When the Hour was Come. Luke 22:14-30 One of the facts that almost overwhelms our human minds is that our Lord Jesus Christ is, was, and always will be the eternal God. He is also the only Perfect Man with infinite love, grace, mercy, longsuffering, and every other characteristic of personality. God was found in fashion as a man without leaving any part of His deity aside. He hid His glory from the visible eyes of people and at the same time revealed His divine nature in things He did and spoke. The Gospel of John portrays Him as the Son of God, and the Gospel of Luke presents Him as the Perfect Son of Man. The Holy Spirit of God harmonizes both of these books to give us a broader view of our Lord, as presented in the words of these two Gospels, as well as in the words of Matthew and Mark. In those two books, Jesus is seen as the King of the Jews in Matthew and the Perfect Servant of God in Mark. Each of the Gospels expresses the truth of who Jesus is and what happened when He went to Jerusalem to die in our place.
Jesus knew where the donkey was tied and that the owner would let Him use it. He knew the place where Peter and John would prepare the Passover and just how they would be led to that place in the busy, crowded city. He knew Judas would betray Him and that Peter would deny Him. He knew all that because He is the omniscient God. As a man, He would ride on the donkey; he wanted to eat the Passover with His disciples before He became “our Passover.” He ate from the same bowl as Judas and washed Peter’s feet, despite what they would do. He was the Perfect humble Man.
The same Person who led the children of Israel out of Egypt after the first Passover ate the last Passover with His disciples, who would be the foundation of the New Testament church. After the last symbolic Passover, the true Passover Lamb died on the cross, setting us free from the bonds of sin that are greater than Egyptian bonds. He accepts “all who come unto God by Him” when they come in personal faith in Him as their Savior and Lord.
The first Passover and all of the Passovers held between the one that night foreshadowed the reality when the “Lamb of God” gave His life and shed His blood to save us from the penalty of our sins. The best things we can say are: “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ;” “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift;” and “Hallelujah, what a Savior.”
The Lord will not be eating with His people until He comes to reign, and then He will sit with them at the marriage supper of the Lamb. At the traditional Jewish Passover feasts, there are four different cups, which they take part in. Luke’s Gospel speaks about a cup that was partaken of after the Passover supper was ended. Actually, it was after the Passovers, all of them, were finished. There is no need for a type after the reality is fulfilled. “After the supper,” a new feast was introduced to those who know and love the Lord Jesus.
The old is past, and this new feast is one of remembrance and worship that began that same night. The kingdom of God is here and established on earth, both in principle and to a certain degree, in practice. After the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, it began to expand to where it is worldwide today and is growing all the time. It will not be realized in its fullness until Christ returns to rule in righteousness and peace.
The first Passover commemorated the deliverance of the children of Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. That symbolism has passed and is basically a valueless religious tradition of the Jews because the One who delivered them was actually here in human form and has made a way for us to be delivered body, soul, and spirit from the power of sin. Those two emblems, bread and the cup, are what the disciples who believed in Jesus were privileged to take from the hands of Jesus “after supper.” That was then and is for us today, symbolic of the fullness of redemption because of the vicarious suffering of the Lamb of God. We are born again into the kingdom of God by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who took the full load of our sins and bore them “in His own body on the tree.” He died in our place. On that basis, we are able to be sons and daughters of God, and as family members, we are in His kingdom.
Judas was at the last Passover, but had left the room according to John 13:26-30, before the “after supper” bread and cup were introduced as the “Lord’s Supper.” The new supper commenced with a new command. “This do in remembrance of Me.” We read that as often as we do this command by partaking of that supper, we make a visible proclamation of the Lord’s death until He comes again. That is the first of at least three things we do at the Lord’s Supper. We remember the person who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Second, we proclaim His death and our deliverance and redemption because of His sacrifice. That is the Gospel in visible form. Third, we remember His promise to come again and receive us unto Himself.
The institution of the Lord’s Supper sets forth the doctrinal truths of our Lord’s incarnation, His deity, His humanity, His substitution, and His atonement for our sins. The position of the Lord’s Supper is between the two comings of Christ. It is a memorial of a departed Friend, “This do in remembrance of Me…;” it is a reminder of a present Friend, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name…;” and it is a prophecy of a returning Friend, “Till He come.” The nature of the Lord’s Supper is that of purity as a moral center, a test of every conscience by self-judgment before partaking of the emblems, and a reminder of God’s judgment if it is abused. The appeal of the Lord’s Supper is in the unity of the Lord’s people with each other and the Lord Himself. The resulting fruit of the Lord’s Supper is that sound doctrine is preserved. We learn again each Lord’s Day the meaning of Calvary and its effect on us. The practice of the priesthood of all believers is openly evident in the silent participation of the sisters in Christ and the audible participation of the brothers. We are reminded and assured of our commitment to the word of God and the Person of Christ.
The bread reminds us that by giving His body as the sacrificial Lamb of God, He gave Himself “for you.” He died in my place. When He died for me, I died legally before the justice of a righteous God. The cup of the new covenant, written on the hearts of God’s people, is that we have new life in Christ. His life is now our life. Knowing Him personally by faith as my substitute means His eternal life is my source of eternal life. His blood was shed for me. My sins are forgiven, and new life in Christ makes me a new creation in Christ Jesus. “Old things have passed away. Behold, all things are become new.”
When we take the bread and the cup at the Lord’s Supper, we make a solemn statement of testimony that we are His and He is mine forever, through a covenant relationship. We meet with Him by faith as a redeemed company of people who share this covenant together with Him. When we are joined together as a symbol of the unity of His body, each one is the “body of Christ and members in particular,” the joining of our worship and praise expresses openly to angels and people our relationship with Him. If we are willingly absent from that gathering, it is a reflection on the depth or lack of depth of our personal relationship with Him and what He really means to us. The unified company of people signifies the unified body of Christ who suffered on our behalf on the cross.
The disciples hadn’t yet understood Kingdom principles as they quarreled over who would be more important in terms of their status in the kingdom of God. For some reason, they still hadn’t understood what the Lord Jesus Christ had been saying about His death, burial, and resurrection after three days. It is possible for us, as well, to get so taken up with what we are doing and how the things we do affect us that before long, we have taken our eyes off our Lord and put our attention on things of this world rather than our Lord Jesus, other people, and the future.
In the kingdom of God, the way up is down, and the way to get is to give. In the upper room that night, our Lord Jesus Christ taught by example that the way to lead is to serve. With a servant's heart, He girded Himself with a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. What an unheard-of thing for a Master to do! Whatever they learned that night, one thing is sure: they were willing to follow Him to the death as their faith and understanding grew. There are various roles of leadership and different leadership styles suited to different people, but the best Christian leader is the one who serves others most effectively. To have a servant’s heart is a choice we can make.