Sermon Central
-
Why Is There An Extra Cup In Luke’s Last Supper? Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Feb 24, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: A look at an initially confusing part of Luke's Last Supper passage and the significance of what the "extra cup" means.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH VERSE 17? Why is there an extra cup in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Supper?
- Luke 22:17.
- Verse 17 speaks of Jesus taking the cup. But then v. 19 has Him taking the bread and then v. 20 has Him taking the cup. What’s going on? Is there supposed to be two cups? Why does Luke have a cup before and after the bread?
- There is an explanation and digging into it will, I hope, help us better understand the specific point of communion.
MORE THAN JUST A LAST SUPPER: This passage has the first communion and the final Passover.
- When we talk about this passage, we speak of it as a Last Supper passage. And it is that, but it’s also more than that.
- Let’s unpack the passage piece by piece:
a. This is all happening at the time of Passover.
- vv. 1, 7, 8, 13, 15 – note all the verses and how they indisputably tie it to Passover.
- This drama with Jesus and those who seek to kill Him is all coming to a head at the time of Passover. This is not at all accidental, as you’ll see later in the sermon. There is deep symbolic meaning to the timing of Jesus’ death.
- v. 14 – “When the hour came . . .” – there are other passages that refer to a particular time being the time of Jesus’ betrayal or crucifixion, but this mention refers simply to it being the time for Passover. It was the appointed time for the annual Passover meal.
b. Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper.
- vv. 19-20.
- Here we see familiar language and the familiar communion actions. So that ending makes sense. The question then becomes what is going on before that.
c. This brings us to the “extra cup.”
- v. 17. Jesus takes a cup, gives thanks, and invites His disciples to divide it among themselves. This is in a Lord’s Supper passage and kind of sounds like the Lord’s Supper, so we presume it is part of Jesus’ doing the Lord’s Supper. Except it’s not.
- There’s actually not just an extra cup. There’s actually extra “eating” too. Look at v. 15. There He tells them that He has eagerly desired to eat this meal with them. It doesn’t specifically say that they eat something, but it’s implied.
- Is this part of the Lord’s Supper? No. This is crucially important. This is not the first communion; this is the last Passover.
- Remember this is (as evidenced by all the mentions we noted earlier) a Passover meal. In v. 15 Jesus speaks of eating the Passover meal, but then look at v. 16. Jesus then says it’s the end of the line for Him eating Passover – “I will not eat it again until it find fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” So this passage is not saying that Jesus will not eat the Lord’s Supper until Kingdom Come – He’s saying He won’t eat the Passover until then.
- Same thing in v. 17. He takes the cup that was a part of the Passover meal and invites them to divide it among themselves. (There were multiple cups during the Passover meal as celebrated in Jesus’ day.) Again Jesus then says (v. 18) that this will be the last time (this time for drinking) until Kingdom Come.
- Both of these are speaking of Him participating in the Passover meal.
- So taken together, vv. 14-18 are not about communion at all. They are about Jesus saying, “This is the last Passover meal” (at least until Kingdom Come).
- Now, this is not to say that no one has had a Passover meal since then. Obviously there are many Jews who continue to celebrate Passover to this day. No, He is saying something much deeper. He is saying it’s the end of an era and that there is no longer any need to celebrate Passover.
- Let’s look back at the original Passover passage and figure out what the connections are between Passover and the Lord’s Supper.
- Exodus 12.
- v. 3 – “take a lamb.”
- vv. 3-4 – family and/or neighbors gathered so they will eat the whole lamb that night.
- In Jesus’ day, this had been codified to where they were to have 10-20 there for Passover. At Jesus’ meal, of course, there were 13.
- v. 6 – “slaughter.”
- v. 7 – “blood . . . on doorframes.”
- v. 21 – “slaughter the Passover lamb.”
- v. 22 – “blood . . . on . . . doorframe.”
- v. 23 – “death.”
- v. 37 – leaving Egypt for the Promised Land.
