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Scripture Reading: Luke 22:7-46
In the foregoing message we pointed out that in 22:7-20 we have both the Passover and the Lord’s supper. In verses 7 through 18 there is a record concerning the eating of the Passover, and in verses 19 and 20, a record concerning the Lord’s instituting His supper so that the disciples may participate in His death. In the Passover the main thing enjoyed by God’s chosen people was the lamb. The meat of the lamb was for them to eat. But in the Lord’s table the main item for us to enjoy as New Testament believers is not a lamb; the main item for our enjoyment is bread. This is very significant, and in this message we need to consider this in more detail than we have done previously.
When the Lord Jesus was offered to God for our redemption, He was offered not as bread but as a Lamb. However, the outcome is not the Lamb but bread. The Lamb was a single entity, but bread is something corporate. It is not possible for a single grain of wheat to form a loaf of bread. A loaf is a corporate entity, something composed and constituted of many grains. With the feast of the Passover there is not the concept of feasting on something that is corporate in nature. But with the Lord’s table the symbols, especially the loaf, bear a very significant characteristic, and this characteristic is that of a corporate entity, a corporate body. It is very important that we realize this.
The loaf in the Lord’s table points to something that comes after the Lord’s death; it signifies something that issues from the Lord in His resurrection. What is signified by the loaf is not something before the Lord’s death, but something after His death and in His resurrection. Before His death, the Lord Jesus was a single, individual Lamb. But what issues out of His death in resurrection is a corporate entity. This entity is the loaf, the bread, which signifies a corporate body.
In the Gospel of Luke, of course, we do not see much development concerning the bread of the Lord’s table. We need to remember, however, that Luke’s impression of this came from Paul’s revelation. Regarding the bread, we should go from Luke 22 to Paul’s word in 1 Cor. 10:17: “Seeing that we who are many are one bread, one Body; for we all partake of the one bread.” Here we see that the bread signifies not only the physical body of the Savior; it also signifies His mystical Body, which is the church. This is not a matter of an individual; it is a matter of a corporate Body.
We are all one bread, one Body, because we all partake of the one bread. Our joint partaking of the one bread testifies that we all are one. This indicates that our partaking of Christ makes us all His one Body. The very Christ of whom we all partake constitutes us into His one Body.
In the Gospel of Luke the word “church” is not used. Nevertheless, there are certain hints, or indications, of the church in this Gospel. For instance, in chapter ten the inn refers to the church. Likewise, the house of the father in chapter fifteen indicates the church. Furthermore, there is a hint concerning the church in the parable of the vineyard in chapter twenty. The Jewish leaders are likened to vinedressers. According to 20:16, the vinedressers are destroyed, and the vineyard is given to others. These “others” are the New Testament believers, who are the components of the church. In 20:17 and 18 the Lord went on to refer to Himself as the cornerstone: “What then is this that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner?” This cornerstone surely is for the building up of the church. This is another strong indication that the church is referred to in this Gospel. Now in chapter twenty-two the loaf is related to the church. According to the development elsewhere in the New Testament, the loaf, the bread, signifies the Body of Christ, the church. Therefore, the loaf in 22:19 points to the church.
Before His death the Man-Savior was a Lamb. But after His death and in His resurrection, He became a loaf. In the Old Testament feast of the Passover the enjoyment was of the lamb, but in the New Testament feast the enjoyment is of the loaf. The Lamb has become a loaf through the process of death and resurrection.
At the Lord’s table we display, exhibit, the Lord’s death. But we display His death in His resurrection. Whenever we come to the Lord’s table, we should keep in mind that we are not in His death but in His resurrection. Because we are now participating in the loaf, in the Lord’s resurrection we are displaying His death. This loaf includes not only the Lord Himself; it includes the Lord with us. Therefore, the loaf is no longer the individual Christ; it is now the corporate Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), including the Lord Jesus and the believers.
In the institution of the Lord’s table the loaf is the main element. On the cross we see the Lamb, but on the table we see the loaf. When we are at the Lord’s table, we need to realize that the loaf includes the Head and the Body; that is, it includes Christ and all the believers. Hence, it is a complete loaf, a corporate entity. Praise the Lord that the Lamb has become the loaf! Through His death and in His resurrection, the Lamb has become the loaf. According to John 12:24, the Lord fell into the earth and died as a grain of wheat and then in resurrection became a loaf composed of many grains. This loaf is inexhaustible!
