Walking through Holy Week: It's time to eat!

Today, as we continue walking through Holy Week, we come upon the Last Supper. Jesus is sharing a Passover meal with His disciples and as part of it they share the bread and the cup - a tradition that we remember when we have Communion in church.

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles took their places at the table. ¹⁵ He said to them, "I have really looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you. I wanted to do this before I suffer. 16 I tell you, I will not eat the Passover meal again until it is celebrated in God's kingdom."

¹⁷ After Jesus took the cup, he gave thanks. He said, "Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I tell you, I will not drink wine with you again until God's kingdom comes."

¹⁹ Then Jesus took bread. He gave thanks and broke it. He handed it to them and said, "This is my body. It is given for you. Every time you eat it, do it in memory of me."

²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. It is poured out for you. ²¹ But someone here is going to hand me over to my enemies. His hand is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go to his death, just as God has already decided. But how terrible it will be for the one who hands him over!"

Luke 22:14-22 (NIrV)

Discussion

• One of the first things that I notice in the passage is that Jesus was looking forward to sharing this meal with His disciples. Why do you suppose He was looking forward to it?
• Do you remember what the Passover was?
• What three things did Jesus say were going to happen that His disciples may not have been very happy about?
• He would suffer (v 15)
• One of them would betray Him (v 21)
• He would die (v 22)
• Did those bad things dampen Jesus' enthusiasm for the Passover meal?
• Despite the bad things coming, did Jesus still do what God wanted Him to do?
• If you were looking forward to doing something and you knew that something bad was going to happen afterwards, would you find it hard to enjoy it or even do it?
• Does knowing that Jesus was obedient to God even though He knew bad things were coming soon help you to look forward to being obedient to God?
• Does knowing that Jesus was looking forward to this communion with His disciples help you to look forward to the next time you celebrate communion?