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Eat With Jesus (Luke 22:7-30)

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MOTIVATE

Food

  • Favorite conversation piece
  • College (I chose a place that served sweat tea… Alethia: Hattie B’s Hot Chicken in Nashville… my next  daughter will choose based on nearness to Culver’s… haha)
  • FUGE & food (we remember…)
    •  This year food truck served Pancit & Lumpia… < Bello 🙂
  • Rememberable meals
    •  Wedding: fondue – – still like Melting Pot
    •  Thanksgivings or celebration  
       times with individuals
    •  Mealtrain impact for us… others… ministry
    •  Fellowships
    •  Avg person eats around 80K meals…
      each sustain, regardless of remembrance;
      like Sunday sermons 🙂

* Lord’s Supper / Communion / Eucharist

Today, we start a 3-week series on Being with Jesus:

  • Eating With Jesus
  • Walking With Jesus
  • Mission With Jesus

EXAMINE      Luke 22:7-30          Eat With Jesus

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.

The Jews had several religious feasts – 1 weekly, 7 primary feasts, and 2 other later feasts: Purim (Israel spared during time of Esther) & Hanukah.

  1. Weekly Sabbath (cf. Ge 2:2; Ex 20:8; also Mt 12:8; Heb 4:9-11)
  2. March/April Unleavened Bread representing no yeast in the bread, which over time symbolized sin/evil (cf Lev 23:6 1st day of first month; also Mt 16:6; Gal 5:9)
  3. March/April Passover was sacrificial blood of lamb from the 10th plague upon Egypt to represent Israel’s substitute and salvation (Lev 23:5 14th day of first month – Nisan; also Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pe 1:19; Rev 5:6)
  4. March/April Firstfruits was a celebration of the harvest, held on the 3rd day after Passover; which overtime NT  Christians relate to the resurrection (cf Lev 23:11; also Ro 8:23; 1 Cor 15:20).
  5. Pentecost marked a summer harvest; 7-Sabbath’s or 50 days after Passover (cf Lev 23:16-17; Ac 2).
  6. September Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) celebrated on the first day of the 7th month with the blowing of shofar trumpets to commemorate creation and the new year (cf Lev 23:24; Ps 81:3; 1Cor 15:51-52).
  7. Atonement (Yom Kippur) occurs on the 10th day of the 7th month, and is the highest of holy days for confession, repentance, and offerings for the forgiveness of sin. Today, Christ makes us forgiven at-one-moment through His shed blood (cf Lev 16; Heb 9:19-28).  
  8. Tabernacles occurred on the 15th day of the 7th month, and this feast commemorated God’s provision of shelter for the Israelites in the wilderness. Today, Christ tabernacled with humanity through the incarnation (cf Lev 23:34; Jn 1:14; Rev 21:3).

What’s the big deal about these feasts?

#1 God likes parties. He’s a God of joyful celebration and cherished remembrance. Each of these festivals become like journal entries or milestones in the life of a believer to remember how God has worked in our life/nation in the past.

#2 Thousands of years of cultural traditions and religious feasts culminate in one person: Jesus. As Christians, we understand the arc of Christmas leading up to Easter. It’s why holidays are derived from holy days.[1] But for those outside of Christianity, the holidays are mere parties w/o tangible purpose, and are merely commercialized happenings with excuses for retail therapy.

God likes parties. Thousands of years of cultural traditions and religious feasts culminate in one person: Jesus.

8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”

Preparations for the Passover were detailed and extensive.

  • Place for a meal… For many Jews, after Solomon’s temple was built, Jerusalem became a place of pilgrimage for the meal. Some historians estimated 2+ million Jews were present in Jerusalem during time of Jesus.
  • Remove & clean leaven from house.
  • Secure/purchase a spotless lamb, not more than 1-y/o. Butcher the meat, burn the fat and insides, and sprinkle the blood on the priestly altar. The meat would be roasted on an open fire for the family to eat.
  • Obtain bitter herbs (bitterness of slavery), unleavened bread (hasty departure from Egypt), fruit & nut paste (clay brings made in Egypt), and wine (God’s promises of future land).
  • The entire meal was served by 6pm, just before sundown.

9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 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 11 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?’ 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

Jesus gives instructions to Peter and John for preparing the Passover. But what Jesus commands, He coordinates. Jesus works behind the scenes in dozens of ways we can only begin to consider His power and profound love for us.

14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.

Even in the whirlwind and wearisome events to come in the cross, Jesus is not panicked. He reclines over a shared meal with the disciples.

What matters most in times of tension, trouble, or tragedy, is the relationships God places before us.   

Even in the whirlwind and wearisome events to come in the cross, Jesus is not panicked. He reclines over a shared meal with the disciples. What matters most in times of tension, trouble, or tragedy, is the relationships God places before us.   

15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

Why? BC Jesus wants to explain in one last poignant manner bridge the fulfillment of God’s promises in the past with His death and resurrection.

16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Jesus explains this is His last Passover until they eat again in God’s kingdom.

The cup included physical wine but also used figuratively. Sometimes “cup” represents God’s blessings.[2]

  • Ps 16:5 “The LORD is my chosen portion and cup”
  • Ps 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows”

The “cup” can also refer to God’s judgment.[3]

  • Ps 75:8 “in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.”
  • Isa 51:17 “Wake yourself, stand up O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering”
  • Rev 14:10 “he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

And Jesus voluntarily drank the cup of suffering by giving His life as a ransom for our salvation.

