Luk 22:19-24 | KingComments | STEP | Then the Lord takes bread to give it a new meaning, namely that of His body. Before He gives it to His disciples, He thanks God for it. He thanks God for the surrender of His own body, which will soon be hung on the cross. He knows the true meaning of the bread. Yet He thanks God for it. It is a proof of His unconditional surrender to the will of God. Then He breaks the bread and gives it as broken to His apostles. With this he institutes a new meal of remembrance. It is no longer the Passover as a reminder of the deliverance from Egypt, but the Supper as the lasting testimony of His love. The Lord points out that this bread represents His body which is “given” for them. The Lord’s Supper is presented by Luke in connection with everything that has been given to us, as members of the church, on the basis of the work of the Lord Jesus. We can think about that when we meet on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is not about the “many”, as in the Gospel according to Matthew, but about “you”, who are the disciples as the ones who will form the church. It is about seeing what God has given us in this Man, for it is His body . It is not only a given body, but a body surrendered to death . The Lord says to His disciples to think of Him when they celebrate the Supper. Doing it in “remembrance” of Him is not found in the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark, but only here and in 1 Corinthians 11 ( ). We think of Him as the dead Christ, while we know Him as the living Christ. He gives us as members of the church many reasons to think of Him. We may think of Him as the eternal Son Who wanted to become Man for us and we may think about His perfect life and His complete surrender at the cross. We can also see Him in heaven, crowned with glory and honor ( ) and we may look forward to His coming. These are all reasons to admire and worship Him. The cup also receives a new meaning. The Lord Jesus connects to the cup “the new covenant” based on His blood. With this He indicates that the old covenant has fallen short. The old covenant did not bring the promised blessings because the people did not meet the conditions attached to it. The new covenant does not depend on the faithfulness of man, but on the faithfulness of God and Christ. Christ takes upon Himself all the obligations of the new covenant. He has fulfilled them all and He has shed the blood for it. The blood is “My blood”. It is poured out for His own, so that they are free from the punishment that the old covenant brought with it, to enjoy the blessings that the new covenant brings with it.

‏ Luke 22:19-24

Institution of the Lord’s Supper

Then the Lord takes bread to give it a new meaning, namely that of His body. Before He gives it to His disciples, He thanks God for it. He thanks God for the surrender of His own body, which will soon be hung on the cross. He knows the true meaning of the bread. Yet He thanks God for it. It is a proof of His unconditional surrender to the will of God.

Then He breaks the bread and gives it as broken to His apostles. With this he institutes a new meal of remembrance. It is no longer the Passover as a reminder of the deliverance from Egypt, but the Supper as the lasting testimony of His love. The Lord points out that this bread represents His body which is “given” for them.

The Lord’s Supper is presented by Luke in connection with everything that has been given to us, as members of the church, on the basis of the work of the Lord Jesus. We can think about that when we meet on the first day of the week to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is not about the “many”, as in the Gospel according to Matthew, but about “you”, who are the disciples as the ones who will form the church. It is about seeing what God has given us in this Man, for it is His body. It is not only a given body, but a body surrendered to death.

The Lord says to His disciples to think of Him when they celebrate the Supper. Doing it in “remembrance” of Him is not found in the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark, but only here and in 1 Corinthians 11 (1Cor 11:24-25). We think of Him as the dead Christ, while we know Him as the living Christ.

He gives us as members of the church many reasons to think of Him. We may think of Him as the eternal Son Who wanted to become Man for us and we may think about His perfect life and His complete surrender at the cross. We can also see Him in heaven, crowned with glory and honor (Heb 2:9) and we may look forward to His coming. These are all reasons to admire and worship Him.

The cup also receives a new meaning. The Lord Jesus connects to the cup “the new covenant” based on His blood. With this He indicates that the old covenant has fallen short. The old covenant did not bring the promised blessings because the people did not meet the conditions attached to it.

The new covenant does not depend on the faithfulness of man, but on the faithfulness of God and Christ. Christ takes upon Himself all the obligations of the new covenant. He has fulfilled them all and He has shed the blood for it. The blood is “My blood”. It is poured out for His own, so that they are free from the punishment that the old covenant brought with it, to enjoy the blessings that the new covenant brings with it.

What Judas Will Do

Then the Lord speaks of the betrayer. He does not belong to the new covenant. It griefs His heart that the betrayer is so close to Him, that his hand is with Him on the table, but that there is no real connection between the betrayer and Him.

The fact that Luke mentions this after the Passover does not mean that Judas participated in the Supper. The description in the Gospel according to John clearly shows that Judas left the upper room after he had accepted the morsel of the Passover from the hand of the Lord (Jn 13:30). Luke changes the order – as he often does – to describe the behavior of the different disciples after he described the institution of the Supper.

He starts with Judas. The Lord speaks of what this disciple will do, but without saying who it is. We see what His announcement does to the other disciples. He also shows that immediately after that serious announcement they start a dispute about who is the greatest (Lk 22:24).

He is aware that He as the Son of Man has to undergo everything that has been determined. At the same time He feels the pain that one of His disciples will play a horrible role in this. He can only speak the “woe” about that person. So close and yet so far away. The Lord speaks here of the counsel of God on the one hand, and of the responsibility of man on the other (cf. Acts 2:23).

The words about His being betrayed cause upheaval among the disciples. They wonder among themselves – not who it could be, but – “which one of them” it could be. They understand that there is a betrayer among them, but they have no idea who that might be. This means that Judas never gave any reason to think that he could come to that terrible act. He has always behaved neatly and carried out all the assignments well. He was not under any suspicion. But what is hidden from the disciples’ eyes is completely visible to the Lord.

Who Is the Greatest

What the Lord has said about His being betrayed has a moment of attention. For a moment they are touched and talk about who of them was going to do this thing. But soon the conversation takes a turn and a dispute arises about what they consider to be a more important point that has yet to be settled. They have talked about it before (Lk 9:46). They did not manage to solve it and the item is still high on their agenda.

It indicates how obstinate the evil of self-exaltation is. It has to be decided which one of them was regarded to be greatest. Still their thoughts circle around the kingdom to be founded. To their expectation this will be soon. They are sure that it is close by now. Only then the question of what position they will occupy in the kingdom becomes also more urgent.

The Lord puts an end to their dispute by pointing to the kings of the Gentiles who rule over others. They often do this by distributing presents to keep people friendly. The people therefore call them ‘benefactors’, and in this way, too, the kings and rulers keep their grip on the people. With that He says: “That’s how you are trying to rule over each other.” But that is not how it should be among believers. It should be the other way around. The greatest is only really great when he takes the place of the youngest.

It is the place that Joseph and David had among their brothers. That didn't give them an advantage, but contempt, to be of no importance. But where did they end? Both on the throne. This will also be the case with them if they take the place of the youngest, that is to say the place of a pupil, of someone who listens to another and receives teaching. And if they want to be a leader – literally ‘one who leads’ – let them serve. Serving is making oneself available to others, so that the other may benefit from it through their service.

The question of who is greater, the one who reclines or the one who serves, is not difficult to answer when it comes to judge relationships among the people of the world. Of course he who reclines is greater. He can let himself be served. He who serves only has to do as he is instructed. Among subjects of God’s kingdom it is the other way around.

The Lord Jesus is and sets the great example in this. He has voluntarily taken the place of serving. He is in their midst as the Servant and His disciples are those who recline. This picture of reclining and serving guests at a table typifies the Lord’s service. It shows that He cares for and nourishes others.

In everything He has ever asked of His disciples, He Himself has always been the perfect example. He not only says how to do it, He shows how to do it and not as a one-off example, but in His whole life. What He says that He is.