Eating together is the crown of fellowship. For many, the family table holds precious memories. In my parental home, the family always ate together-breakfast, dinner, and supper. We each had our place at the table, and we never ate without a prayer by my father. The table was our meeting place. I realize that different cultures have different customs. But a meal together as a family is generally treasured.
What we Christians call the Lord’s Table has its roots in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, led by Moses. Exodus 12:1-14 records the establishment of the Passover. Imagine you are an Israelite in the land of Egypt listening to Moses. Here is what he spoke to them:
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day ofthe same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus ye shall eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
The Passover was the Israelites’ final ceremony in the land of their captivity. It celebrated their release from slavery. By it, they bound themselves to the Lord. The blood on their doors both liberated them from Egypt and obligated them to the Lord. After that, it was to be an annual memorial feast throughout their generations. Jews all over the world have kept the Passover, modified because of the circumstances under which they had to live.
When Jesus came, He advanced the revelation of God. Born of the virgin, He had a perfect human nature, lived a perfect human life, and made a perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. The potential is there for all and any who hear and believe.
As He came near the appointed time of His death, Jesus had one last Passover with His disciples. Now I want you to get the connection between what Moses said and what Jesus did as recorded in Luke 22:7-20:
Then came the day...
