The Last Passover Meal of Jesus is prepared

Verses: Luke 22  : 7 - 13

My thoughts about the verses:

The Passover meal is a very important feast for the Jewish community.  It signifies the freedom from slavery and bondage.  It represents the moment when the Jews were freed from the grasps of the Egyptians.  They left their bondage to go out into the world to create their new nation.

It is no coincidence that this was the time chosen for Jesus to perish.  Think about this a moment. The people who would soon lead him down the long road to Calvary had just celebrated their freedom as a nation.  Yet, Jesus was the final Passover that they needed.  He would lead them out of the bondage of their own trespasses into the world of true freedom.  He was the last lamb that needed to be slain so that the world could be free.

Let us take a look at a few of the elements of the Passover meal and how they were lived in those last moments of Jesus's life.  The first part that we need to look at is the lamb that would be sacrificed.  In the Jewish culture only the purest and most wholesome of lambs is sacrificed for religious purposes.  They had to have no blemishes so that they would be worthy enough to be sacrificed to God.

The very first Passover occurred on the night of the last plague of Israel.  On that night

all of the first born of Egypt were going to pass away.  Yet, God spared the first born of Israel.  A lamb was sacrificed and the blood was spread on the arches of the door.  This would signify that the first born of that house were to be passed over and not be killed.

Jesus is that lamb for us.  Once we accept Jesus in our life we are free from death.  The gift of everlasting life is bestowed on us because of the sacrifice of Jesus.  The last lamb needed to die to fulfill all promises that God had made to the people that would follow him.

Bitter herbs are eaten to remind the people of the hardships of bondage.  If you look at what happened to Jesus as he faced the end you can see the bitterness of the day.  He was beaten for our transgressions.  How many of us can endure this beating willingly.  During the Passover or Seder Meal the herbs are dipped twice into salt water to represent the tears that were shed during servant hood to the Egyptians.

In some instances they use vinegar is often used as the substance the bitter herbs are dipped in.  As Jesus continued the meal he too knew that in a brief time a sponge dipped in vinegar would be served as water to him.  This action was the last insult by the Romans. Yet, if you think about it for a moment was this not just a continuation of the actual freedom that Jesus would give us.  He was enacting in physical form the entire Seder meal.  He was the Seder Meal that would be given to any and all who accepted it.

Therefor it was very important that the meal be prepared properly.  This was not a normal Passover meal this was the last one.  Once this meal was completed Jesus would go to the cross and things would change forever.  No longer would we need to remember the past instead we need to concentrate on the future.  A life the Savior has prepared for us.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for the many gifts that you give us.  We thank you for sending the perfect sacrifice so that we may live forever.  We thank you dear Savior for you unending love.  Help us so that we may be the people that you want us to be.  In the name of the Pure Lamb of God we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you prepared yourself to accept the sacrificial lamb?  Are you willing to accept Jesus in your heart?  Do you understand the importance of what Jesus has done for you?  Are you willing to share this story just like the Jewish community has shared the Seder Meals for decades?