The Last Supper: Passion Week Part 2

As Jesus returned to Jerusalem, he began making preparations to celebrate the Passover with his friends that Thursday evening. This last supper was to be the culmination of his disciple's training and a time when he would deliver essential teaching about the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit and what the future would hold for them, and for us. The Lord's Supper is meant to be a moment of reflection and remembrance, an opportunity for fellowship and a time of worship and thanksgiving. On the evening before Jesus was crucified, He established this memorial meal with His apostles. Luke 22:14-20 records the dinner: 

When the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

When we call the supper Communion, it reminds us of the special relationship Jesus desires with us. We love a relational God who is personally invested in our lives and who earnestly desires connection with us.

The Passover was a feast God ordained for remembering how He delivered the people of Israel from bondage and slavery in Egypt. They sacrificed a lamb, placed it's blood as a covering over their door to protect them as a destroying angel passed them by, or passed over them and then ate a meal of roasted lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The next day, they left Egypt. Jesus is OUR Passover lamb. He was sacrificed for us so that we can be delivered from bondage and slavery to sin. His blood is our covering and protection from death. Let's take a moment and reflect on the powerful symbolism Jesus introduced as He ate the Passover with His friends.

 

Here are the 2 Elements of the Lord's Supper:

THE BREAD

At the dinner, Jesus presented His new Supper:

And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them and said This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 

The bread of the Passover was unleavened, meaning that it did not have any yeast in it. There is a popular saying in the Bible:

Don't you know that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump of dough? -1 Corinthians 5:6

Paul uses yeast to describe the invasive way that sin spreads. When Jesus used unleavened bread as a symbol of his body, it teaches us 4 things.

1. Jesus Lived A Sinless Life
The unleavened bread reminds us that Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life and we will one day be conformed to His image. 

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

2. Jesus' Suffering and Death Was Substitutionary
His body was given for us. He was the substitute for us, taking the punishment we deserved for our sins. While it is true that, in accordance with prophecy, none of Jesus' bones were fractured, just like the bread, His body was broken for us. He was beat up, beaten with rods, scourged, forced to carry his cross until his body could take it no more, brutally crucified, then pierced through with a sword to puncture vital organs and make sure He was dead. 

He was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities. The punishment for our peace was on him and by his stripes, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

3. Jesus Rose from the Grave
Unlike a nice yeasty roll, unleavened bread does not mold. Unleavened Bread is the bread of haste. It is also much better to take with you on a journey because it won't go bad. 

Psalm 16:10, quoted again in Acts 13:35 declares: 

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol. You will not allow your Holy One to see decay. 

Because Jesus was sinless and perfect, he did not rot in the grave, but was raised to life. 

4. Jesus' Spirit Sustains Us
Jesus nourishes and refreshes our souls through His Spirit in our lives. In John 6:35:

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." 

THE CUP
After breaking the bread, Jesus presented the second element of his memorial meal, the cup.

 

In the same way, He also took the cup after supper and said: "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." 

If you were a young Jewish man in the 1st century and you wanted to gain a bride, you would go to her home and meet with the young lady and her father. After carefully making your intentions known and presenting a Covenant, or marriage agreement, you would pour a glass of wine. If the father approved of the Proposal, he would drink from the cup. If the prospective bride agreed, she would drink from the cup. If everyone drank from the cup, then you had an accord and the couple was betrothed. The bridegroom would then depart to go prepare a place for them to build their life together saying similar words to what Jesus said at the last supper as recorded in John 14:3:

I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself so that where I am, you may be also.

Sometimes in church we sing: "like a bride waiting for her groom, we'll be a church waiting for you." This is precisely the metaphor the Bible uses to describe Jesus’ relationship to his bride, the church. The cup of communion reminds us of our Covenant with Christ.

A young man would also leave a gift, a sign or promise of his true intentions toward the woman. In modern culture, an engagement ring is given. Jesus has also given us such a gift. In 2 Corinthians 1:22, we are told that God has:

...placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come. 

Other versions call the Spirit our Guarantee. Just like a bridegroom gave a gift to his future bride as a sign of his true intentions, Jesus has promised us a future home together in heaven and given us His Spirit as a token of his promise. 

He compares the fruit of the vine that we drink from the cup to his own blood. The Bible says:

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. (Leviticus 17:11)

When we take the cup, we remember that Jesus spilled his blood for us, making atonement for our sins and reconciling us to God. With our drinking, we show that we have accepted his sacrifice and entered into a covenant with him.

 

Jesus ate a complete Passover meal with his disciples that evening. There is important symbolism in the other elements as well.

 

BITTER HERBS

At the original Passover meal, they were instructed to eat bitter herbs. For centuries these herbs have been used as a symbol for the bitterness of the captivity of the Hebrew people in Egypt under the harsh oppression of Pharoah. The herbs served as a reminder through the ages that God worked through Moses to set his people free. By that same line of thinking, we might stop and remember that we were all once in the bitterness and bondage of slavery to sin and oppressed by the devil, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and set us from bondage to sin. 

