Matthew 26:17-30
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where
do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell
him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover
with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and
prepared the Passover.
20 When evening came,
Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray
me.”
22 They were very sad
and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the
bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of
Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, the
one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”(K)
Jesus
answered, “Yes, it is you.”
26 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.”
27 Then he took the
cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
forgiveness of sins.(O) 29 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.”
30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of
Olives.
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:17-30&version=NIV1984)
Luke 22:7-38
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
7 Then came the day of
Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for
us to eat the Passover.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare for it?”
they asked.
10 He replied, “As you enter the city, a man
carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the
house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples?’ 12 He will show you a large upper
room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13 They left and found things just as Jesus
had told them. So they prepared the
Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat
this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat
it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and
said, “Take this and divide it among
you. 18 For I tell you I will not
drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke
it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for
you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way, after the supper he took
the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured
out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is
going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who
betrays him.” 23 They began to question among
themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 Also a dispute arose among them as to
which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles
lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves
Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like
that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the
one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one
who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the
table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood
by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred
one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink
at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not
fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go
with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the
rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without
purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse,
take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy
one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was
numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must
be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are
two swords.”
“That is enough,” he replied.
I have chosen today to put two different
accounts of the Lord Supper in here for our reading as Luke seems to tell us a
little more than Matthew did regarding the conversation around the table.
Doesn’t this sound much like brothers
sitting around the dinner table wanting to point the finger in one instance and
then in another proclaiming to be the best?
Here are the things I gleaned from reading
these passages:
Jesus knows:
1.
What
will happen – Jesus could tell the disciples exactly what was going to happen
when he told them to go to the city and find the man carrying the jug. He placed that man where he needed to be at
the time he needed to be there. He does
that for us as well. It is no
coincidence or serendipity when things seem to fall into place, it is from our
Father in Heaven, His will.
2.
Our
hearts – Just as he knew the heart of Judas and the heart of Simon Peter, so He
knows our hearts. Judas was placed
amongst the twelve for a reason and that reason is that he would betray
Jesus. I think there might have been
times in Judas’ life that he truly felt a part of the ministry yet I wonder if
his heart was truly ever fully focused on the Lord. At any rate, Jesus allowed him to be there,
he allowed him to drink from the cup and partake of the bread knowing full well
that he would be overtaken by satan and would betray Jesus.
3.
Those
who Satan tempts- yes, Jesus even talks with satan. We know this because He tells Simon Peter
that satan wants to sift him like wheat.
We see this in Job as well when God is having a conversation with satan regarding
Job. Do you notice, satan tries to take
those who we might consider most valuable to our Father? Our Father allows some trials and He will
pray that our faith remains in order that we may strengthen our brothers just
as He did for Simon Peter.
4.
Our
intentions – Jesus knows what we do why we do it. He knows if we really have faith or we are
putting on a show. He knows when we
think we are better than the next person.
He tells us not to lord over others.
There is not one brother in Christ on this earth that has the right to
lord over any other brother/sister in Christ.
We have One Lord, One Savior, One Father we are merely His servants. Take special note in these passages that
Jesus instructs the disciples that they should not be arguing about who is the
greatest, they need to be serving one another.
The moment we think that we are too good to be a servant is the time we
need to refocus on our purpose on this earth.
Jesus calls us to be servants for Him?
Are you serving Him to be great in the kingdom of Heaven or are you
serving Him because you love Him so much that you want nothing more than to
serve Him. If you love Him, He wants you
to serve His children.
5.
When
Friends betray us - He knows when friends betray us and even knows what that
feels like.
Judas betrayed Him and Peter denied Him. He knows the hurt of losing those you care
about. The feeling of loving and not being loved in return. That suffering continues for Him as even
today there are those who betray Him and those who deny Him. He is a forgiving Father, if we simply put
our faith and trust in Him. We need to
model that forgiveness and pray for those who betray and/or deny our friendship. Jesus did that for Peter and he was once
again used to strengthen his brothers in Christ.
As you seek Him may you find that you want
to serve Him more and more each day by being a servant to others.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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