Sunday School Lesson 7 - Luke 22:7-20 - IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME
BACKGROUND: Last week, in Luke 20:9-19, we saw the chief priests, scribes, and elders confront Jesus in the Temple and demand that He explain (1) the source of His authority and (2) who sent Him. He answered them with the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, a very graphic allegory that identified God as a vineyard owner, Israel as His vineyard, Israel's religious leaders as wicked tenants, God's prophets as His servants, and God's Son as His heir and chief representative. Over time, God sent His prophets to warn the tenants that the rent was due, but the wicked tenants either ran them off or killed them. When God finally sent His beloved Son to save the vineyard, the wicked tenants killed Him and took the vineyard for their own selfish purposes. At the end, God declared that He would destroy these tenants and give the vineyard to others. Jesus then shifted the allegory from a vineyard to a building, identifying Himself as the "rejected stone," a metaphor for the crucified Christ who would become the cornerstone of God's new edifice, the church. This parable confronts people of this age with two very basic questions: (1) Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, or have you rejected Him like the religious officials in the Parable? And (2) If you are a Christian believer, what work have you done and plan to do for Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
This week, in Luke 22:7-20, we return to Jerusalem and see Jesus as He's preparing to host the Passover meal with His disciples at a well-known event we know as the Last Supper. As we study this lesson, the key word of the passage is Jesus' command to His disciples to "remember." Over 250 times, scripture tells us to remember the mighty works of God. In this instance, Jesus wanted His disciples to remember the significance of His impending sacrifice. And so should we.
Read Luke 22:7-13 - PETER AND JOHN PREPARE THE PASSOVER
7 Now the first day of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 And so Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it." 9 They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare it?" 10 And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house that he enters. 11 And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"' 12 And he will show you a large, furnished upstairs room; prepare it there." 13 And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
v. 7: "Now the first day of Unleavened Bread came, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed." - This Passover account immediately follows the plot of the chief priests and scribes to kill Jesus (vv. 1-2) and Judas Iscariot's betrayal of Jesus to them (vv. 3-6). The Feast of the Unleavened Bread, which included the Passover meal, remembered Israel's exodus from Egypt, and the day of the Unleavened Bread was a day of preparation. Also on this day, the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. In the Exodus, the blood of the lamb on the doorposts was a covering for sin as the Angel of the Lord passed over each house. God commanded the Israelites to make this observance an annual occasion to remind each generation how He had redeemed them from bondage in Egypt, and the Passover foreshadowed the Lamb of God who would be slain in order to redeem a lost world.
v. 8: "And so Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it." - Only Luke names these two preparers. This was no small assignment. They had to take the lamb to be sacrificed and attend to all the other preparations required for the meal. Although no lamb is mentioned in the text, its inclusion in the preparations in implied.
v. 9: "They said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare it?" - Given the huge crowds of pilgrims then present in Jerusalem to observe the Passover, finding a vacant room to celebrate the Passover meal at that point would not have been an easy task.
v. 10: "And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him into the house that he enters." - This is a strange instruction: Ordinarily, only women carried water in pitchers, while men carried it in skins or large leather jugs. Scholars say that this was some kind of prearranged signal, so that the place where the meal was to be held could be kept secret, outside of Judas' hearing. They also say this is a reference to Jesus' supernatural knowledge, similar to the situation with the colt of the donkey used in the Triumphal Entry. Jesus was not attempting to avoid the murder plot against Him but wanted to postpone it so He could spent this last intimate occasion with His disciples.
v. 11: "And you shall say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" - Some scholars have speculated that this may have been John Mark's (same as Mark the gospel writer) parent's home, which became a meeting place in Jerusalem for the disciples known as the "upper room."
v. 12: "And he will show you a large, furnished upstairs room; prepare it there." - In a typical Judean home, an upper room would be an extra room built unto a flat roof. It was probably furnished with rugs and cushions on which guests would recline for their meals. At this time, many hosts in Jerusalem would combine several families in single room for the Passover meal; however, Jesus has planned this meal to be a private affair that will include only Him and His disciples.
v. 13: "And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover." - Jesus' statement-more evidence of His supernatural awareness-presupposes that everything needed-wine, cups, cakes of unleavened bread, etc.-would be ready for the Passover meal. All Peter and John would need to do is sacrifice the Passover lamb at the temple. Whether or not the lamb was eaten at the meal is not made clear.
