Worthy is the Lamb

Lead me to the cross

Our church did a dinner theatre for Easter. Here is the promotional video.

Why a torn veil? Part 2

In class this morning one lady shared with us that the mercy seat is in the New Testament. When the stone was roiled away and the veil was torn the way was opened up for all to come into the mercy seat. Mary was fist. As she looked into the tomb there were two angels, one at the head and the other at the foot just as the two angels sat on the mercy seat. Further more, one could not enter the Holy of Holies without blood and there was the grave clothes I image that they were stained with blood. The way was now open for all. Come to the mercy seat.

Why Easter?

Over the past two weeks I have been asking questions about Easter and I have a few more that I would like to develop as well. They include:
Why the guards?
Why the Emmaus Road?
and any others. If you have ideas I would like to hear from you.

Why the torn veil?

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Matthew 27:51

The veil between the Holy place and the Most Holy place was a veil or a curtain that said, "Keep out!" Once a year, on the day of Atonement, the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a sacrifice to make atonement for the sins of the people. It was a very solemn occasion and the high priest feared for his own life. On the fringes of his rove he had bells attached so that he could be heard outside the Holy of Holies as he moved about. Tradition has it that he also had a rope attached to his ankle so that if the offering was not accepted and he died in the presence of the Most Holy God that he could be dragged out rather than other priests going in for his body. This is only a tradition and has no Biblical support.
The veil was so heavy that it took thirty priests to hang it in place and it is said that thirty yoke of oxen could not tear it apart. However, when Jesus died the veil was torn in two from the top to the bottom. No one missed the significance of this. Man could not have done that, only something miraculous.
The veil that once said, "Keep out!" was now open and the invitation was to anyone to enter. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we can come boldly into God's presence. We can come boldly because of what Jesus did on the cross. The invitation is now open to all, "Come".

Why in secret?

Of the three major dates on the Christian calendar it is interesting that two of the three events took place in secret. When Jesus was born it was in an obscure barn in an obscure village and his first visitors were shepherds. When He was crucified it was in public where everyone could see Him. When He rose from the dead it was once again in secret. It was early morning following the Sabbath and no one was in the garden. Once again it was only a few women who came to see the place where He had been buried.
Today those events are celebrated by millions of people. Though there are many who would wish that the events of that solitary life would disappear the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ are events that are universally celebrated by all Christians.

Why the Sanhedrin?

“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.” Mark 14:55

When Jesus was arrested He was brought before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish governing body and was made of seventy elders and the High Priest. The number of members was seventy because Moses had appointed seventy elders to help him judge the people when they were in the wilderness. When a person who was charged with a crime was brought before the Sanhedrin the members of the governing body sat in a circle and the accused was set in their midst. The charges had to be confirmed by two independent witnesses who were interviewed by the Sanhedrin separately. The two witnesses had to agree on the charges or else the prisoner was to be set free. There were no lawyers and the accused acted as his own defense. The accused could also call witness to testify on his behalf.

The chief priests and elders could not find two witnesses that would agree on the accusations against Jesus so they bribed witnesses to speak against Jesus. The Sanhedrin was to have no contact with the witnesses prior to the trial but they had gone and found their own witnesses. There were many things that the council did that were illegal. It was illegal to bribe witnesses. However they bribed the witnesses. It was illegal to hold a secret trial and yet they met at night when no one would be able to witness what was going on. The whole Sanhedrin was to be aware of the trial and yet there were members who did not know. One of those members was Nicodemus who was excluded and we can only believe it was because he was a friend of Jesus. The Sanhedrin also contracted with Judas to betray Jesus to them.

The Sanhedrin held a hastily called trial in secret because they wanted to make sure that the charges against Jesus would stick. They did not care about the legality of the trial but only the outcome. They wanted Jesus silenced and the only way for that to happen was that Jesus be put to death.

Though the Sanhedrin came to a guilty verdict of Jesus they could not sentence Him. At that point they had no alternative but to send Him to the Roman governor so that he could bring the death penalty against Jesus. They also knew that the charges that they had concocted against Jesus would not result in a death penalty when they were brought to the Roman governor so they needed to bring additional charges of treason against the Roman government. Pilate could not ignore the charge of treason.

