PT-2 "Shocking the Twelve" (Matt. 26:21b-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/26/2024 10:20 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “Shocking the Twelve”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 26:21b-24

 

            Message of the verses:  “He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." 22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?" 23 And He answered, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’”

 

            We did not get too far in looking at these verses yesterday, but that was okay as when the Lord is leading me to writes something I must obey. 

 

            Now we want to begin by writing about how meals were done in the Near East, as the eating of a meal with someone was considered a mark of friendship, and so to eat with a person just before betraying him would be to compound the treachery.  The following is what Kind David wrote in Psalm 55:12-14 after he experienced the betrayal of a trusted friend: “12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. 13 But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; 14 We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng.”

 

            We know because Jesus is all knowing that He was aware that He had many enemies, and the disciples of Jesus also knew He had many enemies, so they were hardly surprised that He would be betrayed.  However it was unbelievable that the one who will betray Him would be one of their own group.  We can understand that they were deeply grieved as John reports that they were “at a lost to know of which one He was speaking” (John 13:22).  Judas was perhaps among the least who was suspected and the reason was because of his being the group’s treasure and this indicated his integrity was thought to beyond reproach.  It can be understandable to think that once Jesus gave the news of betrayal that there were probable tears.  Let us look at Luke 22:23 “And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.”  MacArthur adds “While discussing the matter among themselves, they may have pointed accusing fingers at one another, as Luke’s account might suggest (cf. v. 24).  But to their credit, the primary concern of each man was the possibility of his own culpability, and they each one began to say to Jesus surely not I, Lord?”

 

            I am sorry to say that I must stop and hopefully I can do better tomorrow, but I did not sleep well last night and am having a hard time keeping my mind on the subject matter today.

 

4/26/2024 10:40 AM

PT-1 "Shocking the Twelve" (Matt. 26:21b-24)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/25/2024 11:24 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 “Shocking the Twelve”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 26:21b-24

 

            Message of the verses:  “He said, "Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me." 22 Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?" 23 And He answered, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.’”

 

            We begin by looking at the word “betray.”  MacArthur writes that this word in the Greek is Paradidomi, and “literally means to give over and was often used to delivering a prisoner over to prison or punishment.  Jesus had mentioned His impending death to the disciples several times, but this was the first time He mentioned His betrayal.  And it was especially painful for the disciples to hear Jesus say that the betrayer would be “one of you.’”

 

            I suppose that there are times when I read over this section that I just kind of read it and not think too much about what it means.  Jesus knew that it was prophesied that someone would betray Him, and because He knows all things He knew it would be Judas, but as we dig more and more into this passage we will see that all of the disciples, excluding Judas, were surprised that someone in their group would betray Jesus.  I wonder if they knew what Jesus would be betrayed to and for what reason He would be betrayed.  I think that what affects me the most about His betrayal is that Jesus deeply loved Judas and so I have to believe that it was very hard on Him.  Now think about the fact that Judas’ punishment in hell will most likely be one of, if not the most severe punishment given out, and then think about Jesus’ love for Him knowing what his outcome would be.  I am not saying that he did not deserve what did and will happen to him, but we all deserve the same punishment in hell, maybe not the most severe but we all deserve to be punished for our sins.  Jesus loves all people, but knows that not all people will accept the payment that He made for them and accepting that forgiveness that Jesus offers is the difference between spending eternity with Him, or spending eternity in the place where Judas will spend eternity.  Read the following wonderful verses and think deeply about them:  “1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4  and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  Paul was writing to believers in Corinth and was about to write about the resurrection to them in the next 54 verses, but first he takes the time to remind them of what happened to them when they first became a believer, and this happened after Paul preached the gospel to them, and then Paul goes on to tell them what the gospel message is about and what they did in order to become believers. 

 

            This is the most important thing that will ever happen to any person who has, is, or will be born on planet earth, the biggest decision one can make so take some time to ask the Lord to show you the things that are in these highlighted verses and then if you are not a believer, a born-again believer take the time to tell the Lord that you know that you are a sinner, that you were born a sinner and in need of salvation.  You also know that there is nothing on your own that you can do to become a believer, but there is something that Jesus Christ did for you which will give you eternal life, eternal life that begins with salvation and will never ever end.  The gospel song says “Jesus paid it all, and all to Him I owe” and living for Him after you become a believer in Him is what you owe to Him for dying for you.