After considering the Lord’s table again and again for many years, I can testify that the bread and the cup are inexhaustible. Before the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He was the Lamb individually. But after passing through death and coming forth in resurrection, He became a loaf that includes both Him and us. Furthermore, the blood He shed on the cross has become a covenant, and this covenant has become a cup, a portion that is God Himself as a blessing for our enjoyment. God is alloted to us in this cup; He is our portion for us to enjoy. In this we see the significance of the Lord’s supper instituted in chapter twenty-two. We thank the Lord for giving us such an understanding of His supper.
It is not likely that Peter, James, John, and the other disciples understood the significance of the Lord’s supper when it was instituted. Peter might have said to himself, “The Lord speaks of a loaf and then of His body? What does this mean? How can a loaf be a body? A loaf is of the vegetable life, and a body is of the animal life. How can the vegetable life become the animal life? I don’t understand this.” Furthermore, James and John may not have cared for the loaf, but only for sitting on the Lord’s right and left. James may have said to himself, “I don’t care for this loaf. I care for the throne and for whether or not I shall sit at the Lord’s right or left.” The disciples had neither the heart nor the ears for the Lord’s word concerning the loaf and the cup.
We should learn of the disciples and be different. We should not care for the throne or for sitting at the Lord’s right or left hand. Rather, we should care for the loaf, the Body, the church life, and we should also care for the cup, for the Triune God being our portion for us to enjoy for eternity.
In His ministry, whether in Galilee or on the way to Jerusalem, the Man-Savior emphasized His death and resurrection. Three times He unveiled His death and resurrection to His disciples (9:21-22, 44-45; 18:31-34). Now with the institution of His supper the most important matter emphasized by Him was again His death and resurrection. It was through His death and resurrection that He terminated the disciples, buried them, redeemed them, and germinated them. By germinating them He made them one with Himself to be the loaf. Furthermore, through His death and resurrection He has brought us all into the Triune God as our blessing. Therefore, by His death and resurrection the Man-Savior has brought us into oneness with Himself as His Body and also into the enjoyment of the Triune God and all that He has been doing for us.
To be one with the Lord as the Body is a matter of life, and to enjoy the Triune God is a matter of blessing. At the Lord’s table we have the loaf signifying the Body in life, and we have the cup signifying the blessing of the Triune God. At the table we have life and blessing. Here we are free from bondage, and we are in the enjoyment of the Triune God. This is the significance of the Lord’s table as a sign of the jubilee.
In 22:21-23 we see that the Lord pointed out that one of the disciples would betray Him: “But behold, the hand of the one delivering Me up is with Me on the table. For the Son of Man indeed is going according to what has been determined; but woe to that man through whom He is delivered up! And they began to discuss among themselves who then of them it might be who was about to do this.” The one who was about to betray the Lord Jesus was, of course, Judas. After being exposed, Judas left (John 13:21-30) before the Man-Savior’s supper (Matt. 26:20-26). He did not participate in the Man-Savior’s body and blood, because he was not a real believer in Him but a son of destruction (John 17:12), considered by the Man-Savior even a devil (John 6:70-71).
Luke 22:21-23 seems to indicate that Judas left after the Lord’s supper, mentioned in 22:19 and 20. However, Mark’s record, as Matthew’s, shows that Judas was pointed out by the Lord Jesus as His betrayer in Mark 14:18-21 before He instituted His supper in verses 22-24. Mark’s record is according to historical sequence, whereas Luke’s record is according to the sequence of morality.
Do you know why the Lord Jesus exposed Judas? The Lord’s exposing him hastened the time when He would be delivered to the opposers. Knowing that the time was near for Him to be crucified, the Lord caused Judas to hasten to betray Him.
In Luke 22:24-38 the Man-Savior teaches the disciples about humility and foretells their stumbling. Verse 24 says, “And there was also a contention among them as to which of them was considered to be greater.” The Greek word rendered “contention” signifies a love of strife, an eagerness to contend. This verse indicates that the disciples did not have the heart or the ears to care for what the Lord was saying. While He was speaking about His body and blood, they were considering which of them was greater. Concerning this, there was a contention among them.
In verses 25 through 27 the Lord said to the disciples, “The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called benefactors. But you are not so, but let the greater among you become as the younger, and the one who leads as the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am in your midst as the one who serves.” The Lord’s word concerning serving is absolutely contrary to the natural self-seeking mind.
