Jesus invite his disciples

Sunday June 13, 2021

Jesus invites his disciples

The teacher said : Where is the hall where I will eat the Passover with my disciples ? Mark 14:14

We are at the end of Jesus' ministry. This is the last week. The time of his crucifixion is approaching.

The Gospels tell us of several invitations made to Jesus. But, for the last Passover that he will live on earth, it is Jesus who invites his disciples, into a room made available to him, on the upper floor of a house in Jerusalem. This meal will be marked by many events, but there is one that deeply touches every Christian : it is the institution of the Last Supper.

Traditionally, during the Passover meal, the head of the family explained to his family the meaning of this feast : It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, which passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt. (Exodus 12:27). But on that day, Jesus, who is our passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), gives this feast its true dimension and proposes a new covenant : This is my blood, the blood of the new covenant which is shed for a great number (Mark 14:24). The Greek term used here for "alliance" does not contain the idea of ​​a mutual commitment, but means an arrangement made by only one party. This sacrifice thus gives a sure salvation, because offered by God in an unconditional way. Also, before dying, Jesus suggests that we remember what he himself is going to accomplish. The sung hymn (Mark 14:26) is undoubtedly a portion of Psalms 113 to 118 traditionally reserved for this feast. A prophetic word from one of these psalms takes on its full value here : The stone which those who built had rejected became the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22).

During this invitation, this feast, a memory of a great deliverance brought about by God for his people, takes on a new meaning. The Last Supper is, for believers, both the remembrance of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and that of deliverance from the judgment of God against sin.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)