 

4/25/2024 11:52 AM  

Sharing the Table (Matt. 26:20-21a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/24/2024 10:59 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                               Focus:  “Sharing The Table”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Matthew 26:20-21a

 

            Message of the verses:  “Now when evening had come, He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.  And as they were eating,”

 

            This is what is called “The Last Supper” and as we have seen in earlier SD’s this would be the last Passover Meal and the beginning of what is called The Lord’s Supper, something that most fundamental observe once a month using unleavened crackers and grape juice.  This even found here began sometime after six o’clock on Thursday even ing.  The Passover meals became different than when the first one took place in Egypt as they became more formal.  In Egypt the first one was eaten with shoes on and ready to leave, but that was not necessary now.  Now we see that Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.  And as they were eating,”

 

            In his commentary on these verses John MacArthur writes about how the Passover meal involved a strictly defined sequence and that is what I want to go over in this SD.

 

            “First, the initial cup of red wine mixed with water was served.  Wine was always mixed with water before drinking, but during Passover it was diluted with a double amount of water, lest anyone should desecrate the most sacred occasion by becoming drunk.  Partaking of the first cup was preceded by the giving of thanks to God (see Luke 22:17).”  I would like to make mention that Paul had harsh words for the Corinthian church as some of them were actually getting drunk while doing the Lords Supper.

 

            “Second, the ceremonial washing of hands preceded the main part of the meal, signifying the need for moral and spiritual cleansing and holiness of heart.  Because they were celebrating God’s deliverance from spiritual bondage to sin as they remembered His deliverance from physical bondage to Egypt, it was important that celebrants come to the table cleansed.”

 

            Looking at Luke’s gospel we see that the disciples actually were arguing and fighting over who was the greatest, so their hearts were not all that clean.  In John’s gospel we see that Jesus washed the disciple’s feet at this time.

 

            “The third part of the Passover meal was the eating of bitter herbs, symbolic of the bitter bondage their forefathers had endured in Egypt.  As mentioned above, these herbs and pieces of unleavened bread were dipped in charoseth, the thick mixture of ground fruit and nuts.

 

            “The fourth part was the taking of the second cup of wine.  When the head of the household, the Lord in the present case, took that second cup, he would explain the meaning of the Passover.

 

            “Following that would be singing from the Hallel, which means ‘praise’ and is the term from which hallelujah is derived.  The Hallel consisted of Psalms 113-118, and at this point the first two were normally sung.

 

            “After the singing, the roasted lamb would be brought out.  The head of the household would again wash his hands and then break pieces of the unleavened bread and hand them out to be eaten with the lamb.”

 

4/24/2024 11:32 AM

 

           

PT-6 "Setting the Time" (Matt. 26:17-19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/23/2024 10:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus: PT-6 “Setting the Time”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:17-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?” 18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place with My disciples.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover” (HSCB).

 

            I pick up from where I left off yesterday from John MacArthur’s commentary as this is a very, very long section.

 

            “Some three hours later, ‘about the ninth hour,’ Jesus cried out from the cross, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ (Matt. 27:46).  Shortly after that, ‘Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit’ (v. 50).  John therefore specifically recounts that our Lord died within the prescribed time of the sacrifice for the Passover lambs, from three to five o’clock in the afternoon of Passover day.  At the very time those lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple, ‘Christ our Passover also [was] sacrificed’ on Cavalry (1 Cor. 5:7).

 

            “In addition to that evidence for a Friday Passover and crucifixion is the fact that, just as the tenth of Nisan was on a Monday the year Jesus was crucified, the fourteenth (the day of Passover, Ex. 12:6) was on the following Friday.  Still further evidence is Joseph of Arimathea’s taking Jesus’ body down from the cross on ‘the preparation day, that is the day before the Sabbath’ (Mark 15:42; cf. John 19:42).  That day of preparation referred to the weekly preparation for the Sabbath, not preparation for the Passover, as in John 19:14.  Unless it was qualified (such as being for the Passover), the day of preparation always referred to preparation for the Sabbath (Saturday).

