Sermons

I invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22, and we're going to be looking at verses seven through to 18. And as I turn to Luke chapter 22, I am incredibly thankful this morning that Andrew has given me a Bible passage that I can actually read. So, this one, hopefully, I will get through it okay. So, I invite you to stand with me as we read Luke 22:7–18. And this is what God's Word says.

(Scripture reading) "Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So, Jesus sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat it. They said to him, where will you have us prepare it? 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 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? And he will show you a large upper room furnished. Prepare it there. And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.

And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

Amen, let's pray.

(Prayer) Heavenly Father, we are thankful that we have Your Word. We are thankful that we get to study it this morning. And Father, this morning, we pray that You would help us to understand what we're going to hear, that You would give us listening ears, but not only listening ears. Father, we pray this morning that You would give us obedient hearts to obey You and that this morning we will leave rejoicing because of how great and magnificent You are. All these things we pray in and through the precious name of the Lord Jesus, amen.

You may be seated.

There are certain meals that become more than meals. So, you will go to a dinner and it's a nice dinner, but there are other times that there are certain dinners that are really, really, really significant. Think about a family gathering around a table at Christmastime. That meal is much more significant. You're taking photographs, you're videoing it, you're documenting it. And then weeks later, months later, years later, you will find those videos and photographs, and you will look at them and remember that significant Christmas that you had. Think about a meal where friends come together and you maybe haven't seen each other for years and years and years and years. That meal is more significant than just a normal meal that you would have maybe Monday through Sunday.

Think about a family coming together after a funeral, or a husband and a wife celebrating an anniversary. That's a significant meal where they are thankful for the years that God has had them together. Recently, we have a friend who just turned 100, and that birthday dinner was really significant. That was a big milestone, right? And so that meal was more than just a meal. And whenever you turn to Luke chapter 22, we read about Jesus gathering with His disciples for a meal. But this particular meal carries enormous significance. It's a meal that just isn't just a meal. On the surface, it appears to be a familiar Jewish celebration. Jerusalem is crowded. It is packed. The Passover is approaching, and people are making ready for the Passover.

But this particular meal that we turn to in Luke chapter 22, that we will be examining closely today, and we will also pick up next Sunday again, it stands at a turning point in the history of redemption. Here in Luke 22, Jesus knows that His arrest is coming. He knows that His death is drawing near. And as we heard last week, we heard about Judas, how he was making arrangements to betray Him. We're reading that the religious authorities, they are trying to look for every opportunity to get rid of Jesus. And the disciples, they are going to face events that they don't fully understand right now. Yet, in Luke 22, Jesus is not simply looking for a quiet place to eat before His arrest and before His sacrificial death.

This is significant, because what He is doing here is He is kindly teaching His disciples and kindly preparing them for what is about to happen, and not just only for what is about to happen, but what is going to gloriously happen in the future. And in Luke 22:7–18, we discover that the old story of deliverance is about to reach its great fulfillment through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And here is the wonderful truth that holds this passage together. This is what we want to leave grasping and understanding more about. Jesus, the Passover Lamb, delivers sinners, delights in fellowship with His people, and guarantees their future. So, to help us to grasp this truth, the passage can be divided into three clear pictures.

You've got the lamb, you've got the table, and you've got the kingdom. First, we see the lamb in verses seven through to 13. Jesus is the true Passover Lamb, whose death delivers His people from sin. Second, then we've got the table, and we see that in verses 14 through to 15. And here we will see that Jesus earnestly desires fellowship with those He came to redeem. And then thirdly, we will see the kingdom. And we see this in verses 16 through to 18, where Jesus guarantees the glory that is coming. So, let's begin with the first one.

1. The Lamb v7–13

The first picture that we see is the lamb. Jesus is the true Passover Lamb, whose death delivers His people from sin.

We see this, we're gonna focus in chapter 22, verses seven through to 13. Luke here, whenever you look at chapter 22, he is underlining, he's underscoring, he is emphasizing something really, really important. He is emphasizing that these events are happening during the time of Passover. What does it say in verse seven?

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And this is not the only place that Luke mentions about the Passover. We see it in verse one of 22. The Feast of Unleavened Bread called the Passover is approaching. Then you've got verse seven. The day arrives when the Passover lamb must be sacrificed. And then again, we see it in verse 14. The hour comes. And Luke is not just giving us an important date in the calendar. He is doing this for a reason. He wants us to recognize the significance of this moment. He wants us to understand that Jesus is approaching His death when? At the time of Passover. And for us to be able to understand this and to get its significance, we need to spend a little bit of time thinking about what was the Passover? What were they doing during the time of the Passover?

