Then came the first day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.” They said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare it?” And He said to them, “When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. 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?”’ And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there.” And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
When the hour had come, He reclined at the 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 say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 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 given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 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. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.
And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Luke 22:7-24
It was Thursday of Passion Week. Jesus was almost there. A couple of details were yet to be attended to, beginning with celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples. He gave them instructions about how to prepare for it. They rented the room and set up the meal. He told them this would be His last Passover until the final fulfillment in God's Kingdom. There is profound symbolism in all the elements of the Passover meal. Everything about it represents the perfect person and perfect sacrifice of Him, God's Passover Lamb. These elements were introduced to Israel on the night the death angel passed over them as the firstborn of Egypt were destroyed, bringing about their release from Pharoah's control. Lesson: there is freedom and security in believing and obeying God's instruction. "Do this and live. You are My people. I AM your God.
The unleavened bread represents His body. His perfect body, uncorrupted by sin because of His virgin birth. His perfect, sinless body which was broken for us. It is important to know Jesus as a real man, true human in every sense of the word. He is God, He is Spirit, but to purchase our salvation, He had to be truly human, capable of dying, hence the birth and upbringing of a regular Jewish male, under the Law of Moses. Eating the bread, which symbolizes His body, indicates belief in His perfect person, and taking into ourselves that person by faith.
The "cup" (wine) represents His blood, which is shed for the remission of our sins. Jesus did not bleed to death. He dismissed His spirit, remember? He said "it is finished" and THEN died, because His work was done (John 19:30). The Blood of Christ means His spiritual death, in being separated from the Father and Spirit while He bore the burden of our sins on that cross. That was His agony, which no other human has ever or can ever experience. Those sins were saved up for Him from the beginning of mankind, and included all future sins of mankind. The "cup" of man's sin was poured out on God's perfect Lamb, and He writhed and screamed in agony until it was all paid. He was not just a kind man and a capable teacher, He is the Only Savior. The Blood is our symbol of His finished work. We drink that cup because His Blood gave us our eternal life.
We are commanded to eat the bread and drink the cup "in remembrance of Me." It is a memorial to His death. It is one of only two rituals He commanded for the Church. The other is baptism, which occurs spiritually in each believer at the moment of salvation and is portrayed by immersion in water, demonstrating our identification with Him.
There was also the matter of the one who was about to betray Him. He announced to the disciples that that person was receiving from Him now, at the table. His destiny had been determined, He said, but "woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Woe indeed.
Then these clueless men went from questioning each other about who that traitor might be to which of them He regarded as greatest! Looks like these guys were about to receive another stern lecture. The worst experience of their lives was about to happen and they were squabbling about who was the favorite. They would soon get over that, for they were headed into the heat of the battle. Jesus tried yet again to prepare them for reality. Oh, well, they were only human, and weak. Like us.
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