Then came the day on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. But on this day, a Passover lamb unlike any other would be sacrificed...
The meal
Read Exodus 12 v 21-30
- What was the Passover meal a reminder of (v 26-27)?
- What was to be talked about during the meal?
- What did the death of a lamb achieve at the first Passover, when God's people were still slaves in Egypt (v 21-23)?
Read Luke 22 v 7-13
- Why do you think Luke mentions "Passover" four times here?
Looking forward
Read verses 14-19
- Why did Jesus "eagerly desire" to share this particular Passover with His friends (v 16, 18)?
- What must happen between this Passover meal and teh next one that Jesus will share with His friends (end v 15)?
Looking back
Read verses 20-23
The core ingredients of a Passover meal were bread, wine and the lamb. Each helped God’s people look back to the night God rescued them from His judgment, bringing them into relationship—covenant—with Him. But as Jesus explains this Passover meal, He doesn’t look towards the lamb’s blood on the doorframes in Egypt...
- What does He say the bread is a picture of (v 19)? And the wine (v 20)?
Luke doesn’t mention the lamb. Because the lamb at this Passover meal is not on the table, but at the table. The eternal, all-powerful, Son of Man (Daniel 7 v 13- 14) is also the Lamb who will suffer, be torn apart, be poured out for His people.
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APPLY
Two thousand years later, we still share this meal, obeying Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me.”
- What should we think about as we share Communion?
- How might we feel as we think about those things?
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TIME OUT
Judas is still present at this meal (v 21-22). But what lies ahead for him is not eating with Jesus in His kingdome, but "woe." What matters is not eating the meal with our mouths, but believeing in what it points us to in our hearts.
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PRAY
Christians will eat this meal for eternity. For now, as we share it our death lies ahead of us. One day , we will share it with our death behind us! Thank Jesus that, because He is the Lamb who died for us, our death will not be the end of our sharing His Supper.
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This devotional is taken from Explore—a daily Bible-reading devotional from The Good Book Company which enables you to engage with Scripture and which will encourage, equip and inspire you to live for Christ. Explore features contributions from pastors such as Dr Timothy Keller, Mike McKinley and Tim Chester.
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