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March 24, 2013

ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON

THE LORD’S SUPPER

MINISTRY INVOCATION

“Almighty God: Our existence is predicated on Your Love for us and for that

we are humbled as well as blessed. There is No One greater than You. In Jesus’

Name, Amen.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND

Luke’s account of Jesus eating with His disciples is one of the most

dramatic of the table scenes. Jesus announced His imminent death, which he

linked with the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purposes. He predicted His

betrayal at the hands of one whose hand “is with [Jesus] on the table.

THE APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE

We believe in the Divine Personhood of the Holy Spirit and His

present-day ministry to Believers, including the sovereign distribution of

spiritual gifts, which empowers Believers for service in the contemporary

church.

TEXT:

Background Scripture – Luke 22:14-30

Key Verse – Luke 22:26

Lesson Scripture – Luke 22:14-30 (NKJV)

The Passover is Celebrated 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.”

The Lord’s Supper is Instituted 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.

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Christ Predicts His Betrayer 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.

The Disciples Argue Over Who is the Greatest 24 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be

considered the greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles

exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are

called ‘benefactors.’ 26 But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest

among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. 27

For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits

at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. 28 “But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I

bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that

you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging

the twelve tribes of Israel.”

COMMENTARY

The account of the Lord’s Supper is the seventh meal scene found in Luke.

The Lukan version of the Lord’s Supper differs from the parallel accounts in

Mark and Matthew in two major ways. First, he placed Jesus’ statement about his

betrayal after rather than before the supper. He may have done this for literary

reasons in order to give a more orderly account of the events surrounding Jesus’

passion. Second, he had a tradition of an earlier cup (22:15–18) that gives the

unusual order of cup-bread-cup.

It seems reasonably certain that the Lord’s Supper was associated with a

Passover meal for the following reasons: the Passover had to be eaten within the

walled city of Jerusalem, and the Lord’s Supper was also eaten within the walled

city; the Passover evening had to be spent in “greater Jerusalem,” which

included the Mount of Olives, but not Bethany, and Jesus and the disciples spent

that evening in the garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives; Jesus and the

disciples reclined at the Lord’s Supper and this was required at the Passover,

whereas at most meals one sat; the Lord’s Supper, like the Passover, was eaten in

the evening, whereas most meals were eaten in the late afternoon; the Lord’s

Supper ended with hymn.

The Passover was a carefully ordered ritual in which each element of the meal

reminded the participants of their redemption from Egypt. At the end of the

meal someone (usually the youngest son) was designated to ask, “Why is this

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night different from other nights?” The host of the meal, in this instance Jesus,

would recount the exodus story. The story tells of God’s remembering his

covenant; deliverance from slavery in Egypt; the blood of the Passover lamb;

“Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed;” the interpretation of the

elements of the Passover meal; and a call for the continual celebration of the

Passover.

22:14 When the hour came. In Jesus’ setting this referred to the hour to

celebrate the Passover, but for Luke’s readers this could mean the “hour” in

which Jesus would bring his mission to completion.

Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. The last supper, as all

celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, was meant for those who professed to be

Jesus’ followers Jesus and his apostles reclined” is literally he reclined, and his

disciples with him. The wording emphasizes Jesus’ initiative. The Passover was

eaten in a reclining position, i.e., lying on the side facing a short table with

cushions under the arm.

22:15 I have eagerly desired. It can be understood in several ways: (1) as an

unfulfilled wish, i.e., I have desired but unfortunately will not be able to eat this

Passover. In Luke, Jesus clearly eats the Passover (Luke 22:11, 15); (2) I have looked

forward to sharing the joy of eating the Passover with you, to teach you of the new

covenant in my blood and to bring my work to a conclusion. (3) I have desired to

participate in this (or possibly a future) Passover with you but will not.

This Passover. This can mean the Passover lamb or the Passover meal.

Before I suffer. For Luke the whole scene of the Lord’s Supper centered

around Jesus’ suffering.

