God on Trial
Holy Thursday
March 28, 2024
Respite Luke 22:7-20 Outside the walls of an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus’ enemies are getting ready. The chief priests and teachers of the law have wanted him dead for a long time. Their desire has grown as Jesus’ popularity has grown. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem added urgency to their scheming, but they haven’t been able to do anything because of all the people around him during the Passover Festival. But now they have Judas on their payroll, and their opportunity could come at any moment. Somewhere out there in the city, they lurk and conspire. Soon it will all come to a head: their plot—and God’s plan. The next 24 hours will be a whirlwind—the mob arrest in Gethsemane; the trials before Annas and Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, and Pilate again; the crucifixion and death on Calvary; and the burial in the tomb. But not yet. Not here. For a few hours in this second-floor room, it’s just Jesus and his disciples. How he has longed for this moment! This time with his disciples is precious to him. As their brother in the flesh, Jesus loves to be among his Father’s family. During his ministry, he looked for time alone with his disciples. A little later this Thursday evening, when Jesus prays in anguish in the garden, he’ll bring three disciples along and insist that they watch and pray with him—and he’ll be disappointed when they don’t. Outside this upper room his enemies lie in wait, but inside Jesus is with his disciples. It’s more than that, of course. Jesus and his disciples are not just hanging out. They’ve gathered to celebrate the Passover—to remember the night the Lord rescued the Israelites from Egypt. You might already know the account: The Lord said he would strike down all the firstborn in the land. He commanded his people to celebrate a special meal: slaughter a young lamb without defect, roast and eat it, and brush its blood on their doorframes of their houses. That night destruction came to every house in Egypt—death to people and animals—but the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites. Inside their homes, protected by that blood and gathered around that special meal, God’s people were safe—and the Lord led them out of slavery. Every year, God’s faithful people—Jesus and his disciples included—celebrated that meal. It was a chance not only to remember what God did for his people in the past but also to look ahead. That flawless lamb was a picture of the perfect Lamb of God, the Christ, who would be sacrificed for his people, whose blood would protect them from God’s wrath, and who would give them freedom from their slavery to sin and death. This meal had been celebrated annually for well over a thousand years, but not until this generation was the true Passover Lamb of God there in the flesh to celebrate with his people! Even so, we haven’t hit on the best part of this night. What Jesus does with his disciples isn’t a new twist on an old tradition; it’s the introduction of something never seen before. On this night 1