Final Meal

In the American judicial system, every criminal on death row who is to be executed has a final meal of his/her choice. Some chose the oddest meals. Velma Barfield, one of the lady prisoners to die by lethal injunction, had a simple request: a can of Coke and a bag of Cheeze Doodles. A Texas inmate, Stacey Lawton, ordered the traditional cheeseburger and fries but also wanted an entire jar of dill pickles. Velma and Stacey died for atrocious crimes they had committed. Since I am not in favor of capital punishment, I feel sad for them—it is as if they want to enjoy life before they die but can’t except for one meal.

The Lord Jesus had one last meal request before his death: he wanted to celebrate the Passover meal with his disciples.

The day of unleavened [a festival] came in which they must sacrifice the Passover lamb. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “You prepare for us the Passover so we may eat it.” They asked him, “Where do you wish to prepare the Passover?” He said, “See, when you enter the village, a man carrying a jar of water will come against you. You follow him into the house that he enters and say to the house’s master: ‘The teacher asks: Where is the guestroom where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a room with a ‘mega spread.’ There, you will prepare for the Passover.”

Peter and John went and found it just as he had told them and prepared the Passover meal. (Luke 22:7–13)

Passover was a significant celebration for the Hebrew people. It began with their deliverance from Egypt when God’s angel passed over any house that had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts as God had instructed them to kill a lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts and didn’t kill the firstborns in that house. One of their preparations for the Passover meal was cleaning the house of moldy items and leavened bread. As such, Unleavened Bread and Passover festivals followed each other.

The Lord wanted to celebrate his last wish and meal with his disciples, but he wasn’t callous about its preparation. Miraculously or by prearrangement, a house’s owner had prepared an upper room with a ‘mega spread’ of tables, chairs, cups, plates, and food for Jesus and the disciples to celebrate the Passover. That’s where Jesus wanted Peter and John to prepare the Passover for them.

A Passover meal included a particular item: a one-year-old unblemished lamb. Traditionally, the father of the house and a young member of the family took the Passover lamb to the temple, had a priest kill it, sprinkle its blood on the altar, bring it home, spread its blood on the doorposts of the house, and cook it for the meal without breaking any bones. Jesus chose Peter and John, perhaps because of their age difference, and sent them to do the same. They did as he instructed and were surprised how he knew they would meet a servant carrying a jar of water that would lead them to the right house he wanted.

Often in life, we, too, are surprised to learn how the Lord Jesus knows where our next meal will come from or where we will celebrate the next festival. Nothing escapes his foresight or omniscience. He plans things so far in advance that he tells us not to worry about our future. We must trust his word—He is faithful.