Year 2, Week 38, Day 2 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 38, Day 2

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Luke 22.

Today’s reading parallels the readings from the two previous days. Like Matthew 26 and Mark 14, Luke 22  records the beginnings of Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people” (Luke 22:1-2). Unlike Matthew 26 and Mark 14, Luke 22 does not include the episode of the woman anointing Jesus with costly perfume. Perhaps this omission is due to Luke recording a similar, yet distinct episode involving a woman anointing Jesus’ feet (see Luke 7:35-50). Luke 22 also adds a dispute that broke out among the disciples: “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest” (Luke 22:24). This dispute, which may have occurred among the disciples more than once, is not in the parallel passages of Matthew 26 and Mark 14; however, similar conversations are recorded elsewhere in the Gospels (see Matthew 18:1; Mark 9:33-37; and Luke 9:46). But other than those differences, Luke 22 includes the accounts of Judas’ resolve to betray Jesus, the meal that Jesus shared with His disciples, the prayer time in Gethsemane, and concludes with Jesus’ arrest as well as the start of the trials He faced: "If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe…But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it…from his own lips” (Luke 22:67-71).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is the description of Jesus’ meal with His disciples: “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” (Luke 22:14-15). On the eve of His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus takes the occasion of the Passover meal and institutes an arrangement in which what His death would accomplish would be remembered. Jesus reinterprets the Passover meal as commemorating the inauguration of a new covenant through his sacrifice, and therefore the meal anticipates its ultimate fulfillment when the fullness of God’s kingdom comes at Jesus’ return: “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” (Luke 22:16-18). Jesus draws attention to bread to represent His body that He would sacrificially give for His people. Jesus also draws attention to the cup to show that the drink represents His blood that He would pour out in sacrificial death for his people. The bread and the cup each serve to represent an ultimate fulfillment when the fullness of God’s kingdom comes at Jesus’ return. So, while the bread and the cup would reflect on Jesus’ death, they also would anticipate His return: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). A bigger, grander banquet awaits.

The actual procedure of what Jesus asks His disciples to do in looking back as well as looking forward, is fairly simple: “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:19-20). The bread would represent the body of Jesus, which He willingly gave or laid down on behalf of His people. The phrases “is my body” and “this cup…is the new covenant in my blood” has caused many to be confused and think that Jesus is literally promoting the consumption of His literal body and blood. But as Jesus would say in another context, but quite possibly to prepare the church to partake of the Lord’s Supper, there is a spiritual sense in which the element of bread and cup point to a nourishment of the soul through communion with the Christ by the Spirit: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-56). Jesus is obviously not calling people to eat his literal body and drink his literal blood. Christians are not cannibals. In fact the real nourishment from the Lord’s Supper operates within a heart that trusts in Jesus: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe” (John 6:63-64). As the prophets pointed to the New Covenant,  the Spirit enlivens and strengthens as the elements are received through faith: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe