Prepared for a Significant Moment

Introduction

What are some of the most significant moments of your life (good or bad)?

Something to notice about those is sometimes we know these are coming and other times they take us by surprise.

The disciples don’t know it at this point, but they are about to experience the most significant night of their lives.

Today we will see how Jesus prepared them for that significant moment, and how He prepares us as well.

Body: Luke 22:7-13

Within the story of Jesus celebrating the Last Supper, two key verses stand out that help us to understand why this is such a significant moment. Look at 22:15-16…

Luke 22:15–16 ESV

And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus “earnestly” desired to celebrate the Passover with the disciples because this would not only be His last one, but it would be the last one that simply pointed to the Exodus.

Passover was celebrated year after year as a time of remembrance of what God had done to rescue Israel out of bondage in Egypt.

Throughout this meal, Jesus will infuse the celebration of God’s deliverance to Israel with a fuller meaning of God’s deliverance for mankind from the greater bondage of sin.

Verses 7-8

While the religious leaders and Judas prepared from their unholy work, Jesus is preparing the disciples for the most significant evening of their lives.

When Jesus mentioned the Passover, they, no doubt, figured they knew what to expect.

Little did they know, that this night would be one that none of them would ever forget!

Isn’t that how it often works. We rarely know ahead of time when the most significant moments of our life will come.

But they had no idea that this day would be the last true Passover, since the true and final Passover Lamb would soon be sacrificed.

1 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Why does He send Peter and John as He does, and what is He telling them to do?

Peter and John are the two most prominent disciples. Jesus is preparing them for true kingdom leadership: servant leadership!

He was sending them to do a big job:

They didn’t live in Jerusalem, so they needed to secure a location, buy a lamb, oversee the sacrifice of the lamb, roast the lamb, prepare the location properly, and prepare the side dishes and wine.

Of course, Jesus has already done some of the heavy-lifting!

Verses 9-12

One of the questions people love to bat around when it comes to this section is whether Jesus set this up in advance, or if He is just foreseeing what is going to happen?

The text really doesn’t say either way, so all answers are purely speculation…and not really the prudent point.

Either way, Jesus doesn’t leave these disciples on their own, but gives them clear instructions to fulfill their mission.

To me, a more interesting question is why the secret location?

It’s very likely that Jesus sends these two most trusted disciples without giving them an exact location because He doesn’t want it to get back to Judas.

Judas’ time to hatch His evil plot will come, but not before Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples.

The entire Last Supper scene is vitally important for the disciples, as well as for the church until Jesus returns, so Jesus protects God’s timeline by keeping the information from Judas.

Is there any significance to the servant carrying the water and the master of the house?

As for the servant, it was odd for a man to carry a water pitcher, so he would have stood out, even with the thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover.

As for the master of the house, he was clearly a follower of Christ who reserved a special room just for Jesus and His disciples.

Verses 13

Verse 13 really shouldn’t surprise Luke’s readers or us…the disciples obey and find things exactly as Jesus said they would be.

Big Idea: To be prepared for the most significant moments of our lives we must live like Jesus is in control and respond to Him with devotion and obedience.

Part of the challenge of this passage is discovering the main idea and application points.

This is mainly because it’s a set-up passage: setting the scene for what’s coming next.

So typically, we would look at it quickly, then move on.

However, there are a couple things I want us to pick up here.

It’s important to read this in light of the last passage we looked at.

As the religious leaders, Judas and Satan plot, Jesus prepares.

He not only sees to it the Passover is prepared, He sets up the most significant night of the disciple’s life.

This shows us that Jesus remains in control.

While things will look like they are totally out of Jesus control, He reminds us here that He is still in control and will remain so.

In fact, look at Luke 22:22!

Luke 22:22 ESV

For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

Additionally, while one of the disciples responds to Jesus in a very wicked and disobedient manner, we see two disciples who take the opposite approach.

In fact, I believe Luke is comparing and contrasting different responses to Jesus throughout this section. One such compare and contrast is between Judas and Peter and John.

The challenge for the readers is this: how will you respond to Jesus? With betrayal or devotion? With rebellion or obedience?

So What?

At the beginning of this sermon I asked about being prepared for the most significant moments of our life.

Sometimes we know in advance when they are coming…(wedding, birth of a child, etc.)

Other times, they catch us totally by surprise…and we can do nothing to prepare ourselves in advance.

While we can’t always prepare ourselves for the most significant moments of our lives, we can live in a state of preparedness. I believe we see some examples of that here.

First, we must learn to live like Jesus is in control of God’s timeline, moving history towards His outcome.

Theologically, I think most of us agree with this. Practically, I think most of us do a pretty poor job of it.

Most of you are familiar with the country singer Carrie Underwood, correct?

One of her most famous songs is “Jesus Take The Wheel”...

Unfortunately, too many of us live according to a “Jesus Take The Wheel” theology, not a biblical theology…

In this passage, Jesus shows that, while others might think circumstances were out of His control, they never once were.

And it’s the same today.

Therefore, instead of complaining, bemoaning, scheming, and whatever else we are tempted to do; what if we started by saying, “Lord, I know this hasn’t happened without You having a plan. Help me to discover that plan and responding as You would desire.”

Second, if we truly believe that Jesus is in control, we must respond to Him with devotion and obedience, even when it is hard.

Peter and John are great examples (at this point) of obedience to Jesus.

To them, this may have seemed like another routine celebration of the Passover. But Jesus knew different. Yet, instead of suggesting He send someone else, pointing out the difficulties of finding one guy with a pot in a city of maybe 100,000, getting an adequate room at the last minute, or any other challenges, they just simply obey.

They don’t have a million how or why questions, they just do what He says, knowing that He will work things out.

How often do we need to remember this in our own lives?

And as they obey, they once again find that Jesus Word always holds true.

We can say “Amen” to a statement like that, but why do we find it so easy to respond with distrust and disobedience?