This week’s reading: Matthew 26:1-35
Hi Friends,
As we continue in the Gospel of Matthew, we come to chapter 26, verses 1 through 35, and read about the unfolding drama in the Life of Jesus. We hear how His story is filled with plots and betrayal, as well as anointing and the institution of the Lord’s Supper. We also see how easy it is for us to be presumptuous when all is well, thinking, like these disciples did, we would never abandon Jesus, until we are pressured by life, that is. We will discuss each of these events, but first listen to these sobering verses:
“Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ But Peter declared, ‘Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.’ And all the other disciples said the same.” Mt 26:33-35 NIV
The plot against Jesus. (see Mt 26:1-5; Mk 14:1-2; Lk 22:1-6) With the increasing popularity of Jesus and His ministry, the religious of His time became afraid. They were scared that Jesus would take away their prestige and the Jews would no longer follow their rules and regulations. They were fearful that there might be some riots and the Romans would come down hard on the Jewish people, and also take away some of their privileges. They were intimidated by the people who believed Jesus was either a great prophet, or the long awaited Messiah, so they did not know how to stop Jesus from “spreading the news.” And so they meet in the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, to plan how to get rid of Jesus. It is interesting that the Bible says that they wanted to arrest and kill Him in “a sly way,” but not during the Feast because they did not want to cause an uprising. Do you see the irony? First, they were in a palace hashing out their dubious plan. (Mt 26:3) Second, they wanted to arrest and kill Him in a “sly way,” which means in a devious, deceitful, sneaky manner. Third, they were afraid of causing an uproar!?! Yet through their arrogant, deceitful, ignorance, they end up causing the greatest revolution ever known to mankind! They try to get rid of Jesus and only end up making His mission come to its final climatic conclusion! Do we sometimes make plans without consulting God, and only end up in a mess that leads us to God’s side anyway? You see, it is easy to point a judgmental finger at these religious, but as we read the Bible, we are to learn personal lessons that we can apply to our own lives as well. Yes, these chief priests and scribes are not seeking God to discern whether Jesus was the Messiah or not. Yes, they are thinking of themselves, and perhaps the Jewish nation only. Yes, they were making sinful plans because they just wanted to get rid of what they saw as a problem…but do we do these things too? I have to stop and ask myself, how many times have I not sought God’s Will in a particular situation, and just assumed I knew what was going on? How often do I still only think about my own interests, and perhaps that of my family only? In how many cases do I just want to get rid of what I think is a problem, without taking the time to see how I can grow in spite of the circumstance? Do we plot against Jesus too? It is a serious question to ask ourselves, isn’t it?
The betrayal of Jesus. (see Mt 26:14-16; Mk 14:10-11; Lk 22:3-6) We next read about the unnamed woman who came to anoint Jesus, but let’s talk about Judas first. In the Gospel of Luke, it says, “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money.” (Lk 22:3-5) Whatever motives Judas had to do such a thing, it is clear that Satan was behind it all. Did he tempt Judas with the money? We read in the Gospel of John how Judas was a thief because “as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (Jn 12:6) So greed could have been an incentive, but we do not know for sure. What we can discern is that, even though Jesus chose him to be one of His Twelve Apostles, Judas really did not understand Who Jesus was and what He came to do…nor does it seem he cared. Judas went to the religious on purpose, for the purpose of betrayal. The price agreed upon for handing Jesus over to them was 30 pieces of silver, which was the Old Testament price for a slave. (Ex 21:32) Again, ironic. Jesus is called the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah. (see Isa 52:13-53:12) He Himself said He did not come to be served, but to serve and give up His life as a ransom. (Mk 10:45) In many ways, Jesus became a slave for us, so we would no longer have to be a slave to corruption, sin and death. Judas turns his back on his Rabbi, begins being watchful for an opportunity to turn Him over, and sadly, becomes the one Jesus calls “the one doomed to destruction.” (Jn 17:12) Again, it is easy, way too easy, to point our condemning finger at this lost and completely misguided human. Judas literally sold out Jesus, which means he undermined His trust, friendship and loyalty for personal gain. Yet we must, once again, reflect on our own choices. How many times do we open ourselves up to the influence of Satan? How often do we sell out Jesus for a much less worthwhile thing? In how many cases do we think Jesus is our slave and we are His master? Do we betray Jesus too? It is a serious question to ask ourselves, isn’t it?
The anointing of Jesus. (Mt 26:6-13; Mk 14:3-9) So let’s come back to the anointing of Jesus for His pending burial. This brings up a visual from the Old Testament, since the Jewish priests and the kings were anointed when they took office. Here we have Jesus at the home of a host, called Simon the Leper. Jesus is being honored by an unnamed woman who extravagantly pours out expensive perfume upon the head of her Messiah. Do we see a theme here? Once again, just like we discussed above with the religious and Judas, she was probably not aware of the significance of what she was doing. She breaks the jar of this priceless offering and pours it out upon His head. Here’s another visual. This makes me think about how my hard heart was broken when I surrendered to Jesus as my Savior and Lord, and how He continues to help me pour out my love for Him, more and more, as I grow in His Love. Like this unnamed woman, our love for Jesus must grow so we will desire to surrender everything to Him, for He is more than worthy. After some disciples object to her “wastefulness,” Jesus rebukes them and says that “she has done a beautiful thing.” (Mt 22:10) This pure nard fragrance was worth more than a year’s wages. At first it seems like the disciples might have a good reason to be upset, after all, shouldn’t we be concerned with the poor? Yes, of course we should! Yet there is a time and season for all things. Here when Jesus was about to pay the highest price to take away the sin of the world, the woman displays a most lovely picture of full surrender. She gives up what was most likely her greatest treasure as an act of worship towards this most High Priest and King of kings. But shouldn’t we all be as extravagant as she was towards the One Who has lavished on us His Love, Forgiveness and Grace? We will always have the poor with us, Jesus says, and we should, and must, be thoughtful to care for them. And in doing so, we should, and must, never forget to give our best to Jesus also. He is well worth our greatest treasures: our time, talents and literal treasures. Jesus is worth our very lives; every thought, word and deed should point to Him, more and more. Do we seek to bless Him by making His power known in our daily lives? Do we talk about His burial with others and proclaim why it has been life changing for us? Do we desire to use every gift He has granted us to worship Him, even if others object? Do we anoint Jesus too? It is a serious question to ask ourselves, isn’t it?
