JESUS GAVE THANKS

Luke 22:17, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks.”

Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and gave thanks.”

It is good and proper for us to give thanks for all that God provides.  Jesus Himself did the same.  But the meal referenced in these verses was no ordinary meal.  And Jesus was no ordinary man.

As a Jewish ordinance, the Passover was observed in remembrance of God’s intervention in redeeming His people from bondage in Egypt. It was given to God’s people to serve as a memorial for them for all generations (Exodus 12:14).  It both looked back, to that great deliverance, and looked forward, to the promise of a future Deliverer.

The various aspects of the Passover meal all pointed to this promised Messiah (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7).  What was typified in the meal was perfectly and ultimately fulfilled in Him.  It is significant that Jesus’ said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Verse 15).  “This” particular Passover looked forward to the “cup of suffering” Jesus was soon to drink unto Himself.  The bread symbolized His body which was to be given.  The cup spoke to His blood which was to soon be shed for forgiveness of sins.

Despite Jesus’ instructions and repeated warnings, the disciples didn’t-at-all understand what was soon to take place—they had never understood (Mark 9:32).  They didn’t-at-all appreciate the significance of that particular meal.  In loving devotion to the Father, the God-man Jesus Christ had come into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  He was born to die.  He spoke in that Passover in terms of servanthood and suffering and death, but after the meal His disciples would argue as to which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:44).  One disciple would soon betray Him.  The others would all abandon Him.  Jesus knew all of this.  He knew full well of the gravity of the moment and the significance of the meal.  He, the “lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19), would bear “the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  In agony He would cry out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46)?  We can scarcely imagine the soul anguish Jesus experienced when He bore the sins of man!

Jesus knew all of this.  And He was alone in that understanding.  “When the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).  Though He was well aware of all that lay ahead, He purposefully and deliberately embraced the Father’s will.  He had been tempted, accused, questioned, and conspired against.  He would soon be betrayed, arrested, false accused, unfairly tried, brutally beaten, crucified between two ordinary thieves, and mocked by His own creation.  And there was no one on earth who understood.  No one on earth to turn to.  He would be utterly forsaken.  Infinitely lonely on that cross, bearing your sins and mine.  But He did all for the “joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).  He knew that spiritual triumph, through His death and resurrection, lay beyond that cross.

It is in this context that the gravity of our texts is to be understood.  Jesus’ gave thanks for a meal and a meal that spoke of His pending suffering and death. Jesus had previously said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).  He was thankful not simply for the Father’s provision of food and drink, He was thankful for the Father’s perfect will, though it meant pending suffering and death for Him.  He embraced it.  He thanked the Father for it.  He would soon pray, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). 

It is one thing to be thankful for those things which we “deem” to be good, things that meet our temporal wishes and are according to our limited understanding of what we suppose to be in our best interests.  It is another thing to thank God amidst our troubles…to measure our circumstances against God’s sovereignty, immeasurable love, divine power, and infinite wisdom.  To be thankful always to the God who always holds us—in any and every circumstance—as an object of His affection in Christ.  God has saved us, in Christ Jesus, to such, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

Jesus gave thanks for a meal, though it spoke of His pending suffering and death.  Under the loving hand of God, who delivered up His Own Son for us (Romans 8:32), and who causes all things to work together for His good in our lives (Romans 8:28), we’ve abiding reasons to be ever-thankful (Colossians 2:7).  Unlike Jesus, we typically don’t know the reasons why when it comes to the trials we face.  Nor, do we know exactly what the future holds when it comes to our temporal concerns.  But we know the One who does know.  We know that He knows and that He cares.  And we know that we can trust Him!  And in this we can be ever-thankful!

Jesus gave thanks in His pending poverty so that we could be ever-thankful in the riches He has bestowed (2 Corinthians 8:9).  He has worked to save us from sins and from the sin of ingratitude (Romans 1:21).  We’ve been forgiven, redeemed, and blessed-beyond measure (Ephesians 1:3-18).  We’ve got a hope that “will surely endure after the passing of time.”  We are all doing “better than we deserve” (Lamentations 3:39).  The Spirit would have you to be ever-thankful as He is ever working to unveil to you the glory of Christ and His finished work on the cross!  God grant us all the grace to be more like Jesus, and in His capacity to give thanks!