STUDY THEME: ONE SOLITARY LIFE: “THE LIFE OF JESUS.” 6-17-01

UNIT 6: THE PERFECT SACRIFICE: “FOCUSING ON THE CROSS.”

MATT. 26: 1-5; MARK 14: 12-16; JOHN 13: 1-5, 18-20, 21-30; MATT. 26: 26-30

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO MATTHEW 26.

We are in the last week of Jesus life. The cross now comes into center focus in everything that happens in the closing chapters of each of the Gospels. Our text for today in Matthew’s Gospel reflects on the Last Supper as a symbol of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Then, in Mark and John’s Gospels, we see the events put into process that will eventually lead Jesus to the cross.

This is indeed a busy week. On Palm Sunday we witnessed the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. On Monday He cleansed the temple and confronted the religious leaders. On Tuesday He taught in the Temple. On Wednesday He was with Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany. On Thursday He was in Jerusalem preparing for the Passover and it was on that day that He instituted the Lord’s Supper---and washed the feet of the disciples. Jesus most effective teaching came, not in words, but in the most menial task He could choose. The events of today’s lesson occurred on Thursday evening and Friday, April 6 and 7 AD. 30.

1. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 16: 1-5.

In Vs. 6-13 we have the beautiful story in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper. It was Wednesday evening when they made supper for Jesus. Martha served while Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus and Simon. Mary took a pound of precious ointment, usually used for burial preparation, and poured on Jesus head as He reclined at the table. The disciples were indignant at the waste. Judas Iscariot pointed out that the ointment should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus reprimanded Judas and praised Mary.

Luke 22:3 says, “Then Satan entered into Judas.” He went to the chief priests. They agreed with him that for 30 pieces of silver, (the price given for the meanest slave), He would betray Jesus to them in the absence of the multitude. But they said “Not on the Feast Day (Friday), lest there be an uproar among the people.” Mark repeatedly emphasized the striking contrast between the hostility of those who plotted the death of Jesus and the loving devotion of those who recognized Him as the suffering Messiah.

Finally we come to the Passover Feast. Will you hold your place in Matthew 16 and turn to Mark 14.

2. PLEASE READ MARK 14: 12-16.

Evidently, neither the house where the Passover was to be kept, nor it’s owner, was to be named within hearing of Judas. The last meal, with the institute of the Holy Supper, was not to be interrupted, nor their last retreat betrayed, till all had been said and done, even to the last Prayer of Agony in Gethsemane. We are surprised that the God-Man, Jesus, was able to demonstrate His omniscience by describing scenes and events without being there. The Passover Feast is prepared in the upper room of the home of Mary, John Mark’s mother, sister of Barnabas. Peter and John attended to the lamb, and the roasting, provided the bread and other necessaries, and had everything ready for the evening of celebration.

The slaughter of the Passover lamb took place near the close of Thursday afternoon. The Passover meal was to be eaten between sunset and mid-night on Friday. This was followed immediately by the Festival of Unleaven Bread celebrated in the month of Nison 15 to 21 to commemorate the Jew’s exodus from Egypt. This was the beginning of the week long festival designated as the “Jewish Passover Feast.” Jesus kept the Passover Feast after the first sunset of Passover day and died as the true Passover Lamb before the next sunset.

PLEASE TURN TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 13.

3. PLEASE READ JOHN 13: 1-5.

The word “knowing” in Vs 3 shows that Jesus was fully aware and in control of the situation. He was not a hapless victim, but He was consciously moving step by step toward giving His life for others. What did Jesus know? He knew “that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and was going to God.” By washing the disciples’ feet, Jesus reinforced His claim to be the Humble Servant of God. He also set an example for his disciples.

