Luke 22:14-23
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” 23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. [1]
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What struck me today is Jesus’ simple statement that he had eagerly desired to eat the Passover with his disciples before He suffered. And in particular the words “with you.” Jesus wanted to be with His disciples. This is an “IN” moment on top of everything else going on.
What is going on? Jesus is recasting the Passover to point to Him as the Lamb of God slain for the world to establish the New Covenant. He is establishing a new Passover to celebrate the covenant, a Passover meal celebrated not with a lamb but with bread and wine, by which His followers were to celebrate His sacrifice and their atonement.
But I think there’s something else going on here. Jesus wanted to be with His disciples, these men he had spent the last few years with. As He prepares to suffer, He wants to be with them. As He ushers in the new covenant He wants to be with them.
“With you” or “With us.” Those words are about presence. They are Immanuel (God with us). And a big part of what this meal is about, both in its institution and its celebration today, is presence. And that’s what struck me in thinking about this passage this morning. Jesus wants to be with His disciples. That’s you and me. He was with this group in the upper room. He is with us in our celebration of this meal. Christians have long wrangled over the appropriate vocabulary to use to describe this presence, but presence is clearly what Jesus is talking about. He was with His disciples. He is with us as we celebrate this meal. And this is what He eagerly desires. To be with us. To give us Himself. To include us in His covenant meal so He can include us in His family forever.
So my prayer is simply one of thanks to Jesus today. Thanks that He wants to be with me. Yes He wants to be with me in bread and wine, and that’s a special and unique gift. But He wants to be with me in other ways as well. I know He is with me in my morning abide time, with me as I write this. With me throughout my day. With me every in every challenge, in every interaction. My prayer is that I go through this day cognizant of His presence, and His eager desire to be with me.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 22:14–23). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
