Pesach, Passover, was over 1400 years old, stretching all the way back to the Exodus. For Jesus and the Twelve, it would have been a very familiar reminder of how God delivered His people through the blood of the sacrificial lamb.
But Jesus said something on this night that had never been said in fourteen centuries: This is My body. This is My blood.
Until this night, every “communion” was the same. It was a look back on what God had done to “pass over” His people when the death angel came for Egypt's firstborn. The bread and the cup were reminders. But this communion was different because by this time tomorrow, Jesus would be hanging on the cross. He was the Passover Lamb.
How we admire our Savior tonight! His heart must have been unbelievably heavy. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I saw to you, one of you will betray me..." (Mark 14:18).
A lot happened that night. Before the meal, He washed the feet of all of them, including Judas. Afterward He taught them. We call it "The Upper Room Discourse," and it's recorded in John 13-16. Then He prayed for His own--the Great High Priestly Prayer of John 17.
And you know what came next. And they went to a place called Gethsemane (Mark 14:32).
