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Paying it Forward

“And he said unto them, with desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God”, Luke 22:15-16.

He was born a king, John 18:37. He is King of kings and Lord of lords in heaven but not on this earth until after all is fulfilled in the book of Revelation. They celebrated Passover in a specially prepared, elaborate place, fit for a king.

Earlier, Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Passover, Luke 22:8. And they asked where, how? Listen to this: Jesus said, go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water; then follow him into the house, Luce 22:9-10. My readers; do you find this odd – a man carrying a pitcher of water? It is counter-cultural; women carry the pitchers of water. Jesus said that they would see it.

And then find the owner of the house and repeat this: “The Master saith unto thee, where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples”, Luke 22:11? Obviously, the Master is Jesus and this must be a secret message given to the owner of the house. Perhaps he had seen a dream or a vision the night before. He was expecting someone to come with this request.

The next part of the prophecy (also fulfilled to the letter) contains this amazing detail. Disciples – the owner will show you a large upper room (the guest chamber) furnished: there make ready for the Passover. “And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover”, Luke 22:13.

Jesus is a prophet (seen here), a priest and a king. No other individual in the whole Old Testament held all three offices. That speaks volumes to me as to His identity.

And then came the time of the Passover, 22:14. And the first words out of His mouth are: “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Is this a special time? You better believe it! Every other individual that ever lived was born to live, hopefully make their mark, have an extended family, etc. Not Jesus, He was born to die. That has everything to do with the priest part of Him. He is to die as the sacrifice, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He said, “It is finished.” What was finished? Sin’s price has been paid. Talk about paying it forward!

Look at the strong meaning found in the word desire and desired: Strong’s Concordance has it this way; ‘an intense, all consuming craving or longing’ – bordering on a desire that will eat you alive. This is why He came to this earth.

He has fulfilled the prophet and the priest aspect, but not the king. Rebellious earth is the hold-out. But there is coming a day. Gerald Nilsen