#174 Lu. 22:1-2  THE NEARNESS OF THE PASSOVER

Introduction:

	Beginning with the first part of chapter 20 Jesus went
each morning into the temple and taught the people.  Then
each evening He went to Bethany on Mt. Olives to spend the
night.  On that last day in the temple, the disciples spoke
to Him about the beauty of the temple.  He told them that
the temple would be destroyed.  He gave them a sign whereby
they could know when it was about to be destroyed.  He also
gave them signs of His second coming.  This text speaks of
the nearness of the Passover.

I.  The nearness of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened
    Bread

    V. 1, "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh,
which is called the Passover."  Our text speaks of The Feast
of Unleavened Bread and The Passover as though they were one
event.  Actually they are two events which blend together
into one.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread is seven days long
and The Passover falls on the first of those seven days.
Technically the Passover does not last seven days.  It last
only one day, but it begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
	Sometimes they are referred to in Scripture under their
separate names and sometimes the whole event is referred to
by only one of the two names.  In this verse that is the
case.  It is first called The Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Then in the later part of the verse it is called The
Passover.
	Luke says that The Passover drew near.  He does not say
how near.  The idea is that it was very near.

II.  What The Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Commemorate

	The feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the eating of
unleavened bread in the first part of their journey when
they were delivered from bondage in Egypt.  When they left
Egypt they carried with them baskets of bread dough.  They
also carried with them earthenware jugs.  The jugs served as
portable ovens.  When they would stop for rest and food they
would build a fire and cook their bread in the portable
ovens.
	The bread dough which they carried was unleavened bread.
There was a very practical reason for this.  If there had
been leavening in the dough then pretty soon the dough would
rise and run over the sides of the basket.  By carrying
unleavened bread they could carry with them sufficient dough
to last them until they were on the other side of the Red
Sea when the manna from heaven would begin.
	On an annual basis they were to celebrate the Feast of
unleavened Bread and were to eat only unleavened bread.
This would commemorate their deliverance from bondage in
Egypt and the time when their forefathers ate unleavened
bread on the first leg of their journey through the
wilderness.
	The Passover commemorated the killing of the passover
lamb which was so closely related to their deliverance from
bondage.  God had given orders that each family group was to
kill a lamb on a certain day and cook the lamb and eat it
just shortly after evening time.  They were to sprinkle the
blood of the lamb on the doorposts of each home.  Then at
midnight God sent an angel throughout the whole land of
Egypt to bring death in each home which did not have the
blood of the lamb on the doorposts.  The first-born male
both man and beast in every home which did not have the
blood on the door posts died at the hour of midnight.
However, because the Hebrew people all had the blood on the
door posts of their houses the death-angel passed over them
and the first-born was not slain there.  There was death in
every Egyptian home but not in one Hebrew home.
	It was on the next day that Pharaoh ordered Moses to
take all of the Hebrew people -- to take all of their
cattle, all of their possessions -- and get out!  They were
to get out of the land of Egypt, which, of course, they did.
It was a joyous time.  They were free to leave Egypt at
last.

II.  The celebration at Jerusalem

	In our text the Israelite people had gathered at
Jerusalem from all their land and from several foreign
lands.  They had gathered there to celebrate The Passover
and The Feast of Unleavened Bread.  It was to them a joyous
occasion.  It was to commemorate the deliverance of their
forefathers from bondage in Egypt.  It was to commemorate
the deliverance of their nation from bondage.
    Yet there was a personal reason for their joy than just
the freedom of their forefathers.  Had it not been for that
passover lamb and the great power of God to deliver them,
the nation would still be in bondage in Egypt.  Each and
every one of them would be in bondage right now.  So they
had reason to rejoice.
	There was not a sad heart among them.  There was not
heard one discouraging word among them.  Every face was
smiling and every voice was cheerful.  The closer the time
came for the Passover, the more joyous the mood of the
people.

IV.  What was really taking place in Jerusalem

    V. 2, "And the chief priests and scribes sought how they
might kill him; for they feared the people."  What the
people did not realize was that the closer the time came for
the Passover, the closer the time came for the death of
Jesus.
	The forefathers of this nation were not the only ones to
be in bondage.  Every nation, every race, every person in
the whole world was in bondage.  They were all in bondage to
sin.  They were in bondage to sin and were all headed for
the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.  All the world was in danger
of everlasting fire unless God should send a Savior for the
world.
	So God had send His Son, Jesus Christ, to the world to
be born in human flesh.  He had sent Him to the world to go
to the cross of Calvary to die on the cross.
	Our text says that the chief priests and scribes already
sought to kill Him.  They had long sought to find a way to
kill Him, but they could not do so until the time arrived
which God had appointed.
	Before Jesus had ever arrived at Jerusalem for the
observance of The Passover, the chief priests and certain
members of the Sanhedrin Council had met and plotted His
death.  They planned to arrest Him as soon as He arrived at
Jerusalem.  But when He arrived there were several thousand
people around Him proclaiming Him to be the Christ of God
and they did not dare to touch Him.  He had been right in
their midst in the temple on a daily basis, but they still
did not dare to touch Him.  Luke said that they feared the
multitude.  Jesus was still very popular with the masses of
common people and they chief priests did not dare touch Him.
They used every trick question they could come up with to
try and find an excuse which the common people would accept
for them to arrest Jesus, but Jesus outwitted them on every
question.  They would have gone out at night to arrest Him
when the multitudes were not around, but they did not know
where He was at night.  When He left the temple late in the
evening He stepped out into the streets in the midst of
thousands of people and just disappeared into the crowd.
They did not know where He was spending His nights.

V.  Some lessons we learn from this passage

	The great sinfulness of the Jewish leaders is not the
main point of this text.  The great sinfulness of the whole
world is the main point of this passage.  All have sinned
and come short of God's perfect standard of righteousness
and if left without a Savior all would go to hell.  We, too,
have sinned and we, too, if left without a Savior would all
go to hell.
	But God has so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him would not go to
hell, but would go to heaven instead.  He sent Jesus Christ,
His Son, to be born in human flesh.  He sent Him to the
cross of Calvary.  He sent Him to die for the sins of the
world so that all might be saved.  He sent Him to die for
our sins so that we might be saved.
	Jesus is the real Passover Lamb.  John the Baptist said
of Him, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of
the world."  Listen, the closer the time came for the
Passover day to arrive, the close it came to the appointed
time when Jesus Christ would die on the cross.

	Conclusion:

	Jesus will save everyone who will turn to Him and trust
in Him for salvation.  If you wish to stay out of hell and
go to heaven then come and trust in Jesus Christ to save
your soul.  Come!
	If you are already saved and you wish to unite with this
church to serve Him then come in this invitation hymn.
Come!
	If you are already saved and you have not yet followed
Jesus in Scriptural baptism and you wish to be baptized,
then come and present yourself to this church for baptism.
Come!