The Sanhedrin knew that if Jesus was allowed to continue then their position would be in jeopardy just as the position of the chief priest. Jesus had to be silenced and to do that Jesus had to be eliminated.

Why the ninth hour?

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45 - 46

Everyday at the ninth hour which corresponds to our 3 PM a priest would slay a lamb then climb the Temple and sound the shofar to announce to the citizens of Jerusalem that the sacrifice had been completed and to call the people to prayer.

It was at the ninth hour that Elijah prayed down fire on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel 1 Kings 18. It was the ninth hour when Ezra led the people in prayer of confession and intercession Ezra 9:5. It was at the ninth hour that Daniel opened his window and prayed Daniel 9:21. It was at the ninth hour that Peter and John went into the Temple to pray and there they healed the lame man. Acts 3:1 Cornelius was praying at the ninth hour Acts 10:31. It is easy to see the significance of the ninth hour.

However, it was at this time that Jesus was on the cross. When the ninth hour came instead of the sound of the shofar there was the cry from the cross "It is finished." This signaled that the sacrifice had been completed. Not only was the sacrifice completed for that day but for all eternity. It was only fitting that as the Lamb that was sacrificed for our sins would die at the ninth hour the hour of sacrifice of a lamb for the sins of the people.

Why Pilate?

“Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.” Mark 15:1

The Jewish Sanhedrin had held an illegal court and found Jesus to be guilty of breaking their law. According to the Jewish law anyone who was found guilty of blasphemy was to be put to death. According to their illegal court Jesus was guilty of blasphemy and should be stoned to death. However, there was one problem. The Jews did not have the legal right to put anyone to death so they needed the help of the Romans.

Normally the Jewish leaders would have nothing to do with the Romans but this was a special situation. They needed the Romans to pronounce death on Jesus. They couldn’t go to Pilate the Roman governor with a charge of blasphemy. Pilate would have told them to deal with it themselves and would send them away. They needed a charge against Jesus that Pilate could not dismiss.

The Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pilate because he was the only one who could pronounce sentence upon a criminal. They needed Pilate to help them with their trumped up charges against Jesus. The charges they decided to bring to Pilate were charges of treason. A governor could not ignore charges of treason against the nation for if he did then his own life would be on the line. They came to Pilate and told him that Jesus was setting Himself up as another king to rival Caesar. Pilate knew immediately that this charge was ridiculous and he decided to dismiss the charge and release Jesus.

However, Pilate had a problem. He was not secure in his own position and the Jewish leaders knew that. They knew that if word got back to Rome that Pilate had ignored a charge of treason then he would be banished from Rome forever. Pilate was caught in their trap. He tried to reason with the people. He tried to bargain with them but they ignored his efforts to release Jesus and demanded that Pilate sentence Him to death. Finally, Pilate succumbed to their pressure and going against the advice of his wife sentenced Jesus to death. Forever Pilate sealed his own place in history as the Roman governor that sentenced God to death.

Such is the snare of men. Pilate knew what he was doing was wrong but the people he didn’t respect trapped him. Because he was looking for a way out of Palestine he knew that he could not allow any unfavourable information to be sent back to Rome. Therefore, against his own conscience and against the advice of his wife he handed Jesus over to them to be executed. In signing Jesus’ death sentence he forever condemned himself as an example of a man whom was too weak to follow his own convictions.

Why Annas and Caiaphas?

“Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.” John 18:12-14

When Jesus was arrested the soldiers first took Him to Annas even though he was not the high priest. Annas was the father-in-law to Caiaphas who was the high priest. The Soldiers first brought Jesus to Annas because he was the one that controlled the priest hood. He had been the high priest and after his term was completed each of his sons served as the high priest. When their terms were completed then the office was passed on to his daughter’s husband, Caiaphas.

