In this
section we will see the beginning of the Lord’s Supper. The event is most
significant, and therefore we will take several lessons to examine it. Let’s
begin with the preparations.
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(Mat 26:17-19 NIV)
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to
Jesus and asked, "Where do you want us to make preparations for you to
eat the Passover?" {18} He replied, "Go
into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My appointed
time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your
house.'" {19} So the disciples did as Jesus had directed
them and prepared the Passover.
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(Mark 14:12-16 NIV)
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to
sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you
want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"
{13} So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water
will meet you. Follow him. {14} Say to
the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room,
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' {15} He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready.
Make preparations for us there." {16} The disciples left,
went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they
prepared the Passover.
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(Luke 22:7-13 NIV)
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be
sacrificed. {8} Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the
Passover." {9} "Where do you want us to prepare for
it?" they asked. {10} He replied, "As
you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him
to the house that he enters, {11} and
say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room,
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' {12} He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make
preparations there." {13} They left and found things just
as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
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Preparation
In this little vignette we see
much of the mind of God. It reminds me very much of Jesus going fishing to pay
the Temple tax.
Jesus sees it this way:
·
“My appointed time is near.” This seems to be sufficient
explanation to the man with the upper room, whoever he might be. From this we
may gather that the owner of the upper room was a disciple, and one with an
understanding of what was to come.
·
The way that the disciples are to identify the house is
interesting. Go into the city, follow the first guy with a water jug, and ask
the owner of the house he goes into. One wonders; was that water going to be
used that night to wash the disciples feet? Did Jesus have it planned that
much in detail?
·
Whatever the preparation on earth, this makes one thing clear:
God controls. The seeming chance of a man with a water jar leads the disciples
to the right place. We need to remember such a “coincidence.”
Passover
For us to understand what is
about to happen, some basic facts about Passover are required. Our next lesson
will go over this in more detail, but here are some of the more pertinent
facts. We will focus mainly on the symbolic aspects, as these are the ones
which the Jew would remember.
·
Passover commemorates the Angel of Death “passing over” the homes
of the Jews while slaves in Egypt. In so doing, the Jews were given a
particular feast and ritual to perform.
·
In that feast the main course was lamb or goat. It did not
matter which, but the animal had to be “without defect.” This, of course, is
the symbolic picture of the sinless Christ being slain that we might be “passed
over.”
·
Bread in this feast was to be made without yeast. Yeast is
usually used as a symbol of sin and evil (because of the way it spreads through
the bread dough, like sin spreading through people.) So the people were to be
“without sin” in the ritual sense.
·
Such bread was to be the only type eaten for seven days – seven
being the number of completeness. So they were to be completely without sin.
·
It commemorates the “passing over,” but it also commemorates the
fact that God brought them out of Egypt (often a symbol of sinful life) “with a
mighty hand.” This is a phrase which would be used every year.
·
It is the defining moment of the nation of Israel. Before this,
they are tribes related to one another. After this, they are aware of being
the people of God, set apart for Him.
So, then, the event is one which
the disciples would, as a matter of prior religious learning, take most
seriously. We shall see how Christ transforms this meal into the Communion we
know today – and why.
The Dispute
There is certainly no clear
evidence of which passages from the various Gospels come in what order. I have
chosen to place this one next as it seems most likely to have happened that
way. Do you remember that jug of water? It may be that it is the start of
this dispute. To understand what they might have been arguing about, we need
to understand the times.
In those days, most houses did
not have a bath tub. If you wanted a bath (and it was a frequent occurrence
for the well-to-do) you went to a public bath house. You bathed in the heated
water there. Many of these have been found dating to the era of the Roman Empire.
Now, when you left the bath, you were clean – but you were also wearing
sandals. So when you got home, you needed to clean your feet again. This task
was usually assigned to one of the servants, and it was considered to be the
most menial of tasks. The “low man on the totem pole” got this job.
It is likely enough that the
disciples took turns performing this service for each other. I suspect that
the issue on this night turned on “who’s the most important here.” The
discussion also comes in the context of the disciples discussing who would
betray Jesus, so I think it possible that they were arranging the pecking
order. Luke then picks up the account:
(Luke 22:24-30 NIV)
Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
{25} Jesus said to them, "The kings of the
Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call
themselves Benefactors. {26} But you are
not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the
youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. {27} For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one
who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one
who serves. {28} You are those who have
stood by me in my trials. {29} And I
confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, {30} so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and
sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The way of the world
We have recently been privileged
to see the opening of the Getty Museum of Art, a magnificent building. I have
actually been to the Getty Museum (for a job interview). It is a stunning,
lavish complex. No expense has been spared. This is typical of the way the
world views “leadership.” The man with the money and the power (in this case,
J. Paul Getty) blesses us with this museum. He is, as the verses here
describe, a benefactor.
