Luke 22:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Lord expresses to His disciples, “I eagerly desired to share this Passover meal with you before I endure suffering.” He implies that this is His final supper with them, making it a cherished and desirable occasion, as He would not partake in such a meal with them afterwards. It's akin to how those embarking on a journey share fond farewells with their family and friends, filled with warmth and tenderness. Additionally, He emphasizes His eagerness to celebrate this Passover with them because it provides an opportunity to reveal significant truths—the mysteries of the New Covenant. Through this, He indicates His willingness to face suffering, knowing full well the trials ahead of Him. He could certainly have evaded such fate, much like He did in the past (John 8:59).

What did Christ convey to His holy apostles? "I have eagerly wished to partake in this Passover meal with you." Let us delve into the profound significance of this statement, seeking the concealed meaning and the intentions of the Savior. As previously mentioned, this treacherous disciple sought a chance to betray Him, and to prevent His handover to His persecutors prior to the Passover celebration, the Savior refrained from disclosing either the location or the individual with whom He would observe the feast.

I was eager this year to partake in the Passover with you prior to my crucifixion, specifically before the appointed time of the feast. It was at that moment that He was destined to be crucified, as noted in Matthew's account, ‘But when evening came, He lay down with the Twelve.’

It has been conveyed that one chose to endure death for the glory of God the Father and for the sake of human redemption.

The Saviour, after completing His teaching on foot washing, begins the Passover meal by expressing His sentiments about this gathering. During the supper, He revealed to His disciples that one among them would betray Him. He shared with them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Why did the Saviour yearn so deeply to partake in this Passover meal with His disciples? This meal represented the culmination of the old covenant and the onset of the fulfillment of its promises. His profound longing for this final supper stemmed from His immense love for humanity and His unwavering commitment to His Father’s divine will, who charged Him with the task of redemption.

One of the most compelling indications of our need for and the salvific graces found in the Lord's Supper is the intense longing expressed by our Lord for this sacred meal. What significance do His words to the Apostles, "I long to eat this Passover with you," hold? Does He truly yearn for the Old Testament Passover? Yet, as a yearly observance, it had already been a common tradition, but it is now destined to come to an end, as the shadow of the past gives way to the reality that has arrived. Clearly, He deeply desires the New Testament Passover—one in which He becomes both the sacrifice and nourishment.

In the evening, the Lord arrived at the home accompanied by all His disciples, and when the moment arrived, He initiated the supper, likely in accordance with the customary Easter traditions. His initial words were, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." He further stated, "I will not partake of it again until the true Passover arrives, with the complete revelation of the kingdom of God" (until they pass away, πληρωϑή, i.e., το πάσχα) (Luke 22:15-16). Following tradition, He offered thanks to His Father, who had liberated His people from Egyptian bondage with great might and strength, over a cup of wine.

In this context, the Hebrew text refers to the first cup used to initiate the Passover celebration. Christ ardently expresses His yearning to share this specific Passover with His disciples, as it marks the final one from the Old Testament tradition that He would partake in with them. Soon, the significance of this meal will come to fruition, heralding the revelation of God’s kingdom, the Messianic reign, where believers will be united with their Lord through communion in the true essence of this symbolism—by receiving the body and blood of Christ.

Jesus expressed a deep desire to share this final Old Testament Passover meal with His disciples prior to His forthcoming suffering, emphasizing that He would not partake in it again until its full meaning was revealed in the Kingdom of God. He also stated that He would refrain from consuming the fruit of the vine until the day He would share new wine with them in the Father's Kingdom. John Chrysostom interprets these words as a prophetic indication to the Apostles that, following His Resurrection, He would join them in eating and drinking wine to affirm the reality of His Resurrection. Bishop Michael perceives this as a form of sacramental language within a sacramental conversation.

The phrase ‘I was very willing’ is noted solely by Luke and aligns well with the overall nature of the event as recounted by all the Gospel writers. Luke provides an account that reflects the essence of the occasion, and the strong desire of the Savior to share this specific Passover meal with His disciples can be understood for two primary reasons: first, it represented the final Passover meal that the Lord would partake in during His earthly ministry, as referenced in the context (see v. 16), and second, He aimed to replace this traditional Passover feast with the authentic sacramental meal of His body and blood, which is the sacrament of the Eucharist.