BibleProject | Upside-Down Kingdom / Part 1 - LukeSample

Before we begin today’s reading, let’s review chapter nine, where Luke reveals Jesus’ shocking plan to assert his reign over Israel by becoming the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Luke tells us how Elijah and Moses talk to Jesus about his departure or “exodus.” Jesus is the new Moses who, through his exodus (death), will free Israel from the tyranny of sin and evil in all of its forms. After this baffling revelation, Luke begins the story of Jesus’ long trip to the capital city for Passover, where he will die to be enthroned as Israel’s true King.

So now, as we turn to chapter 22 today, we see Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem to celebrate the annual Passover feast──a Jewish holiday celebrating how God liberated Israel from slavery. As Jesus gathers with the twelve disciples for the traditional Passover meal, he explains the symbolic meaning of the bread and cup in a way that his disciples had never heard before but to which the Exodus story always pointed . He tells his disciples that the broken bread represents his body and the wine represents his blood, which would establish a new covenant relationship between God and Israel. In this, Jesus uses the symbols of Passover to reveal the meaning of his coming death, but his disciples just don’t get it. They immediately start arguing at the table about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, and later that night they can’t even stay awake to pray with Jesus. One of the twelve disciples becomes an accomplice in Jesus’ murder, and another disciple denies he ever knew Jesus.

Read, Reflect, and Respond:

• Jesus turns the values and hierarchies of this world upside-down. In his Kingdom, the King will not kill to conquer territory and ascend to the throne, instead he will be killed and die as a suffering servant. Likewise, leaders in his Kingdom do not stomp on others to get to the top, instead they choose to serve others above themselves (see 22:24-27). How does this encourage or challenge you today?
  
• Review Luke 22:28-30. Even though Jesus knows how his disciples will soon stumble, he still makes this stunning announcement! How does this impact you? What does this tell you about Jesus and his Kingdom?
  
• How can you identify with Peter’s unproven confidence (see 22:33)? How has your commitment to Jesus been tested? How have you stumbled (see 22:54-62)? How have you seen Jesus’ prayers for you succeed? What did you learn in all this, and how can you share what you learned with others to strengthen them (see 22:32)?
  
• Let your reading and reflection prompt a prayer. Thank Jesus for suffering to free humanity from sin’s slavery, be honest with him about where you struggle to receive or experience this freedom and what you need today.