How does Luke 22:8 connect to Old Testament Passover instructions in Exodus 12?

Luke 22:8: “Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare for us to eat the Passover.’”

Luke’s single sentence carries a rich echo of Exodus 12. Ponder the connections:

• Same divine authority at work

– In Exodus 12:1-13 the LORD gives Moses and Aaron precise directions for Israel’s first Passover.

– In Luke 22:8 the incarnate Lord gives Peter and John equally precise instructions. The speaker differs in form (Yahweh in heaven, Jesus on earth), yet the authority is identical.

• Same purpose: secure a covenant meal

– Exodus 12:6-8 calls each family to slaughter the lamb at twilight and eat it that night.

– Luke 22:13-14 shows the disciples locating the room, then sharing the meal “when the hour had come.” Jesus will transform that established covenant meal into the new covenant supper (22:19-20; cf. Jeremiah 31:31).

• Same timing: the fourteenth day of the first month

– Exodus 12:6 fixes the sacrifice “at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.”

– Luke 22:7-8 notes that “the day of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed,” then Jesus says, “Go and prepare.” The calendar God set in Exodus still governs Israel nearly fifteen hundred years later.

• Same demand for obedient preparation

– Exodus 12 lists practical steps: choose an unblemished lamb (v.5), apply its blood (v.7), roast it whole (v.8-9), eat in haste (v.11).

– Luke 22:9-13 records the disciples’ obedience: “Where do You want us to prepare it?” They follow Jesus’ detailed directions and “found it just as He had told them.” Preparation and obedience remain inseparable.

• Same sheltering power of sacrificial blood

– Exodus 12:13: “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

– Luke 22:20: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” The original lamb’s blood shielded Israel from judgment; Jesus’ blood will shield believers eternally (Romans 5:9; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

• Same inclusion of a people being formed

– Exodus 12 births a redeemed nation; the Passover distinguishes Israel from Egypt.

– Luke 22 gathers the nucleus of the church; Christ’s Passover identifies a new people drawn from every nation (Ephesians 2:13-16; Revelation 5:9-10).

• Same forward look to deliverance

– Exodus 12 anticipates the exodus from slavery.

– Luke 22 anticipates a greater exodus—Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ultimate kingdom (22:16, 18; cf. Isaiah 53:10-11).

In short, Jesus’ command in Luke 22:8 stands in deliberate continuity with Exodus 12: both inaugurate salvation through an obediently prepared, God-appointed Passover. The first pointed ahead; the second fulfills, transforming the shadow into everlasting reality.