Luke 22, 7 - 9
Something to read
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
New Revised Standard Version
To read the King James Version, click here
Something to think about
Passover is a defining event in biblical salvation history. The first Passover brought about the release of Israel from slavery in Egypt and triggered the Exodus of the Israel to the Promised Land. This meal became the annual celebration of Jewish identity and today is concluded with the words ‘Next year in Jerusalem’, a hint of a journey to be taken.
Paul the apostle built a great deal of his theology of salvation upon this Old Testament episode. For Paul, Jesus is the Passover Lamb and he used the Exodus as a paradigm for understanding what God does in the life of the believer and what God is doing within history itself as part of the grand salvation landscape.
Passover helps us make sense of the big picture and God’s ways in the human story. Yet it starts small. The individual sacrifice of the most meek and defenceless of all creatures; a lamb. This common place animal prefigured the magnificent Lamb of God who, in the glorious images of Revelation, becomes the shepherd of the entire world.
Something to do
Stop and reflect on how Jesus would like you to make yourself ready to have him to dinner as we partake of the ‘meal of meals’ through this week’s readings.
Something to pray
Lord, your disciples asked you, “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” And so I too ask: where shall I prepare and how should I make ready for you?
Today’s contributor is David Muir, Christian Aid’s Senior Regional Co-ordinator for its London and South East region.