The night of the new Exodus: a reflection for Day 38 of Lent

“When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.  He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22.14-16)

     On Sunday, the long (narrative) journey which had begun in Lk. 9.51 finally came to an end.  In a moment poignant with irony, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, mounted on a donkey, to the cheers of the Passover pilgrims which echoed those of the angels who had cheered his birth (Lk. 19.37-38; cf. 2.8-14).  It is a moment of joy for the disciples and those who believe that the Messiah has arrived in his capital to set them free…at Passover time, no less.  Every year, as the people of God commemorated the Exodus from Egypt – when Yahweh had delivered them from Egyptian oppression – they hoped that their God would once again act to save them from their enemies (cf. Lk. 1.67-75).  Of course, those who have read the end of the narrative know that this hope in Jesus as Yahweh’s Messiah were indeed well founded, yet not in the way that anyone had suspected on Palm Sunday (cf. Lk. 24.21).  This moment is also one of deep sadness, as Jesus knows that Israel will indeed be rescued and redeemed…through his passion and death (cf. Lk. 12.49-50).  Jesus is also grief-stricken because he knows that his own suffering will only be a foretaste of even more tragic events to come (cf. Lk. 19.41-44; 21.5-32; 13.33-35).  During his transfiguration, Jesus had discussed, with Moses and Elijah, his “exodus” which would occur in Jerusalem (Lk. 9.31).  Now, Jesus is here and Passover is fast approaching.  Once again, Yahweh will act to save and judge his people.  Another journey is about to begin – the journey from Israel’s age-old slavery to sin towards a new reality of forgiveness and freedom, which will embrace all the nations… (cf. Lk. 24.44-48; Ac. 1.6-8).

     Jesus had come to Jerusalem, not only as a king and a prophet, but also as a priest – as the mediator of a new covenant between Yahweh and his people.  A prophet speaks for God to the people; a priest represents the people before God, stands in their place.  Jesus came to Jerusalem at Passover time to make a sacrifice – a sacrifice that would not occur within the confines of the Temple, a sacrifice very different from (but not unrelated to) the slaughter of the Passover lamb (cf. Lk. 22.7), a sacrifice that would do for the people of God what Yahweh had done for the Israelites on the night that he rescued them from slavery in Egypt – the original Passover (cf. Exodus chapters 12-14).  Not only is Jesus a priest but he is also the sacrifice.  He will give his life as a ransom, to “buy back” many members of the people of God.  When the Israelites had left Egypt, parents had had to “ransom” their first-born sons (by offering an animal as a sacrifice in place of their son), since God’s final plague on Egypt had been the death of every first-born male child, of both humans and animals (cf. Ex. 12.29; 13.11-16).  Jesus will be the sacrifice that redeems many (cf. Lk. 1.68; 2.38; 24.21). 

     “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed…” (Lk. 22.7).  This is how Luke introduces his account of Jesus’ “last supper” with his apostles.  Two disciples prepare the Passover meal in a large upper room (22.8-13).  As Jesus and the Twelve share the seder meal, Jesus “took a loaf of bread” and did what he had done previously (cf. Lk. 9.16): “…and after blessing it he broke it and gave it to them” (22.19).  This time, however, the bread is not multiplied, but Jesus says, “Take; this is my body”.  The unleavened bread, which had accompanied the roasted Passover lamb and had been prepared so hurriedly during the flight from Egypt that there had been no time for it to rise (cf. Ex. 12.8-11), is now the body of the Messiah, the Son of Man, the king.  The Shepherd of Israel continues to feed his flock, this time, with…himself.  Jesus took the cup and told them: “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many” (22.20).  Jesus interpreted his imminent death in terms of the Passover meal; what is about to happen will be the fulfillment of the Exodus from Egypt.  Jesus’ death will be the moment of liberation, of freedom from slavery, of victory over the enemies of the people of God – indeed, it will be the victory of Yahweh over all rival claimants to ultimate power over human beings.  God is about to reclaim (ransom) his human creatures from all those who would oppress, dehumanize and exploit them (cf. Lk. 22.24-27).

     When Jesus dies on the cross, the curtain of the Temple – which divided the sanctuary from “the most holy place” where God’s presence was believed to dwell (cf. Ex. 26.33-34) – was torn in two, from top to bottom (Lk. 23.45).  Only the High Priest of Israel was allowed to go behind the curtain, and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement (cf. Leviticus 16.1-19).  In the days of Solomon’s Temple, the High Priest would go behind the curtain and sprinkle the blood of the sacrificial animals on the “ark of the covenant”, the chest that contained the stone tablets upon which were inscribed the 10 Commandments (cf. Hebrews 9.4).  Jesus had already announced the Temple’s doom, which implied that it no longer served any purpose in God’s plan for his people.  Now, as he dies, the curtain is torn, symbolizing the fact that God’s presence will never again be found in “the most holy place”, but rather wherever the followers of Jesus gather (cf. Mt. 18.20; 1 Peter 2.4-5).  Jesus is our High Priest and our Passover lamb, whose death has rescued us (cf. Heb. 4.14-16; 1 Cor. 5.7).  Let us live as God’s free people – free from sin, free from the self-imposed chains of fear and pride (cf. Gal. 5.1; Rom. 6.16-23).  Amen.

     It is precisely at this point in the narrative that the (true) enemies of the people of God reappear, just in time for the final showdown with the One who is Israel’s King, (last) prophet and (true) High Priest.  As Jesus takes his place at table with the disciples to eat the Passover meal, he tells them that they have stood by him in his “trials” (Gr: peirasmoi: 22.28).  This is the same term used to describe Jesus’ “temptations” in the desert (cf. Lk. 4.1-13).  At the end of Jesus’ wilderness “trial”, Luke had told us that the Devil had “departed from him until an opportune time” (4.13).  Now, that time has come.  Both Jesus and the disciples are about to be “tested” by the forces of darkness.  First of all, “Satan enters into Judas” (Lk. 22.3) and inspires him to offer to betray Jesus to the temple authorities (22.3-6).  During the meal, Jesus warns Peter that “Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat” (Lk. 22.31; cf. Job 1.9-12).  After supper, as Jesus and the disciples arrive on the Mount of Olives, Jesus exhorts them to “pray that you may not come into the time of ‘trial’” (22.40, 46).  Once Judas arrives with the temple police, Jesus defies them by saying “this is your hour and the power of darkness!” (22.53).  Peter is “tested” when he is “accused” (“Satan” means “the Accuser”) of being an associate of Jesus, and he fails the test miserably (Lk. 22.54-62; cf. 22.31-34).  Jesus’ literal “trials” begin in Lk. 22.66 and conclude in 23.25.  Jesus, though ultimately condemned, refuses to “deny” his identity, even though neither his accusers nor his “judges” want to understand who he is.  The passion scenes are full of irony, as Jesus is condemned for being a violent insurrectionist like Barabbas, i.e. a messianic pretender (Lk. 23.1-5, 18-25).  Of course, for Luke, Jesus is indeed the Messiah, albeit a peaceful one, innocent of all violence (cf. Lk. 19.28-40; 23.4, 13-15, 22, 38).