Mark 14:12-26 – Jesus: The True Passover

Introduction

Have you ever seen someone take a precious tradition and re-make it? If so, you know that doing so can be challenging. People love traditions, and so when you try to change them, you can expect challenges unless you are providing something better or have the authority to do so.

Today we are going to see the originator of the Passover show himself as the True Passover. He has the authority to modify the Passover to more fully represent its reality…himself. Through his life and substitutionary death, Jesus, the True Passover, provides an Exodus for us, the True Exodus, which sets us free from the slavery of sin and death and makes us children of God who can enter a truly free life.

Background

The Son of God, Jesus, the Creator of heaven and earth, has spent the last thirty-some years of his life in absolute devotion and love to God and has loved his neighbor as himself. He is the perfect picture of what a human should be.

For the last three years, he taught his disciples the principles of the kingdom of God. He cast out demons, healed the sick, made the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, and brought the dead back to life. He has calmed storms and seas, fed people in the wilderness, and, through it all, lived a life of service and sacrifice.

He has conquered humanity's great enemies: sickness, disease, and death. Now it is time to conquer the greatest of all humanity’s enemies…our rebellious hearts and the consequences of our sin. In order to do this, he himself must die as a substitute settling the judgment that our sin demands.

He has predicted his death several times, and now, on the eve of his completed work, he not only predicts his death, but he interprets it as the greatest of all deliverances, the fulfillment of all God’s promises, the hope of all the world.

Exposition

In verses 12-21, we see a determined Savior who is in control. How calm would you be if you knew you were going to die in less than 24 hours?

Mark says it was the first day of Unleavened Bread when they sacrificed the Passover lamb. The focus is on Passover, but God wants to show us that even in this gloomy hour, Jesus is in control, and things are going exactly how he planned. He is not avoiding or putting off his death.

As the celebration of Passover drew near that evening, the disciples asked Jesus where they were going to be. Why? They needed to be within Jerusalem’s city wall and have a lamb prepared and ready by 6 p.m. so that, according to Scripture, they could finish by midnight. So, Jesus sends Peter and John into the city to prepare a place but only tells them to find a man and follow him home, asking the owner of that home where the room they will celebrate Passover will be.

Why doesn’t he tell them exactly where it is? Jesus was probably hiding the details from Judas, otherwise, Jesus might have been arrested before Passover and not on it. Luke tells us that Jesus earnestly longed to celebrate this Passover with them. Why? It would be the last legitimate Passover meal under the Old Covenant that would ever be celebrated. And, in a few brief hours, he would use it to institute the Lord’s Supper and give new meaning to what, or who, the True Passover is.

So, Peter and John went out and everything was just as Jesus said. They got everything ready and then Jesus and the 12 disciples came there later that evening. They began the Passover meal. As the Passover progressed, Jesus showed himself in control even though he was in the most bitter and sorrowful night of his soul as one of his dearest friends, whom he had been with for the last three years, was about to betray him, alluding to Psalm 41:9.

The disciples were shocked and saddened. How could one of them betray him? Who is it? Each one says to Jesus, “Not I!” or “It’s not me, is it?” Jesus tells them that it is one of them, the one who dips his bread into the dish with him. Yet, it must not have been too obvious because no one caught onto the fact that it was Judas, even when he left.

But through it all, we see that Jesus is in control. The Son of Man must be betrayed and die. This was prophesied in Isaiah 53:5, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” All this was planned from the foundation of the earth. Christ must bear the sin of the world upon himself. He is in control.

Now, in verses 22-26, we see Jesus giving himself as the True Passover. On this night, Israel was celebrating the greatest liberation up to this point in history. This was an essential part of Israel’s identity.

On this night, the 14th of Nissan, long ago, to rescue Israel from slavery, God sent the angel of death to kill every firstborn son in Egypt who wasn’t covered by the blood of a lamb which was “without blemish, a male a year old.“ (Ex. 12:5–6)

Because of the significance of this, God said of the Passover that it would be “for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.” (Ex. 12:14) It had requirements and a certain form. I can’t cover all the details, but I can give a brief overview of it.

What was it? It was a meal that celebrated what God had done for Israel and was a reminder of all his promises. As God himself said, “…for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. …” (Exodus 12:17)

During this meal, where the main course was a spotless lamb, at four points, the host of the meal would hold a glass of wine and explain the feast’s meaning. Each glass told of promises found in Exodus 6:6-7. First, God would rescue them from Egypt. Second, God would free them from slavery. Third, God would redeem them by his own divine power. Fourth, God would bring them into relationship with him. After everything was done, they would sing from Psalms 113-118 and leave before midnight.

With that overview, now let’s look at a few things. When the meal was served, there were several elements that showed the context of Israel’s bondage that went along with the lamb. But before the lamb was eaten, Jesus would have lifted up the unleavened bread and said, “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let everyone who hungers come and eat; let everyone who is needy come and eat the Passover meal.”

At this point, he would have taken the unleavened bread, and said a blessing over it. Which was probably, “Praised be Thou, O Lord, Sovereign of the world, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.” A piece of the bread would be broken for each person, and it would have been passed hand-by-hand to everyone in silence. But, possibly, instead of silence, Jesus said, “Take; this my body.”

