“On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, ‘Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?’ And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him…And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” (Mark 14:12-13, 15)
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1)
Jesus knew the Passover dinner would be the last time he met with all His disciples gathered together. The dinner typically involved Seder bread, unleavened to commemorate the Israelites’ hasty departure from Egypt; a lamb bone, signifying the Passover lamb that was slain and whose blood marked the threshold of Jewish homes; and bitter herbs, used to prepare the meal (and to remind the Israelites of the bitterness of slavery from which God had rescued them).
More than a mere meal, Jesus turned this Passover into a memorable moment. He used it as an occasion to show His followers the “full extent of His love.” After everyone had eaten, Jesus got up from the table and gathered the tools of a lowly servant. He wrapped a towel around His waist, and with water held in a servant’s bowl, began washing the feet of His disciples. In doing this, Jesus marked Himself as their servant. The disciples watching Jesus grab these elements would have been like watching the President of the United States mopping the floors of a McDonald’s restaurant, or sitting behind a sewing machine in a sweatshop factory. They must have been thinking, “What in the world is He doing?”
Through the celebration of the Passover, Jesus reminded His disciples of God’s past provision – during Israel’s time of slavery, God made a way of deliverance and protection. By instituting the Lord’s Supper at that same feast, Jesus pointed toward God’s future provision. Jesus was about to become our “Passover Lamb.” He, and He alone, would provide for all our needs – physical and spiritual.
Prayer
Father, thank You so much for so abundantly taking care of all of my needs. You have provided bread for my journey; a Sacrificial Lamb for my forgiveness; and release from the bitterness of my sins. Thank You most of all for providing a Passover Lamb in Your Son, Jesus, the greatest servant of all.
* Daily Readings are not based on the sequence of events during the Passion Week, but instead to reflect on and then prayerfully consider applications of some of the aspects and events of this sacred week.