Luke 22, verses 7 through 13. Then came the day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it. They said to him, Where will you have us prepare it? 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, and tell the master of the house, the teacher says to you, where is the guest room that I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room furnished, prepare it there. And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover." Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we ask for your blessing on our time in the word this morning as we come to your word, we pray that you would illumine our hearts. Your word is clear, it's our hearts that are often darkened. We pray that you would shine through the text upon our hearts that we might have understanding of the truth as it is in Jesus. Reveal Christ to us. We pray, God, that you'd help us to see our need for him and the grace that's in Jesus, full and free, that we might take And God, we pray that you would bless us here who gathered this morning with salvation, with comfort and blessing, and God, that you would accomplish your purposes in us to conform us to the image of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen. Once when I was in high school, I hit a neighbor's mailbox with my car when I was, I briefly dozed off while driving. Briefly, I was out late and I was very tired and I had done so well keeping my eyes open. until I was about four or five houses down from my own house. And the good thing was that the sound of my side view mirror destroying the neighbor's mailbox or breaking against a mailbox, it woke me up pretty well. And I made it the rest of the way home safely. And I remember falling into bed exhausted and thinking, one probably shouldn't stay out that late with probably Lauren or my friends or something we were goofing off and, and, and And I was also thinking maybe no one would notice. But of course the next morning it didn't take long for my dad to notice and let's just say he helped me straighten things out with a neighbor. It was actually a pretty comical experience. Our neighbor didn't speak good English and didn't understand why I'd hit his mailbox. thinking maybe I did it on purpose or something and I tried to explain to him it wasn't on purpose, that I would pay for it. But when we've done wrong, there's always the vain hope that no one will notice. Maybe they won't notice that your side view mirror is dangling off the side of your car. Or that the house that's four doors down from you has paint that's on the mailbox that matches the paint of your vehicle. It's lying on the road. Because if no one notices, and there'll be no consequences, that's why we hope that no one notices, and we drive a little too fast, passed a parked police officer, and what do we do? We let off the gas, we shift down, we pump the brakes, and we hope and we pray he didn't notice. And our spouse says, did they see you? Are they turn the lights on? I don't know. I wouldn't go in that fast. We worry. But with God, this is truly a vain hope. God sees us all, and he sees all that we do. He's omniscient. He's all-knowing. It is truly a vain hope to think that perhaps our sins, our transgressions against God's law will go unnoticed or will somehow go unpunished. God sees you and he knows you and the things you've done. Nevertheless, is it possible that we might escape consequence? That God might overlook our transgressions and somehow, if not, not notice if he will pass over our sins? And this is essentially what Passover is all about, which features prominently in our passage this morning in Luke 22, The Passover is mentioned five times. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is mentioned twice. It is an emphasis of this passage that Jesus himself and Luke, as he tells the story of Jesus, is trying to make this connection between Jesus in the last week, in the final days of his life, and the celebration and observance of Passover. The Passover was, along with the Exodus of which it was a part, the primary Old Testament symbol of redemption. There's nothing else, and there are many instances in which God came through for his people and delivered them from their enemies or even spared them in spite of their sin and passed over them in judgment. Of course, this is a theme which is found throughout Scripture, and in many places we see God saving. and a salvation that we might say is a lower case S salvation, not the salvation that we have through Jesus Christ. But there's nowhere in scripture outside of the cross of Christ and the work of Jesus Christ that is so prototypical of God's redemption. It's the symbol that when God's people thought of the Exodus, when they thought of the Passover and the Exodus, that was the great salvation. They could only hope that God would always deal with them thus. Year after year the people of God remembered when the Lord brought judgment upon the land of Egypt. He struck down every firstborn among them as he promised that he would do in this final and terrible plague. It was a great judgment to be sure, but itself was a picture of the sort of destruction that will finally come upon all mankind. It was only the firstborn son who was destroyed. It wasn't all the people, although certainly all people who have sinned against God deserve death, because the basis for all of God's judgments, including this one there at the Passover when God visited judgment upon the people of Israel, the basis for all of God's judgments, in the words of the prophets, the soul that sinneth shall die. Or as Paul puts it, the wages of sin is death. And so the great question is, how shall any of us live? Because all of us have sinned and all of us deserve the kind of death that we see pictured in the Passover and executed on a number of people that all people deserve. Can we escape such judgment? Can we live? But this is exactly what happens in Exodus chapter 12. The Lord overlooks the sin of his people and he passes over them in judgment. They're spared. They live. How so? It's because of the sacrifice they were required to make. You know the story. I hope that you're familiar. If not, go and read Exodus this afternoon to refresh yourselves or to