If Jesus had been a common criminal they would have taken Him immediately to Pilate and not bothered with the high priest. However, Jesus was not a common criminal and the accusations that were brought against Him were religious in nature. The Jewish law said that He should be tried before the Sanhedrin. Annas not only controlled the priesthood but he also controlled the Sanhedrin. He was the one that ordered Jesus arrest; he would be the one that would see that charges were brought against Him. Annas was the real authority behind the arrest of Jesus.

Annas and Caiaphas wanted Jesus arrested because He was bringing to light the corruption in the priesthood. Caiaphas had even gone so far as to make the prophecy that it would be better for one person to die rather than have the whole nation be destroyed. What he didn’t know was that what he had said was very prophetic. Jesus would die for the nation of Israel but He also would die for the entire world. Caiaphas did not know the truth of his statement.

Why were the religious leaders so intent on destroying Jesus? He not only challenged their authority but He challenged their practices. They had turned serving God into a business and they were profiting by their position.

Jesus told us that if we are going to be a ruler of all then we must be a servant. Jesus’ teaching went against everything that the world was teaching. The world said that rulers have servants but Jesus said that a ruler is a servant. Jesus’ taught that the way to greatness was through humility and service. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day could not accept that. They loved their position and they loved the honour that went with that position. For them to become a servant went against everything that they thought important.

Are we prepared to take on the role of a servant leader?

Why a Borrowed Tomb?

“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.” John 19:41-42

Throughout His ministry Jesus did not own anything other than the clothes that He wore. He depended upon the generosity of His friends for a place to stay, food to eat and any other physical needs that He and His disciples had. He was an example of what He taught when He said that they were not to worry about material things and that they were to seek the Kingdom of God first and then these things would be added to them. So even in His death He did not have a place to be buried.

The prophet Isaiah had prophesied that Jesus would be buried with the rich and Joseph of Arimathea was such a rich man. He was a supporter of Jesus and he was willing to give up his tomb in the garden so that Jesus could be burred there. The tomb was for he and his family and he was willing to include Jesus with his family.

The common people were buried in the temple plot and that is where Jesus would have been buried if it hadn’t been for the gift of a friend. If He had been buried in the temple the authorities could not have sealed His tomb and they could not have posted the guard over his grave as they did in the garden.

Also in the temple many were coming and going but the garden was a private area where there was not very much traffic. Jesus came out of the tomb that Sunday morning and no one was there to see. When Mary and the other women went to the garden they found that the stone had been rolled away and Jesus was gone. When the told the disciples they ran to the garden and went into the tomb. All of this was not possible in the common grave plot.

Even in His death Jesus showed that He took no thought for the future of His body but He had made provision for His soul. He depended upon others to supply even His burial place but He depended upon His Father for the perseverance of His soul.

I knew a man who instructed his children how to live a godly life. In his later years he developed cancer and he was dying. He told his children that he had taught them how to live and now he was showing them how to die. He put his trust completely in God for his life and he could trust God in his death. Jesus taught us that we should have no fear of death. He conquered death when He came out of the tomb. We know that death is not the end for us so we should not fear death but trust the One who has gone before.

Why a Garden?

“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.” John 19:41

What do you think of when you think of a garden? I think of a peaceful place full of plants that have been cared for by a gardener. Often in a garden everything has its place and each plants adds beauty to the garden. The gardener carefully selects the plants that would best suit his garden. He plans where they will be planted and he waters and cares for the plants. He removes from the garden any unwanted plants that may take nutrients from the ones that He has planted and that may even choke them out.

When man was created God had already prepared a garden which was to be his home. He placed Adam and Eve in the garden and they were given the task of caring for the garden. The garden was a peaceful place but even in such a place there was sin. In such a perfect setting mankind committed his first act of rebellion against his God. The enemy of their souls came into the garden and caused them to sin against God. Even when we are in the right place doing the right thing the tempter can come and cause us to fall.

Jesus often went to a garden to be alone with His disciples. He took them there when he wanted time alone with them or His heavenly Father. The garden was a place of communion. However, even in such a place there was deceit and betrayal. Judas knew that Jesus often went to the garden to pray and so he took the soldiers to the garden to arrest Jesus.

