The Last Day with the Disciples

Luke 22:14-30

GOLDEN TEXT: “This do in remembrance of Me.”—Luke 22:19

THE spirit of selfishness as a motive for human behavior is so deeply ingrained in the fallen race that it’s difficult to adopt and practice anything else. This is revealed in today’s lesson. For two days Jesus had been teaching by word and example that self-interest is not the proper motive for worshiping and serving God. He had driven the money-changers out of the temple, symbolizing His opposition to a commercialized worship of God. The next day He revealed the serious error of the Pharisees in seeking honor and exaltation.

But still the disciples hadn’t caught the spirit of these instructions. Now they were gathered in the upper room. Jesus had instituted the Memorial of His death as the antitypical Passover Lamb; and had told them that one of their number should betray Him. It would seem that the experiences of the past two days, the invitation to drink the cup and eat the bread which represented His shed blood and broken body, as well as their participation in His sacrificial death, should have sufficed to put far from their thoughts any suggestion of chief place or rulership among them. But not so!

They inquired among themselves which one it was that intended to betray the Master, as though they realized what a dishonorable thing this would be to do; and this inquiry turned into a strife of words as to which of them should be accounted the greatest among their number. Thus the very things which Jesus had condemned among the Pharisees the day before, in their hearing, they were now undertaking to introduce into their own midst. How deceitful is the fallen, human heart, and how desperately wicked!

But Jesus was patient with His disciples, as always. Like the Heavenly Father, of whom He was a character image, patience, forbearance and mercy entered very largely into all His contacts with fallen humanity, and especially so in the case of those whom He had chosen to be His apostles. He knew their weaknesses, and how very hard it was for them to get His viewpoint of humility and love. There had been many occasions when one less understanding, and less patient and merciful, would have given up trying to teach the minds and mould the characters of those so slow to learn.

It was doubtless with a great degree of satisfaction that Jesus, in prayer to His Father had said, “Those Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the Son of perdition.” (John 17:12) One reason He hadn’t lost them was because of His great patience in dealing with them. And even though now, and in spite of the pointed lessons of the past two days, they still were far afield in their viewpoint of what their ministry was to mean to them and to others, Jesus was willing to go over the subject again, and once more try to help them understand.

As usual, the Master again used an illustration. The disciples were striving over the matter of who among them would be the greatest, and Jesus reminded them that “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and them that exercise authority upon them are called the benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as He that serveth.”—Luke 22:25-27

This was a wonderful lesson. The hope of the disciples, as Jews, was that through Jesus, their Messiah, the nation would be delivered from the yoke of Gentile rulership. Obviously there was much about the Gentile rulership that was obnoxious to the Jews. So Jesus reminded them of this, and of the Gentile spirit of lordship that caused it. The Master had promised them a Kingdom. In this same lesson He assures them that they would sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. His inference is that they would surely want that new Kingdom to be different than the selfish, oppressive rulership of the Gentiles.

Then He uses the illustration of one who serves at a meal. He is but a servant. Those who eat are the served. “I am among you as He that serveth,” the Master said. That this was the way to be truly great from the divine standpoint, was the point He was driving home to them. They had seen the effect of the opposite spirit in the rulership of the Pharisees. Now they were reminded of the same thing in the case of the Gentile lordship, and if they wanted to have a share in the Messianic Kingdom which was to be instrumental in destroying this and all other evils which afflict mankind, they should bring themselves into line with this unselfish motive and viewpoint of humility and service, rather than arrogance and lordship.

Drinking of the symbolic cup, and partaking of the symbolic bread—“in remembrance of Me”—as Jesus enjoined, should be a constant reminder to all Christians of His spirit of service and sacrifice. It should remind us, also, of our privilege to share His suffering, that we may later share His Kingdom glory.

QUESTIONS:

What is the significance to Christians of the bread and cup which they are to partake of in remembrance of Christ?

Why did Jesus speak of the rulership of Gentile kings in His lesson to the disciples?

What was the hope of the Jews in Messiah as it related to Gentile rulership?

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