We see this in our economic
debates too. Much has been made of “trickle down” economics, the idea that we
increase the wealth of the wealthy so that their use of that wealth will
benefit the rest of us. Some say this works, some say it doesn’t, but the
point is that this is how the world works.
This does not make being a
benefactor a bad thing. On the contrary, it is a good thing. Those who are
rich are commanded to be generous.
Being a benefactor is a good thing. It is not, however, the best thing. And
the good is often the enemy of the best.
The way of Christ
Christ will now set out his way.
He reminds them of his example, that he is among them as one who serves. This
is a potent thing, example. Christ does not just tell his disciples, he leads
them.
He also makes it clear that if
they follow, great will be their reward. If you suffer with Him, you will
reign with Him. All the blessings of the triumphant Christ are to be theirs
because they are the ones who have stuck with Him.
Notice something: there is no
particular set of experiences referenced. It is not a quid pro quo; it is
that they have “stood with him” in his trials. We often seek for the grand
things to do, when our Lord asks us for the small things. Jesus asks us to
stand by Him so that we might reign with Him.
How small? The next bit of
teaching will show us that.
Washing the Disciples’ Feet
(John 13:1-20 NIV) It
was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him
to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the
world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. {2} The evening
meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son
of Simon, to betray Jesus. {3} Jesus knew that the Father had put all
things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
{4} so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a
towel around his waist. {5} After that, he poured water into a basin and
began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped
around him. {6} He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are
you going to wash my feet?" {7} Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you
will understand." {8} "No," said Peter, "you
shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless
I wash you, you have no part with me." {9} "Then, Lord,"
Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as
well!" {10} Jesus answered, "A person
who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And
you are clean, though not every one of you." {11} For he
knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was
clean. {12} When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his
clothes and returned to his place. "Do you
understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. {13} "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for
that is what I am. {14} Now that I, your
Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's
feet. {15} I have set you an example that
you should do as I have done for you. {16} I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master,
nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. {17} Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do
them. {18} "I am not referring to
all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture:
'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.' {19} "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it
does happen you will believe that I am He. {20} I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts
me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me."
Pause with me a moment. This is
the art of teaching at its highest. Please notice how Jesus teaches:
Timing
·
Jesus does this at the most sacred of feasts, when their minds
are most tuned to what God has done for them. It is not just the act itself,
but when the act is performed.
·
He does it as they are arguing over who is the greatest! Here he
seizes what they themselves are doing wrong, and turns it into an object
lesson.
·
He waits until the meal has started. He does not do it
beforehand, where the meaning might get lost in the shuffle. He waits until
they cannot help but notice.
Gesture
The gesture itself cannot be
mistaken. It is so “low” as to be completely unambiguous. The very
ordinariness of the act raises this to an art.
It is also an example for us to
imitate. It says, by that example, that nothing is so “low” as to be beneath
us. It also says that nothing is so trivial that it cannot be done as a
service to God.
Waiting
We are told to “wait upon the
Lord.” Note, in verse 3, the divine timing. The rationale John gives us is
that the Father has put all things under Jesus feet, and that He came from God
and was returning to Him – so that determines the moment to wash the disciples’
feet.
Note one other thing, too. When
Peter objects (Peter seems to be the mouth of the disciples) Jesus gives him
only the briefest of explanations. He carries on – and when he is completely
done, then he explains. How often we are inclined to explain all at every
step! Rather, we should examine God’s timing and stay silent so that our
actions may speak.
Principle: servant and master
The servant is not above the
master. I am less than Christ. If He washes the feet of the disciples, what
then is so low that I cannot be tasked to do it? What then is so trivial that
I cannot take the time for it?
The two things go together: the
humbling of the servant and the ultimate exaltation of the servant. Paul puts
it this way:
(Phil 2:5-11 NIV) Your
attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: {6} Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
{7} but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness. {8} And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! {9} Therefore
God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, {10} that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, {11} and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
If you
suffer with Him, you will reign with Him. Your attitude should be the same as
His. Indeed, if you are His, you should imitate Him in all things. Here is an
excellent place to start.