Luke 22:14-20

My parents were married on April fools day…Daddy always said that it was where two fools met!! They shared 70 years of marriage before he passed at 91…how amazing!!

Today is Holy Thursday the last supper that would be shared by Jesus and those closest to Him. He would be betrayed by Judas. Later Peter would deny Him 3 times. It may be that they were a representation of all of us who have betrayed His trust.

Jesus willingly gave up His sinless, perfect life in exchange  for ours. No greater love exists.

We live in His New Covenant which He gave through His sacrifice. Grateful and blessed are those who trust Him to do what we are incapable of doing on our own.

Luke 22:14-20

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink 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 which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.

Jesus reinterprets the symbolism of the bread consumed to commemorate the Passover meal, applying it to His impending death. Jesus instructs His followers to commemorate His crucifixion and all the saving actions He accomplishes in His death. The early church continued this tradition. Jesus states that His imminent death enacts the new covenant centered on forgiveness. Faithlife Bible

In the kingdom to come, when final victory is celebrated, Jesus again will eat. Jesus will abstain from celebrating a meal until His return.

Jesus instituted a new meal which is not only a memorial of His death, but also a fellowship meal of unity. It is a proclamation and a symbol of the believers’ anticipation of Jesus’ return, when all God’s promises will be fulfilled. The bread of the Lord’s Supper represents the body of Jesus, offered on behalf of His disciples. The wine of the Lord’s Supper depicts the giving of life, a sacrifice of blood, which inaugurates the new covenant for those who respond to Jesus’ offer of salvation. This is the strongest substitutionary image in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus died on the Cross in our place and for our sins. NKJ Bible,

1 Corinthians 11:25  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”