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my companion and my familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng."
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?" 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.”’" The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover."
Salvation transforms us from a sinner, one who is darkened in his understanding, alienated from God, corrupted and condemned into a beloved child of God. When you receive Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior, when you are born again, a tremendous change takes place in your life. You become a new creation in Christ and with that new creation, you receive a new nature. Your old nature has died. True salvation is not an new addition to your old sinful life. It is a newly transformed life, meaning a dramatic change will occur. As Christians, we really need to understand this. You must deal with that old sinful nature as a Christian. You have to get rid of all that old stuff. If you are new, the old is gone. Transformation is not optional, you must be transformed in order to accommodate and be fitting to enter into His Kingdom. Hypocrisy is a major issue in the church today.
The church has been conforming the world, engaging in sin rather than living according to the principles of God's Word and imitating Christ. I believe this is why the church today is having such a difficult time impacting the world. Because the church is being drawn into immorality, our lives are not teaching the world to live like Christians. The world is going to be destroyed by God because it's opinions are wrong, its aims are selfish, its morals are corrupt and it's pleasures are sinful, its influence is self-destructive. Why on earth would we as Christ's church want to be part of that?
Let's begin by looking at verse 14, "Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests."
As most everyone knows, including non-Christians, Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is best known as the one who infamously betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, thirty pieces of silver was equal to approximately four months’ wages. Judas Iscariot has become synonymous with traitor, much like Benedict Arnold. Iscariot literally means the small village of Kerioth, a town south of Judea, now part of the modern States of Palestine and Israel, which would make him the only one of the twelve not from Galilee. In ancient Israel, people didn’t have last names like we do today. The "last names" we see in the Bible are epithets, or descriptions, which generally refer to where someone comes from, a title, their father’s name, or a particular group they were identified with. Iscariot helps to distinguished him from the other Judas' mentioned in the gospels. Another significant difference worth mentioning, Judas was not called by Jesus to follow Him like the other disciples.
Interestingly enough, Judas Iscariot was also the group treasurer, since Matthew was a former tax collector, financially savvy, he would seem to be the obvious choice, some scholars believe Matthew declined, perhaps to avoid any temptation. In hindsight, John says Judas was untrustworthy and used his position as treasurer to steal money, which was most likely his motivation for betraying Jesus. Psalm 41:9 puts it this way, "Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me."
Having heard what Jesus said, Judas "went to the chief priests." Obviously, the plot to betray Jesus was already beginning in his mind. Verse 15 tells us, "and said, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him." According to Exodus 21:32, thirty shekels of silver was the going price of a slave. With money as the motive, he bargained for 30 pieces of silver. Caught up by greed, covetousness and a love for money he wants to make a profit out of his relationship with Jesus.
Verse 16, "From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus."
Judas Iscariot, walked closely with our Lord, he followed Him, he heard Him teach, he claimed to love Him, yet his betrayal remains the greatest example of lost opportunity the world has ever known. Some of you in the church today, pretend to love Him but you don’t. It isn’t genuine.You claim to belong to Him but you don't; you live your life rejecting His teaching, pursuing lust of the flesh, that which appeals to our carnal nature, taking stock in your wealth and coveting material possessions, to satisfy your earthly desires, with no thought of sacrifice for those in need, no ones twisting your arm, like Judas, you're willingly choosing to betray Him. You can either stand with Judas or stand with Christ, but you can't do both! Notice the contrasts between Judas and Mary, this guy deserves an Oscar! Take a moment to let the weight of this sink in.
Verse 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?"
This verse is a clear indication that Jesus wanted to have the Passover, it was very important to Him, and that His disciples were ready and willing to prepare it for Him. Keep in mind that this would be the final Passover that our Lord has with His disciples. This is not like any other dinner, there is conspiracy and betrayal at work. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a festival lasted one week which took place around the same time as Passover; so, the combination of the two was an eight-day festival. They would celebrate the Passover meal on the 14th of Nisan and then for seven days, celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Verse 18, Again, we see Jesus tells His disciples to go into the city and tell someone something specific. Remember, this happened back in chapter 21 at the Triumphal Entry, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem on Monday. I know some disagree, but it’s significant because in which our Lord died, 33 A.D., the tenth of Nisan was on Monday, which according to Exodus chapter 12, was the day the lamb was to be selected. It had to be done that on Monday.
