Maundy Thursday Reflection

Tonight we celebrate The Last Supper, which Jesus had with his disciples before his crucifiction. At a service tonight, I was struck by the reminder that The Last Supper was actually a passover feast, which celebrated the Israelites freedom from slavery hundreds of years before. During the first passover feast, the Israelites, enslaved to the Egyptian Pharaoh, were told by God that they were to sacrifice a lamb and wipe its blood on the doorposts of their homes. This act saved them from the judgement which God was bringing down on the Egyptians. They then ate the lamb meat with unleavened bread.

So, Maundy Thursday is actually the remembrance of a meal (The Last Supper), which was the remembrance of a meal (The Passover Feast). Jesus’ speech that night was loaded with symbolism as he began to reveal to his disciples that his body and his blood were taking the place of the passover lamb. And they would have to eat and drink it to be saved.

“Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”    Matthew 26:26-29

So, what strikes me about this is WHAT A STORYTELLER GOD IS. He has His people celebrate this event for 1500 years which is only a metaphor pointing to their ultimate deliverance. And this is not just one reference which is tied in to the story. This is the climax of an amazingly elaborate story written over a period of thousands of years. A few reference points of foreshadowing include.

1. 2000 BC Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. He would say that “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” Genesis 22:8

2. 1440 BC  The First Passover. “The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.” Exodus 12:13-14

3. 800 BC The prophet Isaiah spoke of a messiah “like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” and “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53

4. ~30 AD After John spends some time with Jesus “The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

5. ~30 AD The Last Supper.  Jesus celebrates the Passover Feast with his disciples, revealing that he is the ultimate sacrifice, satisfying the requirement to reunite us with God once and for all.

If God is the author of a story so amazing, so beautiful, so captivating, how could I even begin to dare to not trust Him with my own story. If in His orchestrated master plan, He included the sacrifice of His own Son, how could I doubt His love for me. If I truly get these two truths 1) He is entirely sovereign and The Master Storyteller and 2) He is more for me than even I, or anybody else I know is, then I should sleep very easy tonight, and every night.

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” 2 Corinthians 4:17