Set the stage:
Ok we have a bit of review to go over since it has been seven weeks since our last venture into the story from Luke. We have studied how Jesus entered the city to great fanfare and accolades of being the Messiah. He accepted these accolades and was chastised and criticized by the religious leaders.
Jesus infuriates them even more by driving out the money changers from the Temple and then He takes up teaching the people in the very space the money changers had been driven from… Something has to happen… something has to give… the religious leaders were losing control of their power, and Jesus’ popularity was growing exponentially by the day… they had to act…and they did!
They entered into an agreement with Judas Iscariot… for Judas to betray Jesus to them. They struck a bargain with Judas for 30 pieces of silver, and the plan was set… it was now Thursday evening and it was time for those with Jesus to sit down and partake of the Passover meal together. I believe this is most significant for our story, and I believe that many people discount the meaning of this event…
Let’s read our passage of Scripture tonight and see what we can learn from God’s word!
Luke 22:7-13
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it." 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.
The Passover meal represented several things for the Hebrew nation. First and foremost it was a reminder to all of Israel of where they had come from… their nation had once been a nation bound in slavery! This was a solemn reminder to them to remember that time in their history.
When we look at the history of the nation of Israel we know that it traces back to one family, the family of Abraham, who was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who wrestled with the angel and who’s name was changed from Jacob to Israel.
Jacob/Israel had 12 sons, 10 of them, out of jealousy, conspired against another son named Joseph and sold him into slavery into Egypt. God’s hand was on Joseph and Joseph became the 2nd most high leader in all of Egypt. God warned Joseph about a famine coming in the land and how to avoid starvation. Joseph implemented that plan and saved not only the nation of Egypt, but his brother showed up for food and it ultimately resulted in a great family reunion.
As a result of this family reunion, Israel and his family moved to Egypt and began to live, and multiply as a people. Many yrs later the Pharaoh of Egypt decided to subjugate the Israelites as servants for his pleasure, and for 400 yrs they were held captive until God sent Moses to deliver them…
On the night of their deliverance, the Lord sent the angel of death into the land, and all who were prepared… were passed over and the lives of their 1st born children were spared. This Passover celebration was first and foremost a reminder of that history, and that night! In Exodus 12:14 we read where God established this as the reminder for the nation: “This day shall be for you, a memorial [reminder] day, and you shall keep it as a feast, to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast…”
2nd the Passover reminded the Jews of their deliverance from that slavery by God. And since that time God had delivered them time and time again… Later in their history Israel was taken captive by Babylon and held captive for 70 yrs, but then God delivered them in a much different way!
God actually sent another nation into conquer the nation hold Israel captive. The conquering nation did not free Israel immediately, but through the faithfulness of Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah, the nation was eventually set free to return to its homeland, and once again… God not only provided freedom, but delivered them with benefits as the king helped them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
All of the festivals and feasts that Israel celebrates were actually started as reminders for them to remember the times when God had delivered them! This Passover meal was a reminder of when God delivered them out of slavery from Egypt…
3rd the Passover was a reminder for the Jews as a vivid illustration and reminder of God’s requirements for strict obedience to His Word… His Law! The Passover meal was instructed to be prepared only ONE certain way, any deviance from the prescribed preparation on that fateful night in Egypt would have resulted in their being excluded from deliverance from Egypt.
When Moses went thru the Israelite camp before that 10th plague, the plague of death… He passed on the instructions for the Passover meal. Let’s look at those instructions tonight:
Exodus 12:4-5 established that a lamb was to be selected by each family and if a family could not afford a lamb, that they could share one with another family. That lamb was to be a male lamb without spot or blemish, the PRIME lamb of the flock. It could be a sheep or a goat. They were to pen this lamb up on the 10th day of the month and on the 14th day the entire nation was to slaughter their lamb at sunset.
Then they were to roast the lamb on an open fire and what they did not eat by morning was to be burned! They were to eat this lamb with bitter herbs and unleavened bread! They were also to eat it with their traveling clothes on… ready to leave at a moment’s notice. Look at Exodus 12:11 [ESV] “…in this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste…” Those who were not READY to leave that night were left behind!
Finally the Passover meal was a foreshadowing of Jesus on the Cross…
A sacrifice to deliver us from the bondage and slavery of sin! We see that in all sacrifice there is an element of blood… Let’s look at Exodus 12:7 [ESV] “…then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel (crossbar between doorposts) of the house where they are eating it [the Passover meal]…”
The Israelites were told to smear the blood of the lamb on their dooposts and on the lentil above the door and that this would be a sign to the Angel of Death that would be coming, to PASS OVER their home because they were marked by the blood.
It does not take a biblical scholar to make the connection between this action of salvation and deliverance based on the blood of the lamb… and the actions of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary! John revealed Jesus to be ‘…the Lamb of God…” and His blood was spill on the wooden cross of Calvary, for the deliverance of those in bondage and enslaved by sin!
If the Israelites refused to put the blood on the doorposts and lentil, the angel of death did NOT Passover their home and they were NOT delivered. The same is true about us today… if we reject Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross, when it comes to the final judgment, our sins will be counted against us and we will be rejected by God.
This Passover meal that Jesus was about to share with His disciples was a remembrance of something that was a foreshadow of something about to happen! Jesus understood this and wanted to share it with His disciples! Scripture tells us that there is NO remittance or forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood. Just as all those lambs gave their lives for the deliverance of the people of Israel… Jesus shed His own blood for our sin… He paid the ultimate price for our salvation!
This was a solemn time for Jesus, as He knew and understood what lie ahead but He was still in the process of training and developing the disciples for their time after he was gone… He was still teaching! He would use this time to teach them a valuable lesson and yet another symbolic ceremony of remembrance… the Lord’s Supper!
Let’s pray!