22:16 I will not eat it again. This is the strongest negation possible in Greek

and refers not to abstinence from the present Passover but to the fact that His

forthcoming death would prohibit Him from sharing future Passovers with the

disciples.

Until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. This refers to the time of

the messianic banquet at the end of history, i.e., when the kingdom is

consummated. What the “it” refers to is unclear. It cannot be the “kingdom of

God” because the “it” is distinguished from the kingdom. Probably “it” is best

understood as referring to the Passover as a type of the messianic banquet. Jesus

would not share again in such a banquet meal with the disciples until God’s

kingdom has been consummated.

22:17 After taking a cup. The cup is one of the earlier cups associated with

the Passover meal.

He gave thanks. Take this and divide it among you. A single cup probably

was shared by the disciples. Whether Jesus himself partook of this cup is unclear.

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22:18 For I tell you. I will not drink again … until the kingdom of God

comes. No distinction should be made between the drinking mentioned here and

the eating mentioned in 22:16. They simply are descriptive of eating a meal and

in particular the messianic banquet.

22:19 And he took bread. “Bread” refers to a “loaf” of bread whether

leavened or unleavened. Gave thanks. Luke used “thanks” (eucharistēsas), from

which we get Eucharist, rather than “thanks” (eulogēsas) or “bless.” There is little

difference in meaning between these two Greek terms.

This is my body. As Jesus earlier interpreted the unleavened bread in the

Passover ritual, so in the Lord’s Supper He also interpreted the bread. “This”

refers to the bread just mentioned. The “bread” represents the “body of Jesus” in

the sense that it represents Jesus. The bread thus represents the “Word [which]

became flesh,” not the “flesh” alone but the person who tabernacled in flesh.

Given. “Given” is literally being given. It is unclear whether the “Giver” is

understood as Jesus or God. Probably the latter is meant, but there would be

little difference in Luke’s understanding, for Jesus is God’s Son.

This is. “This is” is best understood metaphorically in

“symbolizes/represents” rather than “this has now become/been transformed

into.”

For you. “Given for you” explains how the bread, i.e., the self-giving of Jesus,

relates to the believer.

Do this in remembrance of me. This is not to be interpreted Do this in order

that God might remember me but rather Do this, i.e., share the bread and the cup, in

your celebration of the Lord’s Supper remembering me, my work, and my presence

among you.

22:20 After the supper. The Lord’s Supper comes at the end of the Passover

and builds on its imagery.

This cup is. The fact that drinking blood was forbidden by the law (Lev 3:17;

7:26–27; 17:14) makes it most difficult to think the disciples and early Jewish

Christians thought that in drinking the cup they were actually drinking real

blood.

The new covenant in my blood. The cup is understood as representing

sacrificial blood that inaugurates and seals a new covenant.

Which is poured out for you.

Jesus’ death lies within God’s providential rule and plan. Jesus both knew of

his coming death and saw it as involving a divine necessity. Jesus would die

because God had given him over to death. Thus, His death was not a surprise or

tragedy but the fulfillment of God’s purpose and plan. Luke by repeating this

tradition may also have been seeking to assure his readers that their practice of

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celebrating the Lord’s Supper stemmed from Jesus Himself. Thus, they could

know the “certainty” of this practice that they had been taught (1:4).

Within the present account, we also have a strong eschatological emphasis

concerning the future consummation of God’s kingdom. Jesus will not return

and share the messianic banquet until the final consummation when the events

of 21:25–36 take place. Luke most clearly portrayed the arrival of God’s kingdom

in Jesus’ ministry. Although Satan already had fallen from heaven (10:18), the

promised Spirit was present among them and a new covenant had been

established, Luke reminded his readers that their celebration of the Lord’s

Supper revealed that the final consummation was still in the future. As among

their Jewish contemporaries, the Passover awakened hopes and longings for the

coming of the messianic banquet, so even more should the Lord’s Supper cause

readers to look not only backward to their Lord’s death but forward to his

return.