And for us to be able to understand that this morning, we have got to go back into the Old Testament, in particular to the book of Exodus. And here, centuries earlier, we read about God's people living in slavery in Egypt. Their suffering was real, their bondage was oppressive, and they were unable to free themselves. The only way that they were going to be free from the bondage of slavery in Egypt was if God graciously and kindly intervened.

So, what did God do? He sent Moses and he came before Pharaoh, who was the most powerful ruler in the world at that time. He came before him and said, let God's people go. And Pharaoh said, no, it is not happening. And because he disobeyed the commandment of the Lord, then judgment had to be poured out over Egypt. And we read about this judgment in Exodus 7-12 where God sends a series of plagues. And He sends 10 plagues. And even though He had sent one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine plagues, still when Moses went before Pharaoh and said, let my people go, he still said no. And so, then we read about the 10th plague that happened in Egypt. And in that 10th plague, God said there will be a judgment and what will happen is every single firstborn son will die in Egypt.

But in God's grace and in His kindness, God prepared a way for His people to be spared from that judgment. So, He commanded the Israelites to do something. He told them to take an unblemished lamb, sacrifice it, slaughter it, and take that blood and put it on the doorways, on the sides, and above, and then to take that lamb and to roast it, to eat unleavened bread, to eat bitter herbs, and be ready to go, be ready to depart. And when the Lord saw the obedience and saw that they had put the blood over the doorpost, He would pass over the house, and the judgment would not fall upon that particular home.

Their safety, the children of Israel, their safety rested upon God's promise and on His provision. They did not earn their freedom. They did not persuade God to rescue them because they were doing so many great and wonderful things. They were delivered because God graciously provided a way of escape from the righteous judgment. And He called them to trust and obey His word. And when the Lord brought them out of Egypt, He then said, I want you all to partake in the Passover every single year so that you do not forget that you are a nation that is rooted in God's saving grace.

And here in Luke 22, we are brought to another Passover. At the center of it stands Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. Now how did this meal come about? Look at verse eight. So, Jesus sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat it.

Luke frequently brought Peter and John together in his gospel and in Acts. We got to see them together with the transfiguration of Jesus in Luke 9:28. And then they'd be together for the resurrection. And then whenever we read about the early church you see their significance there. And here Jesus is giving them the responsibility of preparing the Passover meal. And so, what did that include? It meant getting the lamb. It meant getting the bitter herbs. It meant getting the unleavened bread. It meant going and getting this room.

And Jesus just doesn't simply tell them, go and do that, but He gives them very, very specific instructions and says, this is exactly what is going to happen. And you see that in verses 10 to 12. He gives them precise instructions about where to go and what they're going to encounter. And whenever you read that, your mind should go back to Luke 19:29–34, where it's very similar to Jesus giving the instructions to the disciples about finding a colt for His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. And then here we're seeing Him do something similar, telling them this is exactly what you're going to do. So, in verse 19, the first is there, they are to follow him into a house. They'll find this man carrying a water jar, speak to the owner, asked where the guest room is, where they can have the Passover with Jesus. And what happens? Everything that Jesus said would happen is exactly what happened. Now, I wanna pause here for a very, very brief moment, because there is a really important contrast to make here. What is the contrast?

We see that there is a difference between the disciples here and at the start of chapter 22 with Judas. We see here that these disciples are being faithful and they're being obedient to Jesus' words. And at the start of chapter 22, we read about Judas and how he was betraying Jesus. Judas is acting in betrayal. Peter and John are acting in obedience. And as they acted in obedience, they found the room just as Jesus has said it would be.

And what does that scream out to us as we read that? It emphasizes to us that Jesus is in control of all the events that are taking place. He was in control of everything that was happening leading right up to His death. The other people, they thought they were in control.

Judas, where he had plans to plot and betray Jesus. And then we also read about the religious authorities where they think they're in control and they're planning and plotting to get rid of Jesus. But no, that is not the case. Because when you see this, you see that this does not take Jesus by surprise.

He knows the suffering is coming. He knows the betrayal is coming. He knows the cross that lies ahead. His death was not an accident. It was no interruption to His ministry. He had repeatedly taught throughout the gospel that the suffering is coming. He was telling the disciples this.