learn, perhaps, of how God saved. He required his people to make sacrifice. of a lamb without spot or blemish, a year old. And so this lamb was slain and the blood of the lamb was substituted for the blood of the sinner, the firstborn son. Every year the Passover was a reminder that salvation was only possible through substitutionary sacrifice. And so no small wonder that Jesus seeks to draw this connection between the Passover and its meaning, which God's people had just been drilled in the meaning of the Passover as they celebrated it, and they had this visual reminder, just as we have a very visual reminder that we take when we take the Lord's Supper together, we have this, and this is what we're coming to and we'll look at next week, is the Last Supper, the basis for the Lord's Supper and for communion. But there's the significance of this that Jesus wishes us to understand in relation to the significance and the meaning of his work. What he did, why was it important? Of course, there are some people who say, well, Jesus is important because he set such a great example for us and his love for others and his willingness to just sort of sacrifice all for friendship or for love or something like this. It's an example for us. Or maybe he taught us many great things and so he's a great teacher. Oh, they were the best. religious teachers and philosophers throughout human history, but it's so much more than that. Jesus wants us to understand the connection between what he did, what that means, and the meaning of Passover. And so Jesus is at pains to draw the connection between this primary Old Testament symbol of redemption and what is happening to him in the final days of his life. And if we're to find comfort and salvation in Jesus, if you're to find comfort salvation in Jesus. Then you too must draw this connection between the Passover of the Jews and the passion or the suffering of Jesus Christ. Let's begin by considering the Passover and the priority of Jesus. The priority of Jesus that we see here in verse 7 where we read, Then came the day of unleavened bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. As we go on, you see there's a real urgency with Jesus. There's a sense of, we even see here in the instructions that he gives, that he's telling Peter and John to go and to prepare. And there's a little bit, I think, in the question they ask, there's a little bit of unbelief. for them, that he would even ask them to do such a thing. The question that really expresses this, I think, is in verse 9. Where will you have us prepare it? You know, you have to remember that at this time, the day before Passover, Jerusalem, which wasn't really a large city in terms of its population, the population of Jerusalem swelled to many times its normal size with the number of Jewish pilgrims that were coming to celebrate Passover there. And people had guest bedrooms. They had upper rooms that were on the roof of their homes and were typically accessible only through sort of an outer staircase. So it was almost like a separated apartment all to its own. And they weren't allowed to charge for people to use during these festivals or these holy days. And so this is where these Jewish people from outside of of Jerusalem would come and they would observe Passover. But we're talking about right now the day before Passover. Think for a moment if you were to have some friend that were to call you on the phone the week before the Masters Tournament or even the day before and say, can you find me a rental house in Augusta? You say, I don't think I can do that. And if I could, I don't think you could afford it or I could afford to pay what people are charging. You've picked a bad time to come to Augusta the day before the Masters Golf Tournament, and yet Jesus is adamant that they celebrate the Passover. It's very important for them to do so, even in some of the ways that he gives them instructions. It's somewhat secretive. you get the distinct impression that this is... He doesn't send all the disciples. He himself certainly isn't going to make these preparations, but he sends two of his most trusted disciples to go. It's almost as if they're sort of code words that are being used. Go to this person who you'll recognize in this way and say to him this and he'll know what you mean. Well, the fact is we've just read in the first six verses of this chapter that the plot is really thickening And the schemes that are being made and the plans to destroy Jesus, to betray him by one of his own disciples is growing. So the threat against his life is mounting. And of course he has to die, but he's so adamant. He wants to celebrate Passover before that day comes and not be betrayed before this. And of course we know it'll come just hours after he celebrates this Passover meal, but this meal has to be taken first. There's priority in this. There's a sense of necessity even. In verse 7 you see this language that the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. There's a Greek word, day, which means it is necessary. It's necessary that this Passover lamb be sacrificed. And this drives Jesus to send some of his trusted disciples to go and to make perhaps even secretive plans so that he's not betrayed until he can keep Passover and he can celebrate this with his disciples. Why is it necessary that Passover be celebrated? Well, in one sense, it's not really necessary. We don't celebrate Passover after all. That is an observance. an Old Testament religious practice or observance that is no longer for Christians. We don't observe or practice this. It has its fulfillment in Christ. The author of the book of Hebrews tells us that these things never take away sins. It's not as if the blood of these lambs or goats has actually brought you real forgiveness and a pardon for sin and brought you to God and given you eternal life. All of it is just symbolic. It is to spur your faith in God, just like you can't take the Lord's Supper this morning and expect this to save you. This is symbolic. It points you to what does save you. It gives you something that you can take and you can touch and you can eat and taste. It reminds you of what God's done for you in Christ and it spurs your