His Own Supper

From: The Christian Shepherd: 2001 By: John Gifford Bellett

Luke 22:7‑20 • 1 min. read • grade level: 4

Luke 22:7-20⁷Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. ⁸And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. ⁹And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? ¹⁰And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. ¹¹And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? ¹²And he shall show you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. ¹³And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. ¹⁴And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. ¹⁵And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: ¹⁶For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. ¹⁷And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: ¹⁸For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. ¹⁹And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. ²⁰Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. (Luke 22:7‑20)

The Lord institutes His own supper. He did not eat of this. He merely gave it to them. He could not take of it. He does not need redemption—purchase by blood. He says, “This do in remembrance of Me.” There is a deep and blessed secret in these words. That which in other days was anticipative is now retrospective.

The passover table anticipated the coming of the Lord to die. The Lord’s supper is a memorial. What has occasioned the change? “This is My body.” The Son from the bosom of the Father took a body: “A body hast Thou prepared Me.” Now we come in on the principle that sin has been remitted—put away; it is there no more.

Now He has spread a table at which I remember that I was once in my sins, but that sin has been put away. The body prepared of God has been broken (although a bone of Him was not broken—see John 19:36³⁶For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. (John 19:36)) on the accursed tree. Now sin is put away forever. The whole character of the feast turns on the victim and we see how the thoughts of all are on death. So are the Lord’s, but with this difference. They were thinking of Him as a martyr; He was thinking of a sacrifice—the victim character He was about to fulfill. The Lord died in two characters: a martyr at the hands of man and a victim at the hand of God. Yet in all this how sad to see the disciples now thinking of their own pride, rather than His death.

J. G. Bellett (from Notes on the Gospel of Luke)

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