Luke 22:7-20 "Last Supper First Communion"
A few of us used to be part of a church called ChristChurch. It was a pretty traditional, liturgical congregation and Kemper was one of the ministers. We had Communion every week and because it was an Anglican/Episcopal church, there were certain guidelines about the bread and wine. One of the members baked fresh bread each week that had a tendency to drop crumbs. The wine was a sweet red wine pretty much like we use at NewChurch. We also used a common cup—meaning there was only one chalice of wine and everyone in the congregation drank from it.
Some of you know this about me but I’m a bit of a germaphobe—and I wasn’t the only one in this little church. So, most of us did Communion by intinction—meaning we would dip the bread into the wine and avoid putting our mouths on the cup.
Fun fact: Kemper doesn’t like wine. At all.
After our little congregation had come up to the altar each week for Communion, Kemper would be left with a giant goblet of wine filled with all the crumb droppings from everyone dipping the bread.
Another fun fact: Kemper was expected to drink the entire chalice of leftover consecrated wine all the way to the chewy breadcrumb dregs. He never complained but we all knew. I’m very thankful God didn’t call me to be an Anglican priest. I don’t think I could do it.
We’re going through the Gospel of Luke line by line, we’re in chapter 22, which is the passage about the Last Supper—Jesus celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples one last time.
This the night when Jesus instituted what we call The Lord’s Supper. Then we’re going to celebrate it together as part of our worship service—before we’re done here, I hope we all have a deeper appreciation for what’s going on in this meal.
We pick up the story in the thick of Passover, everyone had come to Jerusalem for the festival—it was their biggest holiday. It all revolves around a family meal—a celebration of God delivering them from slavery to Egypt by sharing a meal together. But Jesus is going to completely change the meaning of this meal and make it about how He is going to offer salvation to all people. He’s going to redefine various elements and create a new Passover, a new feast. This is also His last will and testament because He knows He’s about to die and wants to be clear about who’s going to inherit what He has to give.
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
Luke 22:7
The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was when the Passover lamb had to be taken to the temple and sacrificed by the priests. Then the animal would be brought home, roasted, and eaten along with the other traditional Passover side dishes in a liturgical meal that included Scripture readings, singing, and the story of the first Passover and how God saved them from Egypt.
It is no coincidence that Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, will be sacrificed on the same day as the other Passover lambs. Not only is Jesus going to die today but in His dying, all the Jewish Passovers will have served their purpose and will come to an end—along with the entire sacrificial system.
So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:8-13
Only two men were permitted to take the animal into the temple courtyard to be sacrificed. Imagine how crowded it would have been with hundreds of thousands of people lined up with their lambs—this would have been a very busy day for the priests.
Jesus chose Peter and John to take care of everything. They were to lead the lamb to the temple and then go to a borrowed house to cook all the food and get everything ready. Notice how Jesus involves His disciples in the preparations—just like the church will make all future preparations when we celebrate Holy Communion.
The location was top secret though. Remember, Judas was looking for a perfect time to turn Jesus over to the religious leaders. So, He didn’t want anyone to know where they would be having this private supper—didn’t want to be interrupted.
This is a lot like when He sent a couple disciples to get the donkey for Palm Sunday. It’s like a secret spy mission, “You’ll see a guy carrying a jar of water—don’t talk to him, just follow him.” It probably would have been unusual for a man to be carrying a jar of water—typically a woman’s job—so he would have stood out. “When he gets to the house, just follow him inside. (Nothing weird about that, I guess.) “Then ask the owner which room we can use to celebrate the Passover meal. Tell him Jesus sent you.”
Remember in the Christmas story, Joseph and Mary were told there was no room for them and denied simple hospitality. But now at the hour of His death, when He wants to celebrate this last Passover meal, God shows great hospitality. Apparently, this AirBnB had a really cool room upstairs with all the furnishings they needed. This night is going to be special. Miraculous. A feast for the ages.
Only Peter and John were going to know the location until the rest of them showed up with Jesus just in time for supper.
