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Luke 
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Day 279

Luke 22 : 14-20 "SHARING THE LAST PASSOVER MEAL"

Day 279 – Luke 22

Text: Luke 22 : 14-20

SHARING THE LAST PASSOVER MEAL

How did the Disciples feel as they gathered to celebrate the Passover with their beloved Teacher? The celebration of the Passover meal would be a welcome “break” from the usual hectic ministry Jesus sustained in His daily life.

None of the Gospel writers recorded the full celebration of the Permanent Passover. Each of them singled out certain aspects of the Passover celebration that were relevant to his particular theological purpose.

There seems to have been a common theological purpose. Each of the Gospel writers sought to preserve a critically important point. The Passover was going to be given a new and special meaning!

The Egyptian Passover was celebrated in a special way. Moses’ instruction to Israel was very clear.

“And thus you shall eat it:
with a belt on your waist,
your sandals on your feet,
and your staff in your hand.
So you shall eat it in haste.
It is the Lord’s Passover.”
Exodus 12:11

The way the Jews celebrated the Permanent Passover differed significantly in some respects. Luke noted how Jesus and His Disciples celebrated the Passover.

“When the hour had come,
He sat down,
And the twelve apostles with Him…”
Luke 22:14

The Permanent Passover Meal was eaten seated, whereas the Egyptian Passover was observed standing up. The changes took place slowly and subtly. As the theological thoughts of the Rabbis increased, so they made important changes to the way in which the Passover was kept.

SHARING IMPORTANT THOUGHTS AT THE PASSOVER MEAL

We are indebted to Alfred Edersheim who in his book, The Temple – Its Ministry and Service, provides for us interesting insights into the way the Jews celebrate their Passover. He cited the words of Rabbi Gamaliel, the teacher of the Apostle Paul.

“Whoever does not explain three things in the Passover
has not fulfilled the duty incumbent on him.
These three things are: The Passover lamb,
The unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs” ( pg.186)

Jesus took this opportunity to fulfil His role as the One who presided over the Passover meal. It was His incumbent duty to address His guests, His beloved Disciples. However, His address would cover much more than just these three topics. He began,

“With fervent desire I have desired
to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it
Until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”
Luke 22:15-16

Once again, Jesus spoke about suffering. Did the Disciples fully comprehend just how close Jesus was to the suffering that would take place?

Despite the fact that soon He would have to suffer terribly, Jesus wanted to spend time with His Disciples so that He could instruct them further. There were still so many things that He wanted to teach them. However, He also knew that not all of them had the capacity or the maturity to understand all that He was going to teach them.

There must have been special joy in their hearts when He told them that he had looked forward so much to celebrating the Passover with them. Those words must have meant a lot to them. It meant that their Master really liked their company, and He had chosen them to be with Him as He celebrated Passover. If Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread was supposed to be celebrated with joy, then these words brought great joy indeed.

But the Disciples must also have found that the joyous occasion was also tinged with a certain amount of sadness. The Disciples never did overcome the difficulty of accepting the suffering Jesus kept mentioning.

“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said,
‘Take this and divide it among yourselves;
For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine
Until the kingdom of God comes.”
Luke 22:17-18

This cup was the first of four cups of wine that went with the Passover Meal. This “cup” was different from the one mentioned in Luke 2:20, which we normally associate with the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This “cup” is correctly associated with the Passover meal.

This was indeed going to be the last Passover Jesus would celebrate with His Disciples. He would soon die at the hands of His enemies. He would rise from the dead, but He would not stay too long on the earth after the Resurrection. The Kingdom of God would still not be established just yet.

These details were only the preliminaries! The Passover Meal was far from over. Thus the NKJV translation of the text in John 13:2 “and supper being ended” is incorrect. The grammatical construction suggests that the dinner was still on-going. (NASB translated this phrase, “during supper.” NIV translates this phrase, “deipnou ginomemou”- “was being served”).