Last Supper

GOD’S WORD

“On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him…And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.”

Mark 14:12-13, 15

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

John 13:1

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

REFLECTION

Jesus knew the Passover dinner would be the last time He met with all His disciples gathered together. The dinner typically involved Seder bread, unleavened to commemorate the Israelites’ hasty departure from Egypt (Dt. 16:3); roasted lamb, signifying the Passover lamb that was slain and whose blood marked the threshold of Jewish homes (Ex. 12:21-24); and bitter herbs, used to prepare the meal (and to remind the Israelites of the bitterness of slavery from which God had rescued them.)

TASTE the hastily prepared Seder bread to remind you of how God provides for your needs, even in times of crisis.

TOUCH the lamb bone; imagine having to hold the head of that lamb still while a priest sacrificed that animal to atone for you and your family’s sins.

THINK about how the bitterness of the herbs can remind you of your slavery to sin.

More than a mere meal, Jesus turned this Passover into a memorable moment. He used it as an occasion to show His followers the “full extent of His love.” After everyone had eaten, Jesus got up from the table and gathered the tools of a lowly servant. He wrapped a towel around His waist, and with water held in a servant’s bowl, began washing the feet of His disciples. In doing this, Jesus marked Himself as their servant.

LOOK at the bowl and the towel; this great act of humility by Jesus was startling to the disciples. He was the Lord, the very son of God - they should have been washing His feet. Jesus is teaching them that true joy and leadership is found in serving and loving others.

Through the celebration of the Passover, Jesus reminded His disciples of God’s past salvation: God delivered Israel from slavery by the blood of a lamb. But even more, by instituting the Lord’s Supper at that same feast (which we now celebrate during our normal church services), Jesus pointed towards a future salvation, a better and final salvation. Jesus became our “Passover Lamb,” by absorbing the wrath of His Father at the cross, as our substitute. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He, and He alone, has provided for all our needs—physical and spiritual.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for so excellently taking care of all of my needs. You have provided bread for my journey; a sacrificial Lamb for my forgiveness; and release from the bitterness of my sins. Thank You most of all for providing a Passover Lamb in Your Son, Jesus.