So much is packed into the Gospels around the story of Easter week, from Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday through his inflammatory (at least to the priests and Sadducees) teachings in the Temple to the trial, crucifixion and resurrection.

Todays reading from Luke 22:1–13 is all about the preparation for the last supper when Jesus revealed himself and his death fully to his disciples.

Sermon on  Luke 22:1–13

Seems a very simple and straightforward reading today. In fact not very much to it at all. Jesus asks his disciples to go and book a room for supper.  So they do. That’s it. Not much to write home about you would think.

But as so often with Luke he is very economical with his words but hides much meaning behind them. So lets look a bit closer.

Let’s set the scene. It’s almost Passover. The city of Jerusalem is packed like the supermarket on Christmas Eve. Everyone’s rushing to prepare for the feast—buying lamb, baking unleavened bread, probably arguing about who forgot to buy the wine. In all likelihood most of the rooms have been booked for weeks so finding a room for twelve for supper seems a pretty difficult proposition. Yet the middle of all this, Jesus turns to Peter and John and says something along the lines of, “Go into town and look for a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him.”

Now, let’s just pause here—men didn’t carry water jars in that culture. That was usually women’s work. So this man would have stood out like a hippo in a swimming pool. This shows us that Jesus knew exactly how things would unfold. God is not random. He prepares the path before we even know where we’re going. In uncertain times, we can trust that He has gone ahead of us.

Now as I said this is Passover and we need to remember that Jesus came very publicly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and he has been preaching in the temple and basically inciting the crowds and riling the High Priests who are too afraid of the crowds to attack him in public yet want to deal with him before he leaves Jerusalem. They have great power in Jerusalem but very little once he returns to the countryside.  Talk of a Messiah coming was all around the town an the priests and Sadducees wanted to nip this in  the bud. So they were delighted when Judas offered to betray him. Now the importance of this was that as an insider Judas knew Jesus plans and was able to lead the priests and soldiers to him in a private place where they could arrest him without the interference of crowds.  We do not really know why Judas chose to betray him, was it just for the money….had they some other disagreement? Luke just says he had been tempted by Satan but we know that Jesus knew it was coming.

So as we saw earlier Jesus sent his disciples to find a room for supper and he wanted to do this quietly and in private because as we know this was going to be the supper at which he told them all of what was to come. This was the room which would hold the greatest meal in history. The last supper

Many of you will have seen Leonardos Last Supper on the wall of the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. For part of his life Leonardo lived in Milan and painted the last supper literally on the wall of the monastic refectory where it appeared to the monks (by using very advanced perspective techniques) that Jesus and the disciples were sitting at the top table as they ate their meals.

This was when Jesus told all his disciples what was about to happen and although at that point they did not fully understand he also told them to remember it by sharing bread and wine in his name. Just as we are about to do. And note he asked them to seek a man for a guest room but the scripture says when they got there and asked him for a room it says

He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished.

So we can see that once again Jesus was fully prepared he had set the scene perfectly much of what Jesus said at the meal is either lost or went over the disciples heads at the time but the institution of the eucharist, the creation of the last supper meant that they and through the ages, US would understand more and more as the story unfolded and indeed it was really only when they met again following the crucifixion and Jeus resurrected appeared in their midst in another secret room that they really understood the events of that evening.

Maybe we should reflect on those monks in Milan and what they thought when they sat down below his table every dinner time.

This is our calling today. We are called to prepare space in our hearts, our homes, and our lives for Jesus. Not just at Christmas. Not just at Easter. Every day. Jesus has prepared a room for us and just as Jesus turned the upper room into a table of grace, sacrifice, and salvation for the disciples he will do the same for us if we prepare for it.

let us ask ourselves: Just as the disciples had to

Am I trusting in God’s plan, even when I don’t see the full picture?

Am I obeying His call, even when it doesn’t all make sense?

And most importantly, am I preparing a place in my life for Jesus to dwell?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to trust Your plan, obey Your Word, and make space in our hearts for You. As we prepare a place for You, prepare us to be people who serve You with joy and faith. Amen.

Gerry Stacey LLM