What is the meaning of Luke 22:16?

For I tell you

• Jesus speaks with divine authority; every word is trustworthy and binding (John 14:6).

• This personal declaration underscores that He fully knows the future, echoing earlier predictions of His death and resurrection (Luke 18:31-33).

• By prefacing with “I tell you,” He stresses that what follows is not speculation but certain fact, just as earlier statements about His sufferings were fulfilled (Luke 22:37).

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that I will not eat it again

• “It” refers to the Passover meal He has just shared (Luke 22:15).

• His abstinence highlights the finality of this particular Passover: the true Lamb is about to be sacrificed (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7).

• This vow also affirms the once-for-all nature of His atoning work—no further sacrificial meals will be needed after His death and resurrection (Hebrews 9:26-28).

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until it is fulfilled

• “Fulfilled” points to a specific, future accomplishment: the complete realization of God’s redemptive plan begun in the Exodus and finished in Christ (Luke 24:44).

• The word signals certainty and completion, paralleling His later cry from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30).

• Fulfillment includes the global proclamation of the gospel (Matthew 24:14) and the gathering of all the redeemed (Ephesians 1:10).

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in the kingdom of God

• The kingdom Jesus envisions is a literal, future reign where He will physically share table fellowship with His people (Matthew 26:29; Revelation 19:9).

• This promise anticipates the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, a celebratory feast marking the full arrival of God’s rule (Isaiah 25:6-9).

• Believers are invited to look ahead with confidence, knowing that just as the first Passover meal pointed to the cross, so this promise directs eyes to Christ’s visible return and reign (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 11:26).

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summary

Luke 22:16 shows Jesus, the truthful Lord, declaring that He will abstain from the Passover meal until the final, literal fulfillment of God’s kingdom. His words seal the certainty of the cross, guarantee the completion of redemption, and focus believers’ hope on the coming, tangible feast in His future reign.