The Lord's Supper
Luke 22:14–23 (NKJV)
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of 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 which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
Notice in verse 14 it says that Jesus said, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…”. It’s a powerful revelation of the heart of Jesus. Even with all that was happening and the extreme suffering that he was facing, Jesus did not hold back from any part of what he wanted to communicate to the disciples.
It is amazing to see how much Jesus did and said on this particular day (the day on which he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot) and how much love he showed for his disciples! He was teaching his disciples about how to show love and how to abide in him. He gave them comfort and instruction, he promised to send his Holy Spirit to his followers after his departure, and he continued to prepare them for the crucifixion that would occur the next day.
In the above passage, Jesus seems to do something that was part of their normal Jewish tradition – celebrating Passover. However, this time it was much more than tradition, it was the introduction of a new age, the day of Grace. Jesus was expanding on the traditional Passover remembrance, instituting in advance the commemoration of his death on the cross.
As we today who are believers in Jesus look back at his death on the cross, we are so thankful for his perfect sacrifice, which was foreshadowed by the original Passover in Egypt. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God, as John the Baptist introduced him, and because of his sacrifice of himself, God is able to offer forgiveness of our sins.
Here at Calvary Chapel San Clemente we practice the remembrance of Jesus as he instructed by taking communion together on the first Sunday of every month. And every year we host our own Passover Seder dinner, remembering both the original passover and the culmination of what it looked forward to in the death of Jesus. Both are wonderful celebrations!
Prayer for today:
Lord Jesus, we cannot thank you enough for your infinite love, and for your sacrifice on the cross taking the punishment for our sins upon yourself! We praise you and thank you with our lives in return, and we thank you for giving us your Word that tells us about all these things. Please help us by your Holy Spirit to be faithful with what you have given us, as you were faithful to complete the work that you came to do.
Steve Pascoe, Assisting Pastor, Calvary Chapel San Clemente