The institution of the Lord’s Supper. (Mt 26:17-30; Mk 14:12-25; Lk 22:7-23) Next we read about the preparation for the Passover meal and how Jesus gave us the ritual of communion where we can remember His death, as well as look forward to His return. Jesus tells the Twelve gathered there with Him that, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Lk 22:15) Then He tells them that one of them there would betray Him, and so, be a contributor to His suffering. Each disciple asks, “Surely not I, Lord?” revealing that they were unsure about themselves…or that they were over confident about themselves. More on that later. Jesus warns them with one of those “woe’s” we do not want to hear Him say to us. He says, “But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Yikes! As we said above, Judas’ heart was already darkened or he should have been shaken by this statement, right? Yet we do not hear of any change of heart. (see Jn 13:2) We can read more details of what was going on in this Upper Room in the Gospel of John, as Jesus humbles Himself to wash the feet of these Twelve, including those of Judas. (see Jn 13:1-30) But then Jesus shares the Passover meal with His Apostles. See more symbolism here. The Passover meal was given to the Jewish nation as a memorial of how God liberated them from the slavery in Egypt. Now this Lord’s Supper reminds us how Jesus has liberated all believers from the slavery of corruption, sin and death. Jesus fulfills the Old Testament covenant with this better, New Covenant. (see Mt 5:17 & Heb 8:6) And, in doing so, gives you and me a lovely ceremony where we can join with the entire Church to honor and remember the selfless work of Jesus. Communion, or the Eucharist as some call it, unites every believer from these first Twelve wayward followers to the last humans who will surrender their lives to Jesus before He returns. We become that One Body St Paul talks about as we eat the bread and drink the cup. Jesus is our Bread of Life. Only through Him can we be rid of the sinful nature and receive Eternal Life. Jesus takes the cup of God’s Wrath on our behalf in payment for this sin debt. The bread symbolizes His body that was broken for us. The cup symbolizes His blood that was poured out for us. So when we eat and drink in this communion, we are uniting ourselves to Jesus and to one another. We are proclaiming that we are a member of God’s Forever Family. The Lord’s Supper is such a beautiful act of worship. Do we participate in this sacrament or do we haphazardly and casually take it in, not being aware of what we are doing? Do we honor the death of Jesus by coming to the table with a repentant and grateful heart? Do we praise Jesus for what He has done, what He continues to do and what He will still do in the future? Do we institute the Lord’s Supper in our lives? It is a serious question to ask ourselves, isn’t it?
The presumption of the disciples. (Mt 26:31-35; Mk 14:27-31;Lk 22:31-34; Jn 13:36-38) After the Passover meal was done, and after Judas scooted away to betray Jesus, Jesus warns His Apostles that they were all going to abandon Him. He quotes Zechariah 13:7 as He says, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.” (Mt 22:31) As usual, Peter is the first to confidently proclaim, “No way will I ever do that!” Ok, those are my words, but you get the sentiment, right? It is so easy for us to imagine that we would be strong enough to stand in our Faith of Jesus if anything harmful came our way. But are we acting like these over confident disciples? The truth is we really do not know what we have in us, until we are challenged to bring it out of us. For instance, do we really know how brave we are until we are faced with a situation that calls us to be courageous? Each one of these amazing saints of Jesus thought that they would never disown their Teacher and Messiah, yet we know what happens, right? It was just like Jesus said, the Good Shepherd was struck and the sheep…well, they ran for the hills. Do we get into a discussion about our Faith with someone who doesn’t agree and begin to back peddle, denying that Jesus is the only Savior of this world? Do we live a life centered more on MMI than in loving God and loving our neighbors, denying the Lordship of Jesus in our lives? Do we face the unknown with fear instead of Faith, denying the Sovereignty of Jesus over all things? Are we presumptuous too? Yes, these are all serious questions to ask ourselves, but this is also a huge part of maturing in our walk with Jesus. It is a good habit to engage in self-reflection with the Holy Spirit’s leading when we are reading the Word of God. Conviction is good for the soul. It helps us be honest with ourselves and real with our progress towards Sanctification. It gives us the incentive to turn to God, confess our shortcomings, receive forgiveness and move forward in our growth. Every time I stop and think about how I would have acted in these humans’ real situations, I learn more about myself, and am able to surrender my heart and life to God more, so He can weaken my weaknesses and strengthen my strengths…and this leads me to have a more abundant life. Do you want that too? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
