Sermon Tone Analysis

What if I were to invite you over for a special meal and tell you that the menu would consist of four cups of wine, veggies dipped in saltwater, flat, dry cracker-like bread called matzah, bitter herbs, often horseradish (without additives), and romaine lettuce, dipped into charoset (a paste of nuts, apples, pears and wine), a festive meal that may contain time-honored favorites, like chicken soup and gefilte fish?

Some of you might come just to see what your pastor is doing serving everyone four cups of wine.

Others of you might come to see if I could really eat that unique combination of foods.

Some of you are realizing as you heard the menu that this sounds very much like a traditional Seder or Passover meal.

This would be something similar to what Jesus may have eaten on the evening which we’ll be studying shortly.

It might be helpful to remember that this meal is unique to the Jewish history and tradition.

One Jewish scholar relates it this way: The Passover Feast commemorates Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

Jews also celebrate the birth of the Jewish nation after being freed by God from captivity.

Today, the Jewish people not only celebrate Passover as a historical event but in a broader sense, celebrate their freedom as Jews.

The Hebrew word Pesach means "to pass over."

During Passover, Jews take part in the Seder meal, which incorporates the retelling of Exodus and God's deliverance from bondage in Egypt.

Each participant of the Seder experiences in a personal way, a national celebration of freedom through God's intervention and deliverance.

Another Jewish instructor shares:

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover.

He is the Lamb of God, sacrificed to set us free from bondage to sin.

(; ; ) The blood of Jesus covers and protects us, and his body was broken to free us from eternal death ().

In the Jewish tradition, a hymn of praise known as the Hallel is sung during the Passover Seder.

In it is , speaking of the Messiah: "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone."

(NIV)  One week before his death, Jesus said in that he was the stone the builders rejected.

God commanded the Israelites to commemorate his great deliverance always through the Passover meal.

Jesus Christ instructed his followers to remember his sacrifice continually through The Lord's Supper.

Two rabbis wrote in 2017: In the Last Supper, Jesus surely is making allusions to the Exodus, as does the Jewish Passover meal, but that event takes a back seat to his revealing himself as “the Passover lamb,” as the object of a new and revolutionary expression of faith.

The Jewish Passover meal inaugurates the Jewish people into its history; it prepares them to fulfill the responsibilities of the mitzvot (commandments) given at Sinai.

As such, it is an event designed for and limited to the Jewish people.

Jesus of Nazareth, in the Last Supper, presents himself as the offering not just for all Israel, but for all of humanity.

He is, in short, establishing a unique ritual.

As we look into today’s passage, we are going to witness Jesus preparing the disciples for a major transition from the limited sacrificial system with the required repetition to the true freedom that is found when one places their faith in the ultimate sacrifice by the Lamb of God.

We must remember and proclaim the eternal freedom that is promised in Jesus Christ.

The Desire - 22:14-16

Luke 22:14We see the setting as they all sit down on the floor around the table to share the Passover meal together.

By way of introduction to the evening, Jesus makes a statement of deep emotion in verse 15 and 16.

As we recall from last time, none of the other 10 disciples knew where the setting would be for this Passover meal.

Remember Jesus comment in : Nobody takes it [his life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

This was made certain by Jesus in keeping everyone in the dark.

Here, we see that they’ve arrived for the Passover meal.

We see the setting as they all sit down on the floor around the table to share the Passover meal together.

Historically, there would have been cushions on the floor where the people could get a bit more comfortable.

Their feet are away from the table and their heads and hands are close to the table.

The Passover meal was not a hurried event during this time, as it would have been the first time.

It probably took place over a number of hours, with visiting , singing, Scripture, etc. We’ve been blessed to have seen on a number of occasions an explanation and visual of the various parts of the Passover meal by our friend from Chosen People Ministries.

We remember that the Passover had as part of the menu the Passover lamb.

Jesus will be, as John the Baptist stated, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.

John MacArthur states: The message of Passover is that God delivers through the judgment of sin by the death of an innocent substitute.

MacArthur, John.

MacArthur New Testament Commentary Set (MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series) (Kindle Locations 27786-27787).