And He wanted to have this Passover time with His disciples. Why? Because the meal that He is going to have with His disciples’ points towards the work of salvation that He is about to gloriously accomplish. Jesus here stands at the center of the Passover celebration because He is the One to whom the Passover has always been pointing towards. Because Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Remember what Luke says in Luke 19:10.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. But how would Jesus accomplish this saving work? He would give His life for sinners. He would become the sacrifice for sin. That is truly amazing. Jesus, the Son of God, the perfect Lamb, would give His life for sinners.

And the Bible repeatedly directs our attention to Jesus as the perfect Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Remember what John the Baptist said in John 1:29? John sees Jesus coming and what does he say? Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And now here in Luke 22, we are reminded that the Passover in Egypt points forward to the greater deliverance that God would accomplish through the Lord Jesus Christ. The blood of the Passover lamb marked out the Israelite households that would be spared from that judgment in Egypt. And in the same way, the sacrificial death of Jesus provides the only sufficient answer to our guilt before a holy, magnificent, powerful, holy God. The Passover establishes a pattern of deliverance through the provision of God, and the New Testament explicitly identifies Christ as the fulfillment of that pattern. At the cross, Jesus bears the judgment that sinners deserve. And through His sacrifice, through His perfect sacrifice, He provides redemption and reconciliation with God for all who believe and trust in Him. J.C. Ryle helpfully explains that Luke 22 highlights that the timing of Jesus' death was not an accident. In God's sovereign purpose, the Lamb of God would give His life at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed.

So, what the Passover had taught Israel about deliverance from judgment finds its ultimate significance in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that brings us to the heart of the matter. The lamb reminds us that our greatest need is redemption, and that redemption must come from God.

Our greatest problem is our sin and guilt before a holy God. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot earn forgiveness through good works. We cannot make ourselves righteous enough to stand before God based on our own merits. We need a Savior. And as we read Luke 22, praise the Lord. God has graciously provided the Savior we need in His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 5:7, what does it say there? For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. That is the good news of the gospel. The Lamb has been sacrificed.

The price of redemption has been completely paid. And for you, if you are a believer, if you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus, your debt is completely paid. And I am thankful this morning, that is a debt that I do not ever, ever have to pay back. I'm thankful that every month I don't have to pay something back to be able to earn, but God completed in full and that debt is completely and utterly paid because of Christ's sacrificial death and His glorious resurrection.

So, in this passage, what is it doing? It is directing us to Jesus Christ. And who is He? The true Passover Lamb who gave Himself to deliver His people from sin and judgment. So first, we see the lamb. And from that, we were learning that Jesus is a true Passover Lamb whose death delivers His people from sin.

2. The Table v14–16

And two, what is the second picture that you see in this passage? We see the picture of the table. And here we get to see that Jesus earnestly desires fellowship with those He came to redeem. And we're gonna be focusing specifically on verses 14 through to 16. Whenever we come to verse 14, it moves us more into this narrative. As it says, when the hour comes, Jesus reclines at the table, and the apostles are with Him. The preparations are complete, the meal is ready, and Jesus takes His place with His disciples, with the apostles.

And Luke records a really striking statement from Jesus. Take a look at that statement in verse 15. What does it say? Jesus says, I have earnestly desired, earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. We should not rush past those words. It's easy to, it's easy to just read through. But J.C. Ryle, he says, we ought to slow down and see the significance of the words that Jesus has just uttered. Jesus speaks openly about His suffering.

He says there that He's going to suffer. He does not approach this meal not aware of what's gonna happen. He knows that His death is drawing near. He knows that the arrest is gonna happen. He knows about the pain that He will endure. And yet before all that suffering, He wants to share this meal with His disciples. Now just for a moment, consider who He is eating the food with at this table.

These are men who have followed Jesus, listened to His teachings, witnessed His amazing miracles, and heard His promises, but there are also men who have misunderstood Him, argued about greatness, and struggled to comprehend the kingdom He will come to establish, and then we read later on about how they will totally abandon Him. They're not an impressive group of people. These aren't a group of people that have reached spiritual maturity. They are disciples who are in much, much, much need of Jesus' teaching, correction, patience, and grace.

Now, I love this. I've been reading Dale Ralph Davis's commentary on this, and he put it this way. I love what he said. None can deny they were frequently dense, muddle-headed, naive, and foolish. But Jesus didn't merely put up with them. He genuinely prized them. We should not forget this. Because the same words that are used there for the disciples are exactly the same words that we can use for ourselves. And you know what God says about His children? He greatly prizes you.

What a joy to know that Jesus desires to eat with them. His statement reveals here that this gathering greatly matters to Him. He is not simply carrying out a religious obligation of carrying out the Passover. He is intentionally spending these final hours with the people that He called to come and follow Me. And this passage shows us the heart of Jesus towards His disciples. As He approaches suffering, He gives attention to those who belong to Him. He speaks to them, prepares them, and gathers them together for this meal.

