Every year the Jewish people celebrated Passover. During that special meal, they remembered how God had chosen Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt where they were slaves. They celebrated how God delivered them from slavery into freedom.
 
Jesus told His disciples that the meal they were having together in the upper room was the last supper He would have with them. Every minute was precious to Jesus. Everything He did was an opportunity to teach the people around Him more about the Kingdom of God. And this meal was no exception. Jesus used the Passover meal to teach His disciples more on the Kingdom of God.
 
In Kid’s Church, we talked about the meaning of Passover and enjoyed one of the Passover dishes together. We also talked about each object Jesus used to help us remember the sacrifice that He made for us. 1) the towel: Jesus got up, put a long towel around his waist and started washing the feet of each disciple. Jesus was teaching us to serve others -- that we should be willing to do anything to help out someone - we should never consider ourselves too good to serve someone else. 2) the bread: in the Passover meal, the unleavened bread is broken. When Jesus broke the bread, He changed its meaning. He told His disciples that the broken bread would remind them of His body that was going to be broken. The bread we eat during communion reminds us that Jesus gave His life on the cross. 3) the cup: the Passover meal has four times when the people drink the grape juice or wine. Each cup of juice helped them remember that God promised to bring the Israelites out of Egypt so that they would be free. And He promised them that He would save them with an outstretched arm (Exodus 6:6) so they could be His people. Jesus was about to die so that we could be free from our sin - not freedom from Egypt, but freedom from sin. The freedom Jesus would die for was much greater than the freedom from slavery in Egypt. Jesus would die by having his arms outstretched on the cross so that anyone who believed in Him would be a child of God.
 
Jesus was celebrating the old covenant when He had the disciples prepare the Last Supper/Passover meal and then before the meal was over He introduced the new covenant (Luke 22:20). God delivered the Israelites from Egypt...God also sent Jesus to deliver all mankind.
 
On March 28, the “Living Lord’s Supper” drama will be presented in the 8:30 & 11:00 morning services. The grade school children will sit with their families for this service. Prepare your family now by further discussing the meaning of the Passover and the Last Supper. Then, as the Bible is brought to life next Sunday morning, it will have greater meaning to your family. Read Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:3-39 and John 13 together.