Moody Publishers.

Kindle Edition.

By way of introduction to the evening, after everyone was down by the table, Jesus makes a statement of deep emotion in verse 15 and 16.

It wasn’t because of He was hungry.

He absolutely knew the incredible suffering that was ahead of Him.

Jesus had celebrated this every year.

But now, Jesus knows that this will be the last time He participates in this until it is completely fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

As John MacArthur comments: In a few hours He would go from eating again a sacrificial lamb to dying as the one true Lamb of God to validate the New Covenant.

He also knew of the incredible love He and the Father had for humanity.

I believe this all ties in with what the writer of Hebrews was saying when he wrote, . . .

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross . . .

Knowing that the Passover feast was looking backwards to what God did in delivering Israel from their slavery in Egypt, Jesus is creating a transition at this point.

This Passover feast is completely different than the traditional seders.

We will see this in the following verses.

What makes it even more different is the fact that this is looking forward to what Jesus is going to do on the cross in providing deliverance from humanity’s slavery to sin.

And the ultimate fulfillment of this will be when all the saints are gathered together in the Kingdom of God.

What makes this so uniquely different from the regular Passover meals?

The Description - 22:17-20

Listen to how one scholar describes a typical Passover meal.

The traditional Passover feast began with a thanksgiving, which was followed by the first cup of wine.

They then ate some bread dipped in the bitter herbs, sang and drank the second cup.

This was followed by the eating of the roasted lamb and the bread, the drinking of the third cup, and the singing of .

The feast ended with the drinking of the fourth cup (v.

17).

It was then that Jesus gave new meaning to the bread and the wine and instituted the Lord’s Supper ().

Verse 17 most likely would have been the first cup which is commonly known as the cup of blessing.

This is a symbol of God’s great blessings as seen in fruitfulness and joy.

The traditional Passover feast began with a thanksgiving, which was followed by the first cup of wine.

They then ate some bread dipped in the bitter herbs, sang and drank the second cup.

This was followed by the eating of the roasted lamb and the bread, the drinking of the third cup, and the singing of .

The feast ended with the drinking of the fourth cup (v.

17).

It was then that Jesus gave new meaning to the bread and the wine and instituted the Lord’s Supper ().

Then to show the transition more clearly, we see His words in verse 18 which shows that this will not happen in the same way again until He establishes His kingdom.

Then in verses 19-20, Jesus begins to explain the new significance of this as the New Covenant.

Bread pictures things that are earthly, fragile, and subject to decay, symbolizing the reality that the Son of God took on human form and became subject to death.

You see, the Old Covenant is ending.

All of the social, ceremonial, dietary, and Sabbath laws are being replaced by the New Covenant.

The moral laws will continue, as God’s righteousness and holiness never changes.

Now there are no more reasons to retain all the rituals and traditions, even as we’ll see later when the temple curtain is split from top to bottom.

The Old Covenant was a shadow of the fulfilment to be found in Jesus Christ.

We see this as Jesus explains the significance of the bread and the cup and the completely new meaning behind it.

This is the new covenant in my blood.

No longer is this about a four-legged lamb that was sacrificed to cover the sins; it is about the Son of Man shedding His blood to take away sin.

This is a covenant that will be sealed by His blood.

This is where the transition begins in the inauguration of the Church, which is birthed in Acts.

On this, possibly the fourth cup, Jesus explains the significance of the bread and the cup and the completely new meaning behind it.

This is the new covenant in my blood.

No longer is this about a four-legged lamb that was sacrificed to cover the sins; it is about the Son of Man shedding His blood to take away sin.

This is a covenant that will be sealed by His blood.

This is where the transition begins in the inauguration of the Church, which is birthed in Acts.

Luke’s accounting of this is not as in-depth as the other gospels.

We do know that in this, Jesus spends time talking about the past, the present, and the future.

In fact, when we celebrate communion, we do the same thing.

In the past, we reflect and give thanks for what Jesus did for us on the cross as He paid the penalty for all of our sins.

We are told to do this in remembrance of Me.

In other words, we must remember and never forget.