Easter Saturday and Lord’s Supper
Leviticus 23
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s Passover.
Matthew 26
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
After 400 years in bitter slavery in Egypt, the Lord decreed the first Passover. A perfect lamb was to be sacrificed and its blood painted on the doorposts of the houses. When the Angel of Death saw the blood, he would pass over the house, but would kill the firstborn, whether man or beast, of any home without the lamb’s blood. At the feast, God’s people were told to eat the lamb, along with bitter herbs to remind them of their enslavement, as well as unleavened bread (a reminder to keep carnality and the world out of their lives). After their freedom, God commanded that they should celebrate the feast every year.
About 1 500 years later, Jesus told his disciples how much he had longed to celebrate the Passover with them. The Gospel of John records the careful planning that went into that feast. The atmosphere was dangerous and the Lord didn’t give more information that was necessary, because the Jewish leaders were plotting to kill Jesus. Jesus commanded His disciples to go to Jerusalem where they would meet a man carrying a jar of water. They were to follow him to his home and there tell him that the Teacher needed room for the Passover (and significantly, he said to tell the man that the Master’s “time had come”. This done, they prepared for the Passover. As they reclined at the table, the disciples began arguing amongst themselves as to who was the greater. This was Christ’s final meal with His friends, and all they could do was argue about position. Jesus, knowing all things, chose to show them His great love by washing their feet. What a very personal ‘slap’ in the face of their pride.
(Matthew 26:26) Then Jesus wounded them even deeper by telling them that one of their number was going to betray Him. Judas, Jesus’ friend and companion, betrayed Jesus as a criminal to be beaten. And he went out into the night and the darkness. Then Jesus broke the unleavened bread and gave it to His disciples, saying “Take, eat; this is my body.” And He took the cup, gave thanks and passed it around, saying “Drink. This is my blood of the new covenant.” The Passover of so long ago was now fulfilled by the Saviour who went to the cross willingly, whose body was broken and His blood shed for the remission of our sins.
Paul spoke about the seriousness of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 10:27. Therefore, when we partake of the bread and the cup of the Lord, let us be pure before the Lord and in taking it remember His great sacrifice for our sakes. We cannot be partakers of the Lord’s Table and the table of demons. The Lord had told his disciples how He longed to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. Does He still long to share it with you and are you still not ready? Christ became the Passover to make you ready through the breaking of his body and the shedding of His blood.