faith. It's an encouragement to faith. But in and of itself, there's nothing here that actually brings you salvation. God himself, he mediates blessings through this institution of the Lord's Supper. What was the same with Passover? It wasn't, strictly speaking, absolutely necessary. If you, for whatever reason, could not make this sacrifice, it didn't mean that you lost your eternal salvation. But here's what it points to. The necessity of a sacrifice. It had to be sacrificed in this sense. There must be a sacrifice for sins. There is no remission of sins without a sacrifice, and it's not the sacrifice of lambs. All of that, again, it's pointing forward, it's symbolic, but it's the sacrifice of Christ. And so this is why Jesus is so adamant that this be fresh in the minds of his disciple and the people before his crucifixion. Why is it that Jesus was betrayed on this night? Why was it that he was crucified on this day in which he was crucified, on that Good Friday? because all the people were to draw this connection between the Passover and the cross of Christ. He died no criminal's death. It wasn't just an ordinary execution and public humiliation and torture and excruciating death. The meaning of it is more than that. It is that the cross was his altar upon which he was both priest and sacrificial offering to offer up himself for the remission of the sins of his people. And so it is necessary. You need a sacrificial lamb. You need this. It is necessary that this sacrificial lamb be sacrificed for you. And so if you put yourself in the mindset of a first century Jew, then it's very important. In fact, it feels absolutely necessary for you to offer the sacrifice of a lamb. Today we don't think about this, we don't make these kinds of sacrifices, but you need to remember that that need has not diminished. That need has not diminished. You need a sacrifice for sins. Do you have a Lamb? And there's only one Lamb whose sacrifice is accepted for us. It's the one that John the Baptist called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, who is Jesus. And He has been crucified. He's died. Has He died for you? Is that sacrifice, does it cover your sins? Is it a veil for the forgiveness of your sins? I hope that it does. It can only be so if you have faith in Christ. But there's the necessity of sacrifice that's pictured here in the Passover, and we see this priority of Jesus in these words. Secondly, we see the Passover and the provision of Jesus in verses 8 through 12. The disciples are somewhat incredulous. I mean, I can't believe, I don't know if they said this, but you can imagine them after Jesus, they're walking away and Peter and John talking amongst themselves. I can't believe he would ask them. You know, he's the Messiah. I'm not trying to question him, but how in the world are we going to find him? a room on this day. Every room in Jerusalem is occupied. Not only that, this is just the beginning. We've got to gather the wine, the bitter herbs. We've got to find this yearling lamb without spot or blemish. We've got to take it to be sacrificed and we've got to make all of these preparations, the unleavened bread, all of it, in order to celebrate the Passover. This is a tall order. lot to ask and yet notice that that as this is Jesus really he's calling his disciples to sit to observe Passover with him and what will become the last Passover meal in the first celebration of the Lord's Supper that as he calls us to do this he's making all the provisions for it and so where will you have us prepared well he's already got a place in mind There's some question or debate as to whether Jesus is merely predicting what will happen or if he's made pre-arrangements with someone in Jerusalem and is just telling his disciples. I don't know. There's no way. It's just speculation. It seems to me on the surface, I read this as prediction and not pre-arrangement, but there are many people who believe that Jesus has already made arrangements. It doesn't matter. It's immaterial whether he did or not. The point is, that Jesus himself is, he is making the arrangements, whether in an ordinary way or whether in an extraordinary way, in a miraculous way, he is the one who is ensuring they have a place, that all of the things that are necessary for them to observe this meal together, that Jesus is making provision for it. And so they prepare the Passover. because Jesus has himself furnished their needs. When we come to Jesus, our Passover lamb, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, be reminded, friend, that Jesus is making all provisions for you, that you might eat at the table of God and enjoy the blessings of fellowship with God. He's not asking you to bring a thing. Just like with Peter and John, he doesn't tell them, well, figure it out. No, do your best. He's not telling you as someone who seeks after God, who would come to God and receive the blessings that are in Christ. He's not asking you to come with your best works. To shape up, do a little better. He's not asking you to earn or to merit your place with Him or anything like this. What God requires, what He's calling you to, He Himself provides for you. And so we see this picture of Jesus as He is Himself the sacrifice that we need. He's the priest who offers the sacrifice. He's done it all for us. Salvation is the work of Christ. Salvation isn't a cooperative work between us and God. It doesn't really involve us at all. Salvation is something that is proclaimed to us as already having been accomplished, that we merely receive it by faith, which is not a work. It's actually a gift of God. It's a grace. And so God is calling us to receive what he does, what he provides. Salvation is something that is provided for us by the Lord himself. One mistake that people make is, and for whatever reason, a misunderstanding of the gospel, perhaps a sense of guilt. You know, we have this, if someone buys you a gift, In certain cultures, in the South it's true, in Latin America this is true, in parts of the Middle East, in basically warm weather climates. For whatever reason, people have this culture of reciprocity, and if you give a gift, it's expected that you get a gift, and maybe you feel a sense