Luke 22:15

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Luke 22:15 

“And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” –  Luke 22:15  

Our focus verse today along with the verses that follow up to 23, speak of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.  They are now in the upper room of a house at around twilight which the Spirit led them to, and Jesus is telling them what will follow. “And when the hour had come He reclined at the 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 say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:14-16. To recline at the table was tradition at this time.  They would be around a table on the floor, in a reclining position with a pillow under their arms. The last supper, as all celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, was meant for those who professed to be Jesus’ followers, hence only His disciples were invited at this time. Paul lays this out in his first letter to the Church of Corinth.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats, and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brethren when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together for judgment. And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come.” 1 Corinthians 11:26-34.

Paul declares the importance of this by saying we must examine ourselves before partaking of the wine and/or bread, to ensure we are worthy to take both the bread and the wine.

Next, He passes out the wine and the bread.  “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes. And when He had taken some bread and 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.” Luke 22:17-19. He will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until the Kingdom of God comes. What is meant here is more clearly laid out in Matthew. “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:29. Jesus looked forward to a future celebration of the Passover in heaven, one that He has not yet celebrated with His people. He is waiting for all His people to be gathered to Him, and then there will be a great supper, the marriage supper of the Lamb. “And he said to me, write, Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, these are true words of God.” Revelation 19:9. This is the fulfillment Jesus was looking forward to.

In closing, The Last Supper was a significant event and proclaimed a turning point in God’s plan for the world. In comparing the crucifixion of Jesus to the feast of Passover, we can readily see the redemptive nature of Christ’s death. As symbolized by the original Passover sacrifice in the Old Testament, Christ’s death atones for the sins of His people; His blood rescues us from death and saves us from slavery. Today, the Lord’s Supper is when believers reflect upon Christ’s perfect sacrifice and know that, through our faith in receiving Him, we will be with Him forever. And because of the importance of this, it is imperative that we examine ourselves prior to taking communion.  We are to reflect on the meaning of the ordinance and confess personal sin. Do we know what communion means, and are we taking it for that purpose? Are we actually walking out our faith and living in active relationship with God, allowing Him to do His sanctifying work in our lives? If so, communion is a sobering celebration of Christ and His church. If not, we make a mockery of the ordinance.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Luke 22:8

Verse of the Day Devotion.  Luke 22:8 

“And He sent Peter and John, saying, go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” –  Luke 22:8

This verse speaks of the  preparation that was necessary for the get together often identified as the Last Supper, meaning the last meal the disciples shared with Jesus prior to His crucifixion. “Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” Luke 22:7-8. Since the Passover meal had to be eaten within the walled city of Jerusalem, Jesus prepared to eat the meal within the city. We see this in the Book of Exodus. First they were to celebrate three feasts a year. “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And none shall appear before Me empty-handed. Also you shall observe the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.” Exodus 23:15-16. Then in verse 17 we read, “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.” Exodus 23:17.  The fact that they were to appear before the Lord , this speaks of celebrating these feasts in Jerusalem. And as our focus verse states, He sent Peter and John to make the preparations.

They then asked Jesus, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” Luke 22:9. They did not have a place where they resided, so they wondered if He had a specific place in mind.  Jesus then tells them, not exactly where they will celebrate, but how they will find the place. “And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, The Teacher says to you, where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” Luke 22:10-11. Now, we see something very interesting.  Jesus tells them to go out and they will find a man carrying a pitcher of water to his home,  so they follow him into his home.  Then when they arrive they were to ask the owner about a guest room.  Now, what is interesting is that the person they meet on the road is not the owner of the house.

In those days it was often said that, except for his own flask, a man does not carry water; he leaves this work to women. The text in fact does not care about the gender of the person mentioned. In Luke, as in Mark, the word translated ‘man’ is the Greek word anthrōpos, meaning man. But it is not man as opposed to woman, it is man as opposed to animal.  It speaks of the species, not the gender. Now even if the one carrying the water was a slave or a woman, neither of them in that period could own property or were unable to acquire the funds to make it happen. Then, Jesus tells them to ask about a guest room in his house. “The Teacher says to you, where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?” Luke 22:11b. Jesus then gives them the answer the owner of the house will give them. “And he will show you a large, furnished, upper room; prepare it there.” Luke 22:12. He does not speak simply of a normal guest room as we understand it, but a large room that is located above the main house. Then after receiving Jesus’ instructions, “And they departed and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.” Luke 22:13.

So, what can we learn from this?  Jesus knew what was going to happen .  He had only a few days before He was to be crucified. On Thursday, it was Passover proper. The lamb is killed, and Jesus and His disciples eat the Passover meal in the upper room. On Friday, the Day of Preparation. Jesus is tried and executed, but not convicted. The Jews continue their Passover celebrations with the chagigah, offerings made during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On Saturday was the weekly Sabbath, and then on Sunday, His resurrection.  The preparation for His arrest, conviction, and ultimately His execution and resurrection was only a couple days. However, these several days brought about our opportunity for salvation. He kept the Jewish celebrations and gave His life for us.  This is why He came, and this is why we have access to salvation and eternal life.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.