Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the Upper Room in Jerusalem to prepare for the annual Passover Feast. Passover commemorates the time that God spared the lives of Israel’s firstborn sons in Egypt. The book of Exodus tells us the blood of an unblemished, slain lamb was painted on the Israelite’s door frames thus causing the plague of the firstborn to pass over their houses. After this plague, Pharaoh freed the Israelites from the bondage of slavery.
During His last meal with the disciples, which has come to be known as The Last Supper, Jesus tried to explain He was about to fulfill the meaning of Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed. In this act of sacrifice, Jesus, as the unblemished Lamb of God, would free us from sin and death. He instructed his followers to continually remember his sacrifice by sharing in the elements of bread and wine in the sacrament we have come to know as the Lord’s Supper or Communion. One of the places where this event is recorded is Luke 22:19-20 (NLT) which states:
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Luke 22:19-20 (NLT)
In offering the bread, Jesus wanted his disciples to remember him, his friendship and his bodily sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. But the disciples were confused by the comparison of wine to the blood sacrifices with which they were familiar. The disciples had only known of animal blood being offered in sacrifice for sin. In the Old Testament, God agreed to forgive people’s sins if animals were brought to the priests for sacrifice. This ceremonial act had to be repeated regularly. Unlike the blood of animals, however, Jesus’ blood would remove the sins of all who believed in Him. Jesus’ sacrifice would never have to be repeated.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Let us never forget this as we praise God for His love every day of our lives. For through the sacrifice of this Passover Lamb, we will have eternal life! Hallelujah!!!
