Unit 2: Liberating Gospels
Key Verse:
Matthew 26:29 NLT
29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
We just celebrated thirty-four years of sobriety. However, on that great day in Heaven, when Jesus offers me a drink, I’m taking it…
What you need to know
Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) 1:12 CJB
12
As the king reclines at (the) table,
my nard gives forth its perfume:
Matthew 26:12-13 NLT
12 She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”
Two days before the Passover, Jesus and His disciples were invited to dinner in the home of Lazarus, Mary, and Mary. It was here that Mary anointed Jesus, thus making a silent, yet defiant proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah!
B’resheet (Genesis) 1:5 CJB
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.
For all of this to make sense, one must remember that the Jewish “day” begins at 6 PM in the evening our time.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:5-6 CJB
5 “‘In the first month (Nisan), on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach (Passover) for Adonai. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah (unleavened bread); for seven days you are to eat matzah.
So then, this particular 14th of Nisan seems to have begun on Thursday night at 6 PM, the beginning of the Jewish “day”. That is important to the timeline concerning the Passover. Remember. The Jewish day begins at 6 PM, so that would be the equivalent day on our (Roman) calendar would be Wednesday evening. Let me reiterate; the Passover started on Thursday evening (Jewish calendar).
The Lesson
Matthew 26:17 NLT
17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”
This would have been the Wednesday morning and afternoon that the disciples queried Jesus concerning where they would observe Seder (meal) for Passover. I’m arguing for a four-day observance. The critical phrase is “the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread”. This is concurrent with the Day of Passover, which preceded the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was also known as; The Day of Preparation.
Matthew 26:18 NLT
18 “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’
Mark provides greater detail…
Mark 14:13-16 NLT
13 So Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions: “As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 At the house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ 15 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.” 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
The lesson standard points out that it would have been unusual for a man to carry a water jar. That is what identified him in Matthew’s gospel as “a certain man”. The fact that Jesus identified him by us yet to be known actions lend credence to the thought that this was not pre-arranged by Jesus, it was pre-ordained by God (see last week’s lesson).
Matthew 26:19 NLT
19 So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.
And so, in accordance with the Master’s desire, the disciples prepared the Seder dinner as the guest of another unknown-known disciple. Unknown to you and I, intimately known to Christ. Beloved, rest assured, Christ knows you by name.
Matthew 26:20 NLT
20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table[a] with the Twelve.
To restate what was stated earlier, they sat down to eat on Thursday evening according to the Jewish calendar. The Law of Moses commanded that the Seder begin at twilight, which would be in that period of time immediately after sundown when the sun had gone over the horizon, but daylight was observable.
John 13:2-5 NLT
2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,[b] son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.
Matthew 26:21 NLT
21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”
Yes, Jesus washed Judas’ feet before He called him out. Well before. Jesus knew Judas had betrayed Him, yet He loved him enough to wash the mud and excrement off of his feet. Before His most trying moment, Jesus demonstrated that He had the heart of a servant.
But now, at dinner, Jesus breaks His silence to reveal that He is aware of the plot on His life. Here, amongst His closest friends, He shares the heart-wrenching news. Beloved, make no mistake, the eventuality of the cross loomed large in Jesus' final hours. Why wouldn’t He share His distress with His friends?
Matthew 26:22 NLT
22 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”
Imagine, being told this news. None of them were guilty, yet each searched their hearts, questioned their recent actions? Have we had reason to question the secrets of our own hearts before God? Do we have a sense of transparency before the Lord? Do our actions reflect our reverent fear before Him?
Psalm 41:9 NLT
9
Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food, has turned against me
Matthew 26:23 NLT
23 He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me.
There is some question as to Judas’ motivation for betraying Jesus. I’ve written before about this. The most obvious reason was the thirty pieces of silver that he had agreed to with the Pharisees however, Jesus provides a clue to other possible reasons that we can only surmise. Judas dipped his hand in the Master’s bowl. This wasn’t happenstance. According to Jewish tradition as recorded in ancient writings known as the Mishnah (look it up). It is a sign of disrespect to dip from the bowl of a superior in this setting. While we often recognize Jesus and His disciples as a band of brothers, we dare not think that they were equals. Jesus was the Rabbi, they were the Talmidim (disciples). Jesus is God, they were mere men. So are we. What elicited this amount of disrespect from Judas? While I have some theories, I have no certain facts, other than the fact that Judas was a thief and a traitor. Beloved, we were born in sin and shaped in iniquity. Any of us are capable of Judas’ sin. May we ever remain transparent and contrite before the Lord, our God.