Exodus 12:3-14, "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance."
God instructed Moses as to how the people could escape death and be rescued from slavery. God kept His word and every house that was marked by blood was spared by God and rescued by God. Jesus is about to be slain as the perfect Lamb without blemish, crucified for our sins, the blood of Jesus would mark God’s people who would be passed over by the curse of sin and death! Jesus has continually said in the book of Matthew, "My time has not yet come." Now, He says, "My time is near."
"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.”’"
Luke 22 tells us "When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters. And you shall say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?'" And he will show you a large, furnished upper room; prepare it there." And they left and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover."
I believe the lesson here is, we will always find what we need when we do exactly as Jesus says! His Word is as reliable today as it was 2000 years ago. We don’t know all of the details, apparently this man was more than glad to accommodate His request, because it all worked out, as part of God’s perfect plan. While the disciples were preparing the Passover meal for them to commemorate the Passover from the Old Testament, God was preparing a different kind of Passover with the ultimate Passover Lamb to take away the sin of the world! Josephus tells us that the massacre of a quarter of a million lambs was absolutely remarkable, as a river of blood ran out the back of the temple through the Kidron Valley and into Bethlehem.
That brings us to verse 19, "The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover."
In John 19:14, John says, "Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, "Behold, your King!" Jesus was before Pilate, and He’s being tried. Jesus was crucified on Friday. So, it doesn’t mean they’re preparing the Passover, it is the preparation day of the Passover. This is the preparation moment before the Passover. Judas has already asked the chief priests, "What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?" The deal has already been made. It couldn’t have been on Thursday because Thursday is not called a preparation day. The first part of the chapter took us through Wednesday, "Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread," the 15th fell on Saturday. Thursday they were getting the meal ready, they ate the meal that night.
Exodus 12, says "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight."
Josephus tells us the lamb had to be slain between the 9th and the 11th hour, the actual Hebrew says "between the two evenings." In verse 18, He told the disciples, to "Go into the city to a certain man," where they could have a Passover, because it had to be in the city of Jerusalem in accordance with the law. Luke chapter 22, and Mark 14, tells he will be carrying a pitcher of water. So, Peter and John went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover. They were the two most intimate to Christ. Notice they never came back. The rest of the didn't know where the place was until they came with Jesus.
Why all the secrecy? Why didn't He just tell them who the man was and where to find him? I believe it was because of Judas Iscariot. The moment of His death was near. but it had not yet come. Remember, in verse 5, the chief priests needed a secluded place where He wouldn’t be around a crowd, they were afraid a riot might occur among the people. Judas was seeking an opportunity to betray Jesus, to turn Him over to the religious authorities. Because Jesus still needed to teach the disciples, to tell them about the promise of His Holy Spirit, it was important for Him to celebrate the Passover with His disciples. He also wanted to transform the Passover meal into the Last Supper, that we know and celebrate today.
In Closing..
If Judas had known where this was going to take place, he would have betrayed him then and there. Jesus wasn't about to give him that opportunity, leaving the Garden as his first opportunity. Jesus left the meal in the middle of the night, went to the Garden, which, is exactly where the soldiers showed up and took Jesus to the religious authorities. Friday morning, the religious leaders have Jesus, the Jews haven’t eaten the Passover meal yet. Jesus and His disciples had their own Passover. They would be slaughtering all those lambs at the exact moment Jesus died. That's why I believe Jesus came into the city on the day the lamb was selected, so that He could die at the precise moment when the lambs were slaughtered, in order to fulfill every prophecy to the letter!
The Galileans and Pharisees calculated the beginning of Passover from sunrise to sunrise, the Judeans and Sadducees calculated the Passover from sunset to sunset, making it from Thursday evening at sunset, and running until Friday evening at sunset. Jesus had to die on Friday at the Passover, God made it possible for both to accomplish their goal, in keeping with the perfect divine plan of God.
God and the religious leaders were committed to Jesus dying, but for very different reasons!
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen