Do this in remembrance of Me

When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and 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."  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."    Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

- Luke 22:14-23

 Yesterday we read that while Jesus was in Jerusalem, in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

  When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."   My study bible tells us that Christ has a fervent desire for this Passover because this meal will give the mysteries of the new covenant to His followers -- and this event will inaugurate the great deliverance of humanity from sin through the power of the Cross.

Then He took the cup, and 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."   My study bible says that this first cup concludes the Old Testament Passover meal that Christ eats with His disciples in fulfillment of the Law.  Until the kingdom of God comes means until His Resurrection -- at that time He will again eat and drink with His disciples (Luke 24:43; Acts 10:41).

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.  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."    Jesus "gave thanks" as He instituted this first Eucharist.  The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word for "giving thanks" (euxaristo means "thank you" in modern Greek).    So this word immediately came to mean both the Liturgy and the sacrament of Holy Communion.  My study bible refers to the Didache, which is a collection of the earliest teachings of the apostles,  in which the celebration of the Liturgy is called "the Eucharist."  St. Justin writes of Holy Communion in the year AD 150, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."   In the Orthodox Churches, it has always been accepted that Christ's words - "This is My body" - are true, "that the food consecrated by word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus" (St. Justin).   For the Eastern Church, this is understood simply as a mystical reality, a mystery of God, not humanly explainable.  This was the view of the universal Church for the first 1,000 years of Christianity.

"But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study bible points out to us that Judas too is invited to the table for the mystical supper:  Jesus is seeking by all means to save him!   We are invited here to consider what "unworthy participation" means in terms (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30).

Jesus' sacrifice is laid out plainly for us.  He is the sacrificial paschal lamb.  In the words of churches all over the world (taken from 1 Corinthians 5:7-8), "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast."   We have to understand just how His sacrifice works, but maybe most importantly, why this is such a turning point in spiritual history -- how His sacrifice changes the ways in which we see ourselves and relate to God and one another.   The paschal lamb was a sacrifice of a "perfect" animal, unblemished.  It was a commemoration in accordance with the commands of the Law of the first Passover, when the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on doorposts so that the angel would "pass over" those homes on the first night of the Exodus.  Many see Jesus as a "continuation" of this, once and for all:  His sacrifice liberates all of us, and so we partake of that sacrifice.  But we also have to see what it is for Him to sacrifice Himself as the ultimate offering for the rest of us:  in effect, He consecrates His entire life and mission in this world to the will of God -- He dies as an act of love.  Our commemoration is in bread and wine, and the mystical reality of the presence of the Spirit.  The sacrifices He asks of us are a "broken and contrite heart," echoing the words of the Psalmist in the Psalm so often used for repentance in the Church.   Our participation in His sacrifice therefore becomes something that is a part of ourselves, something we're willing to give up to God.  Thereby we have community (in Communion) and also forgiveness:  forgiveness -- in addition to being something we seek to be restored to community in Christ -- is also our own act of giving up something to God.  We come before the altar of His great sacrifice to take our Communion or Eucharist, and we "give up" (the real meaning of the Greek word in the Gospels translated as "forgive") whatever it is that holds us back from full restoration and relatedness to Him, and through God, to community.   Were we abused?  Have we been wronged?  Bring it to the altar, asked to be made free, and find God's guidance for right relatedness.  Once again, as we've written in our commentary before, forgiveness doesn't right a wrong or change what has happened.  Repentance on the part of the one giving the hurt remains a responsibility to God and community.  But our own relationship to community is restored as we are willing to come before God and find God's way.   A famous preacher sometimes teaches that we might not be able to trust that person again, but we can still forgive.   Do we have something for which we need to be forgiven?  The words to God are simple when they really come from the heart:  "Please forgive me."   Right relatedness depends on our willingness to come to Him, and to be made free so that we may move on His way and still practice love, still be the full human being He can make us and calls us to be.  That is sacrifice His way, inviting us in to be with Him in the deepest sense possible, and giving us the greatest fullness we can have in return.  How do you meet Him and find your true way to community?

Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

- Luke 21:37-22:13

 Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Jesus, who's been welcomed into Jerusalem as Messiah, doesn't stay in fancy lodgings and He's not the guest of the wealthy.  He stays with the pilgrims on Mr. Olivet.   But daily "all the people" come to hear Him in the temple starting from early in the morning

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.   And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  My study bible explains that Passover (Pascha in the Greek) is a celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt, and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12-14).  At Passover, an unblemished lamb was slaughtered in remembrance, and eat together with unleavened bread (used as the Israelites departed in haste).  It is Holy Week, and the Passover prefigures Jesus' Passion -- the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  In the Greek, Pascha (known as Easter in the West) is the primary term by which one refers to the death and Resurrection of Christ.

 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study bible tells us that Satan does not enter a man except by the man's consent.  It says that the reason Satan chose Judas and none of the others is because Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, while the others did not.  It says, "Luke's mention of Judas being numbered among the twelve emphasizes the depth of the betrayal and shows that religious position is worthless if not accompanied by faith and virtue."

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.   My study bible lets us know that the term Passover (Pascha in the Greek) can refer to the original event it commemorates, a celebration of that event, the food that is eaten, or the lamb that is slain.  It says that according to patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal while John represents spiritual understanding, "the virtues with which we are to partake of the Lord's Supper."

 Jesus honors the Law and the Prophets:  His fulfillment of His mission includes His devotedness to Jewish spiritual heritage.  It's important that we acknowledge that whatever is "wrong" with Judas, his betrayal is not done in the cause of Jewish heritage or its defense.  There is something completely different at work here.  My study bible gives us a clue when it talks about vulnerability in Judas to betrayal.  Was there something that triggered him?  John's Gospel suggests his love of money, that he was the "treasurer" and would steal.  We know the scene that happens shortly before betrayal, also given us by John:  Judas with others chastises the woman who uses a jar of expensive ointment to anoint Christ.   Christ says she has done it out of love, in preparation for His burial, and says, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.  For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."  It's a public rebuke to Judas.  But there we have a statement by Christ that goes beyond "legalism," and into the territory of love.  Jesus honors her gesture, but for a person who thinks strictly in terms of dollars and cents she's criticized for her choices; she's not following a rule.  Perhaps this exposes Judas' great blind spot, the place where Satan can take hold.  We've all got to open our hearts to where love calls us, because love is the reason and meaning behind all laws.  It's like all the "rules" we might find in churches for fasting, for example, or for ways we observe worship.  Those are helpful tools for the practice of our faith, but it's love that is the substance of the God we worship.  Sin is what is against God, not a violation of rules.   It's Jesus who taught that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.  It's in that place, the true object of our worship, that we go in Jesus' healing paradigm:  He has come to save, not to condemn.  Maybe Judas just can't quite "get" that message.  Some say he expected the Messiah to be a political ruler, overthrowing the Romans.  But what we do know is that Jesus will attempt until the last minute to save Judas, despite the fact of betrayal.  Let's look to ourselves and our own expectations to see where we, too, are vulnerable, where we have "blind spots."  Sometimes we have to give up the deepest fondest beliefs we have to follow Christ, even the things we rest our identity upon.  His love will call us to a wholeness we may resist, and draw us out of the groups we know.  Judas turns to the leadership who resents and envies Jesus, and betrays his Master.   Let us see how Jesus responds, and remember that it is His Way that defeats the devil, His light that shines in the darkness, always there on offer for us to heal, and be made truly whole.  Let's take a look at the darkness here, everything is done in hiding, via manipulation, in the shadows.   Jesus teaches openly in the temple by day.