When Jesus died on the cross Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethia took Jesus and buried Him in a tomb that was in the garden. There Jesus’ body lay for three days but the tomb could not keep His body and on the Sunday morning He came out of the tomb alive. The garden where Jesus was buried was a peaceful place and when He rose of the Sunday morning there was no one there to observe the miracle. After He rose a number of people came to the garden to visit the tomb but Jesus was no longer there.

As life began in a garden so does new life begin in a garden. When Jesus rose from the dead He was the prototype of all who would be raised from the dead to eternal life. Jesus rose from the dead with a new body, a spiritual body and someday we will rise with the spiritual body. Some day we will rise with Him and He will once again take us to a garden. This will be a new place prepared for those who love Him. In that garden there will never be any deceit or betrayal. No one will be there to tempt us to rebel against our God. God Himself will be in the midst of the garden and He will commune with us as one would commune with a friend.

Why a Cross?

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the Place of the Skull (which is called Golgotha.)” John 19:17

The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to be put to death for blasphemy and the method of execution for blasphemy was stoning. However, the Jewish leaders did not have the authority to put anyone to death so they had to appeal to the Roman governor. The Romans method of execution was crucifixion. Crucifixion was a cruel and painful method of execution. It usually took hours for the victim to die and during that time he could not even breathe properly.

The Bible had said that anyone who died by crucifixion was cursed. When Moses was leading the Israelites through the wilderness they were punished for their sin by having snakes coming and biting the people. Everyone that was bitten was certain to die. When Moses pleaded with the God for mercy for the people he was told to take a bronze image of the snake and put it on a pole. Everyone that looked at the bronze serpent on the pole would be healed. This was a picture of Jesus on the cross and what we as sinners needed to do to be healed from our sin. All we need to do is to look at the One on the cross and we will be healed from our sins.

However, there was one problem that developed. The people began to worship the serpent on the pole. In order to stop the people from worshipping the bronze serpent Moses had to take it down and destroy it.

Today we have great reverence for the cross because upon the cross of Calvary our Saviour died for our sins. There are people who worship the cross. Instead of being an object of scorn it has become an object of worship. Jesus never intended for us to worship the cross but we are to worship Him. So we wear a cross on chain around our neck or we put a cross on the collar of our clothes. If it is a symbol of our commitment to the Christ of the cross then that is wonderful but if it is just a religious symbol that we may treat as a good luck charm then that is wrong. We are no better than the Israelites worshiping the bronze serpent.

No one would wear a hangman’s noose or a guillotine as an ornament of jewelry on our clothes so why do we wear a cross? We wear a cross because it symbolizes the death of our Lord. The cross that we wear is an empty cross because Jesus is alive today. He may have died upon the cross but the cross was not the end. The cross became the dividing point in history for all man kind. Before the cross we were under the death sentence but our Saviour died on the cross for us and we are set free from the law of sin and death.

Why a Crown of Thorns?

“The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe.” John 19:1

In each of the Gospel’s Jesus is portrayed in a unique fashion. In Matthew’s Gospel He is called the King of the Jews. It was as the King of the Jews that Jesus stood before Pilate. Pilate asked Him if He was a king to which Jesus replied that His Kingdom was not of this world. If it was of this world then His followers would fight but His kingdom was a spiritual kingdom.

The soldiers felt that if Jesus was a king then He should look like a king. A king wore a crown and royal robes so they gathered together a few thorny branches and twisted it into a crown, which they put upon His head. The crown cut into His skin causing blood to run down His face. They then put a purple robe on Him and gave Him a rod, which they pretended was a scepter. A scepter was a symbol of power and a king always carried His scepter. When Queen Esther went into the king’s presence she would have been put to death if the king had not held out his scepter to her.

Once they had Jesus dressed as a king then they mocked Him. They pretended to do homage to Him and He just stood there. Scripture tells us that he could have called over ten thousand angels to come to rescue Him but He chose to take the abuse. The soldiers did not know that they were mocking the king of the universe. They felt that they were protected because they were part of the armies of Caesar. If Jesus was a king then He could have called His army to come to His rescue but since He did nothing they assumed that He was just another criminal.

