The Last Supper Luke 22:1–23 Jeremiah Fyffe That You May Have Certainty | Jesus According to Luke · November 1, 2026 LIGHTLY EDITED TRANSCRIPT This morning we continue this series in the Gospel of Luke, That You May Have Certainty. In the last four weeks we have been in the four meals of Luke and asking the question, “Who does Jesus welcome?” We discovered that the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and he brings salvation to sinners. Literally to sinners’ houses, like we saw last week with Zacchaeus. This morning we begin our next mini-series in Luke, The Passion. Why did Jesus come? In our passage today, we come to another table. In some ways it is an extension of these meals of Jesus. Today, this is the Lord’s own Supper, where he shares the Passover with his disciples before he suffers and gives them a certainty about his sacrifice in two words. Two words that he shares over the bread and he shares over the cup. The two words “for you.” This morning, as we consider this, one of the things that is on my mind is we are going to read events of a narrative. We are going to have the names of people. We are going to have, certainly, the name of Jesus. We are going to have disciples and apostles. We are going to have a man named Judas called Iscariot. And I want us to make sure that we have in our minds the flesh-and-blood nature of what is taking place. Literally, by the time we get to the meal, actual flesh and blood are being represented by this bread and this cup held out for us. I want us to have in our minds the embodied nature of what we are about to read. What we are about to read has been practiced in religious remembrance for two thousand years, and this is good. In that practice, let us make sure that it is imbued with the story that Luke is actually telling, that we could hold it in our minds. What did Jesus’ voice sound like? Can I see him speaking to the disciples and saying words like this? And what was it like? Here is the thing that literally woke me up in the middle of the night. I thought, “I have to share this,” especially with the kids in the room with us this morning. What is in Jesus’ mind as he comes to a room a day before his own death and he thinks, “There are things that I need to give to these disciples. There are things that they need to know, and there is a remembering that I need to give to them today”? And then he gives them this, what we have before us today. So real. It is so practical. I want you to carry it in your minds as we consider this Scripture together. The Plot to Kill Jesus In verses 1 through 6, we have the plot to kill Jesus. There were actually guys in a room. Look at verse 1 of chapter 22. Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. (Luke 22:1–2) There is probably a variety of gatherings of people, and they are afraid of what is happening. They are afraid of the people. They are afraid of the rising influence of Jesus, and they are actually having conversations together. We are not told what those conversations are, but we are told the content of the conversations as we continue to consider the passage together, a passage that begins with leaders working with Judas to betray Jesus into their hands. Look at verse 5, the way it puts it there. “And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.” I read those words and they jumped out at me. I have read those many times in my life, and I had not noticed just the disparity—that those words are sitting in that context. Fear and gladness. The leaders fear the people, and they rejoice at betrayal. Gladness. They want to kill Jesus, but they fear the people. Judas gives them a way to deal with their fear and enhance their gladness and do it all away from the eyes of the crowd, because they know that what they are doing is shameful and is going to get them in trouble if they get found out. They ought to fear the Lord, on the other hand, and they ought to rejoice at the Savior’s coming. Do you see just the discontinuity with reality that they are living out here? Remember the birth announcement in Luke’s own Gospel. The angels brought the shepherds good news of great joy. Luke 2:10. We will read it here just less than two months from now. Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10–11) Now these leaders, these leaders are glad to have a way to betray that Savior. The Savior whose coming is good news for all people. They are now glad because they found a way to betray him. The angels call for an end of fear and an inauguration of gladness at the presence of Jesus. But these leaders are filled with fear, and the inauguration of gladness is inflamed with the idea of his death. There is something disordered, obviously, taking place before us. Listen to the angels again. “For unto you is born this day.” There is a phrase that is in there, that a Savior is born “unto you.” I think that is crucial in our reading of our passage today. Listen to the Savior himself at the table. He tells his disciples, those who submit to him, those who fear him and see his rise with gladness, “My body is given and my blood is poured out for you.” Can you hear the echo of the angel’s words? “Unto you.” The fear and the gladness of the leaders at the prospect of Jesus’ removal reveal the condition of their soul toward God. Their condition of fear and gladness toward the Lord is revealing their relationship with God. The tragedy of the betrayal in this passage, both by the leaders and by Judas, is that if they would only have received the Lord with faith, his sacrifice would be for them as well. It would be good news of great joy to them if they would only receive him. As we have seen in Luke, we can be certain that the Son of Man came to save sinners. But the leaders and Judas treat Jesus as a political problem to solve. They conspire in fear and a twisted gladness to save themselves as they understand their predicament. In reality, while they seek to save themselves, they are only sealing their own condemnation at the day of the Lord’s judgment. I want you to see the disparity, and that we would also examine ourselves. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus Think and consider verse 6. Verse 6 ends, “So he consented.” Judas consented to the deal and sought an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of a crowd. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. In verse 3, we see that Satan entered Judas, it says, and we are reminded in verse 3 that he is one of the Twelve. His place is literally among the Twelve, and that makes his betrayal all the more grave. Then we see the account of Judas, that he is willing to go along with what the leaders have arranged for him to do in the betrayal. In other words, Satan’s work in Judas does not remove from Judas the responsibility for his activity. Yes, Satan is at work in Judas. But if you read the whole of the passage, and even Jesus’ own words about Judas, Judas is responsible for the places that he has given Satan a foothold and where he works in his life by his own behavior. The leaders agree to give Judas money. He accepts the offer. Judas seeks opportunity to betray Jesus away from the crowd and does betray him. Judas has shown himself to be a traitor, and this is not the first time. We have glimpses along the way in the Gospels of how he handled money. And here it seems—we are not told outright and explicitly, but it sure seems by the circumstances of the betrayal and the money that is handed over—that his greed, his love of money, is a place of ingress for the work of Satan in his life. Judas is simply participating in what he has already loved. Jesus is clear. “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined,” he will say in verse 22. “Woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” It is a tragic story all the way through, and there is much for us to consider and reflect upon. There are implications for our consideration this morning. Let us consider that religious position is not an automatic protection from sin. Think about this passage. Who is responding with fear, and who is responding with gladness at betrayal and murderous intent? Leaders who hold religious office. There is nothing about my own job description that is a protection against sin. Judas, what about him? He belonged among the Twelve. The passage is intentional to make sure we know that the appearance of closeness to Jesus does not establish that we are genuinely in fellowship with him. Take note. Examine your heart. Do I trust Jesus, or am I relying on, I do not know, church attendance, maybe Bible knowledge, ministry responsibilities, a variety of activities? Do I submit to his Word, both the encouragement of his Word and the correction and rebuke that comes in his Word? Or do I love all the encouraging stuff and I bristle at the correction? Or do I use my religious practices as an excuse for practical disobedience? “Look how much I have done for you, Lord. I can afford just a little bit of misbehavior on the side.” The clear implication is to respond with humility and repentance. Humility and repentance before the whole of the Word, to receive correction and turn away from the sin that you defend by your religious practices. Confess sin, ask forgiveness of sin, repair the wrong. We saw that with Zacchaeus last week. And follow in obedience. Leave no room for the enemy’s lies. That is something, historically, not long ago, that was a big deal in the church. There were songs about it and there were sermons about leaving no room, no quarter. Jesus himself speaks about this in the Sermon on the Mount, the severity of sin and the reality of its effect and danger. Leave no room for the enemy’s lies. And I think we have become soft. We just allow quarter because sin is everywhere out there. It is okay if a little bit of it is in here. Maybe even a little bit in here. But friends, the person of faith who longs for a faith-filled obedience, whose eyes are upturned, hungering and thirsting for righteousness that they do not have in themselves, but they love the righteousness of Christ and they want to see it formed in them, will participate in no way with fear and disordered gladness. There are only two ways. To walk in step with the world as an enemy of the Lord, or to walk in step with the Word and the Spirit by faith in the Lord. And those who are walking with him, who know him, know what it is. It is not to walk in perfection, but to know and love perfection and trust him that he will form it in us. So we are willing to repent quickly because we know what grace looks like, and we know what goodness looks like, even though it is not fully formed in me just yet. Preparing the Passover So now we turn to how Jesus is going to begin to form that in this group of people. We turn to verse 7, where we find Jesus preparing the Passover. Verse 7, look at it with me. Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” (Luke 22:7–8) Jesus directs the preparation. Again, I think that is important as we are working our way through the Gospel. Jesus directs the preparation while walking toward the cross in obedience to the Father. He is literally paving the stones that he is going to walk on to get to the cross. He sends out Peter and John to prepare a meal, and they find everything as he told them. And Jesus knows what lies ahead. He knows the betrayal. He knows Peter’s coming denial, and he prepares a meal as a sign of his sacrifice for those who belong to him. Even those who plot against him—even as the plot against him is proceeding, he is preparing a meal for those who belong to him among the Twelve. Jesus knowingly and willingly follows the Father’s appointed way to the cross, obedient even to death. Philippians chapter 2. Read it this week in light of this passage. Jesus Is Our Passover Lamb As Jesus instructs his disciples to prepare to remember the Passover, we discover the Passover lamb. Again, verse 7. “Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.” I want to go to a passage that speaks about the Passover in Exodus 12:13. Maybe jot that down so you can go and read it during the course of the coming week. Exodus 12:13. “The blood shall be a sign for you”—the blood of the Passover lamb that has been sacrificed, that blood then put over the doorpost—“on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.” For “this day shall be for you a memorial day”—a day of Passover—“and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast” (Exodus 12:13–14). At Passover, Israel remembered how the Lord spared them from judgment, how he passed over them. When the Lord saw the lamb’s blood on the doors, he would not let the angel of death enter that house. Israel needed God’s provision of a substitute, a sacrifice. And the Lord is therefore the final sacrifice for all who believe, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile, that Jesus’ blood would cover over our house and the angel of death, who is the righteous bringer of judgment upon the peoples, would pass by. So Jesus here is giving his disciples another meal. And when Jesus’ followers eat the bread and they drink the cup, we remember the Lamb who gave himself for us all. So Jesus is the sinless and sufficient Lamb. Guilt is covered. Wrath is turned aside, and salvation is received by faith through his sacrifice. So the bread and cup, they direct us to this new covenant sacrifice of Christ, where his body is given, his blood is poured out for you. This is what I want us to see this morning in the passage. Christ nourishes his people by a remembrance of his covenant sacrifice until he returns. The New Covenant Meal Now this brings us to a large upper room furnished as a preparation for this unique Passover meal. You can see it in verse 14 and what follows. Look at verse 14 with me. When the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:14–16) Jesus desires to eat with his disciples. Man, if you have got a pen, underline that. Earnestly desires. He desires with an earnest desire, desiring to eat the Passover with his disciples before he suffers. And before Jesus says “for you,” hear him say “with you.” He will give his body and he will give his blood and he will give this institution as a means of remembering his sacrifice. But before he does, what does he desire? He desires to eat with you. Earnest desire. Eager desire. What a wonderful expression of fulfillment of what we have seen in recent weeks. Jesus longs to eat with those that he will save. Jesus promises fellowship in his kingdom. Look at verses 16 through 18. For I tell you, I will not eat of it until it is fulfilled in my kingdom. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:17–18) The Passover will be fulfilled in God’s kingdom. And he says a word, “until.” Listen to the “until” in verses 16 and 18. Until it is fulfilled in my kingdom. Until the kingdom of God comes. Jesus is about to suffer, and yet he speaks of eating and drinking again in God’s kingdom. Think about that for a moment. That does not make sense if Jesus’ purpose is only to suffer and die. But he knows that his suffering is going to accomplish something. He knows that his suffering is going to secure something. He knows that his suffering is actually victory over sin, death, and the devil. And so he can speak about “until” because Jesus knows he is alive and he will be alive. And he is speaking about that kingdom because he knows he is securing life not only for himself, but for those that he is eating with on that day. At communion, we proclaim the Lord’s death, in Paul’s words, “until he comes.” We know he is coming again because his kingdom is without end. The Bread Verse 19, the bread. “He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” The body of Christ. Given what? For you. Remember him. Remember what he has done and for whom he has done it. He takes bread, he gives thanks, he breaks it, and he gives it to them. In the last words about the Last Supper, Martin Luther in his Large Catechism says, “Therefore consider, and read yourself into this word you, so that He may not speak to you in vain.” Has his body been broken for you? It is one of the things that I come to when we are talking about testimonies and so on. When we come to the partnership course and we are talking about what it looks like to become a member of CrossPointe Coast, we are discussing how a person has come to understand faith. And they share lots of circumstances and details and ways the Lord has shown them the truth in their life. It is one of the sweetest things. I think I mentioned it last week. It is one of the sweetest things to hear. It is just the evidences of God’s grace in a human life. But when it comes to my question, “Are you saved?” my question is simply this. When Christ’s body was broken, was it for you? If the answer is yes, oh, your sins have been atoned for. And if the answer is no, we have more conversation to have, that you too would believe. Do you see? Yes, the Lord applies that reality to the individual human soul, but the question is, can you read yourself into that “you”? Was his body broken for you? He willingly gives himself, and our confidence rests in his gift for us. I say the word “us,” right? His gift for us, intentionally. You see the word in this passage. This is one of the things with English. It is hard to see in translation. The word “you” is plural. Where I am from, we would say that the bread was broken for “y’all.” Maybe other places we could say that the gift was given for “yinz,” and we would know what that is talking about. It is given for a