And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
– Luke 22:15–18
And right after this, Jesus takes the bread and the cup and institutes the Lord’s Supper.
The reason I wanted to read these three verses though, verses 15 through 17 is because of one word that Jesus says twice. He says, “I tell you, I’ll not eat it until,” that’s the word, until, “it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” That’s verse 16. And then in verse 18, he says, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Luke 22:15–18 encourages us to look forward to reuniting with the Lord.
So he says until twice. And here’s why this is so significant because when we think about the Lord’s Supper, we oftentimes think about looking back, which we should. We look back to when Jesus had this meal with his disciples. He took the bread, he took the cup as a picture, as a symbol of his body, his blood that he was about to shed on the cross for the forgiveness of their sins. And so when we take the Lord’s Supper, we look back to what Jesus did on the cross for us.
But we don’t just look back. This word “until” reminds us we’re looking forward. In fact, when Paul in 1 Corinthians talks about the Lord’s Supper, he talks about how we take the cup, and as we do, we proclaim the Lord’s death until, there’s that word again, until he comes.
What he’s talking about here in Luke 22, and he was talking about this in the chapter before, is that he’s coming back and we are going to gather around the table with him in a wedding feast. We’re going to celebrate with Jesus and all his people, all of God’s family from all of the nations gathered around that table. What a scene.
Luke 22:15–18 teaches us that the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of what’s to come.
And so whenever you think about the Lord’s Supper, I want to encourage you, yes, to think about looking back, but also always think about looking forward that this meal, this taking of the bread and the cup is a foretaste of a celebration to come. And in this way, the Lord’s Supper, yes, is a reminder to us that Jesus has died for the forgiveness of our sins. But it’s also a reminder to us that Jesus is coming back for us, that our eyes are fixed on another world and we are looking for and looking forward to the coming of his Kingdom. This is how Jesus taught us to pray. So let’s pray.
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come on this Earth as it is in Heaven, as John prayed, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. We long for your return. We ache in so many ways in this world of sin and suffering and death and trials and tribulations. God, we see the effects of sin all around us in this world. Yes, God, we praise you for your grace in it. We praise you for your grace and mercy in so many ways.
This verse reminds us of the hope of Heaven.
At the same time, God, we long for a world where there is no sin, where there is no suffering, where there is no death, where there’s no more cancer, there’s no more tumors, there’s no more trials. We praise you that this world is not the end of the story. And we praise you for your promise, Lord Jesus in this passage that sin, suffering, and death itself are temporary for all who trust in you and your body and your blood. We praise you, Jesus, for your body, for your blood, for dying on the cross, for our sins, for your blood that covers over our sins and reconciles us to God.
God, we praise you for the privilege of communion with you and for the security we have today in you, that our sins have been forgiven, our relationship with you is restored, we are redeemed, and that one day you’re coming back for us Lord Jesus.
This verse challenges us to live with an eternal perspective.
And so we say, come, help us to live with our eyes fixed on the sky and we’re waiting for that trumpet to boom and for your return to happen.
God, help us to live with that kind of urgency today. Help us to be holy as you are holy, to be ready for your return. And God, we pray you’d help us to live with zeal to lead others to you before your return, knowing that could happen today or tomorrow.
So God, help us to share the gospel with somebody today. Help us to point somebody today to the good news of your body and your blood.
Prayer for the Laven People
Oh God, we pray for the good news of your body and your blood to spread to all the peoples of the world. For the Laven people of Laos, God please cause them to be reached with the good news of your love today, soon. Oh God, we pray this for all the unreached people groups of the world.
And God, we pray that when we gather in our churches and we take the Lord’s Supper, you would fix our eyes, not just looking back but looking forward, and help us to live for that day when you’ll send your Son back for your people, and we will gather around your table and we will enjoy a feast on your redemption for all of eternity.
Oh God, we praise you for the Lord’s Supper, for the picture that it is. Help us to participate in this meal as your people appropriately looking back and looking forward. In Jesus’ name, we pray according to your Word in Luke 22:15–18, until your Kingdom comes. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