 

            “Why, then, did Jesus observe the Passover on the previous evening?”  This seems to me the critical question that MacArthur is bringing up and I will begin to look now at his answer to this question.

 

            “The answer lies in a difference among the Jews in the way they reckoned the beginning and ending of days.  From Josephus, the Mishna, and other ancient Jewish sources we learn that the Jews in northern Palestine calculated days from sunrise to sunrise.  That area included the region of Galilee, where Jesus and all the disciples except Judas had grown up. Apparently most, if not all, of the Pharisees used that system of reckoning.  But Jews in the southern part, which centered in Jerusalem, calculated days from sunset to sunset.  Because all the priests necessarily lived in or near Jerusalem, as did most of the Sadducees, those groups followed the southern scheme.

 

            “The variation doubtlessly caused confusion at times, but it also had some practical benefits.  During Passover time, for instance, it allowed for the feast to be celebrated legitimately on two adjoining days, thereby permitting the Temple sacrifices to be made over a total period of four hours rather than two.  That separation of days may also have had the effect of reducing both regional and religious clashes between the two groups.

 

            “On that basis the seeming contradictions in the gospel accounts are easily explained.  Being Galileans, Jesus and the disciples considered Passover day to have started at sunrise on Thursday and to end at sunrise on Friday.  The Jewish leaders who arrested and tried Jesus, being mostly priests and Sadducees, considered Passover day to begin at sunset on Thursday and end at sunset on Friday.  By that variation, predetermined by God’s sovereign provision, Jesus could thereby legitimately celebrate the last Passover meal with His disciples and yet still be sacrified on Passover day.

 

            “Once again we see how God sovereignly and marvelously provides for the precise fulfillment of His redemptive plan.  Jesus was anything but a victim of men’s wicked schemes, much less of blind circumstances.  Every word He spoke and every action He took were divinely directed and secured.  Even the words and actions by others against Him were divinely controlled (see, e.g., John 11:49-52; 19:11).”

 

            And with that this section is done and in tomorrow’s SD, Lord willing we will look at “Sharing the Table” (Matt. 26:20-21a).

 

4/23/2024 11:44 AM

 

           

PT-5 "Setting the Time" (Matt. 26:17-19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/22/2024 1:57 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  PT-5 “Setting the Time”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:17-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, "My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."’" 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.”

 

            “I am to keep the Passover translates what is sometimes called a prophetic present tense, because it uses the normal form of the Greek present tense to state the future as if it had already arrived.  Understanding the statement in that way is fitting, because our Lord was on a divine mission set in a divine timetable, both of which were unalterable.  He not only was ordained to celebrate the last Passover Himself but to celebrate it with His disciples.

 

            “The profundity of Jesus’ declaration is not apparent on the surface.  As the events surrounding this occasion are carefully studied, however, it becomes clear that this seemingly rather ordinary statement was of momentous significance.

 

            “First of all, our Lord declared His commitment to keeping the Passover.  He observed the Passover for the same reason He had been baptized, ‘to fulfill all righteousness’ (Matt. 3:15).  Not only as a Jew but also as God’s own Son it was incumbent upon Him to obey every divine commandment of the Old Testament law.  ‘Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets,’ He declared at the beginning of His ministry; ‘I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill’ (Matt. 5:17).

 

            “Observing this particular feast was especially important to Jesus.  As recorded in Luke’s account, He told the disciples, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer’ (Luke 22:15).  It was by divine imperative that Jesus not only observe this last Passover of His earthly ministry but that He observe it with the Twelve.

 

            “It was without hesitation that the disciples, Peter and John, did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  Peter and John would then have had to get the lamb, probably and take it to the Temple for sacrifice.  They were doubtlessly charged with this important task because they were the most intimate with Jesus of the twelve.  In any case, the tradition required that only two men could carry a given lamb into the Temple.  Otherwise the court of sacrifice would have been hopelessly crowded, with thousands of animals to be slain and only two hours in which to do it.

