Luke 22:7-237Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. 8And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. 9And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? 10And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. 11And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? 12And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. 13And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. 14And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 21But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! 23And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing. (Luke 22:7‑23)
The passover feast was to be kept in Jerusalem, but the supper was not eaten at the temple, but by the families or groups in the homes, as in the houses the night in Egypt.
Jesus and the disciples had no homes in Jerusalem and stayed nights outside in Mt. Olive. When passover day came, Jesus told John and Peter to go and prepare the passover. They asked Him where they should prepare, and He said,
“Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water: follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, ‘The Master saith unto thee, where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with My disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.”
Jesus knew where to send them, and they went, and found all just as He said, and prepared for the supper. That evening Jesus and the twelve disciples came there to eat the passover meal.
The Lord Jesus may have kept the passover feast with the disciples other years, but He especially wished to eat this one with them (v.15). This supper was meant to show that each one eating, shared in the mercy of God, that He had saved their nation because of the lamb killed. Jesus valued their thanks to God and also that they had shared His life on earth (v.28). Their love seemed a comfort to Him, when He knew He would soon die for them.
But there was one disciple who did not love the Lord, that was Judas, and Jesus knew just what he was to do, and said, “Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth Me is with me on the table... woe (judgment) to that man by whom He is betrayed.”
When Judas heard that, he should have felt the wisdom of the Lord, that He knew the secret plan, and believed His warning, but he did not. And he again showed his deceit: when the others asked, “Is it I?”, he said, “Master, is it I?”, as though he had no such plan. He then went away from the house to meet the men who wanted to take Jesus (See Matt. 26:2525Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. (Matthew 26:25); John 13:21-3021When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 23Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 24Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 25He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 26Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 28Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. 29For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night. (John 13:21‑30)).
That passover supper was the last one to be rightfully kept, because the next day Jesus fulfilled by His death all that feast meant and much more. He became the “Lamb of God”, sacrificed to bear God’s judgment against sin, and it is written, “Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us.” 1 Cor. 5:77Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The blood of the passover lamb saved the oldest son of each family of Israel from death for one night; but the blood of Jesus was given to save all from any nation who trust in Him, from eternal death.
However there are very many lessons for us now to learn from what is written of the passover feast: how the bitter herbs teach of sorrow for sins, and the bread without leaven, of keeping sins from our ways; how all was to be done just as God directed and that all was for their blessing.
But the Lord Jesus gave a new supper to be kept in memory of His death, which we will read more of next time (v. 19,20).
ML 02/03/1946