Luke 22:14-20
“When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles
reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I
suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it
finds fulfillment in the kingdom
of God.”
After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell
you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you;
do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the
cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which is poured out for you.”
There are so many things that could be brought out of these
few beautiful verses. Books have been written on this subject for centuries, so
I am not going to be writing anything new. But I was looking for something new
to think about while I read this passage. And I found it in Jesus’ words:
“I
have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
The word
“eagerly” struck me as almost out of place. This dinner was really not a happy
occasion. The disciples were troubled, confused and simply didn’t understand
what was going on. They were consumed with wondering who the betrayer was, why
Jesus was telling them this was His last meal with them, and bickering about
who was the greatest among them. Of course, we all know what Jesus was about to
face and I am sure it was on His mind…but Scripture tells us He was eager. He
was eager to be with His disciples and He was eager to have this last supper
with them. Jesus was able to be joyful on this terrible night of betrayal because
He understood that He was finally fulfilling the old covenant and creating a
new covenant. This night was the launch of a new church ordinance that we
continue in our own churches all over the world. The disciples were having
Passover. They had been participating in Passover since they were in the womb.
It was a ritual. It was a tradition. It was a habitual practice. I know that
when I do something over and over again, if I am not careful, it becomes all
routine and no passion and awe anymore. I wonder if the disciples were going
through the motions of the evening, not really paying attention to the
significance of the Passover they were participating in. And it is certain that
they did not understand that their Passover was going to be the last of it’s
kind for forever! They had no idea that the Passover that they knew so well was
about to radically change in a matter of hours.
Oh, how we are like them!
Sometimes we focus so much on our traditions and ceremonies that we forget the
true meaning…or we forget that our practices are to help us in the furtherment
of our relationship with God. Please be reminded that the significance of the
Passover and the Lord’s Supper has nothing to do with what we add to it…but has
everything to do with what Christ has done. And because of this Jesus said
“eagerly”. The disciples (even Judas) did not ruin this meal for our Lord. They
couldn’t ruin it because our Savior observed His meal in the light of what GOD
was doing, not men. There is no benefit to tradition; there is only benefit in
Christ.
What else can this teach us except to approach the Lord’s
Table as Jesus did that night: with great eagerness and joy. Having love for
things accomplished by God in the past, but also looking forward to that promised
day when the kingdom
of God shall come!
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