A New Remembrance With Greater Significance

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Preparing the Passover Meal (vv. 7-13)

We see at play here one of the key things Luke continues to draw our attention to, both here in this preparation for the passover meal and as something he emphasizes in this section overall:

Jesus is in control.

Jesus is in control of all that is taking place surrounding these events. In this passion week especially, we have seen this thread before and we will see it again. Nothing is happening to him or around him over which God (Father, Son, & Spirit) to not have authoritative control.

While it is perhaps possible that there was a pre-arrangement made for these preparations (which would still indicate Christ’s administrative control), I find it much more likely that the reader would see this as a miraculous control over the situation. In fact, Peter and John, a couple of the disciples closest to Jesus and who are sent to prepare the meal, have not knowledge whatsoever of any pre-arrangement (v. 9ff).

Secondly, and this part we can say even more confidently, it is clear that Jesus is aware and in control of what he is about to suffer with the partaking of the meal itself and giving it new meaning.

As another example of this control, flanking both sides of this preparation for the Passover meal and institution of the Lord’s Supper is the undercurrent of betrayal (vv. 3-6 & 21-23). Is that something that is simply happening to Jesus of which he is unaware and over which he has no control? —> See esp. vv. 21-23. Not only is he aware (of even what the other disciples don’t know), but Luke (and the other Gospel writers) lead us to conclude that Jesus providentially allows it to take place in order to accomplish the Father’s plan.

Again, one clear emphasis here is Christ’s complete awareness & control over these circumstances.

Now, also in this preparation, the reader is undoubtedly meant to contemplate the significance of the Passover for the Jews (and for Jesus and his disciples). - And that part necessarily bears further attention from us, because it is not so plainly ingrained in our culture as it was for the Jews. (cultural and temporal distance)

(So in our narrative…)

Why is it significant for Jesus and his disciples to celebrate the Passover?

Or for any Jews? - The purpose of Passover was for God’s people to remember and reflect on their deliverance from Egypt.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Institution of Passover

Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of the first month Abib (later called Nisan). The observance is instituted within the narrative framework of the exodus story where Yahweh brought plagues of increasing severity against Egypt to demonstrate his power and bring about the deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery (Exod 1–12).

The 10th and final plague was the death of all the firstborn—human and animal—in Egypt (Exod 11:4–6). God punished Egypt but spared the firstborn of Israel, as long as the Israelites properly followed Moses’ instructions.

Exodus 12:1–8 ESV

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 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. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.

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.

Consider the big-picture purpose of this commemoration (this feast that they were supposed to observe yearly): Is the goal only to piously observe the commanded ritual, or is the goal to turn their attention toward God?

Is the purpose of practicing a musical instruments daily just to get it over with and say you did it, or is the goal to to enjoy the music and work on improving your skill for the purpose of even greater joy in it in the future? … Or do you take your wife on a date simply to check it off the list and have it done so you can feel like a decent husband, or is the goal to turn your attention to your wife, to know her and to cherish her and to serve her and to serve alongside her?

Right, so the purpose was never to check the box, but to turn their attention in grateful worship to God and to reset their firm conviction to trust and obey him.

But within the Passover celebration itself there are some key highlights to note as we connect the original command and occurrence at the exodus to the present setting in the text. —> Not only would Peter and John need to secure the room in Jerusalem where they would have the meal, but they would also be responsible for having a lamb slain at the temple in the afternoon to prepare for the evening meal. - This was an unblemished lamb sacrificed (signifying innocence), whose shed blood represented the cost of life, and that blood had been used as the marker for which people God would “pass over” for judgment.

and unleavened bread (wasting no time to let it rise) - and they were told in v. 15 “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.”

*Jesus and his disciples, as Jews… But there’s more (for Jesus.

So Peter and John did as they were told and prepared the Passover.

Luke 22:14–20 ESV

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 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.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Let’s continue the thread of our questions in this section too.