 

But I believe there is more to these bitter herbs. The bitter herbs that were native to the region were known as good medicine, able to cleanse, purify and detoxify the body. In the same way that the Hebrews were cleansed from the inside out physically, we need to be purified from the inside out--spiritually. 

 

Unlike the Passover meal, we do not eat bitter herbs at the Lord's Supper because Jesus has already endured the bitterness of the cross and provided all that is necessary for our cleansing and atonement. We need HIM to clean us up.

 

THE LAMB

 

We don't sacrifice a lamb, because Jesus is our Passover Lamb and the last sacrifice ever needed. As John the Baptist said:

 

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

 

When we eat the bread and drink the cup, we should remember the finished work of Christ on the cross and we should also remember that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is ongoing.

 

When we accept Jesus, repent and are Baptized, we are JUSTIFIED in God's eyes. We are immediately put into a right standing and a repaired relationship with God---Forever. When we take the Lord's Supper, we are reminded that we are still being SANCTIFIED, or made Holy. We are being transformed to be more like Jesus. We experience Baptism once. We take communion over and over again. We receive the Holy Spirit once. He changes us and transforms us throughout our lives so that we look more and more like Jesus

 

Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

 

The repeated taking of communion reminds us that God isn't finished with us yet. He's still working by His Spirit in us, throughout our lives. 

 

Taking the Lord's Supper is a serious and wonderful occasion.

 

1. It is a MEMORIAL that helps us remember Jesus' sacrifice and teach others.

 

2. It is a time of THANKSGIVING as we consider with gratitude what God has done for us. 

 

3. It is an opportunity for FELLOWSHIP with other believers.

 

4. It is an act of WORSHIP where we connect with God and experience His Presence.

 

Jesus and His disciples highlighted the worship aspect by singing a hymn together at the conclusion of the meal, but truly, the entire supper is an act of worship.

 

At the supper, after Judas left, Jesus delivered a lengthy teaching emphasizing the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives as our comforter, teacher and counselor and His very real Presence with us and within us. (John 14:15-27, 15:1-9, 26, 16:13) We should remember this in our own observance of communion. 

 

He shared these words to comfort his disciples and for those who accept his invitation: 

 

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don't let your heart be troubled or afraid. 

 

 

As He inaugurated the meal, Jesus said that he would not eat it again until his kingdom had come. There will come a day when the church will be united with Christ and we will eat a celebratory wedding feast together in heaven. Until then, we eat this meal to remind us of the joy that awaits us. Revelation 3:20 records Jesus invitation for all to come to his supper: 

 

I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

 

The invitation has been extended, will you eat supper with Jesus?

Here are links to the other articles in this series:

Palm Sunday: Passion Week Part 1

Psalm 22: The Song of the Cross (Passion Week Part 3)

Resurrection Sunday: The Whole Story (Passion Week Part 4)

Palm Sunday: Passion Week Part 1

 The final week of Jesus’ earthly ministry began with a unique entrance and a warm welcome to Jerusalem on Sunday. In just a few short days, he would be treated very differently. After our Lord raised Lazarus from the grave, many Jewish leaders wanted to see both of them dead. They could feel their grip over the people slipping as they turned their eyes toward Jesus. For this reason, Jesus and the disciples went East for a while until the time of Passover approached. On the way back to Jerusalem, he ministered in Jericho. After restoring sight to two blind men and enjoying a meal in the home of a short tax collector named Zacchaeus, Jesus and his disciples continued traveling toward Jerusalem but first they returned to Bethany, where they stayed with their friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

 

The following events are recorded in Matthew 21:1-17, Luke 19:29-44, John 12:12-19 and Mark 11:1-11, which I have quoted below:

 

1. Jesus Stayed Among Friends

 

When they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a young donkey tied there on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” say “the Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.”   

 

Bethany, which means house of dates, is a village located along the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, about two miles outside of the city. Bethphage, meaning house of unripe figs, is a little over a mile south of Bethany. This is where Jesus and the disciples slept each night during the last week of his life. He would minister and teach in Jerusalem during the day and then seek refuge and rest among friends in the evening. Jesus is also called Emmanuel which means God with Us. Our Lord chose to spend time with people who loved him and to value those relationships during the last week of his earthly life. Our Creator is a relational God. We were created for a purpose which was deep fellowship and a loving relationship with Him. Jesus would soon redeem that purpose, restoring our relationship, and the manner in which he chose to spend the week of the Passion reminds us of the essence of that mission. I have to think that spending time with those he loved so much and those who had been his close companions helped him remember what all this was for and gave him strength to endure the trial that awaited him.

 

2. Jesus Used An Anticipated Means of Travel

 

Upon their arrival at Bethany, Jesus sent two disciples over to Bethphage to retrieve a donkey and bring it to him. Jesus had the men promise to return the colt when he was finished with it. Matthew’s Gospel adds that the colt was with its mother and they delivered both back to Jesus.

 

So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt? They answered them just as Jesus had said: so they let them go. They brought the donkey to Jesus and threw their robes on it and He sat on it.

