LANGUAGE:
We’ve gathered this morning to worship our God and to receive a word from Him. If you are tracking with me, you know that we should be looking at the last verses of Mark 13. But because next Sunday is Easter, I thought it would be good for us to jump ahead to Mark 14 and focus on the Passover of the New Covenant. After all, we are told in 1 Corinthians 5:7, that it was at Easter that Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.
Turn with me to Mark 14:17-25 and follow along as we read Mark’s account of Jesus’ last Passover meal on earth.
17When it was evening He came with the twelve. 18As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” 19They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21“For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 22While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24And 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 never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” 26After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, as we come to the Lord’s Table, may this not be the same-old-same-old moment. May we remember that life is in the blood, and that Your Son poured out His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. May the Spirit of God be our instructor. May we learn and believe and trust and live in the light of its truth. Only you, gracious God, can accomplish this, and to you alone we look. In your Son’s name. Amen.
As we begin our study, I want us to keep in mind that the Passover was meant to be a huge moment for the Jews. But I want us to also know that it is meant to be a huge moment for all who are committed followers of Jesus.
As a point of reference, the Jewish Passover marked the night that Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. And again as a point of reference, the Jewish Passover takes place in the month of Nisan, which corresponds to our March/April. The Passover is not just a Jewish celebration. It is also meant for us as followers of Jesus. In the words of 1 Corinthians 5:7 (NASB95) For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed is meant to motivate us to make huge life changes. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was and is meant to destroy all human pride and self-righteousness. In light of His sacrifice, we are called to remove meanness and wickedness from our lives, and fill our lives with sincerity and truth.
Unlike the Passover lambs that the Jews sacrificed for some 1500 years (taking a lamb from one of their sheep herds), God the Father gives His own Son to be our Passover Lamb.
The Jewish Passover is meant to memorialized a moment in Jewish history that they were never ever to forget. It was the culmination of 10 plagues covering roughly 5 months, which would mean that the plagues began around the time of our November. The final plague was the death of the firstborn in every family. Now keep this in mind . . . the only way that one could avoid the Angel of Death killing the firstborn was to sacrifice a lamb and spread the blood of the lamb on the doorframe, the top and sides—which is symbolically the sign of the cross. When the Angel of Death saw the blood, he passed by that house, hence the word Passover. Mark this down—there was NO OTHER WAY to avoid the death of the firstborn.
According to Exodus 12:25-27(GW) the Jews were never to forget that moment. God told the Jews that 25When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, observe this ceremony. 26When your children ask you what this ceremony means to you, 27you must answer, ‘It’s the Passover sacrifice in the Lord’s honor. The Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he killed the Egyptians.’ ” So we can see that this was a huge memorial for Jewish families.
As laid out for us here in Mark’s Gospel, and Matthew 26 and Luke 22, this particular Passover served as a transition from the old covenant to the new covenant which we are celebrating today.
Dates are hugely important for us, and we need to know that this Passover likely took place in the year 30AD.[i] And though 30AD is not likely in any of our memory banks like September 11, or January 6th, or July 4th, I believe it should be in our memory banks. Almost 2000 yrs ago this event literally shook this planet as laid out in Matthew 27.[ii] It was then that Satan was crushed as stated in Romans 16:20 (NASB95) The God of peace will crush Satan . . .[iii]
Romans 10:4 tells us that Christ is the culmination of the Law. As the Passover was a remembrance for every Jew that they had been set free from slavery, Christ as our Passover is a reminder to us that we have been set free from the Law to serve God in the newness of the Spirit. As Pastor Ricardo previously pointed out for us in Romans 7:6 (NASB95) we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
We no longer seek justification and/or righteousness before God by keeping the Law. So Romans 8:1–4 (NASB95) 1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
As I studied Mark 14, I was struck by the overlapping of Jesus’ final days and the Passover ritual. I found John MacArthur very helpful in giving us a grasp of flow of the Passover activities.[iv]
For starters, you will be interested in knowing that there are two time tables when it comes to Jesus’ final hours leading up to His crucifixion that help us unravel the timing of the crucifixon. There is The Galilean Jew time table, because the disciples were from Galilee, and Jerusalem timetable where the crucifixion actually occurred because of the Judean Jews time table.
