Luke 22:7-20

Last evening we looked at 1) preparation of the Last Supper (vv. 7-12), and 2) the celebration of the Last Supper (vv. 13-20). 

How are we to understand the preparations of the Passover?

            While the instructions are clear and detailed, a level of ambiguity quickly enters.  First, after the inquiry by the apostles, Jesus responds by saying, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.  Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks: Where is the guest room…He will show you a large upper room, all furnished.”  Perhaps you’re like me wondering, “Is this a miracle, or did Jesus make these plans and arrangements ahead of time?”  I don’t think the text says, but we are drawn into the possibility.  Perhaps we are to compare and contrast the birth of Jesus, where a room could not be obtained, but here, the Lord’s redemptive purposes are backed by the providence of God, and arrangements are not in doubt.  Soon we will find that Jesus knows the future events of betrayal down to the detail of who will break the trust.  He will tell Peter to his face, while leaving the act that leads to the crucifixion somewhat mysteriously hanging – creating a climate of introspection by all.

            The two disciples whom Jesus sent (Peter and John) to make preparations had the responsibility of obtaining five items: 1) securing a room, 2) get the lamb slain at the temple, 3) purchase the unleavened bread, and 4) obtain the bitter herbs, and 5) get the wine.  Without doubt, whether by miracle or prearrangement, the entire account has an “air of expectation and drama” (Bock), yielding a sense of heightened importance.         

What is the Passover?

            Its source is from the Hebrew people, and is a celebration centered around a meal, of their deliverance by God from Egyptian bondage.

⁶ "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. ⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.' " (Ex 6:6-8)

Note the promises in this announcement by God of his intervention:  1) I will bring you out & free you, 2) redeem you, 3) take you as my own, 4) I will bring you to the land, and 5) I will give it to you.  On the eve of their deliverance the Passover meal is instituted (Ex 12).  They were to slay a lamb (vv. 3-6), obtain bitter herbs and bread without yeast (v. 8), and sprinkle its blood on the doorframes of their own homes (v. 7), so that when the Lord comes across the land in judgment, and kills all the firstborn, the homes covered by blood will be passed over in judgment (vv.12-13).  This feast was to be a lasting ordinance for generations to come (14).  Technically, the Passover was an event on one day, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week duration, but loosely the two were often equated (Luke 22:1).

How did the meal unfold, and what did the various elements represent?             The event started with a blessing pronounced over those in the household, then everyone would drink wine from their own cup; this is when the first cup of wine was drunk.  The youngest among them would then ask this question, “Why is this night different from other nights?”  The father, or host, would then recount the deliverance from Egypt (Deut 26:5-9), and explain the symbolism:

Passover lamb – the blood of the sacrificial lamb that protected the people of Israel from the angel of death; unleavened bread – the quickness of God’s deliverance; bowl of salt water – the tears shed in bondage and in crossing the Red Sea; bitter herbs – the bitterness of captivity; four cups of wine – the four promises of Exod. 6:6-7. (Stein)

Participants then would collectively recall the promises made to Abraham, and subsequently renewed with Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.  Upon completion of such glorious deliverance, they sang the Hallel Psalms during which a second cup of wine was drunk; this would also mark the beginning of the meal itself.  After the meal, or very near its end, came the unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  This was the third cup.  Then the remainder of the Hallel Psalms were then sung.  This was around midnight, and upon reaching this segment, a fourth cup of wine was drunk, thus marking the end. 

What cup was the first cup mentioned in v. 17?  Some think it was the first, some the third; and yet others, that Jesus ushered in a separate cup to speak of a New Covenant.  All are perhaps interesting, but not theologically significant.  It is debated whether Jesus drank all cups or stopped at some point; little significance is there as well.    

What did Jesus mean when he said: “I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God”?

            We have the same issue in v. 18 concerning the wine, but with a slightly different twist.  There Jesus says he will not drink, “until the kingdom of God comes.”  So I think it is safe to assume that fulfillment comes when the kingdom comes.  That’s the easy part!

