Come On In Children, It's Suppertime!

Rev. Dan Mahan

Luke 22:14-15 Then at the proper time Jesus and the twelve apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said “I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.”

Have you ever made big plans for a holiday dinner? One year Darlene and I made big plans and preparations for Christmas. It was our first Christmas in our very own house. We had moved back to our hometown after seminary and it was the first chance we had for years to have family together. Our daughters were both coming and we asked other relatives to join us for Christmas dinner. Darlene and I got up early Christmas morning and prepared the special meal. Darlene was cooking the glaze for the ham over the stove. The more she stirred that glaze, the sicker she felt. By the time the guests were all there and we were sitting down for dinner, she was not feeling well at all. As we sat down at the dining room table, she laid down on a loveseat beside the table. The rest of us ate our dinner, played Chicken-Foot dominoes for several hours, and ate supper. Darlene slept through it all! When the guests left that evening, I woke her up long enough to take her temperature. It was 104 degrees—she had pneumonia! After all the plans and preparation for that special meal, she missed it all!

Holidays are special times for family and sharing meals together. Lots of plans and preparations go into making it a special time. It was no different in Jesus’ time. Passover was coming up—a big holiday. Many were making plans and preparations for the Passover meal. Jesus was making plans as well. But to Jesus, it would not be an ordinary Passover holiday. He was making special plans and special preparations.

One year, two weeks before Christmas, my sister Charlcie was in an automobile accident. At first, we were not sure if she would make it or not. The accident broke her back in three places; she was paralyzed and the doctors said she may not walk again. (Today, praise God, she walks with not even the help of a cane!)

The family made special plans on celebrating that Christmas. Colin got rooms in a really nice hotel for the entire family. We had planned a finger-food meal, one that we could eat in the hospital room. Cost was not an issue for Colin. He was willing to sacrifice at any cost for those he loved. He wanted to make that holiday a special time of sharing with those closest to my sister. Everyone was there to make it that special time because of what she had gone through and because of what she had left to go through. Everyone was there—except for my brother John. He could not work it into his schedule. He was too busy. He did not stop to consider the importance of partaking of this special meal and time together.

Jesus was working on making this holiday special. If you read Matt 26, Mark14 and Luke 22, you will see that the wording is almost identical in the accounts of this event. As you read, you will notice the details that went into the planning and preparation of this celebration. Jesus tells Peter and John “Go, prepare the Passover meal.” Now I wonder why Jesus sent Peter and John—two fishermen—two MEN—to prepare this special meal. Why not choose Mary and Martha? Martha was the cook! We know that Martha would have done a great job. Little Miss Homemaker was always cooking and preparing meals for those that she loved. But as far as we can tell, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were not invited to this holiday event. Jesus planned this meal for those special twelve who he had disciplined so closely over the last three years.

Peter and John ask “Where?”

Jesus replies: “Go to Jerusalem. You will see a man with a pitcher of water. Follow him. When you get to the house, tell the owner that the Lord needs his guest room for the Passover meal. He will take you to a large room upstairs. You will find it already set up” The disciples found it just as He said and they prepared the Passover meal.

I wonder if the disciples were awe-stricken in amazement at all of the detail of Jesus’ preparations as I was when I read the account. The Lord said “find a man with a pitcher of water.” There he was. “Follow him and ask for a room. He will lead you to an upstairs room.” The owner willing gave him a room to use-upstairs! “You will find it already set up.” And it was!