4. PLEASE READ JOHN 13: 18-20.

Scripture repeatedly describes Jesus’ life in terms of fulfilling O.T. prophecies. Jesus taught in Luke 24:25-28 that those who understood the O.T. would recognize Him as the Messiah. O.T. prophecies reached even to Jesus’ betrayal. In John 13:18 Jesus pointed the disciples to Psalm 41: 9 where David wrote “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of mine bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” The psalmist described a moment in his life when God had helped him despite his best friend’s betrayal. Jesus took up the psalmist’s language and showed it had an extended meaning—a prophecy pointing to what His friend would do to Him. The prophecy does not mean that Judas had to betray Jesus or that Jesus had to let Himself be betrayed. Judas gave in to the devil of his own will. He chose to betray Jesus. The language of prophecy pointed to what would happen; it did not cause any one person to be the agent who fulfilled the prophecy.

Jesus’ major purpose, in quoting Psalm 41:9 was to encourage the eleven disciples. Satan had succeeded with one disciple (Judas) but not twelve. One bad apple had not spoiled the entire bunch. The eleven disciples remained among Christ’s chosen. They still belonged to His kingdom. Once Peter had become an agent of Satan, as Jesus said in Mark 8:31-33, but later in Acts 2 Peter became the preacher of Pentecost. Judas had gone further than Peter. He had given up on Jesus and given himself over to Satan. He had gone beyond restoration.

In Vs. 18-20 Jesus informed the disciples about Judas to help them remain confident of their part in His kingdom and to maintain their faith in Him. By His words to them at this point Jesus displayed His personal concern and affection for the spiritual state of His disciples. The reason for Jesus; concern was that the treachery of Judas would likely upset the disciples and undermine their faith in Him as Lord and Savior. They might even think that somehow Jesus had become the victim of Judas’s deceit. So Jesus sought at this time to convince His disciples that Judas’s defection was no surprise to Him and that they were eternally safe in His grace.

Jesus selection of Judas was not an accident or a failure in God’s plan. Judas was probably the only disciple not from Galilee. Jesus chose a betrayer among His twelve disciples in order to fulfill Psalm 41:9 even as David was betrayed by his trusted table companion AHITHOPHEL, who then hanged himself; so Judas, Jesus close companion betrayed Him and then hanged himself. Thus the Scriptures helped the disciples to believe God sent Jesus and Jesus was in control of the entire situation.

In Vs. 19-20 Jesus stressed belief in Himself as the incarnate God, using the traditional name of God (I am) derived from Exodus 3:14. Belief in Jesus is belief that Jesus is God, the second Person of the indivisible Trinity. Those who trust Jesus also recognize people He sends and accepts them as His representatives. They listen and follow the teachings of those Jesus sends. Much more, to accept Jesus is to accept God, the one who sent Jesus. Jesus and His Father are indivisible. Any religion that tries to separate them is false. True worship is not worship of the Father without the Son or of the Son without the Father. True belief and true worship are directed to Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

5. PLEASE READ JOHN 13: 21-30.

Being human, Jesus was troubled over Judas’s soon betrayal of His love and friendship. He had been a friend of Judas for over three years, and had honored him with a place in the company of the twelve. Now he is willing to sell Jesus for a few pieces of silver as prophesied in Zechariah 11:12 “So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” Matt. 27: 9-10 says the chief priest took the thirty pieces of silver which Judas returned and purchased the potters field.

That anyone in this close fellowship could do this to Jesus was almost beyond comprehension. Judas had covered his tracks so well that none of the others suspected him. Simon Peter, the leader and perhaps the most emotional disciple, wanted to deal with the traitor. John and Judas were reclining next to Jesus at the Passover Feast. Peter was not close enough to ask Jesus privately, so he motioned to John and asked him to ask Jesus whom he meant.

Since John’s head was on Jesus breast, as they leaned on their left elbows, John could ask Jesus, “Lord, who is it?” How ironic that as Jesus sopped a piece of bread in the sauce and handed it to Judas as an act of friendship He was signaling Judas that He was aware of his betrayal of their friendship. Vs. 2 of John 13 pointed out that even as the Passover meal was being served, the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. And Jesus knew all about it. Jesus words “Do quickly” spurred Judas to act in God’s proper timing.