The Galilean Jews celebrated Passover on Thursday because they marked the Passover day from sunrise to sunrise. The Judean Jews celebrated Passover on Friday because they marked the Passover from sunset to sunset.[v] While the Galilean Lamb would have been sacrificed on Thursday, the Judean Lamb would be killed on Friday at 3pm by the Priest. And just as the Priest would kill the Passover lamb on Friday at 3pm, God Himself would kill the True Lamb of God at exactly the same time.[vi]
Now on Monday of Passover week families would choose or buy their lamb for their Passover sacrifice, then they would bring the lamb to the temple. It is interesting in knowing that our Lord came to the temple on Monday as God’s chosen Lamb.[vii] And like the sacrificial lamb hung around the temple area waiting to be killed, Jesus hung around the temple. At the exact the hour of slaughter of the lamb on Friday afternoon, the true Lamb of God died. Christ our Passover ‘was then’ sacrificed for us (1 Cor 5:7) The veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50–52) , and the Levitical sacrificial system came to its final end. The sacrificial system was not ended by Judas, nor by Herod, nor by Caiaphas the High Priest, and nor by the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin, and nor by the Romans . . . it was ended by God Himself when He offered up His own Son as His perfect sacrifice.[viii]
That fits right in with Isaiah 53:10, It pleased Jehovah God to crush Him. Jesus’ death was not an unfortunate accident. Isaiah 53 tells us, “Jehovah willed to bruise Him. He caused His sickness.” [ix] As Romans 6:23 states it, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. By faith in Christ, we will never ever suffer God’s wrath in hell for an eternity of time. Jesus Christ became the Passover lamb for all time so that if confess/acknowledge our sins, and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead we will be saved (John 1:9; Romans 10:9-11) from the fiery eternal damnation of hell itself.
Now back to Mark 14, v17, we read that when it was evening Jesus came with the twelve. Because the disciples are Galilean, the Passover meal takes place on Thursday evening, and becomes the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.
By this time two disciples, most likely Peter and John, had picked out their Passover lamb, been to the temple where the Priest killed it, and offered it on the altar. The Priest would have taken his share as prescribed by Moses, and then what was left would have been given to the disciples for the actual meal which begins for us in v18, As they were reclining at the table and eating No chairs. They would all recline on the floor, perhaps with pillows around the table.
Now this is a very long meal, going way past midnight. And according to Exodus 12, the entire meal had to eaten. There were to be no left overs. The Passover meal was divided by drinking of four cups of wine. Each cup is symbolic of four key Hebrew terms in Exodus 6:6-7—
The Passover mean would follow a sequence
What is interesting . . . somewhere in the early part of the meal Luke tells us in chap 22:15-16 that Jesus makes a powerful statement. He said to the disciples, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. We tend to glaze over those words, but they are very emphatic. It is important that we understand that this Passover in the year 30AD marked the end of the regulations of the Old Testament, and the beginning of life in Jesus’ Kingdom by faith. Then in v25 Jesus caps off the meal with these words-- “Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” I take that to mean that there is coming an actual millennial reign of Christ, and that during His millennial reign on earth, the Passover will continue to be celebrated..
We need to be clear, this Passover ended the Old Testament Passover enactment. Jesus now becomes THE Lamb sacrificed once for all time. As Hebrews 10:10 clearly states, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Now we need to be reminded that this Passover was not without a lot of drama.
Vs18–20 18As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” 19They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl. Imagine the moment . . . As Jesus takes His bread and dips into the sweet fruit and nuts, Judas’ hand also reaches into the bowl at the same time. Everybody’s eyes followed Jesus hand, and were perhaps stunned by seeing the hand of Judas. And at that moment Satan took control of Judas.
In addition, Luke tells us in chap 22 that there arose also a clash among the disciples as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest. This was followed by a strong rebuke from Jesus. Luke 22:25–27 (NASB95) 25And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26“But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27“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 among you as the one who serves.
This table is all about humility and service. No prideful people allowed. Putting others first always requires giving up our lives in some fashion; whether it’s time or money, it costs us something to serve others. And just as Jesus was tempted and tested when Satan offered him all the glory and power of the Kingdoms if he would bow and worship Him, we will find ourselves being tested to see if we are free from the pride of life or tempted to find another way to hold power, glory and honor by self-exaltation instead of humbling ourselves to serve and worship only the Father.
The meal was concluded by a song and a warning. Vs26–2726After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’
From Luke’s account we get some deep insight as to the Passover transition from the old to the new. Luke 22:19–20 (NASB95)19And when He had taken some bread and 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.” 20And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
With Jesus death and resurrection, the Passover becomes the Lord’s Table where we also participate in the body and blood of Christ. As Paul states it in 1 Corinthians 10:16, Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
So what is the point of the Lord’s Table? It is remembrance. It is a reminder of the gift of deliverance from sin through the body and blood of Christ who was killed for us.[xi] Isaiah 53, by it we remember that He was bruised for our iniquities, that He was chastened for our peace, that He was wounded for our transgressions. In the hours after, Jesus offers Himself on the cross, paying the price for our sin, and at the same time satisfying the justice of God. It is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
As the Jewish firstborns were saved by the blood on the door posts, we are also saved by the blood of Christ. As they splattered the blood on the doorposts by faith, so we take the blood of Christ by faith. In that moment Satan loses His grip on us, sins grip is broken, God’s anger passes over us because He sees the blood of Christ taken by faith, Hell’s destination is removed, and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life. The old covenant ended; the new covenant has come, ratified by the death of Christ.
