Bible Teaching

Passion Week, Day 6

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

The night of the Lord’s Supper and the betrayal would make an action-packed thriller of a novel in our world today.

Many scholars believe Jesus and his disciples, minus Judas, left the Upper Room and walked to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent time praying. This was when He invited Peter, James and John to join Him, but they couldn’t stay awake. You can read this account in Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; and in Luke 27:40-46).

As you read the account of this time, I would challenge you to note the agony Jesus must have felt.  I would assume He felt very alone. One of His best friends, Judas, was leading a band of soldiers to come and arrest Him. Three more of his best friends, Peter, James and John, could even stay awake to pray with Him. The Luke account says that “His sweat was like drops of blood” indicating a great deal of stress upon His body.

In Matthew 26:39 He pleaded with God, His Father, about whether “this cup be taken” from Him. I don’t believe this was a request to avoid the suffering or to avoid death. His suffering and His death were part of the plan He signed on for, before the beginning of time. The separation from God was part of the plan too, but it was just about more than He could bear.

The idea of being separated from God brought about great stress in the life of Jesus. I’m thinking we might need to learn a lesson from that. We need to make sure we don’t allow anything, sin, to get between us and God. That’s what happened in the Garden with Adam & Eve. They allowed doubts which turned into sin, to separate them from God. And look at the mess it caused!

Back to the Garden of Gethsemane. I believe the arrest of Jesus happened about midnight, or perhaps a little earlier. Keep in mind, that Jesus was placed on the cross at the time of the morning sacrifice which was 9 AM. The next nine hours were jammed packed.

There were six judicial trials that happened from the time Jesus was arrested and taken away to the time He was nailed to the cross.

There were five rules pertaining to all trials at this time.

#1—A trial was never to be conducted at night

#2—The accused could have an attorney speak on their behalf

#3—The accused could not be declared guilty without reputable witnesses

#4—Members of a Jewish court, after hearing testimony in a capital crime, were not allowed to render an immediate verdict. They were required to adjourn for two day and two nights before returning and hear once again the testimony against the accused

#5—The Sanhedrin was supposed to vote, one person at a time. The youngest members were to vote first so they would not be influenced by the older members. Since there were 70 members to the Sanhedrin, this would have taken a great deal of time.

Here’s a list of the trials along with the Scripture references:

Trial #1—Before Annas, ex-high priest of the Jews, owner of the Bazaars of Annas, the marketplace set up in the Temple Courts—John 18:13-23

Trial #2—Before Caiaphas,  the current High Priest and son-in-law to Annas along with the entire Sanhedrin—Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; John 18:24

Trial #3—Before the Sanhedrin—The seventy ruling men of Israel—Mark 15:1a; Luke 22:66-71

Trial #4—Before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea—Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1b-5; Luke 23:1-7; John 18:28- 38

Trial #5—Before Herod Antipas, Roman governor of Galilee—Luke 23:8-12

Trial #6—Back to Pilate—Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:29-19:6

At the end of the six trials, it is probably 7 AM. All trials were illegal. Five times Jesus is declared innocent by Pilate and by Herod. Yet the Jews still called for His death. They even traded a known murderer, Barabbas, for the life of Jesus.

I think the cross Jesus was hung on had been prepared for Barabbas. But just as He did for you and me, Jesus took the place of this renowned sinner.

Pause for a just a bit, think about it, an innocent man, a sinless man, the Son of God, took your place, took my place, on the cross!

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Passion Week, Day 5

/ Don McGarvey / 1 Comment

Day 5 of Passion Week is traditionally known as Maundy Thursday. It also has been known as Holy Thursday.

The word “maundy” comes from the Latin and means “command.” On this day, Jesus spends several hours with the disciples in the Upper Room. They celebrate the Passover Meal but during the meal, Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper. He also commands them to “love one another as He had loved them” and He demonstrates what it means to be humble and to be the servant of all.

This will be a little different than the previous Passion Week writings, but I hope and pray you will be challenged by it.

