The Lord’s Table (Luke 22)
The King at the Table (Devin H. Dunn)
Luke 22:14-20
Big Idea: The Lord’s Table is the new covenant meal in which Christ invites his people to remember, receive, and rejoice in his saving work together.
Communion reaches back to two defining moments in redemptive history: the Passover in Egypt and the Last Supper in Jerusalem. In both, God reveals himself as the one who rescues his people through sacrifice.
I. The Meal Came from Passover
For generations, Israel gathered around the Passover meal to remember that God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
The blood of an unblemished lamb marked the homes of those who trusted God’s promise, and judgment passed over them.
The meal declared:
We were slaves. God rescued us. Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Passover became Israel’s covenant meal, reminding every generation that the God who had saved them before was faithful to save again.
II. Jesus Fulfilled the Meal
At the Last Supper, Jesus did not merely celebrate Passover. He fulfilled it.
Luke 22:19–20: “This is my body, which is given for you… This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Jesus revealed that the Passover had always pointed forward to him.
He is the true Passover Lamb.
His body would be broken.
His blood would be poured out.
His sacrifice would secure redemption.
The old meal said, remember and wait.
Jesus now says, remember and behold.
The promised salvation has come.
Communion also reminds us that Christ did not redeem isolated individuals. One loaf is shared by one gathered people. His body was broken so that his people might become one body.
III. The Table Invites Us to Renew Our Dependence on Christ
Two thousand years later, the invitation remains.
Christians do not return to the Table because Christ needs to save us again, but because we need to be reminded again. So Christ gives us not only words to hear, but bread to hold and a cup to taste.
Baptism marks the beginning of the Christian life. The Lord’s Supper continually draws us back to the grace upon which that life depends. The bread and cup have no saving power in themselves. They point us back to Christ and invite us to enjoy fellowship with him and his people again.
At the Table, the redeemed gather around their King and hear the invitation:
Come. Remember. Receive. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Application Questions
When I come to Communion, do I approach it as a sacred reminder of the gospel or merely as a familiar church routine?
What does the Lord’s Table remind me about my dependence on Christ?
Is there anything in my life causing me to forget, doubt, or wander from the grace of the gospel?
How should sharing one bread and one cup shape the way I view the other believers around me?