Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Wednesday in Holy Week

Posted on March 31, 2021 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: St. Luke 22:1-23 (NKJV)
 
22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
 
3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. 4 So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
 
7 Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. 8 And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
 
9 So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?”
 
10 And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. 11 Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready.”
 
13 So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
 
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
 
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
 
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
 
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
 
21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
 
23 Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.
 
Devotion
 
The Passover was celebrated once a year, but the Lord’s Supper is a meal for all seasons. It is one in which our Lord’s Body and Blood are “Given and shed for you,” for the forgiveness of sin! In fact, that is the whole point of the sacrament. Jesus instituted a New Testament meal that supersedes the Old Testament Passover.
 
The Passover meal is superseded because the deliverance to which it pointed ahead was now being accomplished. The sacrificial lambs that were killed to save Israel’s firstborn back then actually pointed ahead to God’s sacrificial Lamb, His OWN firstborn to save all of His people! So, the Passover meal was done in remembrance of the angel of the Lord “passing over” the houses where He saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts. Jesus instituted a meal to be done in remembrance of Him—in remembrance of HIS sacrifice on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and thereby have the angel of God’s wrath “pass over” us, as it were, all because of Christ’s death in our place.
 
The Christ event trumps the Passover event, and therefore the Christ meal, the Lord’s Supper, trumps the Passover meal. And, rather than once a year, the Lord’s Supper is indeed a meal for all seasons. It is one that we would do well to attend often, for the forgiveness of our sins, and the strengthening of our faith.
 
Prayer: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds are continually afflicted, may mercifully be relieved by the Passion of Thine Only-Begotten Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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