We know from Scripture that Jesus kept the Jewish holy days. From the time He was a child, He would travel to Jerusalem to keep the feasts. In some ways it makes sense because they were all about Him.

This day of the Passion Week was the time spent in the Upper Room, the Passover Meal which became the pattern for the Lord’s Supper was instituted.

 Perhaps the most impactful lesson was when Jesus demonstrated what it meant to be a servant to all. He put on the servant’s apron, took the basin and towel, and proceeded to wash the feet of each disciple. You can read about this in John 13.

While I think this was hugely impactful, it is obvious that this too zoomed over their heads because just a little later, they broke out in the old argument about who among was or would be the greatest.

Earlier, Jesus sent two disciples to prepare the “Upper Room” for their celebration of the Passover Meal. Tradition says the man they encountered was the young man Mark, and the home they ate the Passover Meal was his mother’s Mary upper room.

It was during this time at the meal, Jesus announced that one of them would betray Him.

I’ve always been intrigued over the concern that each one expressed about who the betrayer would be. In Matthew’s account of this, Matthew 26:22, it appears that each of them asked1 the question, “Surely not I, Lord?” They were appalled at the thought of one of them would betray Jesus. But they all asked if it was going to be them.

It appears Judas was not part of this conversation because it was several minutes until Judas addressed the issue by saying, “Surely, not I, Rabbi?”

In John’s account of this, John 13:27, this was when Jesus told Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

They finished the meal, Jesus taught on the ministry of the Holy Spirit John 14-16. He also prayed His High Priestly Prayer, the actual Lord’s Prayer in John 17. They sang a hymn, probably one of the Hallel Psalms (perhaps Psalm 116, 117 or 118), and left for the Garden of Gethsemane where His arrest took place.

Before moving on, I’d like to make an observation regarding the disciples. The evening started with Jesus taking the servants apron and performing the act of washing the feet of the disciples. This would have normally been done by the youngest servant, or the lowest servant of the house.

An interesting thing happens here in Luke’s account. Luke 22:24 tells us that at this point in the evening, the disciples once again began arguing among themselves as to which one of them was the greatest. This was not the first time an argument like that had broken out.

I realize they were young, but they just witnessed their “Lord” and “Master” put on the servant’s apron and wash their feet. They missed it. It “zoomed” right over their head. Jesus’ response was to teach how they were to all be like the youngest, assuming nothing. He also taught that the one who rules, also serves.

The commands of the evening were to love one another; serve one another; and never forget the broken body and the shed blood of Christ, who willingly gave Himself, as a ransom for all.

What areas of your life do you see yourself as a servant? Are there areas of your life where you see yourself as “being served?” How do you think that would fit into the teaching of Jesus to His disciples? Could it be there needs to be a change in your thinking?

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Passion Week, Day 4

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

This day of the Passion Week is not mentioned specifically in the Scriptures. On the charts detailing the Passion Week, it is sometimes referred to as “A Day of Rest.”

It followed a jam packed three days, First, the Triumphal Entry; then the Clearing the Temple; followed by the Confrontation with the Priests and Elders in the Temple.

Jesus and the Disciples probably returned to Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.

I believe this was the time when the Olivet Discourse was given (Matthew 24, 25; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44).

The setting would have been atop the Mount of Olives, overlooking the city of Jerusalem.

The Olivet Discourse is the final of five teachings given by Jesus and recorded by Matthew. Essentially, it is Jesus’ response to three questions posed by the disciples in Matthew 24:3.

The three questions and their answers are: “When will these things happen?” (answered in Matthew 24:36) “What will be the sign of your coming?” (answered in Matthew 24:30-35) and “What will be the sign of the end of the age?” (answered in Matthew 4:4-29)

Notice that Jesus answered their questions in reverse order.

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus reminds the disciples to not get so caught up in trying to figure everything out that they miss out. He was also wanting the disciples to “be righteous,” rather that simply to “appear righteous.” The Pharisees had done a pretty good job of this. They were so focused on dotting every “i” and crossing every “t” that they forgot to make sure they were taking care of business, watching and always being prepared for these things to happen.