Luke understood Jesus’ death as being both sacrificial and vicarious. Jesus’

death is understood as sacrificial blood poured out to establish a new covenant

(22:20). His death is vicarious because it is “for you” (22:19–20). Later in Acts

20:28 he again revealed that he was in agreement with the tradition’s teaching of

the vicarious and sacrificial nature of Jesus’ death.

22:21 But. Literally But behold. The foretelling of the Judas’s betrayal is closely

tied to the Lord’s Supper.

The hand of him. This expression is used to represent the whole (Judas).

Who is going to betray me. Literally who is in the process of betraying me. The

betrayal had already begun (22:3–6).

With mine on the table. This is better translated “with me at the table.” Luke

revealed that participation in the Lord’s Supper does not guarantee membership

in God’s kingdom.

22:22 The Son of Man. Will go. Literally proceeds. The certainty of this future

event is so great it can be spoken of in the present tense. What Jesus had begun

was about to be accomplished.

As it has been decreed. What was about to happen would occur because God

had ordained it. The use of “decreed” instead of “written” reveals Luke’s interest

in emphasizing that Jesus’ death fulfills the divine plan and purpose.

But woe to that man who betrays him. Any attempt to romanticize Judas’s

role in fulfilling the divine plan is shipwrecked on this statement. The

Evangelists understood Judas as damning himself by his action. The verse is a

good example of how divine sovereignty and human responsibility exist

alongside each other.

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22:23 They began to question among themselves. The horror of betrayal by a

friend was far greater in biblical times than today. Compare in I Corinthians

11:29–30 how Christians’ sitting at table with the risen Lord and “betraying him”

is also seen as resulting in judgment and even death.

Which of them it might be who would do this. Judas was still present with

the disciples.

After the Lord’s Supper, Luke pointed out Jesus’ knowledge of the future and

his awareness of what was about to take place. He was even aware that one of

the Twelve was in the process of betraying him. As a prophet and as the Son of

God, he was not caught unawares as to what was about to happen. Luke

expected his readers to understand the Christological implications of this. He

also expected they would see God’s sovereign rule and control in this as well.

Even the betrayal is in accord with the divine plan. The desire of the chief priests,

teachers of the law, the decision of Judas, and even the role of Satan were seen by

Luke as serving the divine purpose. God is in control. Luke did not explain how

individual responsibility, in the case of Judas and the Jewish leadership, and the

divine foreknowledge and ordination of what was to take place fit together.

What is clear is that Luke wanted his readers to know that Jesus’ death was not a

“tragedy” but determined and foreknown and that Jesus and his Father were

in complete control throughout. It was God who “decreed” what took place

(22:22).

After telling of the worst of the disciples, i.e., of Judas and his betrayal, Luke

included materials that involve what it means to be the greatest (Luke 22:24) of

the disciples.

A dispute over who was to be considered the greatest among the disciples

became an occasion for Jesus to teach about true greatness in God’s kingdom.

Jesus contrasted the attitude and values of the world with what it means to be

great in God’s kingdom. Even as membership in the kingdom is the reverse of

how the world thinks, for the last have become first and the first last (13:30), so

too greatness within the kingdom is the reverse of how the world thinks. In

this world the first (kings) rule and exercise their authority over the last (their

subjects). Great people in this world are served by others under them. But Jesus

had not come to be served but rather to serve. He came to pour out his blood in

order to establish a new covenant (22:20). Thus to be great in the kingdom means

to follow Jesus and to become one who serves, to think of oneself as having the

least “rights,” i.e., to be the youngest.

22:24 Also a dispute arose among them. As to which of them was

considered to be greatest. “Greatest” is literally greater.

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22:25 The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them. And those who exercise

authority over them call themselves Benefactors. The term “benefactor” was

frequently used to describe gods, heroes, and kings who were in fact at times

quite despotic, so that there may be some irony in this statement.

22:26 But you are not to be like that. The “you” is emphatic.

Instead, the greatest among you. Jesus’ words are addressed to church

leaders. The following words do not deny that there are leaders of the church.

