Lesson 269

The Last Supper

Luke 22:7-20

MEMORY VERSELUKE 22:15-16Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desiredto eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say toyou, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in thekingdom of God."

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:As many small cups as the number of children in your class, apitcher of grape juice, and some crackers on a plate.

ATTENTION GRABBER!

Preparing the FeastHave your class help you prepare Communion. Have some of thechildren set out the appropriate number of cups, some pour thegrape juice from a pitcher into the cups (providing they aredexterous enough to handle it), and have some break the crackersonto a plate.

Explain to your class that today’s lesson is going to be about somevery special meals the Lord gave us to celebrate His great love forus!

LESSON TIME!In today's lesson we are going to have dinner together. In fact, thislesson will take us to not just one dinner, or two dinners, and noteven three, but four dinners. I hope you are hungry for the lessontoday. All four dinners we will study from out of the Bible and oneof them we will share together.

Dinner #1: The Lord's PassoverOur first dinner takes us way back in time to Moses and thechildren of Israel. They were all under slavery and beingoppressed by the King of Egypt. God was going to deliver them outof Egypt and the tyranny of the king.

EXOD US 12:1-2N ow the LORD sp oke t o M oses and Aaron in the l andof Egyp t , s ay ing,

"Th i s m onth shal l be you r beginn ing o f m onths ; i tshal l be the f i r s t m onth o f the year t o you . "

God instituted a feast so that His people would forever rememberthat He brought them out of the land of Egypt. This feast is calledthe Passover. In this passage God was starting His own holiday. Hewas also giving the children of Israel a new calendar. From then onthe month they were in would be the first month on the calendar.This month happened to be April, so April was the first month ofthe Jewish calendar. The first month on the American calendar iswhat?

So we see that God wanted His people to always remember what Hehas done for them. He establishes “memorials” to help them toremember. We also have some things that remind us of God’sfaithfulness as Christians. We will be looking more closely at onelater (communion).

EXOD US 12:3-6"S p eak t o al l t he c ongregat i on o f I s rae l , s ay ing: 'Onthe t en th day o f th i s m onth ev ery m an shal l t ake f orh im se l f a l am b, ac c ord ing t o the hou se o f h i s f ather ,a l am b f or a hou seho ld .

'And i f the hou seho ld i s t oo sm al l f or the l am b, l e th im and h i s ne i ghbor next t o h i s hou se t ake i tac c ord ing t o the nu m ber o f the p ersons ; ac c ord ing t oeac h m an 's need you shal l m ake you r c ou nt f or thel am b.

'You r l am b shal l be w i thou t bl em i sh , a m ale o f thef i r s t year . You m ay t ake i t f rom the sheep or f romthe goat s .

'N ow you shal l k eep i t u n t i l t he f ou r t een th day o f thesam e m onth . Then the w ho le as sem bly o f thec ongregat i on o f I s rae l shal l k i l l i t at tw i l i gh t . '

To prepare for this special dinner, the people were to take a one-year-old male lamb, without spot or blemish for their family. Thiswas to be done on the tenth day of this month. What day wouldthis be? The answer is April 10th. It was important for the peopleto make sure they had enough lamb for this dinner.

If they had a big family they could use two; if a small family, theycould share with a neighbor. They watched the lamb for 4 daysand made sure he was a perfect lamb. On the 14th day of themonth (April 14th) they were to slaughter the lamb at twilight(sunset). Kind of like taking the lamb to the butcher so they couldprepare the meat for dinner.

This lamb represents Jesus who is referred to in the Bible as the“Lamb of God.” He was perfect in every way. And like the lambbeing watched for the Passover feast, Jesus’ life was open for all tosee during His three years of ministry. No one could look at Jesus’life and find any fault. He is perfect in everyway which means Hecan be the one to provide forgiveness for us. He gave Himself to bethe sacrifice for our sin. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

EXOD US 12:7-11'And they shal l t ake som e o f the blood and p u t i t onthe tw o doorp os t s and on the l in t e l o f the hou sesw here they eat i t .

'Then they shal l eat the f l esh on that n i gh t ; roas t edin f i re , w i th u n l eav ened bread and w i th bi t t er herbsthey shal l eat i t .

'D o not eat i t raw , nor bo i l ed at al l w i th w ater , bu troas t ed in f i re ; i t s head w i th i t s l egs and i t s en t rai l s .

