The New Passover
Mark 14:12-25
Introduction: One
of our ladies who has taught children for years, reminded us at a recent Bible
study that kids are not afraid to ask questions! One of their favorite questions
seems to be “WHY?” Kids always want to know why we believe what we do, and
why we do the things that we do. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions! Time
and tradition can obscure the truth even for mature believers. One of the
things associated with the celebration of Passover was the practice of the
youngest child present to ask questions, “Mommy, why do we eat these foods?” “Daddy,
why do we do these things?” It is an opportunity to teach, and for all who are
present to be reminded, of the things that are really the basis of our faith.
As Passover was associated with the redemption of the Firstborn and of the
Exodus, Jesus used the bread and wine to symbolize His coming sacrifice and the
rescue He would accomplish… On the mount of transfiguration, Moses and Elijah
appeared there talking with Jesus. Moses would immediately be associated with
the Exodus from Egypt. Moses was used to lead them out, but Joshua would lead
them in. When Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain with Jesus, only Luke
tells us what they were talking about: His departure [the Greek word, “exodus”] which would soon be
accomplished in Jerusalem. Paul was quite explicit when he said, “...Christ, our Passover lamb, has been
sacrificed [for us]...” (2 Cor 5:17, ESV).
Context: Mark 14
began on a doubly ominous note: Passover was approaching, and the religious
leaders were actively plotting to put Jesus to death. The anointing of
Jesus at Bethany allowed for Him to make a reference to His coming death on the
eve of Passover, He said, “...she has
anointed my body for burial...” and at the same time that was apparently the
last straw for Judas as He went to the leaders with His intentions to
betray Jesus… We’ll see here in Mark
14:12-25...
The BIG Idea: Jesus fulfilled the Passover, a
reminder to the people of what God had done, and He gave His followers a new
ordinance, to reflect on the salvation He would accomplish for us.
I. Preparation of the Passover (12-17). This scene on the Eve of Passover is set in 14:12-13…
The way it happens is reminiscent of the preparations for the triumphal
entry a week earlier. There too we saw Jesus give a couple of disciples some
instructions about what was about to happen. Remember there we read in 11:1-6,
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem,
to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his
disciples 2 and said to them,
"Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it
you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring
it. 3 If anyone says to you,
'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back
here immediately.'" 4
And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and
they untied it. 5 And some of
those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the
colt?" 6 And they told
them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
The question then as here is chapter 14 is
whether this contact had been arranged by Jesus beforehand, or was it
sovereignly guided in the moment, or was it an indication of His divine omniscience?
Mark does not answer that question for us, but the implication seems to be
that this is another case of Jesus knowing details no mere man could know,
even about specific future events like this, and perhaps even guiding the
characters to do exactly as He desired. So here the question is regarding the
location of the Passover meal Jesus would share with his disciples… Back in our
context, we read in 14:13 ff...
12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the
Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and
prepare for you to eat the Passover?"
13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them,
"Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow
him, 14 and wherever he
enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, Where is my guest
room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 And he will show you a large
upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us." 16 And the disciples set out and
went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the
Passover. 17 And when it was
evening, he came with the twelve…
It seems Mark wants us to
know that Jesus is in control of the events leading to His death… He is guiding
[His]story as planned. On the face of it, the whole picture is an unlikely one.
First of all, in that setting, men did not normally carry water jars, that was usually
done by women, or sometimes by children or slaves. It was unusual enough that
coming into the city and seeing such a thing, the disciples would know this
is the person they needed to follow!
Everything would be arranged so that Jesus and the disciples would have
a place to share the Passover meal together. It had to happen in order to
fulfill all righteousness.
Mark refers to “...the first day
of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb.” This is another indication that the Passover,
and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, had virtually merged in the first century. In
John’s Gospel, John makes a point that Jesus was crucified at the hour that the
Passover lambs were sacrificed (John 19:14ff.). How could that be if we see
here in Mark Jesus sharing the Passover with His disciples? I don’t know for sure! A few ideas have been
proposed, but scholars haven’t come to a consensus. There may have been
differences in the celebration between Galilean pilgrims and Judean locals. Or
there may be a difference between Mark’s time references as He writes to a
Roman audience, and that of John as He writes a “Jewish” gospel. For my part,
at this point, the best I can do is to take each account at face value. Jesus,
the Lamb of God, was killed in association with the Jewish Feast of Passover,
and He had a last supper with His disciples which they shared in association
with the Passover feast. The point is
that Jesus fulfilled the Passover, which was a reminder to the Jews of what
God had accomplished, and Jesus transformed that meal, giving His followers a
symbolic meal, this last supper became the Lord’s supper, for them to
anticipate and for us to reflect on the salvation He accomplished for us. So...
II. Prediction of Betrayal at The Final Passover – In the previous context, after the
anointing of Jesus by the woman (Mary) in the house of Simon, Judas had just
gone out and conspired with the leaders to betray Jesus… and now, just a few
days later, Jesus reveals to the twelve, including Judas, that He knows! NB.
Jesus was not caught by surprise by His betrayal… and still, He does
nothing to stop it from happening. The disciples clearly had no idea, no
suspicions, as to who the traitor might be—they all asked, “Lord, is it I?” The sense of the
question seems to be, “Lord, it’s not me, is it?”
18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly,
I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." 19 They began to be sorrowful and
to say to him one after another, "Is it I?" 20 He said to them, "It is
one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it
is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It
would have been better for that man if he had not been born."
