Jesus Celebrates Passover: The Spiritual Meaning of His Last Supper (Luke 22:7-18)

What is the true meaning of Jesus’s Last Supper and Passover? Luke 22:7-18 reveals the deep spiritual significance of the Last Supper, how it fulfilled the Passover, and what it means for believers today. Learn why Jesus earnestly desired to celebrate this meal with His disciples before becoming our Passover Lamb and how it foreshadows the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven. https://youtu.be/NWk8lTM16GU Table of contentsJesus’s Passover Preparation Instructions to Peter and JohnBe Encouraged By Jesus’s Sovereignty and ComposurePassover's Comparison with the Triumphal EntryWhy Did Jesus Earnestly Desire to Celebrate Passover with the Disciples?Jesus Earnestly Desired to Celebrate Passover Because It Looked Back on Israel’s DeliveranceJesus Earnestly Desired to Celebrate Passover Because It Looked Forward to Jesus Becoming Our Passover LambJesus Earnestly Desired to Celebrate Passover Because It Looked Forward to the Marriage Supper of the LambThe Passover Will Be Fulfilled at the Marriage Supper of the LambWhy Draw Attention to Christ as the Lamb?Why Use the Word Marriage ?Aren’t All God’s Words True?Christ, Our Passover Lamb, Delivered in a True and Greater Way Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper, is the clearest depiction many Christians have of Jesus's final meal with His disciples. While it is regarded as a masterpiece, da Vinci's painting is historically inaccurate, and the details are misleading. For instance, here are some mistakes: The painting shows daylight outside the window, but the Last Supper occurred at night.  The painting shows Jesus and the disciples sitting on benches around one long rectangular table, but Jesus and His disciples reclined around a low table on pillows or couches.  The painting shows thirteen Renaissance Italian men in oriental attire within a Florentine palace, but Jesus and the disciples were Jewish men in an upper room in Palestine.  To complicate matters further, Dan Brown authored the best-selling fiction novel The Da Vinci Code, which also became a major Hollywood film. In it, he asserts that Christianity was built on a cover-up. He proposes that the church has conspired for centuries to conceal evidence that Jesus was a mere mortal, married to Mary Magdalene, and had children whose descendants reside in France. Da Vinci allegedly sought to reveal this cover-up, supposedly embedding clues in paintings like The Last Supper. In this artwork, Mary Magdalene is claimed to be the figure beside Jesus, rather than the apostle John.  Amid the confusion generated by both da Vinci and Dan Brown, many of us have our ideas about the Last Supper. I was raised in the Catholic Church, which shaped my understanding of Jesus celebrating the Passover with His disciples. Even if you were raised in a Protestant church, you might misunderstand some details. We should set aside our preconceived notions and impressions about this meal to focus on the biblical account because it is the only reliable source of information regarding what transpired and why. With that in mind: Luke 22:7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Passover was the first of the spring feasts on Nisan 14, or March 30th. The feast of unleavened bread began the next day, Nisan 15, and lasted for one week until Nisan 22, from Friday to Friday. The Feast of Unleavened Bread began the day after Passover. When people prepared for Passover, they also prepared for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Over time, these two feasts began to be viewed as one feast lasting eight days, with the people simply calling it Passover. Luke 22:8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” Luke 22:9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” From the previous chapter, we know that Jesus taught in the temple during the day and went to the Mount of Olives at night. But Passover couldn’t be celebrated as an informal picnic on the hillside. There had to be a suitable place for the formal meal. So Jesus sent Peter and John to make the necessary preparations. These preparations are the focus of the verses. The word “prepare” appears four times in verses 8, 9, 12, and 13. Preparing involved more than merely securing the location. They would have needed to gather the required elements, such as wine, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and, most importantly, a suitable lamb. They would have sacrificed the lamb at the temple, roasted it, set up the room for the meal, and made various side dishes. Jesus’s Passover Preparation Instructions to Peter and John Luke 22:10 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 Typically, women carried pitchers of water. Consider the Samaritan woman at the well. She was alone because of her promiscuous lifestyle, but generally, women gathered in groups to collect water, which they carried in jars or pitchers. Men often carried water in containers made from animal skins. Therefore, seeing this man carrying a jar of water would have been a distinct sign for the disciples. Luke 22:11 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?’ Jesus was aware of a plot against Him, so the preparations were made secretly. First, notice that Jesus’s name isn’t mentioned; He is referred to simply as The Teacher. Second, Jesus only informed Peter and John. Until the disciples arrived at the Upper Room, none knew where it would take place. If Judas had known, he could have alerted the authorities and had Jesus arrested sooner. Jesus knew He would be betrayed and arrested, but He adhered to a divine timeline and could not be arrested before the appointed time. According to that timeline, one of the key tasks He still had to fulfill was celebrating Passover with the disciples. Luke 22:12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” The owner or master of the house was more than likely one of Jesus’s disciples because he recognized that when the disciples referred to the Teacher, they meant Jesus. Second, he was willing to offer his room for Jesus’s use. Luke 22:13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Something makes this more dramatic, which isn’t revealed in the verses, but we recognize it when considering the context. It was a big deal that Jesus could tell the disciples to obtain this empty room hours before Passover was supposed to be celebrated, and here’s why: Passover was one of the three feasts all Jewish men were expected to go to Jerusalem each year to celebrate: Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. I read that in Jesus’s day, there were around 80,000 to 100,000 Jews in Jerusalem, but during Passover, that number increased to around 3 million people. Jews had to get a room early, or they wouldn’t find a room. So, because the disciples found everything just as Jesus said they would, two possibilities exist: the details had been arranged beforehand, or the preparations were supernatural. Luke 22:14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. The protocol for formal meals involved reclining around a central table from which everyone ate. This gives you an idea of how bad the traditional depiction of this meal is, with the disciples sitting along one side of a long table. I don’t think we know the exact hour, but I know it was at night: Exodus 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Be Encouraged By Jesus’s Sovereignty and Composure Luke 22:13a they went and found it just as he had told them The more I read these words, the more they encourage me. First, Jesus’s sovereignty, or His control over the situation down to what the disciples would encounter and what they should do, encouraged me because it mirrors our lives. Jesus is just as aware of our lives, what we will face, and what we should do as He was with the Passover preparations. Second, Jesus’s composure inspired me. Think about this: He’s just hours away from being crucified, about to suffer unimaginably, yet He is completely calm as He gives Peter and John all the instructions. Luke 22:14 even describes Him reclining at the table. There’s not a hint of anxiousness or worry. I feel more confident staying calm when I see that the Lord I serve can remain tranquil while approaching human history's greatest trial and suffering. Passover's Comparison with the Triumphal Entry These verses are similar to Jesus’s triumphal entry when He also outlined the details: Luke 19:29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” Jesus told the disciples exactly what to do and what to expect, as He did with the Passover preparations. I admit I’m being a little speculative when I say this, but I believe this is because of the significance of both events. When Jesus made the triumphal entry, He was entering Jerusalem on the day prophesied almost 500 years earlier in Daniel’s Seventy Weeks to be revealed to the Jews as their long-awaited Messiah and King. Why Did Jesus Earnestly Desire to Celebrate Passover with the Disciples?