Pilate didn’t understand the man that stood before Him. He did not understand that this was a king, the King of all kings including Caesar in Rome. The soldiers did not know that this was a king. They would never have treated a king in the manner that they treated Jesus. However, even the disciples did not know that Jesus was a king. They had thought that He might have been a king but when He was arrested then they knew that this was not an earthly kingdom. Even then they did not realize that the kingdom of which Jesus spoke was a spiritual kingdom.

Today we see the kingdom growing. Jesus’ kingdom has citizens from every tribe and nation in the world. To those who observe the kingdom from an earthly viewpoint it only looks like another organization. However, the kingdom of King Jesus reigns in the hearts of His followers from all over the world. Someday the kingdom that is invisible to the world will be made known and the King who wore the crown of thorns will wear the royal diadem. He will reign in power, majesty and justice. They soldiers may have thought that they were making sport of a prisoner but they actually were acting out what would someday be reality. He is king.

Why Thirty Pieces of Silver?

“Then one of the Twelve— the one called Judas Iscariot— went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.” Matthew 26:14-16

We do not know what motives Judas had in betraying Jesus. We know that he was greedy and he had been pilfering money from the common purse. He had recently become upset with Jesus for not rebuking the woman when she poured expensive perfume over the feet of Jesus. Whatever his motives were he was compelled to betray Jesus for thirty silver coins, the price of a common slave.

Zechariah had prophesied four hundred years before that one close to Jesus would betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. “I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.” Zechariah 11:12 For the price of a common slave one of those closest to Jesus betrayed Him and handed Him over to die.

After Jesus was arrested and tried, Judas realized that he had committed a terrible sin. He then went back to the elders who had paid him the money and said that he had sinned. The rulers didn’t care. They had their man. Judas then took the money and threw it into the temple and went out and hanged himself. He did not see any way that he could be forgiven for what he had done.

Now the Jewish leaders had a problem. They didn’t know what to do with the money as it was “blood money”. They couldn’t put it back into the temple treasury so they decided to use it to buy a field that use to be used as a place where the potters would throw there broken pottery. The field would be used as a graveyard for those that couldn’t be buried in the regular cemetery as they had died by their own hand. The field was known as the potters’ field.

The value that Judas and the rulers had placed on Jesus was the price of a common slave. I suppose it was fitting that the King of the universe who came to the earth as a servant, who lived His life as a slave, should be bought and sold as a slave and die as a slave.

How do we treat the King of kings and Lord of lords? Are we selling Him for s few silver coins and the pleasures of this world? Are we any different than Judas when we betray the Lord for a few coins? Jesus demands our total commitment. He wants us to be a bond slave. He is the pearl of great price and we are selling Him for the price of a common slave.

Why Herod?

“When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.” Luke 23:8

Jesus never had any time for Herod. Herod was called the king but he really did not have any power. The only authority he had was given to him by Rome, but the Romans despised him. He had no backing from the Jewish leaders because they looked upon him as an impostor. He was not really a Jew.

Jesus was sent to Herod because Pilate didn’t want to make a decision concerning Jesus. When Pilate learned that Jesus was from Galilee he had Jesus sent to Herod who was the governor of Galilee. Pilate was hoping that that would be the end of his part in this mock trial.

Herod was delighted when Jesus came to him. He had often wanted to see Jesus but had never had the opportunity. Jesus had no use for Herod calling him that “old fox”. Herod wanted to see Jesus because he heard that Jesus could perform miracles. He was wishing that Jesus would perform a miracle for him. Maybe Jesus would turn water into wine or walk upon the water. Herod really didn’t care what miracle Jesus did as long as Jesus performed a miracle for him. Herod did not care about the message of Jesus or even the person of Jesus. He was only interested in being entertained by Jesus.

There are many people today who are like Herod. They are not interested in having their lives changed but they are interested in witnessing a miracle. These people love miracle healing services and they talk about how God healed them physically but they have never committed their lives to Him. Their interest in Jesus is like Herod’s interest. They will serve Jesus for what He will do and not for whom He is.