We celebrate the Passover until He returns to set up His literal millennial reign on earth which is sooner than we think.
Let’s pray . . .
Heavenly Father, thank You for this time of worship and fellowship this morning. The Passover of old is so rich and so instructive and so Godly, so supernatural. We are encouraged and lifted up. We think about the coming weekend. The stations of the cross; how death seemed to rule the land; then came the morning dawn of Sunday; may we be infused with some fresh, new joys and understanding.
Lord, we know that in the midst of the despairs of life – You are sovereignly in control of everything. Even at our highest moments, even in the exalted hour of being with Christ, and hearing everything they heard, and all the promises, the whole thing, it was just one short step to weakness and failure. Deliver us from that, Lord, and strengthen us by what we hear this morning.
And I ask now, Heavenly Father, that You open the hearts of those who need Christ, who need to be saved from their sins, who don’t need to go to Judas’ place. Sovereign Lord, I pray that You break open hearts and You give understanding to those that do not understand; that You’ll give clarity to those who are confused. May they come to see the glory of Christ, open the dead hearts to Christ, draw the wayward to our Savior and Redeemer, cause them to seek the forgiveness of sin and receive eternal life.
Heavenly Father, I pray that You’ll enable us to help those who do not know the Savior of the World. Help us to talk with those seeking freedom from sin and darkness, from fear and dread, and to pray with them. And now Lord, as the great prophet Daniel prayed, listen to the prayer of Your servants and to our supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your people. “Sovereign Lord, forgive us! Listen to our prayers and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your people are called by Your name.”[xii]
Amen
As we come to the table of our Lord lets sing Agnus Dei as we come to the Lord’s Table–
[i]
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2164005/jewish/Nisan.htm Nisan (or Nissan), the first month on Jewish calendar (according to the Torah), coincides with March-April on the civil calendar. The Torah calls it chodesh ha-aviv—the month of spring, as it marks the beginning of the spring months. See also John MacArthur, The New Passover (Mark 14:17-26)
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/41-73/the-new-passover. It is, in the Jewish calendar, the fourteenth of Nissan, year 30 A.D. And on that Thursday night is the Passover celebration for all of the Galilean Jews. In the Galilee, they celebrated their Passover on Thursday because they marked the Passover day from sunrise to sunrise. The Judean Jews in the South celebrated their Passover on Friday because they marked the Passover from sunset to sunset. This difference we know from the writings of the Jewish Mishnah, which are the official documents concerning the conduct of the Jews and also from the history of Josephus. That’s important because that allowed our Lord to celebrate the Passover on Thursday night for a lot of critical reasons and still be the Passover on Friday because they were two authorized and legitimate celebrations.
[ii] Matthew 27:51–53 (NASB95) 51And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
[iii] Genesis 3:15 (NASB95) 15And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
[iv] John MacArthur, The New Passover (Mark 14:17-26) https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/41-73/the-new-passover.
[v] Ibid., See also Galilean vs. Judean in Matthew 22, http://yeshuaincontext.com/2010/11/galilean-vs-judean-in-matthew-22/. Cf., John 19:14 (NASB95) Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
[vi] Cf., Ibid.
[vii] John 1:29 (NASB95) The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!, John 1:36 (NASB95) 36and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 1 Peter 1:19 (NASB95) 19but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
[viii] John MacArthur, The New Passover (Mark 14:17-26) https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/41-73/the-new-passover.
[ix] George Angus Fulton Knight, Servant Theology: A Commentary on the Book of Isaiah 40–55, Rev. and updated new ed., International Theological Commentary (Edinburgh; Grand Rapids: Handsel Press; W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1984), 177. Here the offering of the asham is not for the salvation of the offerer: what we find instead is that God is making this innocent and obedient Servant into the asham himself, so that it is the latter, as the ram without blemish, who pours out his own blood, or life, even unto death. Cf., John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 34–66, Revised Edition., vol. 25, Word Biblical Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2005), 789. https://www.biblestudytools.com/isaiah/53-10.html. predetermined by him, ( Acts 2:23 ) ( Acts 4:27 Acts 4:28 ) , yea, they were pleasing to him, he took a kind of delight and pleasure in them; not in them simply considered as sufferings, but as they were an accomplishment of his purposes, a fulfilment of his covenant and promises, and of the prophecies in his word; and, particularly, as hereby the salvation of his people was brought about; see ( John 10:17 ) :
[x] https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/four-cups-of-wine-on-passover. https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/ pesach_cdo/aid/658520/jewish/What-is-the-significance-of-the-four-cups.htm. a fifth cup at the Seder: the Cup of Elijah. This cup is set up for Elijah during the second half of the Seder, but we do not drink it. Elijah will announce the arrival of Moshiach, who will bring all Jews to Israel, for good.
[xi] Ibid.
[xii] Daniel 9:17, 19