Matthew 26:24 NLT
24 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”
Judas’ predicament was a heart issue. His actions betrayed his motive. Certainly, he was never a disciple. Not in the purest sense. He was always the ‘son of petition’. Was there space for him to repent? Yes. Would he eventually come to his senses and repent? No. Thus his eternal fate was set. So was his legacy. Judas will forever be known as the man who betrayed Jesus.
Matthew 26:25 NLT
25 Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”
And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
Judas sought to hide his guilt before the other disciples, feigning surprise at Jesus’ clarity in identifying him as the one who would betray Him. Jesus deftly parries his feint with a gentle retort, “You have said it.” Beloved, God need not raise His voice at us in reproof. He needs only to expose us to the truth. In doing so, He lets us know that He knows the innermost secrets of our hearts. Is that comforting or terrifying? The most truthful answer is that it is both. God knows us intimately. Amen.
Matthew 26:26 NLT
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”
After Judas departed, Jesus returns to the business at hand, the Last Supper. He took the Matzah (bread). He blessed it, then He broke it. The Matzah was an unleavened bread made from grain. It would have been a hard, flatbread, much like a large cracker, that had to be broken to be shared. That Jesus broke it and that He share it is indicative of the truth that He shares with us individually. None of us know it all, only Jesus. His sharing from one large Matzah loaf to each of the eleven disciples that remained revealed that, as Christians, we all share in His broken body. There is only one Jesus. All who come to Him share the truth of His sacrifice.
Exodus 6:67 NLT
6 “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt. 8 I will bring you into the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as your very own possession. I am the Lord!’”
Matthew 26:27 NLT
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant[b] between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.
God makes four promises in Exodus 6, verses 6 and 7:
He will free them from their oppressors
He will rescue them from slavery.
He will redeem them.
He will bring them unto Himself.
During the Passover Seder, there are four separate cups of (fermented) wine served within the several courses of food that are served. Each cup corresponds to the promises that God gave to the Hebrews that He brought out of Egypt. Verses 27 and 28 point specifically to the third cup of wine, the cup of redemption. This third cup pointed to the cost that Jesus paid to save us. With His shed blood, He redeemed us. Beloved, Christ is the Lamb of God, Who was slain for our sins.
Matthew 26:29 NLT
29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”
Mark Christ’s words. Why? Because they denote the passage of time. Why? Jesus’ words are indicative of the promise associated with the fourth cup of wine, which they drank at the very end of the meal. This cup was associated with God’s promise in Exodus was that He would gather them unto Himself. Here, Christ confirms and augments that promise with the statement that the next time He drinks from the fourth cup, it will be with His people in His Father’s Kingdom. What He has promised He is able to perform. Yes. Mark His words and Mark them well. Christ will return for His flock.
Matthew 26:30 NLT
30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
The lesson standard points out that it is customary that the hymn that is sung is from the Hallel, the set of Psalms from Psalm 113 to Psalm 118. These Psalms extol the Majesty of God over all of the earth, over all of mankind. As they departed to the Mount of Olives, they would have had an elevated view of Jerusalem, a view that included the Temple of God, and most every other landmark of historical significance.
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Matthew 23:36 NLT
36 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”
The lesson concluded at verse thirty however, I wanted to revisit some of the details of the crucifixion that I alluded to earlier. Remember that I stated that the Passover occurred on Thursday evening. Overnight, Jesus would go to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. There, He would be betrayed and arrested. He would be hauled before the kangaroo court conducted by the Pharisees, then dragged before and inquired of by Pilate. From there, He would be sentenced and marched to Golgatha to be crucified. By the time He was crucified, it was noon of the same day (Thursday). The feast of Unleavened bread would be observed over the next seven days.
The first day of that festival occurs on the 15th of Nisan, beginning on the evening immediately following the crucifixion. This day, Friday was regarded as a ‘High Holy Day’, one of several observed each year. As such, this Friday was recognized as a Sabbath. A day of rest. Then follows Saturday, the normal Sabbath day celebrated by the Jews, then Sunday, the first day of the new week. So then, Jesus was entombed on Thursday afternoon and rose on Sunday before sunrise. Thus fulfilling His words that he would be under the earth for three days: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; as well as three nights, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night. Remember, the Jewish ‘day’ begins every evening at 6 PM.
Matthew 12:40 NLT
40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
Beloved, the Last Supper, and the events thereafter contain so much revelatory information confirming the identity of Christ as Messiah and the importance of that great reveal to all who believe. I’ve only scratched the surface of all of the evidence confirming Christ as the promised Messiah, He who would ascend to the everlasting throne of David. In the Book of Matthew, He was revealed as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the King of Kings. His unveiled majesty reveal both the exousia (authority) and dunamis (power) to assure us that He is willing and able to faithfully fulfill every promise to those of us for whom He gave His life. Amen!
Selah,
wb
Matthew 28:18-20 NLT
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[b] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
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