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Enjoying a great meal while celebrating a momentous day is a treat. Gathering with the people we love, celebrating, giving thanks, and sharing stories, memories, and dreams of the future is something we shouldn’t take for granted. It’s something we should cherish and get excited about.
In today’s passage, we’re dropped right into the middle of a celebratory meal between Jesus and His disciples. This meal, called the Last Supper, is recorded in all four Gospels and detailed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. So, what were they celebrating? It was the Passover.
Did you know the Passover celebration is arguably the most significant season of the year for the Jewish people, both in Jesus’ day and today as well? So, what is it exactly? It’s the celebration and remembrance of Israel’s exodus from Egypt when God rescued His people from Pharaoh’s hand. Before this, the children of Israel had been in cruel bondage and slavery for 400 years. But God is faithful and He had not forgotten His great promise to Abraham made in Genesis 12:2. So, when the time came, God sent Moses to free His people from Pharaoh. But Pharaoh would not “let the people go” (Exodus 7:14 NIV), so God sent the plagues—gnats, boils, frogs, and more.
Finally, the tenth plague came: the death of the firstborn in every household. However, the Lord spared death and gave life to His followers who sacrificed a spotless lamb and applied its blood over their doors (Exodus 11–12). When the angel (“the destroyer” as Exodus 12:23 calls him) saw the blood of the lamb spread over the family’s entrance to their dwelling, he passed over that house. It was after this plague that Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go.
Can you imagine what it must have been like in the upper room on that historical night in Jerusalem? Imagine having Jesus lead a Passover Seder—no one could tell the story better than Jesus! And even more surreal than that, imagine being one of the disciples who experienced the most beautiful thing about that night: how all the symbols and elements of the feast speak of Jesus. As He went through all the different elements and traditions, each part of the feast told the story of God’s ultimate redemption and deliverance, which He was about to live out only a few short hours later.
Here’s something you may find interesting: The word used for feast is miqra, which also means “a rehearsal.” The other word is mo’ed, which means “an appointed time; a fixed time; an exact time.” What an amazing picture! Just at the right time, God sent Moses to deliver His people, and “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Galatians 4:4–5 NIV). Do you see that? The Passover was a rehearsal for the future to be celebrated every year—over and over—until, at the exact appointed time, the true fulfillment would come.
After 1,500 years of Passover celebrations, with the symbols of unleavened bread, wine, and a slain, unblemished lamb, the hour had come. No more rehearsals. The Passover had become reality! The night known as the Last Supper saw Jesus and His disciples celebrate Jesus’ last Passover feast. In that upper room, Jesus took the wine, which represented the blood of the Passover Lamb and said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28 NIV). He broke the unleavened bread, a symbol of sinlessness, and said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19 NIV).
The very next day, upon a cross reserved for a common criminal, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, became the Passover Lamb. “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished” (Romans 3:25 NIV).
Every time we take communion, we’re invited to reflect upon and remember what the Lord Jesus Christ—our Passover Lamb and exodus from the land of sin and death—did to bring us into a new life of freedom in His eternal kingdom!
DAILY EXAMEN
1. Become aware of the presence of God.
Breathe in deeply and silently pray, “You are here, God.” Then breathe out and pray, “I am here with You,
God.” Do this until you are focused on God and are aware of His presence.
2. Give thanks
Review your day while grounded in the peace of God’s presence. Give thanks for each detail you can
recall, each gift, and even each difficulty.
3. Become aware of your emotions
Think over how you feel here and now, and why. Name the emotions and give those emotions to God. If
what you have learned from today’s devotion, rejoice! If you closed your heart to what God has been
saying to you, confess and plan to make amends.
4. Pick one thing that happened today and pray.
Choose a joy or a sorrow that you experienced today and turn your heart towards prayer over it. Pray with
boldness and confidence that the Father will heal and respond as He desires.
5. Look with hope towards what tomorrow brings.
As you close out your day, commit the coming day to the Lord with trust and hope.