            Jesus is going to partake of the Passover meal again in the kingdom of God?  First, and minimally, we can say that since the Passover meal in the old covenant was but a shadow, then it will be celebrated ‘differently’ when the kingdom arrives.  Some say the difference is with regard to the banquet itself; it is an eschatological banquet (see Luke 13:28-29).  Second, the question as to ‘when’ this kingdom comes, or when the eschatological banquet is, needs to be addressed.  Some say it must be future, the consummation (Bock. et. al.).  Others see perhaps fulfillment residing in the Lord’s Supper of the NT church, while yet others attempt to split it saying vv.15-18 refer to the parousia, and vv. 19-20 refer to the Lord’s Supper (Jeremias, Ellis, et. al.). Those who deny any reference to the Lord’s supper seem to be driven more by their dislike of any prominence of the Supper, a fear of some ‘sacramentalism’ whereby something not only conveys, but actually confers salvation.  I do believe the church has long too obsessed with the WHAT and HOW of his presencem e.g., transubstantiation, consubstantiation, etc.  I believe one NT scholar, Arthur Just, hit the nail on the head when he unpacked the timing of the kingdom of God/banquet from the perspective of the New Testament.  Regarding fulfillment of the Passover, Just says:

This fulfillment occurs progressively, in a succession of events.  The kingdom of God was present (in a more preliminary way) in the OT era through the patriarchs, Moses, the theocracy, the Davidic (messianic) monarchy, and the ministries of the prophets and priests.  The OT Pasover will be fulfilled when Jesus, the Passover Lamb, is slain.  The kingdom of God will come as the Messiah gives up his life for the world and is raised again.  Then Jesus will eat and drink again with the disciples after he rises from the dead prior to his ascension (Lk. 24:30, 41-43; Jn 21:9-14; Acts 10:41).  Jesus will also be with his disciples during the era of the church when they celebrate the Passover anew in the Lord’s Supper and receive his body and blood (e.g., Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7; 1 Cor 11:17-34).  However, the complete, manifest, and final fulfillment of the Passover and of this verse will be in the eschaton (e.g., Rev 19:6-9).  That is why the church still petitions in the Lord’s Prayer, “Let your kingdom come” (Lk 11:2).  Only in the eschaton will the meaning and significance of the Passover be fully revealed to all.  Until then, the saving power of the cross and the grace and forgiveness given in the Lord’s Supper are veiled, hidden from the eyes of the unbelieving world and “visible” only to eyes of faith.” (emphasis mine).

So like we found out with "the coming of the son of man" phraseology, here too we find elasticity.  Obviously Jesus' eating, though in some sense future, will certainly not be regressive, i.e., he will not re-institute the  Passover of the old covenant, so the eating will be a heavenly banquet kingdom eating, and is probably best seen as incremental levels of disclosure leading to fulfillment.  That is the essential meaning of the 'New Covenant' - Christ is the lamb!  This means of course that we have a certain level of eating with Christ NOW.  So do you?  Do you take advantage of this and eat with our Lord?  In faith do you actually mesh with him, fellowship with him, enjoy him??????

What are we to glean? 

When I think of Luther, the most cherished notion comes from his frequent use of the Latin phrase pro nobis which means “for me.”  Fundamentally, for Luther, being a Christian is being persuaded that in the cross of Christ I find, meet, and encounter, a God who is truly for me.  Jesus said in v. 19, “This is my body given for you.”  And when he spoke of the wine, he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”  I said earlier, the church has focused too much on the 'what' and the 'how'; the focus should be on the fact of "on your behalf." To be sure this points to divine substitution for our sins, but what drives it?  Is it an act that just floats in some black hole deep in the universe, or does it fundamentally reflect something within the being of God?  I think our answer is found in Luke 1:78, where it speaks of forgiveness of sins springing forth from “the tender mercy of our God.”  God’s kindness is manifested in this proleptic, i.e., calling the future into the present) event, and it is here we must pause, ponder, and wonder - that God truly loves – me!