From Passover to Lord’s Supper – a sermon on Luke 22:1-23 by Rev. Colin Pretorius.

Symbols and signs are important things in our lives. They’re used to tell us things – such as to stop at an intersection. There are also status symbols – such as a luxury German car or a Rolex watch. But there are other symbols as well, such as the ring a man and a woman exchange when they get married. That ring is a symbol of their abiding love, and it is also a reminder of the fact that they’re married. We also have symbols such as the cross of Christ. And in the passage we’re looking at this morning, Jesus institutes a great symbol of faith – the Lord’s Supper. And to us today it is not just a symbol of His love and what He has done, but also a reminder of the fact that in Him we are one – we are part of the body of Christ. A few years ago I read the following description of the Lord’s Supper:^[1]

The Lord’s Supper is a beautiful commemorative supper where we are drawn together to remember the Lord’s death till He returns. It is a time of solemn reflection upon our individual lives to help us reflect on our relationships with God. And it is a time for us to examine our hearts, our minds, our motives, our ambitions, our thoughts and actions to see if they are in line with God’s will and His Word.

The celebration of the Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for those who are sincerely sorry for their sins and who renew their promises to life godly lives to have communion with the Lord and with each other. It is a communion, a togetherness, a joining together as people of God to remember and celebrate.

Our passage today tells us about the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and it sets it against the Feast of unleavened bread, which is also called the Passover. And this isn’t just some light background reading. It isn’t there to just fill up the pages, so to speak. No, it is there to point readers – you and me today too – to the origin of the Lord’s Supper. It is there to make the link to what happened in Israel’s history. So let’s look at the two feasts that we find in this passage:

• The feast of the Passover;
• The feast of the Lord’s Supper.

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[1] Kevin Higgins. The Lord’s great desire. 2003-06-29.