represented the blood of the lambs in paassover.

And Jesus is going in the past we remembered these lambs that were sacraficed,

But now the ultimate lamb or sacrafice has come and instead of that blood being placed on a door post it will be poured out on the cross.

And I love the symbolism here, because Jesus takes this passover meal and goes this was an amazing reminder of what God has done, but look what God is doing now.

And I want to hit one more part before we finish up, because you can imagine the disciples captivated right, and they are leaning into this teaching, but whats interesting is you get this beautiful intimate picture of them sitting together, when all of the sudden it says this in verse 24

Luke 22:24–27 (NIV)

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

So Jesus is teaching all of this and the disciples naturally start to argue over who is the greatest.

And its kind of this weird picture, because you have Jesus having these beautiful last moments

Moments that we probably wish we could go back and experience.

and the the disciples break out in an argument trying to decide who is the greatest.

But I think about this and I guess the question is how often is God doing something beautiful in front of us, but we take our eyes off Jesus and start to focus on something completely different?

We like to do this we as churches like to focus on numbers, we focus on building our own kingdom,

Meanwhile, God is doing something amazing in front of us, but all we can think of are the things that benifit us

And so as we get ready to close, I just want to bring this all together

Because as we close we are going to recieve this meal that Jesus had with his disciples and the beautiful part of this is it is not just a reminder of what God has done, but it is ffor us to know what God is doing in our lives today.

This morning maybe you are in a place where you are preparing your heart,

maybe you are in a place where you are you are distracted,

Maybe you are in a plaace where you are far from God,

Can I tell you the amazing news Jesus is extending this to you,

And because of what He did on the cross, we can have freedom.

Will you pray with me?