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Luke 22:14-16
The Passover meal was to be eaten with family—Jesus has chosen His new family to be these men. The Twelve disciples, who are called apostles here because they’re the ones He’s going to send to kick start the church. They’re about to receive the very first Communion. It’s an unlikely group. I can’t help but think about Judas being there with the thirty pieces of silver in his pocket. When Jesus says, “One of you is going to betray me,” they all wonder if it might be them. They argue and complain. They’re not perfect, they’re just chosen. Kind of like us.
Jesus says He’s been really looking forward to eating this particular Passover with them—it’s His last meal before He’s executed by the state. In just a few hours, Judas is going to bring the soldiers to Gethsemane—the time has come for Jesus to do what He came to do—His suffering which ends with His death on a cross.
“And when the hour came.” This is the appointed hour.
The Last Supper is really four meals layered on top of each other. It’s the last Old Testament Passover meal. It’s the first New Testament Lord’s Supper. It’s what every Holy Communion celebrated throughout the church looks back to in remembrance. And it’s a glimpse of the future heavenly feast at the end of time when Christ returns in glory and we all sit down to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. But that future meal will also be a celebration with all believers across all time remembering that little supper in the upper room on the night when Jesus was handed over. A lot going on here.
This particular feast will be like no other. It happens the same day that Jesus will be the Passover lamb whose blood will atone for the sin of the world. This is Jesus’ Passover—He’s going to change the meaning of everything. The old has passed away and the new has come. After this, throughout the age of the church we’ll say, Christ our Passover has been slain, the world has passed over from death to life. Jesus will be worshiped forever by people saying, “Worthy is the lamb who was slain.” This is the central meal of Jesus’ ministry of eating and drinking with sinners.
The Gospels are full of Jesus eating and drinking with people. His first public miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding feast, and at least twice he fed a multitude of people with fish and bread.
We only get a few highlights of everything that happened in this Passover meal. Most of it would have gone the way everyone expected it to go—Psalms were read and sang, prayers were offered, the roasted lamb was eaten along with side dishes, the story of the salvation of Israel was retold.
But then Jesus started changing things…
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Luke 22:17-18
He took one cup, filled it with wine, and passed it around the table—this is where we get the idea for the common cup where people all drink from the same chalice during Communion. They handed it to each other and everyone took a swallow.
Fruit of the vine always means wine made from grapes—not berries or apples or honey or anything else. Sometimes people say any reference to wine in the Bible is just grape juice. That it’s not fermented—non alcoholic. That doesn’t really work. A couple of things to consider: It would have been impossible to have grape juice at Passover time—harvest was a long time ago. Without refrigeration all the juice would have fermented or gone bad.
The Bible says God gave wine to make the heart of man merry—I think that means we should drink enough for it to do its job. Obviously, not to get drunk—He’s very clear that drunkenness is a sin. But enough to make the heart glad is a good thing. Back to the grape juice idea, I don't think anyone needs a warning to not get drunk on Juicy Juice.
There would have been at least four servings of wine in a Passover meal. When was the last time you had four glasses of wine with dinner?
Every Sunday is a feast day. We believe we’re doing what God intends when we stay after worship and eat and drink together—and if you are able, I would encourage you to enjoy the good gifts of God in moderation.
Jesus says He’s not going to drink wine again until that heavenly feast when the kingdom of God comes in fullness at the end of time—this meal points to the day when Christ returns.
The next thing that happens is Jesus uses bread and wine to save the world…
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:19-20
This was definitely not part of the Passover liturgy. Jesus is going off-script here. They would have been surprised and shocked by what He said. They would have remembered when He grossed everyone out by saying, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have no part of me.” That was after one of those miraculous feeding of the multitudes moments and a bunch of people walked away. As Jesus said these words in the context of the Last Supper, I’m sure the disciples were thinking, “Oh, that makes a bit more sense now.”
A lot has been said about these words. I’m going to keep it simple.
The God who spoke the universe into existence is the One who is speaking. Jesus is creating a new reality here. “This bread is my body given for you. This cup poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Is my body, is my blood. Is means is. We take Jesus at His word. It’s a mystery, let the mystery be.