'You shal l l e t none o f i t r em ain u n t i l m orn ing, andw hat rem ains o f i t u n t i l m orn ing you shal l bu rn w i thf i re .

'And thu s you shal l eat i t : w i th a be l t on you r w ai s t ,you r sandal s on you r f ee t , and you r s t af f i n you rhand . S o you shal l eat i t i n has t e . I t i s the Lord 'sPas sov er . '

First they were to take the blood of the lamb and paint it on thefront door of their house. They put the blood on the sides and topof the doorframe only. They were not to put the blood on the floor(threshold) of the doorframe because this blood was special andyou should not walk on it and put it under your feet.

The meat was to be cooked over a fire. This meat could not beboiled or eaten raw. It had to be barbecued. Also with the meat,there was bread and bitter herbs or vegetables. This sounds like it’sgoing to be good. The last preparation was their clothes. God toldthem to get dressed for a trip. They were to put all the clothes onthey needed for a special trip that God was going to take them on.God called this dinner "The Lord's Passover." Jesus is thePassover Lamb.

A Few of My Favorite ThingsTake a moment to share with your class a favorite food or mealthat you enjoy. Explain what memory or circumstance in your lifemakes this meal an enjoyable one for you. Allow some of yourclass to share some of their favorite foods or meals. Ask why thesemeals are significant to them.

Explain to your class that God knew that the memory of Hisfaithfulness in our lives would be more easily remembered if it wasassociated with what we do every day, what we must do tosurvive...eat! We have an opportunity to thank God for Hisfaithfulness every time we sit down to a meal.

EXOD US 12:12-14'For I w i l l p as s th rou gh the l and o f Egyp t on thatn igh t , and w i l l s t r i ke al l t he f i r s tborn in the l and o fEgyp t , bo th m an and beas t ; and again s t al l t he godsof Egyp t I w i l l exec u te j u dgm ent : I am the LORD .

'N ow the blood shal l be a s i gn f or you on the hou sesw here you are . And w hen I s ee the blood , I w i l l p as sov er you ; and the p l agu e shal l no t be on you todes t roy you w hen I s t r i ke the l and o f Egyp t .

'S o th i s day shal l be t o you a m em or ial ; and youshal l k eep i t as a f eas t t o the LORD throu ghou t you rgenerat i ons . You shal l k eep i t as a f eas t by anev er l as t ing ord inanc e . '

It is very important that we understand what this dinner was for.Why did God have them do this? Let's find out. On this same night(April 14th) God was going to go from house to house looking forall those who obeyed His command to put the blood of the lamb onthe front door. If they did not have the blood on the door, the

people in the house did not obey God. Because they did not obeyGod and put the blood of the lamb on their door, the punishmentwas that the first-born male in their family would die that night.Also, the first-born male from all their flocks would die. This wasthe Judgment of God. All they had to do was obey God. God wouldpass over any house that applied the blood to the door of theirhouse.

God delivered the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt thenext day after their dinner. God wanted them to always rememberthis dinner. It was a symbol of God's deliverance of His people outof bondage, an ordinance for them to obey.

It was also a picture of Jesus and how that when we ask Jesus toforgive us of our sins and come into our hearts; He will cleanse usby His blood that was shed for us on Calvary. It is the blood ofJesus that will cleanse us from all unrighteousness and will save usfrom eternal separation from God. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

Dinner #2: The Last SupperOur second dinner takes place in the time of Jesus’ life on earth.This dinner took place with Jesus and His disciples. Who was thefirst dinner with? (Moses and the people of Israel)

LUKE 22:7-13Then c am e the D ay o f Un leav ened Bread , w hen thePas sov er m u s t be k i l l ed .

And He s en t Pet er and J ohn , s ay ing, "Go and p rep arethe Pas sov er f or u s , that w e m ay eat ."

S o they said t o Him , "Where do You w ant u s t op rep are?"

And He said t o them , "Beho ld , w hen you hav e en t eredthe c i t y , a m an w i l l m eet you c arry ing a p i t c her o fw ater ; f o l l ow h im in to the hou se w h i c h he en t er s .

"Then you shal l s ay t o the m as t er o f the hou se , 'TheTeac her says t o you , "Where i s the gu es t room w hereI m ay eat the Pas sov er w i th M y d i s c ip l es ?" '

"Then he w i l l show you a l arge , f u rn i shed u p p erroom ; there m ake ready ."