 

            “It is clear from this passage in Matthew as well from many others in all four gospel records, that Jesus and the disciples ate the Passover meal on Thursday evening.  Certain other passages, however, such as the one cited below from John’s gospel, indicate that some Jews celebrated the Passover on Friday, which seems to create a contradiction and has given some scholars what they think is proof of scriptural error.

 

            “The apostle John notes that after the Passover meal Jesus took His disciples out of the city to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.  He was arrested there and taken first to the former high priest Annas (John 18:13) and then to the house of his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year (v.24).  A few hours later, while it was still early on Friday morning, Jesus was taken to Pilate.  But the Jewish leaders would ‘not enter into the Praetorium in order that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover’ (v. 28).  Unlike Jesus and the disciples, those Jews obviously had not yet eaten the Passover.

 

            “Some interpreters suggest that because those religious leaders would surely have celebrated the Passover at the proper time, Jesus must hav moved His observance up a day.  But Jesus was meticulous in His observance of the Mosaic law and would not have desecrated such an important feast by observing it at the wrong time.  Even had He wanted to do such a thing, however, He could not have, because the lamb eaten at the Passover meal first had to be slaughtered by a priest in the Temple and have its blood sprinkled on the altar.  No priest would have performed that ritual a day earlier, or even an hour earlier, than the law prescribed.

 

            “Other scholars suggest that the chief priests and elders involved in Jesus’ arrest were a day late in their observance.  But in spite of their control of the temple, even those ungodly men would not have dared make an exception for themselves for this most celebrated of all feasts.  Not only that, but John recognized Friday as the legitimate Passover day, reporting that when Pilate finally agreed to Jesus’ crucifixion ‘it was the day of preparation for the Passover (John 19:14).  In the same verse he states that ‘it was about the sixth hour,’ that is, noon of Friday.

 

            There is still a lot to look at and so Lord willing, we will continue tomorrow looking at this very interesting subject.

 

4/22/2024 2:30 PM

PT -4 "Setting the Time" (Matt. 26:17-19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/21/2024 7:55 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  PT-4 “Setting the Time”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:17-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, "My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."’" 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.

 

            I continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary, and because it is Sunday this will be shorter than other days of the week.  I mentioned in the last SD that this subject takes up a lot in his commentary.

 

            “That clandestine approach to securing a meeting place was necessary to prevent Jesus’ premature betrayal.  Had the Lord announced the place earlier, Judas would surely have told the chief priests and elders (see. Matt. 26:14-16), who would have arrested Jesus secretly there after dark and before the meal and the vital instruction He planned as part of it.  Even when the instructions were given to Peter and John, Judas had no way of knowing the location.  He and the other nine would not find out until they arrived that evening.

 

            “In God’s redemptive plan it was necessary for Jesus to keep the Passover…with His disciples.  It would be His last opportunity to teach them (see John 13-17) and to have intimate fellowship with them.  But more importantly even than that, it would be the time of His transforming the Passover supper of the Old Covenant, marked by the shedding of lamb’s blood, into the Lord’s Supper of the New Covenant, which would be marked by the shedding of His own blood (Luke 22:20).  He therefore eliminated any possibility of His arrest before that crucial task could be accomplished.

 

            “Because Jesus told Peter and John to identify Him as the teacher, it seems probable that the servant carrying the water pitcher, and certainly the owner of the house, were believers in the Lord.  Likely Jesus secretly had prearranged for the room with the owner, who is nowhere identified by name.  In any case, the Lord knew in advance that the accommodations would be large, located on an upper level, and be fully furnished for the meal (Mark 14:15).

 

            “Jesus statement, ‘My time is at hand,’ was perhaps more for the sake of the disciples than the two men whom Peter and John would encounter.  Time does not translate chronos, which refers to a general space or succession of time, but rather to kairos, a specific and often predetermined period or moment of time.  Jesus’ time was also, of course, the Father’s time, the divinely appointed time when the Son would offer Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world (cf. 1 John 2:2).  Until now, that monumental time had not come and could not have come (see John 7:6), but at this particular Passover it could not fail to come, because it was divinely ordained and fixed.  That last Passover supper would set in motion the final, irreversible countdown, as it were, for the crucifixion.”  4/21/2024 8:14 AM

PT-3 "Setting the Time" (Matt. 26:17-19)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/20/2024 11:44 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                         Focus:  PT-3 “Setting the Time”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Matthew 26:17-19

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" 18 And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, "My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."’" 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.”