 

Having displayed his power over death by raising Lazarus from the grave, and his power over creation by giving sight to the blind, Jesus now displayed his omniscience, giving specific instructions about the future. Matthew adds an important explanation as to why this is so important:

 

This took place so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Tell Daughter Zion, See your King is coming to you, gentle and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.

 

Some of these words are recorded in Isaiah 62:11 and then again in more detail in Zechariah 9:9

 

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you, he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

Many Jews expected a worldly deliverance from subjugation to Roman rule, but Jesus had a much more important mission. He came to liberate us from the grip of Satan. He came to redeem us from the dominion of darkness. He came to free us from bondage and slavery to sin. Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem that day, not on a large, fully grown, well-trained and intimidating battle horse, but on a young donkey. He did not come that day to conquer the physical city of Jerusalem through force. He entered humbly, to bring us forgiveness. If an ancient King was on a mission of peace, he would not ride a war horse, but rather a donkey. King Jesus was on a mission of peace that day. He came to inaugurate a Kingdom that is not of this world. Luke informs us that as Jesus approached the city he wept, if only they knew what would bring them peace.

 

3. Jesus Hears the People Cry For Salvation

 

Many people spread their clothes on the road, and others spread leafy branches cut from the trees. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!

 

John clarifies that the leafy branches were Palm fronds. This is why we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday one week before Resurrection Sunday. Some speculate as to who was in the crowd and why they were there. John also answers these questions. The people who gathered to greet Jesus were those who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. When they heard that Jesus was coming, the came out specifically for the purpose of greeting Him. They recognized that he was their Messiah and that he was bringing David’s Kingdom, though they didn’t realize it was a spiritual Kingdom. Luke notes that they shouted loudly and joyfully. The word Hosanna is a cry, asking God for salvation. Some translate it as save us, or save now. It’s like crying out to God Please save us. They were basically quoting from Psalm 118: 25-26 in which Hosanna is translated this way:

 

Save us, we pray, O LORD!

O LORD, we pray, give us success!

 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!

 

The word Hosanna cries out for atonement. It wouldn’t be long before Jesus would provide such propitiation. Jesus had indeed come to save. It was his mission.

 

Matthew continues the story with more detail. On that day, or perhaps the next:  

 4. Jesus Responds to the Cries of the People

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken, saying “Who is this?” And the crowds kept saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee!” Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. he said to them, "It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but your are making it a den of thieves." 

The blind and the lame came to Him in the temple complex, and He healed them. When the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonders that He did and the children in the temple complex cheering “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” “Yes,” Jesus told them. “Have you never read: You have prepared praise from the mouths of children and nursing infants?” Then he left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

 

Herod, along with corrupt religious leaders, had basically monetized religion. They were living high on the 'something other than' hog at the expense of the poor. They had placed themselves in between the people and God, creating barriers to worship by adding to God's word and by profiting from selling the things people needed to make sacrifices to atone for their sin. Jesus came to tear the system down  and replace it. He would be the last sacrifice ever needed to atone for sin. They were all obsolete. He would provide what the people needed for their spiritual lives at great cost to himself and at no cost to us. He started by literally removing them from his house. Then he went about the business of his kingdom.

Faith was great on this day and Jesus healed many people. The religious leaders were displeased that the children were praising the Lord. Jesus quoted to them from Psalm 8:2

 

From the mouths of infants and nursing babies, you have established a stronghold on account of your adversaries in order to silence the enemy and the avenger.

 

There is power in praise and while people cried out for salvation and the children praised Jesus, the religious leaders were powerless to act. There is a special purity in the prayers and worship of young children. Jesus had previously said to let the little children come to him, that we must receive him the way a child would, that their angels always see the Father’s face and that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as them. God ordained that their praise would create a stronghold. A stronghold is a place of safety, protection and strength. Ancient Kings would build mighty fortress castles to protect themselves. That day, through the praise of precious children, a spiritual stronghold was constructed to give us a foretaste of what the Kingdom of God is like. 

That day people received miraculous physical healing. Soon, they would be able to receive miraculous spiritual healing as well. When we praise God, we enter into His stronghold. When we cry out to Him, asking for salvation, He encloses us and keeps us safely within his love.

 

Conclusion

 

What is so remarkable is that the religious leaders saw Jesus performing these miracles, and yet they still wanted to kill him. They saw the proof that he was the Messiah but they either did not believe, or they did not want to relinquish power. Perhaps it was a little bit of both. Within a few days, they would seize their opportunity to end his life...or so they thought.

 

Many prophecies were fulfilled those days in Jerusalem. The secret was out. Jesus was the Messiah. Some rejoiced over this. Some doubted. Others resisted, as they still do today. The crowds cried out to him for salvation. Within a few days they would see that salvation, but it would come in a much different manner than what they expected.

 

Just as the people cried out to Jesus for salvation, the Bible assures us that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. When we cry out to God for salvation, we are rescued, forgiven of our sins, redeemed, made new and restored into a right relationship with Him. Have you cried out to Him?

Here is a links to the other articles in this Passion Week Series:

The Last Supper: Passion Week Part 2

Psalm 22: The Song of the Cross (Passion Week Part 3)

Resurrection Sunday: The Whole Story (Passion Week Part 4)