It is a shocking scene, Jesus with His twelve closest disciples, reclined
at table, sharing a meal together. Jesus had repeatedly told them what would
soon happen, the Son of Man would be handed over, put to death, and rise again
the third day (8:31; 9:31; 10:32-33). They didn’t seem to understand what He
was saying. In Bethany he had just said He was anointed for His burial, all of
which spurred Judas to contact the leaders. Now, as He reveals the unthinkable,
that one at the table would be His betrayer, they are saddened, and one-by-one
ask, Lord, is it me? The fact is, they
would all soon betray Him at some level, Peter by denying Him three times. The
others, by being scattered deserting Him as Jesus is arrested. However, only
for one, for Judas, is this “premeditated betrayal,” essentially revealing His
unbelief. Imagine how shocking this
statement of Jesus must have been to him! “One of you twelve will betray me!”
Judas must have thought, “How could He possibly know?! Did He have a spy in the Sanhedrin? Was I
talking in my sleep? Or... is He really… no, it couldn’t be!”
At another level, as we have seen, it had to happen this way. It was
written. It was necessary for the Son of Man to be betrayed into the hands of
sinners. But divine sovereignty does not
negate human responsibility. Scripture predicted the betrayal of the Messiah.
Here, Jesus predicts His betrayal by one of the twelve. God’s plan will
come to pass. And Judas is responsible for the unimaginable treachery of
betraying the Son of God. God’s plan was prescriptive as well as predictive.
And so,
“For the Son of Man goes as it is
written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born..." (Mark 14:21).
Judas would one day give an account
of His actions before the Great White Throne. Truly, it would be better for him
if he had never been born! At the same time, according to plan, Jesus fulfilled
the Passover. He took that which was a reminder to the Jews of what God had
accomplished, and gave His followers a symbolic meal, a new ordinance, to
reflect on the salvation He would accomplish for them and for us. So, I.
Preparation of the Passover, II. Prediction of His betrayal, followed by...
III. Participation in the First Communion (22-26a). Jesus transformed a “Last
Supper” into a “First Supper,” giving new significance to the Passover meal.
22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it
and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23 And he took a cup, and when he
had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, "This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not
drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the
kingdom of God." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount
of Olives…”
It is odd that the two ordinances the Lord gave the church, baptism and
communion, both of which should affirm the unity of the body and our common
faith, have become such a point of division between us. We’ll not address the
question of baptism today, but the Lord’s Table is a beautiful reminder of what
God has done for us in Christ. Obviously, as Jesus shared this meal with His
disciples and instituted the ordinance, their perspective was different than
ours. They remembered the first Passover, and were invited to ponder the
meaning of Jesus’ words, looking ahead to His sacrifice, when he spoke of His
body which was given, and His blood which would be poured out for many.
Remember, all of this was against the backdrop of Jesus’ teaching and
predictions, and the anointing that had just occurred at Bethany. Did they
understand? Probably not, not until after the Cross and Resurrection anyway.
But what was Jesus saying about these elements from the Passover Table?
First, “...he took bread, and
after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my
body.’” The Roman Church over the centuries came to teach that Jesus was
saying that the bread was actually being transformed into the body of Christ.
The term, “transubstantiation” relates that idea. The Lutherans were not too
far off from that, they held that the body of Christ was present with and
between the bread. Calvin was closer it seems when He taught that the Lord was
“spiritually present” in the elements of communion.
It seems pretty clear to me that this was symbolism. After all,
Jesus was physically there with the disciples as He instituted the Table! What else
could the disciples have understood? Something like the “Bread of Life”
discourse in John 6 when, as another Passover was approaching (Jn 6:4), He
described Himself as the Bread of Heaven. There is some way in which He is the
Bread that gives life as we receive Him, His blood brings the cleansing that we
desperately need as we trust Him. The Lord’s Table reminds us of that Spiritual
Truth. It is not mystical, it is God teaching us as we see and consider and
taste the elements, to remember the Gospel. Not just a story, not just about
words on a page. His Story. Jesus is the Word who was made flesh and dwelt
among us. This is who He is, this is why He came. Will you follow Him?
What is God saying to me in this passage? Jesus fulfilled the Passover, a
reminder to the Jews of what God had accomplished, and gave His followers a
symbolic meal, to reflect on the salvation He accomplished for us.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) We look back. The Gospel is rooted in history, HIS Story. Communion
is like an object lesson that allows us to see and taste, while we hear the Word
read, and invites us to reflect on what Christ did for us. As we re-enact this
meal that Jesus shared with His disciples, it is a perpetual reminder, showing
forth His death until He comes. In a sense, we join with believers through the
ages as we partake.
In this symbolic meal, we are drawn back to the upper room, to that last
Passover, when the Lamb would be slain, once and for all. We stand with the
millions through the ages who have done this in His memory. 20 years or so
after that meal with the disciples, Paul reaffirms this ordinance in I Cor
11:23-28...
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to
you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24
and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body
which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way also he took
the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of
the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood
of the Lord. 28 Let a person
examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
2) And so, we look back and remember. We remember that night in the
upper room, and we remember the next day, on Calvary, when the Lamb was slain. We look back, and we also look ahead,
as we “show forth the Lord’s death until He comes.” We were reminded in
Chapter 13, He will return! That also reminds us that the Kingdom is coming,
and that one day we will share in another meal, the marriage supper of the
Lamb. And so we look back and look ahead, and also, as we are invited here, we
are invited to look within: “...let a
person examine himself...”
3) We look within: The point is to examine our hearts in
relation to the gospel: have we trusted Christ as Savior, have we submitted to
Him as Lord? Have you, by faith, shared in His death and resurrection?
That is the Good News! Let’s celebrate that together in Communion, at the Lord’s
Table, as the Lord commanded. AMEN.
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