S o they w en t and f ou nd i t j u s t as He had said t othem , and they p rep ared the Pas sov er .

This was the day of unleavened bread. This day came four daysafter Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the Passover week. Do youremember how many days the lamb had to be watched by thepeople of Israel in the story of our first dinner (four)? Jesus wasgoing to play a special part in our second dinner. Since this was"The Lord's Passover," what month was it (April)?

Jesus told his disciples, Peter and John, to go make preparation forthe dinner. They were to go into Jerusalem and find a man with ajar of water. What was special about a man with a jar of water? Inthose days usually only women carried the water.

It would be rare to see a man carrying a jar of water. This manwould lead them to the house that they would have dinner in. Thishouse would be all set up for dinner. The only things they wouldneed were the groceries.

The Passover TestTake a few moments to see if your class can remember what foodswere needed for the Passover meal. 1) a lamb, 2) bitter vegetablesor herbs, 3) unleavened bread, and 4) preparation for departure(extra credit).

Explain once again the significance of these elements.

Let's go shopping with Peter and John. They would purchase thelamb at the Temple and take the lamb to the priest. He would killthe lamb and apply the blood for the sins of the disciples. Theywould then bring the meat back for the dinner.

Next, they would go get the bitter vegetables. They were supposedto be bitter so they would remind the people of how awful it wasfor their families to be in slavery. Then they would get the bread.It was supposed to be unleavened. Unleavened meant that it didn’thave any yeast in the bread. Yeast is what makes bread and cakesrise and get fluffy. This yeast represented sin against God.

There was one other item they would get and that was wine (grapejuice). It would represent the blood of the Passover lamb that hadto die for the families of deliverance. Now that the shopping isdone, let's go to the dinner.

LUKE 22:14-20When the hou r had c om e, He sat dow n , and thetw elv e ap os t l es w i th Him .

Then He said t o them , "Wi th f erv en t des i re I hav edes i red t o eat th i s Pas sov er w i th you bef ore I su f f er ;

" f or I s ay t o you , I w i l l no l onger eat o f i t u n t i l i t i sf u l f i l l ed in the k ingdom of God ."

Then He t ook the c u p , and gav e thanks , and said ,"Take th i s and d iv ide i t am ong you rse l v es ;

" f or I s ay t o you , I w i l l no t d r ink o f the f ru i t o f thev ine u n t i l t he k ingdom of God c om es ."

And He t ook bread , gav e thanks and broke i t , andgav e i t t o them , say ing, "Th i s i s M y body w h i c h i sgi v en f or you ; do th i s in rem em branc e o f M e ."

L ikew i se He al so t ook the c u p af t er su p p er , s ay ing,"Th i s c u p i s the new c ov enan t in M y blood , w h i c h i sshed f or you . "

When the time came for the Passover dinner the apostles were atthe table with Jesus ready to eat. Jesus said to them that He wantedto eat this meal with them before He suffered. Suffered? How wasJesus going to suffer? He was about to die on the cross. We knowthe story, but the disciples did not know Jesus was going to die asthe Passover lamb. Jesus told them that the next time they sharedthis dinner together it would be in Heaven. Jesus is the PassoverLamb. He died for all. Amen!

Jesus gave thanks to God for the bread and He broke the loaf andtold the disciples that it represented His body. Just as the breadhad no leaven, Jesus had no sin. Jesus was a spotless lamb. He hadbeen observed by man and He was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5).

After dinner Jesus took the cup of wine and said it represented Hisblood that would be poured out for them. Just as the blood of thelamb would be spilled for the families in the Passover, so Jesusshed His blood for all men. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.

Dinner #3: Communion1 COR IN THIAN S 11:23-26For I r ec e i v ed f rom the Lord that w h i c h I al sode l i v ered t o you : that the Lord J esu s on the sam en igh t in w h i c h He w as bet rayed took bread ;

and w hen He had gi v en thanks , He broke i t and said ,"Take , eat ; t h i s i s M y body w h i c h i s broken f or you ;do th i s in rem em branc e o f M e ."

In the sam e m anner He al so t ook the c u p af t ersu p p er , s ay ing, "Th i s c u p i s the new c ov enan t in M yblood . Th i s do , as o f t en as you d r ink i t , i nrem em branc e o f M e ."

