The Hebrew community is given a meal to help tell the story of their deliverance from Egypt (12:1-11). Exodus 12:12-13 interprets the meal for Israel: God delivers Israel while bringing justice on Egypt. Exodus 13:8 helps us see how and why this meal communicates for generations: 1) The preparations take a full week: You can’t eat anything made with yeast; 2) At the feast on the last day, fathers teach their sons.

We learn more about our celebration of the Passover Meal in Luke 22:14-20. Luke 22:7 & 8 set up our text: “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” Jesus longed to eat this Passover with his disciples. Why? It was a powerful act of training! 1) Israel’s meal taught them about deliverance into a promised land. 2) Jesus’ meal teaches us about a coming kingdom. We participate in this kingdom at communion and it points us to ever deeper experiences of love and grace.