people, a people together. The plural is “you.” Yes, you particularly and individually, and then immediately together with the whole of the redeemed. The Lord gives his life for a people who are redeemed together by one sacrifice. Yes, individually and particularly, by individuals who are brought in by faith alone. But the sacrifice fashions a people who are a whole redeemed community who fellowship at one table. This is the power of understanding the nature of the gospel being found in the body and blood of Jesus Christ alone. Not the stories that we have to tell alone about how we have come to understand it, how we have come to confess it, how we have come to apply it, but to remember that there is a center thing, one life that actually matters. And that is the life of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, you see. He breaks the bread. And what does he say about the body? It is given for you. It is given for redeemed people together. That gives you a reason to give your attention and faith this morning in the words of the Supper, “The body of Christ, broken for you.” Thanks, brother. The Cup: Jesus Establishes the New Covenant in His Blood “For You” Verse 20. “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” And here he adds even more. Jesus establishes the new covenant in his blood for you. At the Passover, Jesus remembers Israel’s rescue, and he gives the new cup a new meaning. Where that cup had remembered a Passover lamb from an exodus rescue and salvation out from slavery among a people in Egypt, he gives it a new covenant meaning. By pouring out his own blood, he is bringing his disciples into a new covenant. Poured out for you. Luke is explicit about the new covenant connection. He is the one who gives that word in Jesus’ mouth here. Let us consider a passage that is surely on Jesus’ mind, a passage that is well known in the time of the ministry of Jesus’ incarnation. Jeremiah 31:33. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD.” Listen to the promises of this covenant. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33–34) What is the heart? It is not rescue out from slavery in Egypt. It is rescue out from the bondage to sin. What is the promise of the new covenant? Forgiveness, belonging to God, and his law within his people. His blood is the cost of a new covenant redeemed fellowship. Now it is important to note, do not pass it by, this covenant is with the house of Israel. And it is inaugurated among a small collection of Jewish disciples in an upper room on a particular day of the week, somewhere around AD 33 or so. And that new covenant meal inaugurated among a small collection of Israel would extend to the nations of the world. How do we know this? Because Jesus sends these disciples as apostles to make disciples of all nations. This covenant that is inaugurated to the Jew first goes out to all of the nations by grace alone to everyone who would receive it. So by the blood of the new covenant, the Lord is our God, whoever “our” may be who are a people of faith. So that all who know him by faith know him as a people with his law written on our hearts. The way of our God, his grace and his righteousness, written upon our very hearts. When we take communion, we have as a sign in the cup the blood by which we are passed over in judgment. A sign in that cup. At the first Passover, the Lord saw the blood, the lamb’s blood on the doors, and he would not let the angel of death enter into that particular household. And then we come to a cross, the cross of Jesus Christ, his sacrificial death there. And all of the judgment that deserved to fall on every house that is covered by the cross of Christ fell on the Lamb of God in our place. Jesus is the final and sufficient Passover Lamb. And because he lives, we can say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). You did not even get the Lamb, did you? He is alive. When Christ comes to judge the living and the dead, we will stand before him covered by the blood. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). There is no impending judgment any longer. The Passover has taken place, and it took place on a cross, and it is finished. Again, this gives you all the more reason to give attention and faith this morning in the words of the Supper, “The blood of Christ poured out for you.” The summary implication of the Lord’s Supper is that we would learn to trust him, that we would learn to remember with gratitude, and that we would learn to look forward with hope. There is another way to live, and there is another way to imagine the world that we live in. The entire universe and cosmos that we live in has changed in a moment of Passover. So we can rest our hope of forgiveness on Christ’s gift for you. Do you hear it? For you. So receive the bread and the cup with gratitude, with self-examination and a hope of return. Apply See, Jesus provides hospitality. We have been seeing him do this over and over again for a few weeks now. He provides hospitality and fellowship for all who come to him, ultimately, in faith at his table, at the Lord’s table. This is the first time that we have seen people gathered in the Lord’s house, in a room that he has prepared for him. It is a sign. This is a symbol for us to see what it looks like to be brought in by grace alone. As we see with Judas, not all who gather, gather in faith. Judas is there at table, and Jesus pronounces woe on that man who betrays him. But for all who come in faith, at his table Jesus assures us that he is for us. There are three things that I want us to see as we close. I want us to hold on to these for what we are about to partake in together in just a moment. I am going to read the words of institution. I think they will be on the screen behind me. We read this week after week. “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed”—that catches me every single time. Something different reads different to me every time, but that one is there. On the night he was betrayed, he gave this great meal of hospitality and fellowship. And he “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is’”—what?