Read Luke 22:14-18 - TAKE THIS AND SHARE IT AMONG YOUSELVES
14 When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, "Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes."
v. 14a: "When the hour came, He reclined at the table," - The "hour," sundown, marked the official time when the Passover began. Jesus assumed the usual posture for festive Jewish meals, reclining on a cushion over the table and leaning on one elbow, eating and drinking with His free hand.
v. 14b: "and the apostles with Him." - This special meal didn't include the larger group of disciples who had followed Jesus from Galilee but was limited to His 12 apostles (which still included Judas).
v. 15: " And He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;" - This verse has multiple meanings: (1) This Passover meal was to be the last after many centuries of celebrating and looking forward to the coming of the Messiah; (2) it represented the disciples' deliverance from sin and the beginnings of the church as the new people of God; (3) and it symbolized the giving of Jesus' body and His blood to earn their salvation for them.
v. 16: "for I say to you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. - Jesus coveted this final opportunity to be with these men before He Himself would be slain as the perfect Passover lamb. The reference, "I shall not eat it again," looks forward to the end-times marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven (Revelations 19:9-10), where Jesus will renew His fellowship with all those who down through the ages have commemorated this event by observing the Lord's Supper as an ordnance of the church.
v. 17a: "And when He had taken a cup and given thanks," - This is either the first of four cups traditionally used during the regular observance of the Passover meal or the third cup. The expression, "give thanks" (Gk. eucharisteÅ) is the word from which we derive the term eucharist.
v. 17b: "He said, 'Take this and share it among yourselves;'" - The sharing of a divided cup symbolized the unity of the disciples.
v. 18: "for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes." - The wording of v. 16 and this verse seems to indicate that Jesus did not actually eat or drink anything at this Passover. Luke does not tell us. But Jesus indicates a second time that He is looking forward to the end-times marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven (Revelations 19:9-10).
Read Luke 22:19-20 - THIS CUP IS THE NEW COVENANT IN MY BLOOD
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.
v. 19a: "And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them" - At the end of the supper, Jesus took bread and broke it, which represented the breaking of His body. which would take place on the cross in less than 24 hours. His apostles may not have comprehended this analogy at the time, but they would indelibly remember after His death.
v. 19b: "saying, "This is My body, which is being given for you;" - The bread symbolized Christ's body, and when Christ voluntarily gave His "body," His sacrifice provided atonement for human sin, and without it no one could be saved (Romans 5:11). (Note: According to John 13:21-30, Judas had left by this time and wasn't present for this part of the meal.)
v. 19c: "do this in remembrance of Me." - The Greek verb used here for "do" (GK. poieó [poy-eh'-o]) is a present active imperative which means to keep on doing, which is something we accomplish by observing the Lord's Supper at regular intervals. Just as the Passover meal reminded Jews of God intervention on their behalf in the Exodus, this last "remembrance" would remind Jesus' disciples of His intervention not only for them, but for the entire world.
v. 20a: "And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, "This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood". - The other two synoptic gospels say, "this is my blood of the new covenant" (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24); however, the language Luke uses here places greater emphasis on the covenant rather than the blood, and Paul uses the similar wording where he describes the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:24. Moses ratified the Old Covenant by pouring out the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the altar before the people (Exodus 24:6-68); and now, Jesus ratifies the New Covenant by pouring out His own blood. At the first Passover, the people were saved by the blood of the lamb; but at this Passover, we are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus. So, what does the "New Covenant" mean in practical terms? First, it is the promise that God has made with all of humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. His Son, Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross is the basis of the promise. Second, we are no longer under the Law but under grace (Romans 6:14-15), because the Old Covenant has fulfilled its purpose and has been replaced by "a better covenant" (Hebrews 7:22). Under the New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our responsibility under this Covenant is to exercise faith in Christ, the One who fulfilled the Law on our behalf and brought an end to the Law's sacrifices through His own sacrificial death. Through the life-giving Holy Spirit who lives in all believers (Romans 8:9-11), we share in the inheritance of Christ and enjoy a permanent, unbroken relationship with God (Hebrews 9:15).
APPLICATION-Remembering the Significance of the Lord's Supper:
1. We must remember the redemptive significance of the Lord's Supper. The Passover lamb served as a substitute for the firstborn of Israel, but Jesus Christ was our substitute on the cross at Calvary. Without the death of the lamb and the spreading of its blood, the Children of Israel would have suffered the judgment of God. Without the shed blood of Jesus and His death on the cross as our substitute, we would have no hope of salvation.
2. We must remember the personal significance of the Lord's Supper. Luke 22:19a and 20b records Jesus' words as, "This is My body, which is being given for you...And...This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood." The operative word used here is the personal pronoun "you." Yes, while Jesus did die for everyone-the whole word-He also died for you and me as individuals. Therefore, observing the Lords' supper carries personal significance because Jesus calls every one of us to remember that He gave His body and His blood "for you." For every believer in Jesus Christ, it carries an important personal responsibility to participate in the Lord's Supper with love, reverence, humility, sincerity, and understanding. We are never more unified as a body-a church-than when we gather together and celebrate the Lord's Supper in order to remember what Jesus has done for us as individuals and as a church.
