The Better Passover

“For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ’This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NLT)

One of the most radical things that Jesus did happened the night before He was crucified.

As their ancestors had been doing for a thousand years before them, Peter and John were tasked by Jesus with preparing the Passover meal. They ceremoniously arranged the unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The bread representing the haste with which the Israelites had to prepare this final meal in Egypt, and the herbs symbolizing the bitterness of their slavery. They laid out the cups of wine to remember the sacrificial blood their ancestors painted onto their doorposts on their last night in captivity.

Jesus had already fulfilled so many Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. I wonder if any of them anticipated that He would fulfill this traditional covenant feast?

In one of His most demonstrative displays of authority, Jesus declared that when we eat the unleavened bread, we would no longer remember the hasty departure of Egypt; we would remember His very flesh broken for us. Jesus declared that when we drink the wine, we would no longer remember the blood of the unblemished sacrifice painted on the doorposts of the Israelites’ homes; we would remember His blood spilled out on our behalf.

The night before His death, Jesus reinterpreted this centuries-old tradition. When they partook of the Passover meal, they would not think of the plagues of Egypt; they would think of Jesus.

We would no longer remember just a historical physical deliverance; we now think of our present spiritual deliverance.

Only God Himself could reinterpret His own covenant. This was the plan all along. Jesus was not “Plan B” because man just couldn’t figure it out. God knew from the very beginning that it would be Jesus. This Messianic thread of redemption is woven through every prophecy and picture of Christ in Scripture.

He is the better Adam: Conquering sin for the world and resisting temptation.

He is the better Moses: Obedient to the point of death.

He is the better Joshua: Leading an unfaithful people to permanent spiritual rest.

He is the better David: Reigning as the perfect and true King.

He is the better Esther: Sent for such a time as this.

He is the better Covenant: Our eternal Priest and King.

He is the better Sacrifice: The final holy and blameless sacrifice.

He is the better Passover: Delivering the world from the slavery of sin.

It was always Jesus and it was always for us. Jesus forged the outline of redemption and perfectly colored in every inch. There is no more salvation left to earn or achieve; it has already been won on the cross.

There is nothing left for us to do but remember.

When we remember His body broken for us and His blood spilled for us, we are acknowledging how helpless we always were to save ourselves and how God orchestrated our rescue. These Scriptural pictures of Christ deepen our understanding of all that Jesus accomplished for us. If we have Jesus, we have all that we need.

He is better than our best attempts to earn salvation. He simply invites us to receive and remember.

Prayer: Jesus, what a Savior you are! I have done nothing to merit your sacrifice and forgiveness and yet you freely offer it to me anyway. I need your help to remember all that you’ve done for me. The cares of this world pull at my heart and soon I find that I have lost the wonder of your gift. I want to feel the wonder I first felt when I heard of your love for me. Loosen my grip on the things of this world so that I can hold onto the majesty of who you are. You’re all I need. May I never forget.