"Therefore let us keep the feast"
Today is Maundy Thursday in the Christian calendar, the day that Christians around the world remember the Last Supper that Jesus ate with his followers. In churches world over, whether they be grand cathedrals and basilicas, house churches in closed societies, or little white churches by the side of the road we'll gather tonight and celebrate the Lord's Supper, and in some cases follow Jesus' example by having a foot-washing.
There is a curiosity about this day that can be easily missed, however. The Synoptic Gospels are clear that this last meal with the disciples is the Passover meal, what is sometimes called a Seder meal. This was the meal described in great detail in Exodus 12. The Passover lambs were sacrificed and their blood smeared on the doorposts of the Israelite homes so that when the "the destroyer" (Exodus 12:23) passed through the land of Egypt, they would be spared the awful last plague- the death of all first-born. These lambs were to be roasted and eaten in haste, in preparation to leave at once the following day.
The curiosity comes when we read John's Gospel. According to John their meal is "before the festival of the Passover." This little discrepancy in chronology is actually very significant, and is a good warning to let each Gospel stand for itself. Following John's chronology Jesus' death takes place on the first day of the festival and he was, in essence a new Passover Lamb. In fact Paul refers to Jesus as our Passover Lamb in 1st Corinthians 5:7. Perhaps this is why John does not actually describe the supper itself in chapter 13. He refers to there being a supper, but doesn't describe it as Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, John focuses on the foot-washing and Jesus' subsequent teaching in the upper room.
Each year, the Revised Common Lectionary uses the same readings for Maundy Thursday- Exodus 12:1-14 (the institution of the Passover,) John 13's new commandment to love one another, and 1st Corinthians 11:23-26 as a description of the Last Supper. While we cannot now be absolutely sure of whether the Last Supper was a Passover meal or if Jesus was the Passover Lamb. Either way there is great symbolism. In the one case the last meal he shares is the Passover meal. In the other, he's crucified on the day of preparation and is in essence a new Passover lamb. However, let's play along with John. Jesus is crucified on the first day of the Passover- the Day of Preparation as it was called.
In the Passover, the blood of lambs was placed on the doorposts of the Israelites' homes for "the destroyer" was going to be going through all Egypt to strike all the first born. That first Passover night, the Hebrews were safe on a night that is almost too horrific to imagine. Now picture Jesus as the great sacrificial Lamb. The book of Hebrews describes Jesus' death in very sacrificial terms. Revelation uses the term "Lamb" twenty-seven times to refer to Jesus. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 5, "for Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore keep the feast..." We as Christians gather on the Day of Preparation safely under the blood of the ultimate sacrifice. In, and under the blood of the great sacrifice we rest safely. Jesus the great high priest is also the greatest sacrifice. Through this ultimate offering, we know that here we are delivered from all sin, guilt, and from everything that would cause us ultimate harm. In, under, and through the blood of this Lamb nothing takes us from the God us loves us.
There is a curiosity about this day that can be easily missed, however. The Synoptic Gospels are clear that this last meal with the disciples is the Passover meal, what is sometimes called a Seder meal. This was the meal described in great detail in Exodus 12. The Passover lambs were sacrificed and their blood smeared on the doorposts of the Israelite homes so that when the "the destroyer" (Exodus 12:23) passed through the land of Egypt, they would be spared the awful last plague- the death of all first-born. These lambs were to be roasted and eaten in haste, in preparation to leave at once the following day.
The curiosity comes when we read John's Gospel. According to John their meal is "before the festival of the Passover." This little discrepancy in chronology is actually very significant, and is a good warning to let each Gospel stand for itself. Following John's chronology Jesus' death takes place on the first day of the festival and he was, in essence a new Passover Lamb. In fact Paul refers to Jesus as our Passover Lamb in 1st Corinthians 5:7. Perhaps this is why John does not actually describe the supper itself in chapter 13. He refers to there being a supper, but doesn't describe it as Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, John focuses on the foot-washing and Jesus' subsequent teaching in the upper room.
Each year, the Revised Common Lectionary uses the same readings for Maundy Thursday- Exodus 12:1-14 (the institution of the Passover,) John 13's new commandment to love one another, and 1st Corinthians 11:23-26 as a description of the Last Supper. While we cannot now be absolutely sure of whether the Last Supper was a Passover meal or if Jesus was the Passover Lamb. Either way there is great symbolism. In the one case the last meal he shares is the Passover meal. In the other, he's crucified on the day of preparation and is in essence a new Passover lamb. However, let's play along with John. Jesus is crucified on the first day of the Passover- the Day of Preparation as it was called.
In the Passover, the blood of lambs was placed on the doorposts of the Israelites' homes for "the destroyer" was going to be going through all Egypt to strike all the first born. That first Passover night, the Hebrews were safe on a night that is almost too horrific to imagine. Now picture Jesus as the great sacrificial Lamb. The book of Hebrews describes Jesus' death in very sacrificial terms. Revelation uses the term "Lamb" twenty-seven times to refer to Jesus. Paul says in 1st Corinthians 5, "for Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore keep the feast..." We as Christians gather on the Day of Preparation safely under the blood of the ultimate sacrifice. In, and under the blood of the great sacrifice we rest safely. Jesus the great high priest is also the greatest sacrifice. Through this ultimate offering, we know that here we are delivered from all sin, guilt, and from everything that would cause us ultimate harm. In, under, and through the blood of this Lamb nothing takes us from the God us loves us.
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