What they do is describe how such leaders are to lead. The greatest in the

church are not to behave as the greatest in the world. The implications for Luke’s

readers of Jesus’ instructions to the apostles are sufficiently self-evident that no

direct application needed to be made by the Evangelist.

Should be like the youngest. “Youngest” is literally younger. The “youngest”

does not refer to an established group in the church. Rather the youngest

represent people who possess the least claim for “ruling over” others.

And the one who rules like the one who serves. “The one who rules” may

be a semitechnical term for an officer in the church. The Greek word for “serves”

is diakonōn, from which the word deacon comes. The terms “serves,” “servant,”

and “service” occur over ninety times in the NT. Elsewhere Jesus described

himself as one who came to “serve.”

22:27 For who is greater, the one who. Jesus introduced two rhetorical

questions that describe the world’s thinking and value system. Greatness in the

world’s eyes involves being served by others. There may be a possible allusion

here to the office of deacon, whose responsibility it is to serve [literally service];

“wait on tables” [literally to serve tables]).

But I am among you as one who serves. Although Jesus is clearly “greater”

than the disciples, his behavior during his earthly ministry was one of serving

them. Thus, one who would follow Jesus also should be servant of all.

22:28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. The disciples had

continued with Jesus during his times of trial. This can only mean that

throughout Jesus’ past trials (not just the recent ones in Jerusalem) they were

with Him. Yet they only joined him after the temptation. Thus, whereas Jesus

may in his ministry, have been spared from a direct frontal attack of Satan, this

does not mean that Satan was not active in seeking to undermine and thwart His

ministry. During all this time, the disciples were with Him. Although the

disciples would themselves face trials in the future, the trials in this verse look

backward, not forward, and are associated with Jesus, not them.

22:29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on

me. The term “confer” (diatithemai) can also mean make a covenant with and thus

brings to mind the new “covenant” (diathēkē) of 22:20. The covenant ultimately

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involved the promise of sharing in the future consummation of the kingdom

when the Son of Man returns to reign.

22:30 So that you might eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. Luke was

consciously tying this saying to Luke 22:16, 18, where Jesus spoke of His not

eating or drinking with the apostles again until He does so with them in God’s

kingdom.

And sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke may have

omitted the reference to the twelve thrones because due to Judas’s betrayal, there

were only eleven apostles at the time. Exactly what was meant by this verse is

debated. It is best to understand this promise as referring to that time when the

believer will share in the benefits of Jesus’ kingly rule. Like the first promise, this

one is best understood metaphorically as referring to participating in the

consummated kingdom where believers experience the blessings of their Lord’s

reign. Although there is a sense in which Jesus already at his resurrection

reigned as King, the kingly rule referred to here will take place in the

consummation at the redemption brought by the Son of Man.

Luke reminded his readers that greatness in God’s kingdom is contrary to the

world’s values, for it involves serving rather than being served. If there were

“deacons” among Luke’s readers, they might have been reminded that their

“office” was one of service (cf. Acts 6:1–6). The rich were reminded that they

should serve the poor. Luke, like Jesus, was well aware that even within the

fellowship of the believing community a this-world attitude toward power and

greatness could still be present. Greatness, however, means service; it means to

live as if one were the youngest or least. Such faithfulness, however, will not go

unrewarded. Jesus, in his reign promises his followers that they will share in the

benefits of that rule. What awaits Jesus will be shared with his followers. Luke’s

readers are encouraged to seek a role of servanthood because Jesus has promised

that such faithfulness, endurance and following will result in “treasure in

heaven. Such people will “dine” with Jesus in God’s kingdom.

He who announced the coming of God’s kingdom is its King and will in the

consummation reign as king. Already at His entry into Jerusalem, Luke has

shown that Jesus entered as the awaited King

RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS

CLOSING PRAYER

O God: We are eternally grateful for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, to save us

from condemnation of sin. Cover us that we may never opt to betray You as

did Judas, but to continually bless Your Name. Amen.