Untitled Sermon (10)

They were an enslaved people… oppressed

Last week we talked about how nothing happens on accident. And how Jesus prearranged all the details to make a place available for the disciples and Him to celebrate the Passover together.

Everything has been put together and is ready to go. Jesus like always has the perfect plan and the disciples have followed His instructions to the tee.

Now is the moment they have all been waiting for. They are finally able to celebrate the passover together in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

For the Israelite the Passover was already a special time but this one with Jesus would be unlike anything the disciple had ever seen before.

1st they did not realize that it would not only be the last passover with their rabbi but also the last meal they would ever have with Him.

You see the Jewish Passover Sader meal was a ritchelistic meal consisting of several liturgical elements.

It was what Jesus did and especially what He said at this element that was so shocking.

Near the end of the Meal before you ate the Pascal Lamb with was the last part of Supper those present would take the unleavened bread break it and eat it. At this time a prayer of thanks was spoken over the bread.

There were two blessings. One was a prayer of thanksgiving to him who brings forth the bread from the earth; the second was thanksgiving for the commandment to eat unleavened bread. Traditionally, these blessings were spoken over the bread that had first been broken in order to show humility, remembering that the poor had only broken bits of bread tho eat. The host have a piece of this broken bread, dipped in bitter herbs and the sweet charoseth mixture, to each person. (From Christ in the Passover)

This is exactly why verse 22 says … and even verse 20 says.

This is exactly to the tradition of the Passover.

But it is what Jesus said that was different.

“Take it; this is my body.” He identified the unleaved bread as his body. Like His disciple should eat his very flesh. Like his body could be the thing that give them life.

In this culture people worked all day to purchased bread to eat. Bread was life it was what daily stained people and Jesus was saying I am this bread. I am what sustains you.

For a Jew at that time what Jesus was doing was not only sacrilegious but also disgusting. Even before the Law of Moses they were forbidden to eat and drink blood during the Noahedic covenant.

Even into the early Christian era not just Jew but even pagan accused Christians of cannibalism.

Did your parents ever live vicarously through you?

Have you even lived vicarously through your kids?

There are a lot of ways we can live vicarously through our kids.

One good way my Dad lived vicarously through me was asking me to pray at the hospice dinner.

What oppresses us today? Our sin Romans 6:20

Romans 6:20 CSB

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.

BTW there is a lot more about being set free than there is about being enslaved. The focus of the NT is being set free from sin.

If you have the blood you are saved from judgement.

For the christian the Passover is not something we do once a year passover is something we do once a week.

Remember that super embarrassing thing you said or did in front of all those people.

Now try and think of all the embarrassing things the have said of done.