The disciples assumed that Judas quick departure was to purchase food for the Passover Feast or to give something to the poor, since he was the group’s treasurer. He had deceived his peers but not Jesus. “And it was night” signified that Judas was leaving Jesus, the “Light of The World” and going out into the dark night of the soul in the darkness of sin.

We should remember that Judas did not commit the awful deed because God had foreordained it. He did it out of the wickedness and evil purpose of his heart. God simply fore knew that this man Judas would do this very thing.

Hobb’s Commentary says that one theory as to why Judas betrayed Jesus is that Judas did not really intend that Jesus would be crucified, but that when threatened Jesus would display His power and thus be an earthy Messiah. Then Judas seems to have concluded that Jesus really intended to die. He and Mary of Bethany seem to be the only two of Jesus followers who took seriously the prediction that Jesus was going to be rejected, suffer, and die. Mary anointed Jesus and Judas criticized her for such waste.

Judas probably was willing to follow Jesus if He became the kind of earthly Messiah the people wanted, but dying was foolish. So apparently the disappointed Judas decided to get something out of the years he considered wasted in following Jesus. The N.T. seems to say that Judas acted out of disappointment and greed.

PLEASE TURN BACK TO MATTHEW 26 FOR THE CONCLUSION..

6. PLEASE READ MATTHEW 26: 26-30.

Judas, aware that Jesus knew of his decision to betray Him to his enemies, left the upper room to meet the priests to plan the act. As the disciples continued eating Jesus took the unleaven bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples. It was a symbol of His body which was sacrificed for sin. The word here translated “giving thanks” is that from which we directly derive our English word EUCHARIST, which is one of the most prominent names used to designate the Lord’s Supper. It simply means “a time of thanksgiving” or “an occasion of thanksgiving.” The one ceremony Jesus initiated for the remembrance of Him centers definitely in the cross.

Jesus then took the cup of unfermented wine, gave thanks and passed it to His disciples symbolizing His blood poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. He called it the Blood of the Covenant.” You will remember at Sinai, when God made the covenant with the people of Israel the priests sprinkled the blood of animals upon the people, as a sign of the sealing of the covenant; the new covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. Matt. 20:28 says “The son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

A covenant is a relationship between two people, but the covenant of which Jesus spoke was not between man and man; it was between God and man. That is to say, it was a relationship between God and man. He was saying, “Because of my life, and above all, because of my death, a new relationship has become possible between you and God.” Because of what Jesus did, the way for men is open to all the loveliness of this new relationship with God.

At the very end of the Passover Feast and the Lord’s Supper they sang the Great Hallel, which is Ps. 136. That is the hymn they sang before they went out to the Mount of Olives. Truly Jesus went to the cross singing of the enduring kindness of God.

Every time we eat a meal, that meal is in memory of Him. Jesus is not only Lord of the Communion Table; He must also be Lord of the dinner table as well.

There remains one final thing. In Vs. 29 Jesus says that He will not feast with His disciples again until He does so in His Father’s Kingdom. The future kingdom often is pictured as being like a feast. Jesus used that picture to teach that the Lord’s Supper looks not only back to the cross but also ahead to the future kingdom. Here, indeed, is divine faith and divine optimism. Jesus was going out to Gethsemane, out to trial before the Sanhedrin, out to the cross---and yet He is still thinking in terms of a Kingdom. To Jesus, the cross was never defeat; it was the way to glory. He was on His way to Calvary, but He was also on His way to a throne.

Luke 22:19 adds, “This do in remembrance of Me.” That is, “To remind yourselves and others of the redemption which I have won by My death.” Our Lord simply puts Himself or His death in the place of the Passover and bids His followers to remember Him. Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:26 “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He comes.”

Luke 22:24-30 records that it was a this time, immediately after the Lord’s Supper, and within a few hours of the Cross, that the eleven began to argue among themselves as to who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God.

NEXT SUNDAY FROM MATT 26 WE FOLLOW JESUS TO GETHSEMANE AND HIS BETRAYAL AND ARREST. A.V. DAUGHERTY 6-17-01

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