In verse 28 the Lord went on to say, “But you are those who have remained with Me in My trials.” Here the Lord seemed to be saying, “Do not think about the throne — think about My trials. I am about to be crucified. You need to forget about greatness and remember that you are now with Me in My trials, in My sufferings.”
In verses 29 and 30 the Lord continues, “And I appoint to you, even as My Father appointed to Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” The table here is the feast in the parable in Matthew 22:1-4 and the marriage feast in Revelation 19:9 for the overcoming saints. The Lord wanted the disciples to care not for the throne or for being great, but to care for the kingdom, the jubilee. Eating and drinking at His table in His kingdom will be in the coming age. That will be the time for the disciples to think about the throne.
In 22:31-34 the Lord told Peter that he would deny Him. Verses 31 and 32 say, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you to sift you as wheat; but I have beseeched concerning you that your faith may not fail; and you, once you have turned again, establish your brothers.” The pronoun “you” in verse 31 is plural, but in verse 32 it is singular. According to verse 33, Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.” The Lord replied, “I tell you, Peter, a cock will not crow today until you will deny three times that you know Me” (v. 34).
In verses 35 through 37 the Lord spoke to the disciples about buying a sword: “When I sent you without a purse and a bag and sandals, did you lack anything? And they said, Nothing. And He said to them, But now, let him who has a purse take it, likewise also a bag; and he who does not have anything, let him sell his garment and buy a sword. For I tell you that this which is written must be accomplished in Me, And He was reckoned with the lawless; for indeed that which concerns Me is having a consummation.” At that time people used to bring a sword just as they carried a purse and a bag for travel. The Savior’s word does not mean that He wanted the disciples to arm themselves to resist the coming arrest (see vv. 49-51; Matt. 26:51-54); it indicates the change in the people’s attitude toward Him.
The disciples did not understand the Lord’s word about buying a sword. They thought that they were about to fight with swords. This was the reason they said to Him, “Lord, look, here are two swords” (v. 38a). When He heard this, He said to them, “It is enough” (v. 38b). This indicates not that the two swords were sufficient, but that their conversation was enough (see 1 Kings 19:4).
Some readers of the New Testament have trouble understanding Luke 22:38. Neglecting grammar, these readers may think that the Lord is saying that the two swords were enough, when actually He was saying that the disciples’ conversation was enough, that it was sufficient. Here the Lord seemed to be saying, “Do not talk further about this. I don’t want to talk to you anymore because I have not been able to get through. When I spoke with you about My table, you did not understand anything. When I talked about your denial of Me and about your need to humble yourselves, you could not understand. Now you are telling Me that you have two swords here. Your conversation is enough. Let us go to a place so that we may pray.”
In 22:39-46 the Man-Savior prayed about the sufferings of His death and charged the disciples to pray. Verses 39 and 40 say, “And He came out and went according to His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” The place mentioned in verse 40 was Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36). The Man-Savior charged the disciples to pray so that they might be prepared to receive His death.
According to verse 42, the Lord Jesus prayed, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; however, not My will, but Yours be done.” The “cup” here refers to the Savior’s death on the cross.
In verse 42 the Man-Savior prayed that the Father’s will would be done. The Triune God determined in His divine plan in eternity past that the Second of the Divine Trinity should be incarnated and die on the cross to accomplish His eternal redemption for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose (Eph. 1:7-9). Hence, the Second of the Trinity was ordained to be the Lamb of God (John 1:29) before the foundation of the world, that is, in eternity past (1 Pet. 1:19-20), and in the sight of God, as the Lamb of God, He was slain from the foundation of the world, that is, from the existence of God’s fallen creatures (Rev. 13:8). After man’s fall, lambs, sheep, calves, and bulls were used for God’s chosen people as types (Gen. 3:21; 4:4; 8:20; 22:13; Exo. 12:3-8; Lev. 1:2), pointing to Him who was to come as the real Lamb foreordained by God. In the fullness of time, the Triune God sent the Second of the Divine Trinity, the Son of God, to come in incarnation to take a human body (Heb. 10:5) so that He might be offered to God on the cross (Heb. 9:14; 10:12) to do the will of the Triune God (Heb. 10:7), that is, to replace the sacrifices and offerings, which were types, with Himself in His humanity as the unique sacrifice and offering for the sanctification of God’s chosen people (Heb. 10:9-10). In His prayer here, immediately before His crucifixion, He prepared Himself to take the cup of the cross. He was willing to do this unique will of the Father for the accomplishment of the eternal plan of the Triune God.
