Read: Luke 22:1-23
Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. 7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
When I encounter things too hard or lofty for me to think about, I often just don’t think about them. I run to my phone to play a game or do some scrolling through mindless social media, or I go bake something. I sometimes wonder why I do this instead of engaging in the hard things, and then I have my answer: I don’t want to engage in the hard things. I want to ignore them or save them for later. I want to think about them another time, and in many ways, I hope they will resolve themselves, so I won’t have to actually do anything about them. Surely I am not the only one who does this?
However, as we have read and studied Luke, we find over and over again that Jesus does not take this approach. He boldly confronts the hard things. He doesn’t back down, but instead, He faces them, names them, and says them out loud.
In this passage, Jesus knows the time is approaching when he will face the cross. But though that looms in his mind, he still has hard things to face this night with his disciples. He says the things they need to hear.
Jesus tells them he wants to spend time with them before he suffers; he tells them that his body will be broken, and his blood will be poured out for them. He states that one who dines with him will betray him, and things will not go well for that person. After all this is said, the only reaction the disciples seem to have is wondering who is the betrayer in the group. Did they not hear about his body and his blood? Did they not hear that he will suffer? Did they not hear that he wants to be with them?
Maybe those around him didn’t understand the depths of what Jesus was saying. Maybe we struggle to understand the depths of what he said that night.
He knew what the next 24 hours would bring to bear on him physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The hard things were not hidden to Him; they were before Him and in the forefront of his mind.
Yet, he reclined. He ate. He spoke of the future. He showed his love to this group. He gave them hope of what His love would do for them.
It seems that those at the table were focused on the wrong things, and yet Jesus didn’t shy away from speaking the hard things. Maybe he knew they would get it eventually. Maybe he knew they couldn’t/wouldn’t understand-not yet.
Would I have understood? Would you? We cannot truly understand what it was like in that room that night, but God has given us his word -this word- so that we understand.
As Jesus spoke the hard things to his disciples, we listen in because the hard things he says to his disciples he says to us as well. But maybe the hardest thing we need to hear is “remember.”
There is a plea, a command in that word that those he went to the cross for would not forget him. They would remember him. They would honor him. They would serve his father as he did.
Let us listen to the hard things Jesus is saying. Let us not skirt around them or bypass them. But instead, let us listen with intention. Listen and remember.