  • Lk 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (cf. Mt 20:22; Jn 18:11)

Jesus instructs the disciples to divide the cup among themselves, so they all receive – not one is missed.

19 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.”

Bread was/is a staple of meals.

At least two of Jesus’ miracles was to feed crowds (5K+ & 4K+) of people with bread on the menu. He cares about physical needs. But Jesus uses these miracles to communicate the greater message that He is the bread of life. Jesus is food for the soul and water to quench our spiritual thirst. Jesus’ ministry was not merely to be useful/helpful but so that we might deem Him as beautiful/fulfilling. Jesus did not want people to fixate on the product of the miracle but the person who performed the miracle. So, Passover – and all of life – is meant to remind us over and over again, that Jesus is enough, and is more valuable than gold, more aspired than career accomplishments or secure retirement, more comforting than sleep in air conditioning, more indulging than lusts of the flesh, and even more treasured than 249 years on earth with loved ones w/o disease or death BECAUSE faith in Jesus assures us of forever and so much more than any mind can conceive,
heart imagine, or eye can see
– a life w/o grief or regret (1 Cor 3:9; Rev 21:4).

Jesus came that we might understand the frailty and temporariness of this life. His sinless life and sacrificed body became our substitute. We eat of the physical bread that inspires us to say, “Taste and see the Lord is good.

  • *Communion bread is no more Christ’s physical body, nor wine Christ’s physical blood than the Bible is honey, or church light bulbs as Jesus (Jn 8:12), building doors as Jesus (Jn 10:7), animal pens/herders as Jesus (Jn 10:11), or garden vines as Jesus (Jn 15:1). The bread and cup are eaten in remembrance of Jesus; not mutation of elements.
  • Bread = Jesus’ life for you  

20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

The old covenant

  • Ez 18:20 “the soul that sins shall die”
  • Lev 17:11 “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” – – – Heb 9:22 “w/o the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness”

The new covenant

  • Ro 3:21, 24-25 “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 -… justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
  • Cup = Jesus’ death for you.

SO: Passover reminds of God’s rescuing the Israelites from slavery by displaying His power through a series of plagues upon the Egyptians – and the last with death of the first son – but sparing the Israelites with the instructed blood of the lamb applied to their homes. BUT NOW: we partake to remember God’s salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and the power of His resurrection. Jesus’ salvation is sufficient for all but only efficient for those who believe.

21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”

Luke transitions from intimacy of the disciples to conflict with a betrayer.
This is the 2nd of 3 references to Judas in this chapter

22:3 “Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was 1 of 12”

22:21 “Judas’ hand with me on the table”

22:47-48 “Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss”

In each case, Luke indicates Judas was close with Jesus: 1 of 12 / Touching hands / Kissing a cheek. Judas was never suspected of treachery, as he handled the treasury for the group and was a vital member, yet in hindsight was described as a traitor but as a thief (Jn 6:64; 6:71; 12:4-6; 13:2; 13:26; 14:22). Surprisingly, Jesus also washed the feet of Judas (Jn 13:1-30). Ultimately, we see Judas was a both a few feet from Jesus and a few days from Hell.

23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this. 24 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. 28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

“Among the apostles, the one absolutely stunning success was Judas, and the one thoroughly groveling failure was Peter. Judas was a success in the ways that most impress us: he was successful both financially and politically. He cleverly arranged to control the money of the apostolic band; he skillfully manipulated the political forces of the day to accomplish his goal. And Peter was a failure in ways that we most dread: he was impotent in a crisis and socially inept. At the arrest of Jesus he collapsed, a hapless, blustering coward; in the most critical situations of his life with Jesus, the confession on the road to Caesarea Philippi and the vision on the Mount of transfiguration, he said the most embarrassingly inappropriate things. He was not the companion we would want with us in time of danger, and he was not the kind of person we would feel comfortable with at a social occasion. Time, of course, has reversed our judgments on the two men. Judas is now a byword for betrayal, and Peter is one of the most honored names in the church and in the world. Judas is a villain; Peter is a saint. Yet the world continues to chase after the successes of Judas, financial wealth and political power, and to defend itself against the failures of Peter, impotence and ineptness.”[4]

APPLY/TAKEAWAY

Amid the emotional backdrop of Jesus’ last moments with His dearest friends, and the burden of His pending agony,  tradition (Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26) tells us the custom after sharing the Passover was to sing together a psalm – likely one from 113-118:
“Hallelujah… From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of Yahweh be praised…

Not to us, not to us, but to Yahweh’s name give glory…

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His faithful love endures forever…

The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the LORD and it is marvelous in our eyes… This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Can you imagine Jesus singing?
God staring in your eyes; smiling; taking bites of food; laughing at your banter; listening to your cares; perhaps shedding a tear… and singing.


“The LORD your God is in your midst; He is mighty to save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zeph 3:17)

  •  We sing because we’re saved.
  •  Our song is our story. It’s not giving up or panicking, and remembering God is faithful. The same God who was willing to give His life for you is the same God who hears your prayers and walks with you in storms and struggles.
  • We sing to express trust in a God who rescues from evil, redeems circumstances from burden to blessing, and refresh our spirits amid the emotional whirlwinds of life.

[1] https://growinggodlygenerations.com/2016/11/25/the-x-in-christmas-and-happy-holidays/

[2] LeBron Matthews, “Cup,” in Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, ed. Chad Brand et al. (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 373.

[3] See also Isa 51:22; Jer 25:15; 49:12; 51:7; Ez 23:31-34; Rev 16:19; 17:4; 18:6.

[4] Eugene Peterson, Traveling Light.

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