And this is a reminder that God does not just save sinners when they put their trust in Him and repent, but through the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has fully accomplished, we are forgiven. And not only that, but we are brought into a close and intimate and personal relationship with the living God. In Christ, our sins are forgiven, our condemnation is removed, and we are welcomed into fellowship with the living God. That we are no longer strangers standing at a great distance.

But as His children, you are brought gloriously into His family. We are forgiven so that we belong to Him. And that fellowship is only possible because of the suffering that will take place. Here at this table, the shadow of the cross falls upon the table. The meal is joyful because they are remembering God's faithful deliverance. But the evening is also very solemn because Jesus is about to suffer. And His words hold both realities together.

This matters because it stops us from separating the love of Jesus from the cost of our salvation. And Jesus, He continues in verse 16. What does it say in verse 16? It says, He will not eat the Passover again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. His words here that we have just read now turn our attention beyond the meal that they are partaking in. The Passover looks backwards to the Lord's deliverance of Israel, but Jesus' words here that we have just read in verse 16 now point forward to the fulfillment that is still to come.

And this is important because the disciples could easily have thought that because Jesus is saying that He is going to suffer, that everything is going to come to a crashing halt, that it's all gonna come to an end. But as you're sitting with Him and partaking in the Passover, this meal carries great significance because they're about to learn that Jesus says that beyond My sacrificial death, I will have glorious victory.

The arrest is coming. The cross is coming. The disciples will be confused, afraid, and they will scatter. But Jesus speaks that there will be fulfillment. He is reminding them that the cross will not be defeated. He says that beyond the cross lies the kingdom. And the disciples, they cannot see everything that is unfolding.

They will soon witness the arrest and the crucifixion, but Jesus here, He knows exactly where the story is going. His suffering has a purpose, and that purpose reaches beyond the events of that night, because the table points to the cross, but the cross points us forward to the kingdom. So, we have learned that the Lamb, He is Jesus, the true Passover Lamb, whose death delivers His people from sin and death. Second, we saw the picture of the table, reminds us that Jesus earnestly desires fellowship with those He came to save.

3. The Kingdom v.17–18

And then, where is this story going? Well, then we see the third picture, and Jesus answers in the final verses of our passage, that there is the kingdom. The kingdom which guarantees the glory that is coming.

And we're specifically now going to look at verses 17 through to 18. In verse 17, Luke records Jesus taking a cup, giving thanks, and telling His disciples to divide it among themselves. And then in verse 18, Jesus explains that He will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. What Jesus says during this feast changes the way His people are to understand this meal forever. Jesus is not only reminding His disciples of what God has done in the past, He is also directing them towards what God has promised to bring in completion in the future.

Now the precise details of that future fulfillment are not explained in these verses, but I am so thankful this morning that we are blessed to have the whole counsel of God's Word. That we get to understand the glorious hope that Jesus is pointing towards.

But pause there and think about the disciples right now, whenever they're hearing this, that He's gonna come to suffer, but then there's gonna be this glorious kingdom. They know the story of the Passover and how God delivered His people from the slavery in Egypt. They are now hearing Jesus speak about His suffering and death, and then they're hearing that they won't eat or drink with Him again in the same way until when the kingdom of God comes. Yet even as Jesus speaks about His approaching suffering, He uses words to point them forward from the cross, beyond the cross, that He gives a great promise and a hope to His people that He will and will always have the victory. What He is doing here in these verses is really, really important. He is helping them to learn to live between what God has already done and what He promises He still will do. They are remembering God's past deliverance, and upon that past deliverance, then they can see and live in confident hope in knowing that is not the end, but there is the coming of the kingdom.

The Lord's Supper looks back to the cross, reminds us of our fellowship with Christ, and points us forward to His return. Paul reminds us of that in 1 Corinthians 11:26. What does it say in 1 Corinthians 11:26? For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Notice the final words in that verse, until he comes.

The Lord's Supper is not only a remembrance of what Jesus has done, that is part of it, but it's also a declaration for what we are waiting for. So, every time, every time as God's people gather around the Lord's table, we do remember His sacrificial death, but in the Lord's Supper, we look forward to the day when He will return and bring His kingdom to its glorious fulfillment. So, Jesus' words in verse 16 and 18, He's teaching the disciples, remember, remember the sacrificial death of Jesus, but also look beyond the coming cross towards the promised kingdom. Their future rests in the promise of their King. And for Christians, this is a central part of that hope.