In the first Passover, the blood of the lamb had to be applied to the door frame of the house—if the blood was present, the angel of death would pass over the house. They were saved by the presence of the blood of the Passover lamb, the same lamb they would roast and eat for supper.
The same thing is happening here. This is how Jesus applies His saving blood to us. This is how we eat the flesh of the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
When you eat the bread and drink the wine, Jesus has made this miracle so you also receive His body and blood. It’s how grace is given to you. It’s how forgiveness of sin is applied to you.
Not symbolically. It happens miraculously. It happens for real. We call it “Real Presence.” Because Jesus has spoken, it’s as real as the blood that was on the door frames of those houses in the first Passover. We make no attempt to explain how it happens. It’s not transubstantiation, it’s not consubstantiation, it’s not symbolic. It just is. We just take Jesus at His word. Would you rather it was actual cannibalism? Of course not. Embrace the mystery.
But we’re not dumb about it. Is it still bread? Is it still wine? Yes, of course. But Jesus says it’s also His body, broken and given for you—and His blood, poured out for you. It’s not just a piece of His body and a drop of His blood—it’s all of His body and all of His blood, the full measure—for you.
This is substitutionary atonement. Jesus died in your place, for you, on the cross. For you.
And like I said, this is also a last will and testament. Everytime we eat and drink Holy Communion, it’s like a public reading of His will again. That’s the remembrance part. God remembers His promise to us. He sees the bread and wine, body and blood—we reverently eat and drink—and He remembers His promise to grant us eternal life, resurrection from the dead, and give us a clean slate. God keeps His word. We inherit everything along with His Son, Jesus Christ. God remembers.
But we also remember. With the bread on our tongue and the taste of wine in our mouth, we remember what Christ did for us. His body, broken for us—His blood poured out for us. We remember. To partake in this meal, to accept the cup and drink it is to accept Jesus’ suffering and death as the atoning sacrifice for your sins. Not automatically, there has to be faith, has to be trust—you have to believe the promise Jesus made to you, that it’s for you. But it doesn’t take much faith—just enough to lift that bread to your mouth and the wine to your lips—the smallest amount will do.
Once the Words of Institution were spoken by Christ in that upper room, they remain spoken and effective for all time whenever His words are repeated and the Sacrament is celebrated. Just like the Jews were commanded to keep the Passover, we're commanded to keep celebrating the Lord’s Supper until He returns. Just like they were commanded to gather in Jerusalem, we are commanded to gather in local churches.
Each year, during Passover, the people of God were to remember when God saved them from Egypt. Now, every time Christians celebrate Communion, we’re to remember the cross and how God has saved us through Jesus. His death on the cross, the gift of His body and blood, given for us on the cross, and given to us in the Lord’s Supper, and His promise to dine again with His disciples (including us) when the kingdom of God comes in all its glory at the end of time—these things are inseparable and linked forever. There is a connection between all these things beyond time and space. As often as we eat and drink we are to remember the mystery: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
This meal that we’re about to do together is the new Passover meal for a new era of salvation. A new covenant. The New Testament. In it, Jesus gives us His body with the bread and His blood with the wine. The miracle of this sacrament is that God applies forgiveness of sins and gives us new life in Christ. Based on His death for us. This covenant meal of Holy Communion establishes a new community, a new spiritual family, where we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, and God remembers His promise to us because of His Son. In bread and wine we receive the real presence of Christ, his very body and blood, offered up in death on a cross and now given to us for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We commune with Christ and He communes with us as we eat and drink in Communion together.
So, who can come to this table? Everyone who is baptized and calls on the name of Jesus. You are worthy because God says you are. You are forgiven because of the Lamb of God who takes away your sin. You are His beloved child because He chose you and invited you to His table to dine with Him. Remember the blood that was shed for you in the wine—wine to help you remember, not to forget. Remember the presence in the bread—the promise that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. Remember who you are in Christ, God promises to remember you in Jesus’ name.