Jesus had nothing to say to Herod. He was willing to answer the High Priest or the Roman governor but He had nothing to say to Herod. Pilate was searching for the truth but Herod was only looking for pleasure. He was interested in Jesus if there was something in it for him. When Jesus did not perform a miracle he had no further interest in Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate.

Today there are many people who will serve Jesus for what they will get out of it. Jesus has called us to follow Him. He has not promised that we will be rewarded in this life for following Him. He has not promised that we will see miraculous deed performed. The only thing He has promised us is that He will be with us to the very end of the age. Why are you following Jesus?

Why Did Peter Deny the Lord?

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “today – yes, tonight – before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” Mark 14:30

Peter was confident that he would never deny the Lord. He said that if all the others were to fall away he would not. Peter had confidence in the flesh. He was a strong, powerful fisherman who was not afraid of anyone. It seemed ridiculous to him that anyone, especially, Jesus would think that he would disown the Lord.

However, within a few hours Peter not only disowned Christ but he did it three times. What had happened to the brave man who was willing to die for Jesus? Peter showed in his life the principle that Paul had to learn, that is, we are only strong when we stand in God’s strength and not in ours. Paul knew the meaning of the phrase; “my strength is made perfect in weakness.” He understood that it wasn’t his weaknesses that caused his failures but rather his strengths. When he learned to give his strengths to God then God could work through his weaknesses for His glory.

Peter had to learn that truth as well. The day of Christ’s arrest made that very clear to him. He saw how he had been so strong when things were going well but when things went wrong then he turned away and denied the Lord.

It wasn’t until after the resurrection that Peter came to understand his dependency upon the Lord. He had failed but he was not cast out. He was cast down but he would rise up again. His own strength brought failure but Christ’s strength brought victory.

Did Peter ever fail again? One time the Judaizers had come from Jerusalem and condemned the Jews for eating with the Gentiles. Peter succumbed to their criticism and separated himself from the gentiles. It wasn’t until Paul came and rebuked him that he understood that he had once again succumbed to the old temptation. I am sure that Peter went to his grave knowing that whenever he depended upon his own strength then he was heading for a fall.

We are so much like Peter. We take pride in our strengths saying that we would never fail in those areas. We are not like others because we are strong. In our society we look down upon the weak and honour the strong. However, in our strengths we find that we don’t need God. Our weaknesses are the things that bring us to God. We need to take no confidence in our strengths but take confidence in the strength of our God. He is the One that can take our weakness and use them for His glory.

We so often find that we condemn people like Peter who deny their Lord but it was people like Peter that Jesus used to build His church. We are often too strong for God to use but we are never too weak if we give our weaknesses to Him and depend upon Him for His strength. Remember the Lord's words to Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Why the Last Supper?

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:26-29

The time had come for Jesus to say goodbye to His disciples but how was He going to do it so that they would understand the significance of His death. During the Passover Feast Jesus instituted a new feast that has been part of the Christian church from the very beginning. The Passover Feast remembered the deliverance of the people of God from bondage in Egypt and at that time a lamb had to be slain for an offering to their God.

Jesus was about to show His disciples that the old order was coming to an end and a new and better way was about to begin. Jesus took the old and transformed it into the new. The Passover supper Jesus shared with His disciples was literally the last Passover supper that He shared with them but it was also the very first “Lord’s Supper.”

In the Passover supper the blood of the lamb was applied to the door frame and the meat was roasted and eaten. Jesus said that the bread represented His body which was broken for them and the wine represented His blood which was shed from them. In a dramatic way Jesus was showing His disciples that He fulfilled the requirements of the Passover lamb once for all. The disciples were not passive observers but the actively ate the bread and drank the wine.

The disciples did not realize at that time that this was the last meal that Jesus would sit down and eat with them. Jesus did eat fish in their presence and He did cook breakfast for them on the shores of Galilee but this was the last meal that they lingered over.

There were two lessons Jesus wanted His disciples to learn. First, that He would become their Passover lamb. They would never need another Passover lamb. They would never have to kill a sacrifice and paint the blood on their door frame. Each time they broke the bread and drank the wine together they would remember what Jesus had done. It wasn’t until after the Holy Spirit came upon the church that they understood what had actually taken place in that upper room.

