In the summer of 2021 my wife and I planned on going to Glacier National Park. There were many roadblocks along the way. Finding a place to stay that didn’t cost $300 a night was the first. We finally found an air B&B in Kalispell. Then we discovered that you had to have a pass to enter on the Going to the Sun Road and everything was sold out. More tickets would be open for purchase on the web cite a couple of days before we planned on going. My wife logged on early and as soon as the time rolled around she was hitting the purchase button over and over again. Five minutes later all of the tickets were gone and we still did not have one. We planned on going north and entering the park on a different road. Our air B&B host told us that if we arrived at the park before six in the morning we could get on the road. That meant getting up at 4:00 am and throwing on some clothes, making some coffee, brushing our teeth and getting ourselves on the road. And we made it. I could easily see myself saying to my wife as we pulled into the park, “How I longed with longing to enter this park with you.”
Luke 22:14-20 is the institution of the Lord’s Supper. The hour had arrived for the Passover. Preparations were finished, the Paschal lamb had been slain and prepared, and Jesus and the disciples were reclining at table. Jesus said, “I have longed with longing to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” This was something significant; something that had to be done before the passion. But there had been roadblocks. The leadership was getting increasingly hostile. One of his disciples had already betrayed him and was seeking for a moment to hand him over to the increasingly religious leaders. But there they were. All was as it should be. “I longed with longing” represents a Hebraism. In order to emphsize something you say the same word twice; in this case the verb and the noun form of the same word. Jesus knows what lays ahead of him; the trial, the beatings, the humiliation, the cross, death, and burial. But before all of that there was to be this celebritory feast.
And Jesus says that he will never eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Does this mean that he will never eat it again until after he had fulfilled the kingdom in his death, burial, and resurrection? Does it mean he will not eat it until the eschatological banquet? There is some evidence that already in Jesus’ day, some of the Jews celebrated Passover with a look toward future renewal. For what it is worth, I think that Jesus fulfilled the prophsies concerning the kingdom of God; that we are in that kingdom; and that we are sitting at the eschatological banquet right now. Jesus is present with us during the eucharist. Then, Jesus takes up a cup of wine and gives thanks and tells his disciples to share it among themselves. There is no evidence here telling us which cup in the Passover observance this is. What is interesting is that he takes up a cup and tells them to share it. Normal Passover observance would be for them to pick up their own cups during the blessing over it. Again, Jesus states that he will not drink it again until the kingdom has come. And again, it seems likely that Jesus is letting them know that the kingdom is coming; is being fulfilled in his suffering.
Verses 19 and 20 seem almost redundant. But now, the words of Jesus are being linked with the observance of the Lord’s Supper. The bread is his body which is given for us. The phrase is used in Thucydides and Libanus to refer to dying in battle for the sake of one’s people. Though some will want to minimize this, it is also sacrificial language – the sacrificial animal must die on behalf of the person offering the sacrifice (for forgiveness, purification, thanksgiving, etc.). Jesus added “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Part of the grain offering, which is burned on the altar, is called a “memorial portion” (Leviticus 2:2; 5:12; 6:15). More importantly, the Passover was to be a remembrance of God’s delivery from slavery; from Egypt. The cup is said to be a new covenant and this refers to Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Exodus 24:8.
When we approach the Lord’s Supper can we honestly say, “I have longed with longing to share this festive meal with you”? This is a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice; his teaching; his fulfilling the kingdom of God. The bread is his body which was given for his people; laid down in battle so that we might win. The cup, the fruit of the vine, is his blood poured out; the new covenant of forgiveness and relationship. This is significant stuff. And through the week we may have had many a roadblock to relationship; to covenant life. So, let’s gather and say, “I have longed with longing to eat this with you.”