Thursday, April 1, 2010

Luke 22:14-46

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!" 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."
35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?"
"Nothing," they answered.
36 He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment."
38 The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he replied.
39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Points of Interest:

• ‘I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God’—this is a goodbye meal. Like the nobleman from the story in chapter 19, Jesus is going away for a while to take possession of his kingdom. They will someday all celebrate this feast together again. It will be a double celebration: the celebration of the Passover, and the celebration of their new kingdom.

• ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’—For the centerpiece of this Passover meal, Jesus replaces the usual lamb with the bread and wine, the symbols of his own body and blood. He is establishing a new tradition, with a new sacrificial lamb: himself. The Passover lamb was a symbol of God’s protection of his people from death, his rescue of them from captivity, and his guidance of them to a new land. The bread and wine commemorate a new but similar relationship between Jesus and his followers; the bread and wine symbolize salvation from death, rescue from sin, and the coming of a new kingdom.

• ‘as it has been decreed’—numerous Psalms speak of the Messiah being betrayed by a friend. Psalm 41:9 is a good example:
Even my close friend,
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread
has lifted up his heel against me.

• ‘those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors’—benefactor means, ‘helper,’ or, ‘sponsor.’ It comes from the Latin, ‘to do well.’ Basically, these worldly leaders call themselves servants, but really they’re all about telling other people what to do.

• ‘But I am among you as one who serves’—Jesus suggests that there are better ways to be great than arguing about it; sensibly enough, he suggests that they watch the one who is greatest—him—and imitate what they see.

• ‘so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones’—this sounds like two different stories Jesus has recently told: the man throwing the big party, and the nobleman who goes away to get royal authority. Jesus’ kingdom will be the best party ever, and it will also be real work. Jesus wants to share both his fun and his authority with his followers; they will be guests at his party, but also deputies ruling in his kingdom.

• ‘Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat’—having had success with Judas, Satan turns his attention on the rest of the disciples as well. Satan offers, ‘Let me help you test your follower’s faith,’ but Jesus knows that Satan’s goal is not to refine them, but to destroy them.

• ‘when you have turned back’—there will be a time when Peter’s faith will fail under Satan’s temptations and accusations. But that won’t be the end. He can repent: that is, recalibrate himself toward Jesus again. When he does, he’ll find that he not only has enough strength to follow Jesus himself but to lead others toward him as well.

• ‘did you lack anything?’—it’s important that they remember that Jesus was able to provide for them even when it looked like they had nothing.

• ‘But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag’—I think Jesus is saying here that there’s a moment—the few days when he is in the grave—when they will be in danger but he will be unable to help. It later becomes clear that he is not recommending that they literally defend themselves with swords: two swords wouldn’t do much good anyway, and when they do try to use them (in tomorrow’s passage) he tells them to put them away. I think Jesus is speaking hyperbolically here to get across the message that they will soon be considered the fugitive followers of a criminal.

• ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation’—the chances that they will cave to temptation are very high. Jesus is praying that their faith will not fail under Satan’s attack, and he encourages them to pray the same.

• ‘take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’—having advised his followers to pray against temptation, he follows his own advice. Jesus is fighting in this prayer against the temptation to try to save his life. If he were to fall to this temptation, it would be devastating, not just for everyone else whom he would save by his sacrifice, but for him: ‘whoever wants to save their life will lose it’ (9:24). Even Jesus is in danger of losing his life. Even he is tempted to desperately grab at life in these final moments; if he does, he’ll—temporarily—save his earthly life, but he’ll lose heavenly life. Jesus doesn’t rely on his own strength to face this last and strongest of the devil’s temptations. He asks the Father to supply him with the strength he needs.

Taking it home:

For you and your family: Consider attending a Holy Thursday service today, to remember Jesus with the bread and the wine. Or, celebrate the last supper with your family or household by reading this passage together and sharing bread and wine.

For your friends: Pray that Jesus would protect your friends from the devil’s plans for their destruction. Ask God to unmask the work of Satan’s lies, accusations, and temptations in their lives.

For our city: Pray for a proliferation of true greatness in our city. Pray that we would have many great servants in our city, and that God would equip and reward those servants for their service.