Maundy Thursday
28-3-2013
Pastor Lester Priebbenow

The Lord's Three Suppers

Luke 22:14-16

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 fulfilment 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 from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

Luke tells us that Jesus "eagerly desired" to eat the Passover meal with his disciples.

Jesus tells us in his Revelation to John that he is still eager to share a supper with us: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Rev. 3:20).

We believers in Jesus know, whenever we gather together at the Lord's Table, that he eagerly desires to share the supper with us.

 

The Bible speaks of 'The Lord's Three Suppers', all of which are closely connected.

First, there is The Passover Supper which Jesus and his disciples were celebrating, as Jews had done for the past 1500 years. It celebrated God's great rescue event of the Old Testament [the exodus of God's people from slavery in Egypt]. Then, as God had commanded, a male lamb was slain, roasted and eaten; and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts. The lamb pointed forward to Christ. Its blood was what set people free from the angel of death.

The Passover Supper was not an end in itself. It pointed forward to another great Supper.

Second, there is The Lord's Supper, of which we are a little more familiar. The night, on which Jesus was betrayed, he celebrated the Passover Supper with his disciples. He took some of the unleavened bread used in the Passover and said, "This is my body, given for you". He took some wine and said, "This is my blood, shed for you." The Lamb of God was about to be sacrificed at God's command, his body and blood given and shed to set people free from slavery to sin.

Christians still celebrate this great rescue meal of the New Testament in our churches today. Like the Passover, Christians are commanded by Christ, "Do this in remembrance of me." St. Paul also writes: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

That supper is called "The Last Supper" because it was Jesus' last supper with his disciples before he died. But it wasn't to be his last 'ever' supper with them. He said as much in the upper room that night: For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfilment in the kingdom of God... For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (v.16, 18).

Just as the Passover Supper pointed forward to the Lord's Supper; the Lord's Supper points forward to a third great supper – 'The Marriage Supper of the Lamb,' as it is called in Revelation 19. That is the great feast that believers will share with our Lord in heaven – where Christ will again sup with his disciples – all of us!

It is a marriage supper because the Lamb [Jesus] is also the heavenly bridegroom; and all those people redeemed by his precious blood are his precious bride. At last the two shall be perfectly united and share a marriage feast that has no end.

So every time we celebrate The Lord's Supper, let's do so with a backward look to The Passover Supper. Let's do so with an upward look to the one who comes to meet us in flesh and blood, in the earthly elements of bread and wine. Let's do so with a forward look to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where, as always, Jesus eagerly desires to share his eternal Supper with us. Amen.