Excellent Choices

“...with desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you...” - Luke 22:15

Jesus is almost ready to eat the last supper meal with the disciples. He
turns and tells them, “with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover
meal with you before I suffer.” He is within 48 hours of the horrid
crucifixion. All of His love for them is going to be on display in a short
time. What Jesus does is amazing! He takes the Jewish celebration of
the Passover meal and turns it into a memorial concerning His death.
When people read the Old Testament, they ask why the people had
to slaughter so many animals and why God demanded so much
sacrificial bloodshed. They wonder, “Is God into mutilating
animals?” No, not at all! God shows us a picture of what it takes to
forgive sin. The Bible tells us that people atoned for their sins by
slaying animals. God cannot permit sin and rebellion and freely give
away a pardon without a sacrifice. Someone or something had to pay
for the crimes. Would an earthly judge be good and righteous if he
just allowed a murderer to go free? The guilty need to pay for the
crimes.

After thousands of years of animal sacrifices, Jesus looks in the eyes of
His disciples and tells them, “I have desired to eat this Passover with
you!” Why was He so passionate about this meal? The Passover meal
was focused on the slaying of a little lamb. This celebration happened
for every Jewish household for 2,000 years before Jesus’s time. When
the lamb’s blood was slain, the Jews were set free from captivity and
sin. With “desire,” He wanted them to finally understand this! “I am
that little lamb, and I am the sacrifice for all sins. I’m going to show
my love for you by being slaughtered on a cross!”

He came to save us from our sins! He came to pay our price. He died
in our place, and now He “desires” for you to “eat the Passover meal”
with Him in a spiritual way. All He wants from you is to believe that
He died on a cross and shed His blood for your sins. Will you celebrate
this meal with him? All you have to do is cry out to God and say,
“Jesus, I believe you died and rose again for me! Forgive me! I want
to live forever in Heaven with you!”