We today live in a world that sin continues to damage lives. Relations break down. Bodies grow weak. Death comes to people that we love. And even those who trust in Christ experience hardship, trials, disappointment, and grief. Following Jesus does not mean that our troubles immediately disappear. Being a Christian doesn't mean that you will never ever suffer or that we will always understand what God is doing in our lives. But the kingdom of God reminds us that the world as we presently experience it is not the final reality. The suffering we experience now is very much real, but it will not have the final word.

Who will? Our King will have the final word. And this passage this morning that we are studying gives great hope to everyone who belongs to Christ this morning. It gives hope that God's redemption plan will not remain unfinished. It reminds us that the Savior who suffered for His people will not abandon them. And it assures us that the future always, always, always belongs to God and He will always accomplish what He has promised because the future belongs to Him. Brother and sister, you have every reason to persevere even when life is incredibly difficult.

Think about what it means for a believer who is growing weary. Perhaps this morning you are trying to serve your family faithfully, but the days feel repetitive and exhausting. Perhaps you are seeking to serve the church, but you rarely see the fruit that you have hoped for. Perhaps this morning you are trying to obey Christ in the workplace where what is right comes at a cost. Perhaps for you this morning, it has been a long time since you have felt healthy and well, and you are battling sickness, and your body is exhausted. Perhaps this morning you have been praying for a loved one for years, but you yet haven't seen the answer that you hoped for. In those moments, it can be difficult to see the victory that God has promised.

But this is why we ground ourselves in the Word of God. That's why we ground ourselves in Luke chapter 22, because Jesus directs His disciples beyond the suffering that lies. He reminds them that the cross is not just the end story, but that we are forgiven, that we are declared righteous, and that we will dwell with Him forever and ever and ever and ever, because the King who's going to suffer is also the King who's promised that His kingdom is coming. And those who belong to Him have a future beyond their present struggles. Our hope is that sin and death will not reign forever. Our hope is that suffering will not continue forever. Our hope is that God's kingdom will come in fullness and that we will dwell with our King in the glory that He has promised.

So, when a believer partakes in the Lord's Supper, we stand between what Christ has already accomplished and what He has promised still to do. That we have been forgiven, redeemed through His sacrifice, and yet we still await His glorious return when our faith will become sight.

And perhaps you're here this morning and you have not repented of your sin and placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps this morning you know about Jesus. You've heard many of the Bible stories. Maybe you've been going to church for years and years. But knowing about Jesus is not the same as trusting in Him and making Him Lord of your life. The Bible tells us that you must turn from your sin and place your hope in the Savior.

So, hear this morning, the good news of this passage, God has provided the Lamb you need. Jesus Christ came into this world to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to a holy God. He lived the righteous life you could never live. He died the death that your sin deserves. He rose again over the grave, and He promises forgiveness and eternal life to all who repent and believe in Him. You cannot place or earn your own right in God's kingdom, but you need the perfect Lamb of God where He paid it all.

And for those who have already put their trust in Him and are His children, let this passage this morning renew our wonder of the gospel. What have we learned from this passage that should renew our wonder of the gospel? The Lamb has been sacrificed.

The Savior has drawn near to us. And the kingdom is coming. One day, the faith that sustains us now will become sight. And one day, the struggles of this life will be all over. One day, we will gather with the redeemed people of God and rejoice in the presence of our King. And on that day, we will see more clearly than ever before that the whole story of salvation has been a gracious story of His saving grace. We did not provide the Lamb. We did not earn the place at the table. And we cannot bring the kingdom by our own strength. We are reminded in Luke 22; God provided the Lamb. Christ has redeemed His people. And our King will bring us into the glory that He has promised. So, this morning, let us trust Him. Let us treasure Him. Let us serve Him faithfully.

And let us look forward with confident hope to the day when we will feast in the presence of the Lamb forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. For the Lamb has delivered His people from sin. The table reminds us of our fellowship with Christ. And the kingdom assures us that glory is coming.

Let us pray.

Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to accomplish the salvation we could never earn. Strengthen our hope in the kingdom Jesus has promised. Help us to persevere when we grow weary, to remain faithful when the way is difficult, and to keep our eyes fixed on the glory that is coming. And as we gather around the Lord's table, help us to remember the sacrifice of our Savior, rejoice in the salvation He has secured, and look forward with confidence to the day when He returns. We ask all these things in and through the precious name of the Lord Jesus, our Savior, amen.

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