 

            Now I have heard a lot of theories as to what day of the week all of the things that happened to Jesus that were a part of the last days of His life and to be honest most of them seem like that they could be right.  John MacArthur believes that Psalm Sunday actually took place on Monday and because I have been following his outline I will stick with that timetable.  So it was probably early Thursday morning that the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  Now we have already talked earlier about the lamb was already selected before this verse was spoken, probably several days earlier, but the disciples had numerous other preparations to make.  The disciples would have taken care of slaughtering the lamb by having a priest at the Temple do this “which, as explained below, could be done only between the hours of three and five in the afternoon.  If they had not already done so, they would have to buy unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, and the dip for the Passover meal” writes John MacArthur. I have to say that this all sounds to me to be fairly complicated, but that is the way that God had set this up all the way back when Israel was about to leave Egypt many years before.

 

            I will continue to quote from MacArthur’s commentary in order to help me and those who read this understand more about what was going on.  “Each part of the meal was symbolic of some aspect of the deliverance from Egypt.  Just as lambs had been slaughtered that long-ago night in Egypt and their blood sprinkled on the door posts to protect the firstborn from the death angel, so lambs were not slaughtered and their blood sprinkled on the altar.  Likewise, the lamb was cooked and fully eaten the same evening, just as in Egypt.  The four cups of wine served during the meal symbolized God’s four promises to His ancient people just before their deliverance from Egypt:  “I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage.  I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God” (Ex. 6:6-7).

 

            “The bowl into which the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, and sometimes the bare hands were dipped (see Matt. 26:23) contained a paste called charoseth, composed of finely ground apples, dates, pomegranates, and nuts.  That thick, brownish mixture was perhaps symbolic of the mud and clay used in the making of bricks for the Egyptians.  Sticks of cinnamon, representing the straw used for the brick making, were also sometimes added to the charoseth.  Into this mixture the bitter herbs would be dipped and eaten, as reminiscent of the bitterness of bondage coupled with the sweetness of deliverance.”  I may seem a bit unusual that I am writing about the Passover when that is what is being celebrated today by the Jews everywhere today.

 

            “The Passover lamb was to be slain at “twilight” (Ex. 12:6), which translates a Hebrew term literally meaning ‘between the two evenings.’  Josephus explains that time as being between the ninth and eleventh hours of the Jewish day, which would be between three and five o’clock in the afternoon.  After being slaughtered by the priest in the Temple court and having had some of its blood sprinkled on the altar, the lamb would then be taken home, roasted whole, and eaten in the special evening meal with the unleavened bread, bitter herbs, charoseth, and wine.  Any of it that was not eaten before morning was to be burned (Ex. 12:8-10).

 

            “It is likely that by this time, that is, Thursday morning, the disciples would have bought the herbs, fruit, nuts, unleavened bread, and wine.  But they did not as yet have a place to eat the meal, which had to be done within the city limits of Jerusalem.  For obvious reasons, rooms suitable for eating a Passover meal were at a premium.  Perhaps thinking that Jesus already had arranged for a room, the disciples asked Him “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

 

            “Jesus’ answer no doubt was more than a little perplexing to the two disciples, identified by Luke as Peter and John (Luke 22:8; cf. Mark 14:13), who were sent to take care of the matter.

 

            “First of all they were to go into the city and find a certain man, obviously someone they did not know.  From the other two synoptic gospels we learn that the man would be carrying a pitcher of water (Mark 14:13; Luke 22:10).  That would have set him apart noticeably for identification, because it was highly unusual for a man to carry such a domestic article.

 

            “When the man was found, the disciples were to say to him, ‘The Teacher says, "My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."  The man carrying the  water pitcher was probably a servant in the house where the meal was to be eaten.  Therefore when Peter and John followed the servant home, they repeated Jesus’ words to the owner, who then showed them ‘a large upper room furnished and ready’ (Mark 14:14-15).”

 

            I have over four more pages to quote from this event, and so I will just continue doing this over the next few days beginning with tomorrow.

 

4/20/2024 12:20 PM