For as o f t en as you eat th i s bread and d r ink th i s c u p ,you p roc l aim the Lord 's death t i l l He c om es .

Our third dinner takes place today. We are going to takecommunion together. Communion is a celebration we do togetherlike the Jewish people did at Passover. We remember what Jesushas done for us on the cross; the Jewish people remember whatGod did for them in Egypt. Each part of the Passover dinnerreminds us of God's salvation for our lives.

These are the things that the Passover elements represent:

1. Egypt represents slavery to sin.2. The Passover lamb represents Jesus.3. The blood on the doorpost represents Jesus’ blood applied toour sin for salvation.4. The bitter vegetables represent how life is bitter and keeps usin bondage without Jesus.5. The unleavened bread represents Jesus’ sinless, spotless life. 6 . The Passover represents God’s passing over our lives andsparing us from judgment.

7. The traveling clothes represent our lives, pilgrims in this landwaiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled; delivered from slaveryand given a life of freedom to live for Him.

In communion we use two symbols (elements), the bread and thewine (or grape juice). The bread we take to remember that Jesuswas perfect and sinless. He gave Himself for us who had sin(Romans 5:8). The bread also reminds us that Jesus gave His bodyto be beaten and put on a cross, so that we could be made whole.The juice we take to remember that Jesus spilled His blood for us.

It’s because of His blood that we will be forgiven of our sins if weaccept it and apply it to the doorpost of our lives. His blood is likethe lamb's blood. The innocent sinless lamb, died for the guiltyfamily. Jesus, the innocent sinless man, died for us sinful people.Jesus is the Passover Lamb. We remember this in communion.

You should never take communion unless you have accepted Jesusas your Savior. The reason is that if you have not applied the bloodof Jesus to the doorpost of your heart, when you take communionit is like taking the blood and pouring it on the floor (threshold)and walking over it. We would never want to trample on the bloodof Jesus, would we?

Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Have you accepted Jesus as thePassover Lamb of God? Have you applied the blood of Jesus to yourheart's door? If not, we can explain to you how you can do thistoday!

Take CommunionPrepare your class to take the communion that they prepared atthe beginning of the class. Explain once again the importance ofbeing a repentant believer to receive communion and give yourclass an opportunity to receive Christ or confess to the Lord anyunrepentant sin.

Pass out the cracker pieces to your class and have them hold themtogether. If possible have a brief time of worship together. Pray aprayer of thanksgiving for the perfect body of Christ that wasbroken for us. Partake of the cracker together.

Pass out the cups of juice to your class and have them hold themtogether. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the blood of Jesus thatwas shed to cleanse us from our sin. Partake of the juice together.

Dinner #4: The Marriage Supper of the LambREVELATION 19:6-9And I heard , as i t w ere , the v o i c e o f a greatm u l t i tu de , as the sou nd o f m any w ater s and as thesou nd o f m igh ty thu nder ings , s ay ing, "Al l e lu i a ! Forthe Lord God Om nip oten t re i gns !

"Let u s be gl ad and re j o i c e and gi v e Him glory , f orthe m arr i age o f the Lam b has c om e, and Hi s w i f e hasm ade herse l f ready ."

And to her i t w as gran ted t o be ar rayed in f ine l inen ,c l ean and br i gh t , f or the f ine l inen i s the r i gh t eou sac t s o f the sain t s .

Then he said t o m e , "Wr i t e : 'B l es sed are those w hoare c al l ed t o the m arr i age su p p er o f the Lam b!' " Andhe said t o m e , "These are the t ru e say ings o f God ."

There is one last dinner still to be celebrated. Remember whenJesus said He was not going to have dinner until He had it with thedisciples in Heaven? Well, we are invited to the dinner. We aregoing to all celebrate Jesus together. Jesus is the Passover Lamb.We will have dinner in heaven with Moses and the Israelites, thedisciples, but most importantly, Jesus. All of the

people who have received Jesus as their Passover Lamb will be inheaven and eat the marriage supper of the Lamb together. Jesus i sthe Passover Lamb.

PRAYERLead the children in a prayer of thanksgiving for the sacrifice madefor our sins. Thank the Lord for the promise of the marriagesupper of the Lamb in heaven.