In Luke 22 it's now Thursday, and Jesus has been in Jerusalem since he entered on Sunday, Palm Sunday. He and his disciples prepare to celebrate the Passover, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. This celebration remembers when the Hebrews left Egypt over a thousand years earlier.
Moses had confronted Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go. Pharaoh continued to refuse, even though God sent several plagues. Finally, God promised one last plague - the death of every first-born son and first-born male animal in Egypt. In order to avoid the plague, the Hebrews were to sacrifice a one-year-old male sheep or goat with no defects, and smear the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they would eat the animal. God explained what would happen next:
"'On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.'" (Exodus 12:12-13 NLT2)
Now, this Passover meal was being repeated, but this time the sacrificial lamb, with no defects, was Jesus himself. His blood would save all those who put their faith in him, who marked themselves with the "blood of the lamb." "...Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us." (1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT2)
"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT2)
Here in Luke we see Jesus willingly making this sacrifice for the sake of all people. Yet, he told his disciples to always remember what he had done. The Passover ritual, that helped the Jews remember how God saved them from the Egyptians, was being transformed into what we call the Lord's Supper or communion. A new ritual, to help us remember how God saved us from sin and death through the "spotless Lamb of God."
Yet, Jesus offered this sacrifice not just for those who were already his followers, but also for those who had not yet begun to follow him. He offered it for you and me, born two thousand years later, but he also offered it for those around us who don't yet know him or trust him. Jesus did this because he did not want a single one of us to die, and he invites us today to bring the lost and hurting to him, so his sacrifice can save them, too!
We can never repay Jesus for all he's done for us, but by faith we offer our lives back to him, to serve him and those he seeks to save. And as the church, the body of Christ, we're here to not only receive his gift, but to share it with the world around us.
