SUMMARY OF MATTHEW 26:17-30
When Passover arrived on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples asked Jesus where he wanted them to make preparations. He sent them into the city to a man’s house. That evening, Jesus told the disciples that one of them will betray him. All of the disciples ask if it is them. Jesus says it will be the one who has dipped his hand into the bowl, and it would be better if that man would not have been born. Jesus tells Judas it is him, when he asks Jesus.
At the Passover meal, Jesus took the bread and broke it, passing it to his disciples. He said this is his body and for them to eat it. Then he took the cup and told the disciples to drink, as it represented his blood of the covenant, which is poured out in order to forgive them all. Jesus says he will not drink it until the day he drinks it anew in his Father’s kingdom. They sang a hymn and then went out to the Mount of Olives.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 26, Day 3: Matthew 26:17-30
6a) Passover and it commemorated how God spared the Israelites from judgment while they were in Egypt and delivered them out of Egypt.
b) The Israelites sacrificed a lamb and marked their homes with the lamb’s blood so that God would passover their house and spare them. Jesus is the Passover lamb. He was sacrified for our sins so God will, in effect, pass over us when we stand before him. The Passover was an act of redemption of his people out of slavery. Similarly, Jesus redeems us from our slavery to sin and brings us to him forever.
7a)
Luke 22:19-20: The bread and the wine of communion represent us remembering Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross. We cleanse ourselves with his body and blood so we can stand before God.
John 6:51-58: Jesus says that he is the living bread, so anyone that eats of the communion bread will have eternal life. The bread is his flesh, which he gives for the life of the world, and the wine his blood.
1 Peter 1:19: Jesus is a lamb without blemish, meaning he is perfect as is his blood. Thus, when you take communion, you are drinking of Christ’s perfection.
1 Peter 2:24: By Jesus’s wounds, we are healed. He bore our sins on his body so we could die to sin and live for righteousness.
1 John 1:7: Jesus’ blood purifies us from all sin.
b) Taking communion helps us to remember Jesus and what he did for us on the cross. He established the New Covenant so we could be closer to him and God. Whenever you take communicy, you proclaim his death and declare your faith in him and his sacrifice for us until his return. We are to remember Jesus via the communion until he comes again.
c) It helps to reflect on everything that Jesus did for us and our sins and give praise to God and Jesus because of it.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 26, Day 3: Matthew 26:17-30
I love taking communion. It’s such a great time to be with the Lord and thank Him for all that He has done and will do.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 26, Day 3: Matthew 26:17-30
Most Bible scholars agree that Jesus had this Passover meal with his disciples before Passover because he knew he would be crucified. It should be called The Last Passover rather than the Last Supper since Jesus’s death effectively ended Passover.
Why does Jesus announce that one of the 12 disciples will betray him? Because, out of his infinite mercy, he is giving Judas one last opportunity to repent.
It is notable that the other disciples did not accuse the others. They simply asked Jesus if it were them that betrayed him. Note that none of the other disciples understood Jesus’s answer to Judas when he confirmed Judas was the betrayer.
Judas was an intimate friend of Jesus Psalm 41:9 Jesus’s love for Judas is greater than Judas’s treachery of him.
Here, Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper for all Christians.
John tells us that Jesus washes the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-11) and then Judas leaves (John 13:30). However, the exact timing of it all is unclear and unknown. Many contend Judas never partook of the Lord’s Supper.
The Passover Meal
Everything at the Passover meal has significance:
- The bitter herbs is the bitterness of slavery
- The salt water is the tears everyone shed as slaves
- The lamb was the sacrifice
The bread now is Jesus’s body that was sacrificed and beaten for us. He gives us strength and provides all we need.
The wine now is Jesus’s cleansing and redeeming blood.
The New Covenant
Jesus institutes a new covenant with mankind that allows us to be with God from an inner cleansing Jesus offers. God’s word and Himself live in us (via the Holy Spirit).
There is considerable debate about if the bread and wine represent the actual blood and body of Christ (known as transubstantiation in Christian theology) or if it is the blood and body of Christ by faith alone (known as consubstantiation). Others say Jesus’s presence in the bread and wine is real, but only spiritual, not physical.
We TAKE the bread (so choosing Jesus is a choice). We EAT the bread (we are alive when we eat food, so we’re alive in Jesus).
Fun Fact: “Thanks” in ancient Greek is the word “Eucharist,” which is why the Lord’s Supper is sometimes called the Eucharist.
Jesus will gather all of his people at the Second Coming once again and have a great supper. (Revelation 19:9).
Jesus sang and worshipped God, as should we. Can you imagine heading to church and Jesus is the worship leader? Pretty cool!
Jesus sang the night before his crucifixion. He is at peace with God and His will. We should be, too.
Passover traditionally ended with three Psalms sung Psalms 116-118. We can presume Jesus sang these here.