Instituting the Lord’s Supper (vv. 14-20)

Why is it significant for Jesus to celebrate this meal now?

“When the hour came,” that is, the time for them to partake of the meal, they did so. That would make this the beginning of Friday in their way of reckoning days (at sundown, one day ended and the next began). So what we think of as Thursday evening after sundown was really the official beginning of Passover day for them. Jesus and his disciples ate this meal the evening before many other Jews would have done so on the following evening. This would mean, then, that Jesus died on the cross, giving himself up as a sacrifice, on the very afternoon when many or most Jews would have been getting their lambs sacrificed in the temple for the Passover!

Jesus also says, significantly, that he has “earnestly desired” to eat this meal with the apostles, the twelve. - The clues as to “why” are in all the verses that follow, including in v. 15 with “before I suffer.” As we just explained, Jesus knew what was coming the next day, and he was willingly walking that path, because it was the Father’s plan and the very reason for which he had come. Jesus was not only talking about the Passover in a new way, but he was preparing to fulfill the very things of which he spoke.

As Jesus continues, he speaks of future implications that have an even more distant fulfillment, saying that he will not eat the Passover again until it is complete in the kingdom of God. We’re pretty confident Jesus is speaking of a meal in the future culminated kingdom because of the obvious fact he would not even have future opportunity again to eat a Passover meal, because he would return to glory in the ascension only 40 days (Acts 1:3) after his resurrection and repeated appearances to his disciples and to many.

This “fulfillment” means until all the requirements or expectations of a contract or promise are completely satisfied.

To understand this it helps to know that the passover serves as a type of Christ, a shadow which is cast by the substance, the genuine object (Jesus). And the Bible indicates many more such types. All of these former shadows (as well as the progression of former covenants) in the OT are like tributaries which lead into the great river, Jesus Christ. And one day that great river too will reach its culmination in the vast ocean, which is the completion of God’s plan at the glorious return of Christ. Every promise that God has made is fulfilled and carried along in Christ, until every last detail is finally and completely resolved.

So the purpose of the original passover is finding its culmination in Christ, and in the Lord Jesus Christ every detail of every promise will find its culmination in his future return and reign.

Similarly, in v. 18, Jesus will not drink again of the wine (probably meaning specifically in connection with the Passover meal, v. 16) until the kingdom of God comes.

Jesus explains to them that he desires to eat this meal with them because he will soon suffer and fulfill all that must take place, and that he desires to eat the Passover with them because he will not do so again until the culmination of the kingdom.

Finally, and probably most significantly, his instruction concerning the new meaning he gives to the meal itself explains why he so greatly desired to eat this meal with them (which we look at next). - (So a third answer to why this meal now is that… ) Jesus not only desired to observe/commemorate the occasion with his disciples, but to give the Passover new and greater meaning, creating a new remembrance for God’s people.

What new significance does Jesus give to the Passover?

We see this particularly in vv. 19 and 20 with the new symbolic meaning in the bread and the cup. And this is the part of our passage with which NT believers are most likely most familiar.

Jesus tells them that in commemorating this Passover from now on (“Do this in remembrance of me”), that the bread represents/symbolizes his body. So now the unleavened bread wasn’t only a reminder of God’s deliverance of them from Egypt and the haste with which they were brought out (Deut 16:3), but now it would have far greater significance—the sacrificial death of Jesus. And his body (sacrificial death) is “given for you,” meaning that Jesus in the flesh would literally die a physical death on their behalf, and on behalf of all those who belong to God by faith.

It is also quite possible that the frequent association in the Bible of leaven with sin would mean that Jesus was without leaven, sinless, similar to the connection with being an unblemished sacrificial lamb.

