TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE

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.” “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”

Luke 22:7-12

DEVOTIONAL

by Stephanie Reloj

Do you know Corrie ten Boom, a Christian who, along with her family, helped many Jews escape the Nazis during the Holocaust? Corrie and her sister Betsie were eventually arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Despite the dire circumstances, they held Bible studies and shared the message of Christ’s sacrificial love. Corrie ten Boom’s unwavering faith in the face of immense suffering is a powerful example of how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross enables us to endure and witness to His love.

In our passage today, the accurate and detailed instructions Jesus gave to His disciples about preparing for the Passover leaves us pondering whether Jesus had made these arrangements beforehand or if God divinely orchestrated them. Regardless of how it happened, the events unfolded exactly as Jesus had said, showcasing His divine knowledge and sovereignty.

As the disciples purchased a lamb for the Passover meal, little did they realize that Jesus Himself, the Lamb of God, was preparing to be sacrificed for the world’s sins. John the Baptist had earlier identified Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Jesus was about to fulfill this prophetic role by becoming the final and ultimate Passover Lamb.

In the Old Testament, the Passover lamb was sacrificed to commemorate God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The blood of the lamb marked the homes of the faithful, sparing them from the plague of death. In a similar yet far more profound way, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross marks the deliverance of believers from the bondage of sin and death.

Jesus, fully aware of His impending suffering, still guided His disciples through the preparation of the Passover, symbolizing His unwavering commitment to the mission He was about to complete. His sacrifice was the ultimate act of love and obedience, providing a way for us to be reconciled to God.

 

PRAYER