of that. If someone gives you a gift, you think, now I gotta get them a gift. And maybe you wanna do that, or maybe you don't, but you feel this necessity upon you to make some return. Well, it's not a bad thing. We ought to seek to make some return for what God has given to us in Christ, to give Him a sacrifice motivated by gratitude, a living sacrifice, our own lives. And yet, this isn't a part of salvation. We don't see what God has done for us in Christ and say, if I'm to receive the blessings of salvation, I must somehow give God a gift in return in order to receive the gift that he would give to me. So whatever gifts we seek to give to God, we can't see them as the cause of our salvation. We can't see them as earning anything with God. God is not withholding. of salvation until we've somehow done for Him or given something to Him, become empty-handed, become without merit, become unworthy before Him, and God has done it all. And if we would, as an effect of salvation, as the result of our salvation, if we want to give God our lives, then that is the mark of a true Christian, someone whose heart has been changed and they're overflowing with gratitude, and that looks an awful lot like us trying to make a return to God for the things he's done for us. But it has nothing to do with our salvation. Our salvation is something that is a gift of God and is the provision of Jesus Christ. And I think we see that here. I think that his disciples saw that almost miraculously Jesus had laid the table before them and they could eat the Passover And if I were to invite you over to my house for lunch and Lauren, not I, but if Lauren were to have cooked a feast, you'd be surprised that there was food scattered throughout the table and side dishes and desserts and meats and everything like this. You'd be surprised and delighted that you didn't have to prepare anything. You were just told to sit, to take in and eat. That's what we do. We come to the Lord's table. As we come to a table that has been laid with the richest fare, And Christ himself has made this provision for us, and he just simply tells us to come and eat. And we can be surprised and delighted that through no effort of our own, we have such blessings because of what Christ has provided for us. So we see the Passover and the provision of Jesus. And finally, we see the Passover and the promises of Jesus. The promises of Jesus. In verse 13, we read this. They went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Just a simple note that Jesus' words proved true. They were trustworthy. They were true. The things that he told them would happen, they took place. They were able to take him at his word. These things came to pass, and as a result, they enjoyed these blessings. And I would just say to you to take Jesus at his word. Throughout the Bible, we have, in the Word of Christ, promises that are made, that speak to us of salvation, of blessings, that come to us through what Christ has done for our sake. And these promises must be believed. This is really the essence of faith, is to take God at His Word, that He has done and will do the things that He's promised to do, that Jesus is who He says He is, that He is a sufficient Savior, that if He would, He could save even you and bring you to heaven and make a forgiveness for your sins. And the promise is that He will if you come to Him. And so we take him at his word, we believe these promises, and we have such confidence because we know, I've not saved myself, Jesus has saved me. These promises saved me, I'm just simply believing that his word is true. That I won't get to the gates of heaven someday or come before God in judgment and be disappointed. And Jesus has made a promise and yet he's broken his promise. And I believed that he would save me, but now he's telling me, well, I didn't really know everything that you've done. I'm taking a little bit of back at how awful you are, how unworthy you've been. And then he reneges on his promises he's made. That's inconceivable, that God's word would fail in such a way. It was just as he had told them. And you will find it, if you trust in Christ, to be just as he tells you in his word. In Hebrews 10, 5 and following, we read that sacrifices and offerings you have not desired. Passover sacrifices were just pointing forward to Christ. The preparation was made. Jesus came as a man. He lived, he suffered, he died. And that sacrifice has been made. And Jesus sat down at the right hand of God in glory. The sacrifice has been made. Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me, we're told. by the author of the book of Hebrews, quoting from Psalm 46 through eight. There is one sacrifice that avails, that will actually count, which can save you. It's the sacrifice which Jesus has made. And I would just call on you this morning to look to Jesus and to be saved. Look to him and believe his promise. Don't fail to believe. Don't go on in unbelief, putting the word of Christ aside as if he could be false, as if this is unreal in some way. Be saved, trust in Christ and the sacrifice that he's made, and know for certain that you are in Christ. The blessings of salvation are yours as we pray together. Father God, we thank you for what you've done for us in Christ, the preparation that you've made for our salvation. God, the provision that you've made. And God, we're reminded again today of this preparation and this salvation that we have in Christ as we take the Lord's Supper. We find that you have provided for us through these simple earthly elements of bread and wine, we have spiritual blessings that come to us by your Holy Spirit. God, they're not of our own doing. They don't come from our scanty resources, but God, they come from your rich abundance. We pray that you would help us to look to Christ and receive the grace that's in him. As we make this connection between the Passover and everything that it meant to the people of God so long ago, help us to be reminded of the meaning of the passion, of the suffering, and the death of Jesus for us and for our salvation. and help us to glory in it. We pray that you would nourish us in Christ this morning as we pray these things together in Christ's name, amen.