The Lord’s Supper is A Picture

May 1

What we call the “Lord’s Supper” or the “Last Supper” was the final Passover Jesus would eat with His disciples. They probably would have celebrated the Passover in the past, but Jesus said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15, CSB) Not just any Passover, but this Passover, He said. His words “fervently desired” could be translated as “deep desire” or “longing” or as “lust, coveting, or craving,” depending on the context.

Obviously, Jesus wasn’t expressing a mere wish, but an overwhelming desire to celebrate this particular Passover. Why? Because He wanted to permanently etch this picture into their minds as they saw the promise in the meal fulfilled. He said, “As often as you eat and drink in this celebration, remember Me.” Indeed, every year to come, it would be impossible to forget that night when He explained that everything in the Passover meal pointed straight to Him. Before that night, they celebrated the Passover as a memory of the Exodus of the enslaved Jews from their four-hundred-year captivity in Egypt.

This Passover meal included four cups, which were reminders of God’s promises in Exodus 5:6–7:

• “I will bring you out.”
• “I will rescue you from slavery to them.”
• “I will redeem you.”
• “I will take you as my people, and I will be your God.” (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 30:22; Ezekiel 11:19–20)

When Jesus uttered those fateful words, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you,” many scholars contend that He was holding the third cup—the “Cup of Redemption.” Further still, they believe that the Lord did not touch the fourth cup—the “Cup of Praise” or the “Cup of the Consummation of Acceptance.” Why? Because He drank this cup on the Cross when He was offered the sour wine from the hyssop branch.

On the night of the Passover, you may remember that God’s people used a hyssop branch to paint their doorposts with the lamb’s blood that each family had killed for their meal. As He hung on the Cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” Then, He breathed His last. There was nothing else to be done to give His people right standing on the Day of Judgment. Later, Paul would look back on all of Jesus’ suffering and proclaim that He was the Passover Lamb sacrificed for all who believe. (1 Corinthians 5:7)

Application

Have you ever considered the Lord’s Supper as a picture of God’s fulfilling His promises revealed within the Passover Meal? What difference might this reality make in your understanding of the many links between the Old and New Testaments? If your Bible lists cross references, take a look at how many refer to passages from the Old Testament, particularly verses 20–21.

The Bible is not sixty-six individual stories. It is one story—the story of our redemption, and the two testaments are so interwoven that they can never be separated.

© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman