The Last Supper — TDW Kids

Passover time. “Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed” (Luke 22:7). The Passover remembered the night God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt. Each family killed a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts, and God passed over the homes marked with the blood (Exodus 12:13). For seven days they ate bread made without yeast, called unleavened bread. The Lamb at Passover. Jesus was in Jerusalem at the very time the Passover lambs were killed. John the Baptist had called Him “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus was about to give His own life to rescue His people from sin. Jesus took charge. Jesus sent Peter and John with a job: “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat” (22:8). He was not caught by surprise. He planned every step of this night. He knew the details. Jesus told them that a man carrying a pitcher of water would meet them, and that the owner of the house would show them “a large, furnished upper room” (22:12). Jesus knew all of it before it happened. They obeyed. Jesus did not give them the man's name or the house. They went anyway, and they “found it just as He had said to them” (22:13). What we learn. Nothing about that night took Jesus by surprise. He went toward the cross on purpose, because He loves you. You can trust a Savior like that.

The day (22:7). “Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.” The lambs were killed that day, and the meal was eaten that night “with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs,” as God had commanded (Exodus 12:8). The feast remembered the Lord, “who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt” (Exodus 12:27). The true Lamb. The timing was part of God's plan. On the very day the Passover lambs were killed, Jesus prepared to give His own life. Paul later wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Peter and John (22:8-9). Mark says only that Jesus “sent out two of His disciples” (Mark 14:13); Luke tells us they were Peter and John. Their first response was a question: “Where do You want us to prepare?” They asked Jesus before they acted. Every detail known (22:10-12). A man with a pitcher of water, a house, an owner and “a large, furnished upper room.” Jesus described all of it before Peter and John saw any of it. Matthew adds His message to the owner: “My time is at hand” (Matthew 26:18). Jesus was walking toward the cross on purpose, and He knew His Father's timing. Just as He said (22:13). “So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.” Obedience came first, and then they saw that His word was true. For you. Jesus was not swept along by events. He sent, He directed and He knew His hour. He went to the cross on purpose, for you.

The Passover reminded God's people of a great rescue. Long ago, God saved Israel from being slaves in Egypt. Each family killed a lamb and put its blood on the door. God passed over the homes with the blood. Now Jesus came to Jerusalem at Passover time. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away sin. Jesus knew everything before it happened. He knew about the man with the jar of water. He knew the room upstairs would be ready. Jesus was not surprised by anything that night. He was going to the cross on purpose. He did it because He loves us. You can trust a Savior like that.

Jesus told Peter and John to get the meal ready. They did what He said. Everything happened just as Jesus said!

The hour came. “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him” (22:14). The apostles were the twelve men Jesus chose to be with Him and to send out to tell others about Him. Jesus wanted this meal. “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (22:15). Fervent desire means a deep, strong longing. Jesus did not come to this table only because it was the custom. He wanted to be with His friends. Before I suffer. Jesus knew that in a few hours He would be arrested, and the next day He would die on a cross. Even so, His heart was turned toward the people He loved. Until it is fulfilled. “For I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (22:16). Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God still to come. Two cups. Luke tells us about two cups that night. This one came before the bread: “Take this and divide it among yourselves” (22:17). The second came “after supper” (22:20). A promise. “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (22:18). Jesus was going away, but He spoke of a day still to come in His kingdom. What we learn. Jesus loves His people with a strong, steady love. He wanted to be with His disciples, and He wants to be with you. Talk to Him today the way you would talk to a friend who loves you.

The hour (22:14). “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.” It was the hour of the Passover meal, and it was also the hour Jesus had been moving toward all along. Epithymia (22:15). “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” The word for desire is epithymia (say: ep-ee-thoo-MEE-ah), a strong longing, and Jesus used it twice, once as a noun and once as a verb. He was saying, I have wanted this very much. Before I suffer. Jesus was not surprised by the cross. He knew His arrest and the crucifixion were only hours away. His longing was not to escape, but to share this meal with the men He loved and to give them what they would need to remember Him. Fulfilled (22:16). “I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Jesus spoke of a day still ahead in the kingdom of God. Two cups (22:17-18). Luke tells of a cup before the bread and another “after supper” (22:20). With the first, Jesus gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Mark and Matthew tell of the cup Jesus gave with the words about His blood; Luke tells of both. Looking ahead. Jesus' farewell was full of hope. He was going to the cross, but He spoke of His kingdom as surely coming. For you. The Son of God, hours from the cross, wanted to be with His friends. That is the heart He has toward everyone who belongs to Him. You are not a burden to Jesus; you are someone He loves.

Jesus sat down at the table with His apostles. He told them He really wanted to eat this meal with them. Jesus knew He would die very soon. Still, He wanted to spend this time with His friends. That shows how much Jesus loved them. Then Jesus passed a cup to His friends to share. Jesus took a cup two times that night. This was the first one. Jesus said He would not drink again until God's kingdom comes. Jesus was going away, but this was not the end. One day His friends would be with Him in His kingdom. Jesus wants you with Him too.

Jesus wanted to eat this meal with His friends. He knew He would soon die for us. Jesus loves His friends, and He loves you!

Bread and thanks. “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them” (22:19). Jesus thanked His Father, even on the night before the cross. Given for you. Then He said, “This is My body which is given for you.” The next day His body was nailed to a cross. He was not giving His life for Himself. He was giving it for His friends, and for us. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). For you. The words “for you” make it personal. Jesus gave His body for the men at that table, and for everyone who trusts Him today. Remember Me. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Jesus did not ask them only to remember an event. He asked them to remember Him, the Person who gave His body for them. Churches today. Churches today still share the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus. What we learn. Jesus gave Himself for you. Take time this week to remember what He did, and thank Him for it in your own words.

Thanks (22:19). “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them.” On the night before the cross, Jesus gave thanks to His Father. Given for you. “This is My body which is given for you.” The little word “for” is hyper (say: hoo-PER) in Greek. It means on behalf of, for the good of, in the place of. Jesus was about to give His body on the cross on behalf of His people. On the cross. The next day Jesus did what He said at the table. He gave His body on the cross on behalf of His people. Anamnesis. “Do this in remembrance of Me.” The Greek word for remembrance is anamnesis (say: ah-NAHM-nay-sis). Israel's Passover was “a memorial” of the rescue from Egypt (Exodus 12:14). Now Jesus asked His followers to remember Him: not only an event, but a Person, and what He did for them. Churches today. Churches today still share the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus. For you. Remembering Jesus is meant to be a daily habit of the heart. When you are tempted to doubt His love, remember His body given for you.

Jesus took bread and thanked God for it. Then He broke it and gave it to His friends. Jesus said, “This bread is my body.” He said He was giving His body for them. The next day, Jesus gave His body on the cross. He did it for us, because of our sins. Jesus also said, “Do this to remember me.” He wanted His friends never to forget Him. Remembering Jesus means thinking about what He did and thanking Him. Churches today still share the Lord's Supper to remember Jesus. Thank Him for giving Himself for you.

Jesus broke the bread. He said His body was given for us. He wants us to remember Him!

After supper. “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (22:20). A covenant. A covenant is a binding promise. God sets its terms, and He keeps them. The new covenant promised. Long before, God had promised through Jeremiah, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). In it God said, “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (31:34). Shed for you. Jesus said the new covenant would begin with His own blood. “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Remission means forgiveness. The risen Lord. Jesus' blood was shed on the cross the next day. On the third day God raised Him from the dead. We do not remember a dead hero; we remember a living Savior. What we learn. Because of Jesus' blood, God offers forgiveness that lasts forever. If you trust Him, your sins are forgiven, and God will never hold them against you.

After supper (22:20). “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.’” Diatheke. The word for covenant is diatheke (say: dee-ah-THAY-kay), a binding arrangement that one side sets up and the other receives. God sets the terms, and He keeps them. The promise kept. Jeremiah promised a new covenant in which God would say, “their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Jesus said that covenant begins with His blood. For many, for you. Matthew records, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). Luke records “for you.” Both are true: the blood shed for many was shed for each one who trusts Him. Shed for you. Jesus spoke of His blood as “shed for you.” The next day it was, on the cross, just as He said. Risen. The covenant began with a death, but the One who died did not stay dead. On the third day God raised Him, and He lives to keep every promise of the new covenant. For you. Under the new covenant, forgiveness is not a hope you work toward. It is a promise God keeps because of Jesus' blood. Trust Him, and rest in it.

After supper, Jesus took the cup. He said it showed God's new agreement with His people. God's agreement is His promise to His people. Long ago, God promised to make a new agreement. In it, God promised to forgive sin and remember it no more. Jesus said His blood was “poured out for you.” Jesus' blood was poured out when He died on the cross. His blood paid for our sins. On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead! We do not remember a Jesus who stayed dead. We remember a living Savior who loves us. Thank Jesus for His new promise to you.

Jesus' blood was poured out for us. He died so we can be forgiven. Then Jesus rose again, and He is alive!