—“‘for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23–26). Three things to remember week after week, morning after morning. “For you.” Come to Christ in faith. Is his body for you? Is his blood for you? It is a question of faith. Bring him the sin that you have been hiding. Bring him the sin that you have been defending, that you have been minimizing. Confess your sin and welcome his correction. Hear him say it twice. His body is given for you, and his blood is poured out for you. Rest your hope of forgiveness in him. For you. Second, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Remember him, and remember him with gratitude. It is rightly thanksgiving. By his blood, Jesus brings us into a new covenant, and we remember that new covenant. As we take the cup, we remember that we are covered by Christ’s perfect sacrifice. He bore the judgment our sins deserve, so there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is hardly a week that I do not carry the bread in the palm of my hand and the cup somewhere here, and I do not sit down and I do not remember, “There is no condemnation, is there?” Again, it is still true. Not one thing has changed since you inaugurated and performed that Passover sacrifice for me. And I get to remember it again. Third, “until he comes.” And we look forward with hope. Every time I read it, I pause there. You hear me do it. The paragraph should end, “You proclaim the Lord’s death.” And what a great sacrifice that we have. Who would do that for us? We proclaim the Lord’s death. What a great sacrificial Savior we would have who would give his life in our place. And there is something that makes no sense that comes next. Until he comes. You do not proclaim the death of a man until he comes, unless there is a miracle, unless there is something different about this death that is victorious in a way that no death has ever been in all of human history. You see, Jesus looked ahead to drinking again. The Son of Man will come eating and drinking again. And when he does, it will be with a redeemed people together at his table forever. We look forward to sitting at his table. This too is with me as I hold a tiny little sliver of a cracker. I think, “I get to eat again with a Savior in his kingdom forever.” When I come to the end of the words of institution, that word “until” becomes a prayer, right? “Lord, come quickly.” How communion with the saints around a table of grace makes us long for fellowship in his kingdom forever. The Supper Is for Those Who Believe Friends, you need to hear this. The Supper is for those who believe. It is true. The gift of God’s institution of the Supper is a gift for all who believe. And the partaking of that Supper is for all who have been brought into fellowship with a visible church through the public profession of faith. Some are faithfully waiting. Especially this morning, with all the children in the service, we need to hear this. Some of you—children, listen—have been waiting to take the Supper until you have publicly professed your faith and are baptized. I am thinking especially of those who are young. If you trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, you belong to him. Oh, what good news. That grace is received by faith alone. And as those words “for you” are spoken, they are for you who hear it today and believe, even as you anticipate, patiently waiting for the day that you also will partake with the rest of the church in communion. The word to you this morning, and I want you to listen and hear, is to continue in faith. Continue in that faith. Be nurtured in your faith through the ministry of the Word in your homes and in the church. Walk in faith as you grow, and the Lord will grow you in wisdom and stature to full maturity until the day of Christ Jesus. Be encouraged, young people of faith, as you watch those who are mature around you, and you learn, as you yourself mature, how to emulate their lives. The point is this. While this meal is for those who have received the promises of the new covenant by faith, and I think that is true for all who see and receive the reality of the meal whether they partake or not, the point is this. The Lord is coming again to judge the living and the dead. If you are in Christ, his body was given for you and his blood was poured out for you. So there is no fear of the return of the Lord. There is what? Gladness. We remember him in his Supper and we long for his appearing. For all who are in Christ, you are sealed with the grace of his sacrifice. But this is a warning also, perhaps to some in the room. No religious observance, not even partaking in the Lord’s Supper, adds anything to your redemption if you are in Christ. But if you are outside of Christ, know this. Grace is through faith alone. Do you belong to him? Outside of Christ, only judgment remains. There is nothing that you can add to your outside-of-Christness by which you can atone for yourself. There is one Passover Lamb. Are you in him by grace through faith, or are you outside? So your life today and the proclamation of the gospel in your ears today is grace to you, right now. I do not know who made you get up this morning. I do not know who graciously invited you. I do not know what you thought you were doing in coming. But today, if you have not believed, is a day of grace to you to hear and respond to the gospel, to repent and believe. Take hold of your Redeemer. There is one Lamb of God, that you, a sinner, would be saved. We can have certainty. This is what Jesus does. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.