Second, Jesus wanted to show the disciples that this was not the end but it was really the beginning of a new relationship. He said that we were to do the act of partaking of the bread and the wine until He returned for His church. He said that He would not partake until He would share the meal again in His Father’s kingdom.

When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we remember two things. First, that He is our Passover lamb and second, that He is coming again for His church. We must always look back but we also look forward.

Why Judas?

“Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.” Matthew 26:14-15

Just mention the name Judas and people remember the one who betrayed Jesus. The other disciples may have denied Him or abandoned Him but they came back for forgiveness and were redeemed. Judas did not come back for forgiveness and he is always remembered as the betrayer.

Judas was not like the other disciples. He was more educated and the others saw him as a natural leader. They trusted him so he became the one who kept the money. The money became a temptation until he was not only guilty of stealing but also of deceit.

He wasn’t always the scoundrel we portray him to be. When he joined the disciples of Jesus he had high ideals. The other disciples wanted to learn from Jesus but he saw beyond that to the day when Jesus would establish His kingdom and drive out the Romans. He probably kept himself distant from the other disciples because they were just lowly fishermen or tax collectors but he was educated. They were from Galilee but he was from Judea.

Maybe he was proud of his position with the disciples, after all he was the treasurer and he was educated. Maybe he looked with contempt upon the less educated ones from the province.

Maybe he was jealous of Peter, James and John who were always included in the inner circle. Jesus seemed to confide in them more than the other disciples.

Some people think that Judas betrayed Jesus to force His hand so that He would reveal Himself as the Messiah. They think that maybe Judas became frustrated with Jesus because He did not announce to the common people that He was the Messiah. However, I don’t think that this was the situation at all. Judas had been taking money from the treasury for a long time and this was just another opportunity for him to make a little more money. The temptation of money can cause people to lie, steal, cheat and even betray their friends.

I don’t think Judas knew the sin in his own heart until it was too late. In his remorse for his sin he could not believe that God would forgive him so he felt that he had no other option but to kill himself.

We all need to examine our hearts because Jeremiah tells us that our hearts are full of evil. In our pride we think that we would never be like Judas but we find out to late that our hearts are as sinful as Judas’ heart was.

Why Was Jesus Anointed?

“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.” Matthew 26:6-7

While Jesus was visiting a man known as Simon the Leper a woman came and anointed his head with an expensive perfume. When the disciples questioned why Jesus allowed this to happen He rebuked them and said that what she had done was in preparation for His burial. At this point the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant about His burial.

One thing this clearly shows is that Jesus desires our devotion to Him more than our service for Him. There will always be opportunity for service but the times when we feel compelled to show our devotion and love we should not let them pass.

But why was Jesus anointed? He said it was done for His burial. It was customary that a person who had died to be properly embalmed with spices and anointed with oil in preparation for burial. However, Jesus was very much alive. It was a showing of love for the one who died for the mourner to anoint the person with oil. Jesus knew that this woman would never have the opportunity after He died to show her love and devotion. Jesus knew that there would not be a proper burial and the authorities would not want anyone who loved Him near His body. Her only opportunity for anointing came while He was still alive.

How often has the Lord desired our devotion and we have given Him our service instead? If the ointment had been sold and the money given to the poor I think the woman may have come to resent the action that took away her life savings. When she gave it out of a heart of love and devotion to God she would always remember how much she had loved Him. Like many of us she probably wishes she could have shown her love to Him in many other ways but she did the only thing that was open to her.

What will we give to our Lord? Will it be our service out of a sense of duty? I am sure that Simon the Leper loved the Lord but he invited Him to supper more out of a sense of duty than a sense of love. Will we give Him our possessions out of a sense of paying a debt? Maybe Simon invited Jesus to supper because he felt that he owed Him the time and the meal. Will we give Him our most prized possession? It may be money or a material possession, it may be a job or a vocation, it may be a loved one, or it may be our very life. Jesus said that no one has greater love than to give his life for a friend. What will we give our Lord to show Him we love Him above all else?