His Food, Our Fill – April 14, 2022

[Jesus] said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 22:15,16

His Food, Our Fill

Don’t you love a good meal? Maybe it’s a birthday, anniversary, or holiday spent with people you love. Or it’s a special place—a favorite restaurant or a new one that comes highly recommended. Maybe it’s the one favorite meal that you never get tired of.

On the night before Jesus died, he enjoyed a meal with his friends. It wasn’t just any meal. It was the Passover meal, a special feast carefully prepared, served, and shared by the Jewish people every year.

The Passover was festive not just because it was celebrated with family. The Passover celebrated how God rescued the Jewish people from slavery and brought them to the Promised Land. Maybe best of all, it pictured a rescue still to come—a rescue that Jesus came to accomplish.

As Jesus sat down to that meal that night, he knew what would soon happen. He knew his body would hang on a cross and die. His blood would pour out of wounds that would be inflicted on him. He knew he would give his life for the sins of the world.

But knowing this didn’t sour the experience that night. It made Jesus look forward to it even more. The lamb killed and eaten in the Passover meal would foreshadow the way Jesus would be sacrificed to free us from our sins and bring us to the Promised Land of heaven, a sacrifice he was eager to make for you and me.

Jesus still longs to eat with us. When we hear his Word, he satisfies our hunger with his mercy and love. In Holy Communion, Jesus miraculously gives his body and blood with the bread and wine to remind us of his sacrifice and assure us of his forgiveness. With these gifts, he feeds our souls until we feast with him in heaven.

Prayer:
Jesus, you eagerly desired my salvation. Satisfy my soul with your Word. Amen.