What Jesus was saying is that this bread represented his affliction…it was the bread of his suffering. He was going to lead the ultimate Exodus and bring them the ultimate deliverance from bondage.

After the main meal was eaten, the host, in this case Jesus, would stand up and say, “Speak praises to our God to whom belongs what we have eaten.” They would reply, “Praised be our God for the food we have eaten.” Then, the host would take the third cup of red wine mixed with water, and would say a prayer of thanksgiving on behalf of all. He would conclude, “May the All-merciful One make us worthy of the days of the Messiah and of the life of the world to come. He brings the salvation of his king. He shows covenant-faithfulness to his Anointed, to David and to his seed forever. He makes peace in his heavenly places. May he secure peace for us and for all Israel. And say you, Amen.”

After this amen, Jesus would pass the common cup. It is here that he would say the words, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The covenant established in his blood is an allusion to Exodus 24:6-8, “And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

Jesus was performing a covenant renewal ceremony. But he is the one with whom the covenant is made, he pays for the broken covenant, and he is the keeping of the covenant for this time and forever. He is faithful, and he will not fail.

But, even more than this, the reference to the new covenant probably alludes to Jeremiah 31:31-33, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband...”

This promise would soon be sealed through the work of Christ on the cross and in his death. This saying brings attention to the fact that Jesus is the one who fulfills God’s will to bring his people into covenant fellowship with him on a new and permanent basis. And so, the meaning of his blood being poured out for many is the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12, “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus is assuring his disciples that he will be with them as their Savior and bring the permanent presence of God to and in them through his death. Jesus freely and fully gives up his life to save his people.

And finally, why does Jesus say he will not drink the fruit of the vine until he does so in the kingdom of God? Here, he more than likely has just finished the third cup. So, now, he refuses to take the fourth cup. The fourth cup was the fourth promise in Exodus 6:6-7. It was the promise that God would take them for his people and be their God.

The third cup was the promise of redemption, his atoning death on their behalf. But, the fourth cup was the cup of consummation. It was associated with God being with his people. Jesus would not drink it until he had done the work of redemption. As one commentator said, “…the unfinished meal (will be) completed in the consummation, when Messiah eats with redeemed sinners in the Kingdom of God.”

This is the story behind the Lord’s Supper, which we often celebrate. It is Christ’s picture of his person and work. It is Christ reframing Passover into the True Passover, Himself. This Passover is where Jesus, the greater Moses, leads his people to freedom by his own death.

Not only is this a picture of Christ’s suffering and drinking the bitter dregs of judgment for us, but it is a picture of joy, a triumphant Messianic banquet in heaven which we will share with Christ in glory. Yet, even now, because he lives in us, he is with us now.

This Passover meal is universe-shaking. It is incredible that Jesus would take one of Israel’s most sacred and unchangeable traditions, the Passover, and reform it around himself. This shows his divine authority as the Lord and the Son of Man. Jesus replaces the exodus as Israel’s founding moment, to his person and death as the new Israel’s, our founding moment...the new covenant, this new redemption, the new Exodus in Christ the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Application

So, what does this New Covenant mean for us?

First, Christ, our True Passover rescued us from our Egypt, our bondage to Satan, sin, and self. We did nothing. We are passive recipients of God’s work. We were living in slavery, caught in the shackles of sin and self-love. We were content to eat the bread of affliction and drink the bitter wine of sorrow. We lived in shame and guilt. But Christ, the True Passover defeated death and broke the penalty of sin by taking it upon himself. We must live in 100% reliance upon God for our salvation. We did nothing to earn it, nothing to deserve it, and we must never add anything to the Gospel. It is Christ and him alone.

Second, Christ has freed us from our slavery. He has sent his Spirit to regenerate us, giving us new hearts, hearts of flesh. We have now been remade into new creatures with new hearts. We have been given the gift of faith, not of works. We have no reason to boast. But, we have reason to live in love and obedience to God. We have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Jesus has freed us from our bondage to sin, so in him, we can break free from even life-dominating sins. Remember that Christ freed you. Fight your sin in his power.

Third, Christ has redeemed us by his own divine power. On the cross, the anger and wrath of God for our sin was poured out upon Christ. All of our guilt, all of our past, present, and future sins were poured out upon him. He, in a mighty show of divine power, bore, in three hours, the entire weight of an eternity of wrath for all those who have and will trust in Jesus. He shook the earth and heavens when he broke the curse of the law. Christ is powerful. We must abide in him. We can do nothing without him. This is why Peter says in 2 Peter 1:3, His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Do you believe this?

Fourth, Christ gave us a relationship with God. He ripped down the dividing wall between us and God. Now, through him, we have direct access and are called children. We are no longer slaves to fear; we are children of God. Does your life demonstrate this reality? Are you living like a child? Are you eating at his banquet table?

Fifth, because Christ, in his word, instructed us to celebrate this supper, we do. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are eating and drinking the benefits of the new covenant, our union with Christ. Christ makes Himself present to us by his Holy Spirit, reminding us of the reality that he will be with us until the end of the age. In the Lord’s Supper we proclaim our union with Christ and one another.