So also Jesus imbued the cup with new meaning. Now, since the Passover meal had four cups in Jewish tradition (or at least the first three in the time of Christ), which one would this be? Well, it seems likely that the cup in v. 17 that Jesus took up and gave thanks and divided among them was likely the first cup in the series. That first cup coincided with blessing the meal and a preliminary course. It is traditionally associated with Israel being set apart to God as he brought them up out of Egypt. The second cup was associated with judgement and deliverance (judgment on the Egyptians and deliverance for the children of Israel, Ex. 6:6-7). The third cup, and likely the one Jesus is speaking of in v. 19, is the cup of redemption, which the Jews used to symbolize the blood of the Passover lamb. The fourth cup was the cup of praise and consummation which would coincide with the final Hallel of the meal (Psalm 136.)

So the wine would now represent the blood of Christ, having a similar meaning to the bread, that Jesus was pouring out, shedding his blood (giving his life) for his people (for those who would be his). Furthermore, though, Jesus gave his own blood to seal this new covenant, with his blood as a perfect and permanent covering (atonement) for sin and as a confirmation of God’s own oath to accomplish his promise.

There could be no clearer picture than in the Lord’s Table that Jesus inaugurated a new and better covenant (Heb 7:22), and that he is the greater fulfillment of these former shadows.

While all this incredible significance is plain in hindsight, Jesus was explaining the meaning to the apostles before it actually happened. I can only imagine their consternation (What could he possibly mean?)... until later (after he died, rose, appeared to them and explained the scriptures, ascended into glory, and sent the Holy Spirit). That’s when the significance of all this would sink in.

What about you?

What significance does this Passover (Jesus) have for you?

While the Jews gathered to look back, to observe/commemorate God’s saving work at the Exodus, Jesus was looking forward to what he would accomplish by his sacrificial death. And he did exactly what the Father had planned for him to do.

See, to these same Israelites whom God brought up out of Egypt by his own mercy, God graciously gave them the law through Moses, a law that was meant to give them guideposts to help them live in right relationship to God. But how well did they do in keeping that law, even despite their best efforts?

And because they could not keep the law, God mercifully gave them the temple sacrifices as a means to regularly make atonement for their sins. Little did the Jews know at the time, that all of this was but a shadow of the greater, perfect, and complete sacrifice that would come through Jesus Christ—the only means that could truly atone for sin.

We therefore learn in the New Testament that such was part of God’s intent for that law he had given them, to expose their (and our) sin, and to reveal our inability to relate rightly to God. So instead of justifying us (“See, I’ve kept it perfectly”), the law shines a light on our depravity and inability.

And in the same process the highlights the holiness of God by comparison. The sacrificial system too highlighted our need for payment because God is holy and just. … We desperately needed God’s gracious intervention: that’s why he gave Jesus.

So Paul explains in Romans:

Romans 3:21–26 ESV

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

What about you? To be saved, you must forsake your sin and your self, and turn in complete trusting submission to Jesus alone to be your righteousness, your only means of restoration to God.

For those here who are confidently settled that you are in Christ, what Jesus was about to inaugurate by his death and resurrection, a greater salvation, is for us now something fully established. We look back with confidence on what Christ accomplished.

Consider too that the death and resurrection of the Lord was not something these men would forget, but the significance of that atoning death for forgiveness would need to be remembered (commemorated) by generations to come. And now as we continue observance of the Lord’s Supper as a way to look back and reflect on what God has done in Christ, our eyes yearn confidently forward as well.

For us who are in Christ, the Lord’s table has both a looking back and looking forward aspect to it. In the already inaugurated aspect of this kingdom, God has made you right with him by the death and resurrection of our Lord. You are already in Christ. But the consummation of the kingdom has not yet come.

1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

So here you are in the interim. We look back with gratitude and with confession. Thank you, Jesus. & Forgive me of my sin and restore me to fellowship. And we look forward with anticipation to the marriage supper of the Lamb. There is a greater meal yet to come. We are reminded to turn our attention back to our Lord and Savior, and we are recommitting ourselves to be set apart to him and to be his ambassadors in this brief life.

Let’s celebrate the Lord’s Table together.

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