pictures – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

The Old Testament is rich with pictures of Christ. And in this passage, we see the fulfillment of them in Christ.

The disciples were having the Passover meal, and after the first cup of wine, Jesus pulled out a piece of bread from a bag, a bread called matzah.

There were actually three pieces of bread in this bag, which were put into three different compartments.

Why three? Some people said it represented Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Others said it represented the priests, Levites, and the people.

During the meal, the second piece was pulled out and broken. And for the first time in any Passover meal, Jesus gave his disciples the true meaning of the bread. He said,

This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19)

Jewish Christians tell us now that they believe the three pieces of bread represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But it was Jesus who came out and lived among us. And in the matzah, we see what he was like.

Matzah was made without yeast. In the Bible, yeast is always a picture of sin, and so the bread was a picture of Jesus’ sinless nature.

The bread was also pierced, so that the bread would stay unleavened during the cooking process. In the same way, Jesus was pierced for our sins.

And then the bread was broken, just as Jesus’ body was on the cross.

Then Jesus took the cup, and the cup he took was what the Jews called the “Cup of Redemption.”

It was a reminder of how God had bought the Jews out of slavery to Egypt and set them free.

But Jesus, instead of pointing back to the past, pointed to the future, saying,

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

Luke, in his gospel, adds the word “new” to covenant.

What did Jesus mean by new covenant? Well, when God brought the Jews out of Egypt, he gave them a covenant. An agreement. That if they would obey his laws, he would be their God and they would be his people.

But there was a problem. No one could keep those laws perfectly.

And so God promised in the book of Jeremiah that he would make a new covenant that would not depend on our effort.

He said,

I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor or a man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all will know me from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

In this new covenant, God made several promises.

First, he would change us from the inside, changing our hearts and minds so that we can obey him.

Second, we would have a new relationship with him. We don’t need priests or pastors to stand between us and God. We can have a close intimate relationship with God himself.

And third, all our sins would be wiped away. He will remember our sins no more.

Now Jesus was saying, “The time for the new covenant has come. My blood will be poured out for you so that your sins may be forgiven and you may find new life.”

So because of Jesus and what he did for us,

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22-23)

The ultimate servant

The Bible is full of pictures concerning Jesus and his work on the cross, starting from God’s promise of someone to come stomp on the serpent’s head even while getting his heel struck in the process, to Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, to the tabernacle sacrifices.

And this is not even including all the prophesies made by Isaiah, and the ones made by David in the Psalms.

And now, just before the cross, Jesus gave two more pictures.

One, of course, is communion which we’ll get to in a few blogs. But the other is right here in this passage. And because of the beauty of the picture Jesus painted, I would be remiss in not talking about it.

It says that Jesus got up from the meal, he took off his outer garments and wrapped a towel around his waist.

What was this a picture of? The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:5-7)

Jesus, though he was God, made himself nothing. The NASB puts it this way, “He emptied himself.”

He took off the outer garments of his glory and became one of us. But not only did he become one of us, he wrapped a towel around his waist, and in so doing, took the very nature of a servant.

Paul goes on to say,

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)

Just as Jesus humbled himself and washed the feet of his disciples, so did he humble himself, going to the cross, that our sins might be washed away by his blood.

That’s why when Peter objected to Jesus washing his feet, Jesus replied,

Unless I wash you, you have no part with me. (John 13:8)

In other words, “Peter, you’re messing with my picture here. Just as I am washing your feet, so will I need to wash away your sins. And unless you allow me to wash away your sins, you will have no part with me. You cannot have a relationship with me.”

After Jesus finished washing their feet, he then put his clothes back on and returned to his place at the head of the table. And in the same way, Paul tells us,

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and underr the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Now Jesus asks us the same thing that he asked his disciples.

Do you understand what I have done for you? (John 13:12)

Do you? Do you understand all that Jesus gave up and sacrificed for you so that your sins might be forgiven? If you do, then Jesus tells you,

You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:13-15, 17)

Jesus was the ultimate servant. And he calls us to be like him. Are you?