In Matthew 24:36, Jesus tells them that, “No one knows about the day or the hour.” He then proceeds to liken the day of His coming to the times of Noah. It was evil; people were completely disregarding the call to repent; and were eternally lost when the door to the Ark was closed.

I guess the moral of that lesson is to make sure we “don’t miss the boat.” Jesus proceeded to try and help the disciples not to miss the boat.

Jesus tells two parables in Matthew 25. The first (Matthew 25:1-13) is the Parable of “The Ten Virgins.” You remember it from Sunday school. Five were wise, five were foolish. The foolish ran out of oil and ultimately missed the coming of the Bride Groom because they were not prepared.

The second parable (Matthew 25:14-30) is, “The Parable of the Talents.” In this story, Jesus puts the emphasis on each of us using the talents (God given abilities) to accomplish His purposes. I would remind you of Ephesians 2:10 were we are told that not only are we God’s workmanship or His masterpieces, but there are also works established for us to do. And God has given each of us “talents” or “abilities” to accomplish those works. We just need to make sure we do what we we’re supposed to do.

Matthew 25 concludes with a great warning. It’s a teaching about the coming judgment. It’s about “sheep and goats” in Matthew 25:31-46. These words were a warning for those who do not live prepared or for those who choose not to use their talents for God’s purposes. There will be judgment. Christ will separate those who were obedient from those who were disobedient.

Again, the big picture here is to always be ready; always be doing the work of God; and always be looking to God as our source.

Always in Pursuit!

Don

Passion Week, Day 3

/ Don McGarvey / Leave a comment

On the day following the clearing of the Temple, Jesus returned to the Temple. He started teaching in the Temple Courts. It is apparent from Scripture (Matthew 21:23) that a meeting was going on in another part of the Temple. In this meeting were the chief priests and other leaders of the Temple. When they discovered Jesus, they posed two questions to Him. They asked Him, “By what authority are you doing these things?” “And who gave you this authority?” They knew of no school He attended, nor did they ever give Him instructions about what He taught on.

Here’s what lies behind their question. Based upon rabbinical tradition, those who taught received their authority from one of two places. The first could have been the rabbinical school they attended. There were two. The other source of what they were teaching could be the edicts issued by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the ruling body of Jews. It was led by the High Priest and consisted of either 23 or 71 Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes. A member of the Sanhedrin was known as an elder. Most elders would have been highly educated rabbis. All recognized teachers of Israel drew their authority from one of these places, their rabbinical school or the Sanhedrin.

Jesus said He would answer their question if they answered His question. Jesus’ question was, “John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven or from men?” According to Scripture, they were afraid to answer His question. (Matthew 21:23-27)

Jesus proceeds to tell three stories or three parables. The first was the “Parable of The Two Sons” found in Matthew 21:28-32.

This was an important use of the word “sons” since the Pharisees considered themselves to be “sons of God” by reason of their descent from Abraham. Jesus was teaching that “sonship” was not based on their lineage but on their obedience to God’s Word.

The underlying issue was the Pharisees were more concerned about appearing to be righteous than being righteous. (Take a moment or two and read through Matthew 23 noting the harsh rebuke of Jesus.)

The second parable is found in Matthew 21:33-41. This parable is called, “The Parable of the Tenants.” It was about an absentee owner of a vineyard who hired some locals to tend to his vineyard. When the owner sent his own servants to collect the profit, they “beat them, stoned them, and killed them.” Every time the owner sent someone, they attacked them. Finally, the owner decided to send his son. He thought “Surely they will respect my son.” But the tenants attacked him and killed him, thinking they would steal the son’s inheritance.

The concluding question was, “What do you think the owner will do to the tenants when he comes.” The answer was, “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

This parable was a reminder of how many of the prophets of God and others who had been sent to speak on behalf of God had been killed. And now, God had sent His “One and only Begotten” Son. And they were plotting to kill him as well.

The belief is that Jesus was announcing the Kingdom is now available to the Gentiles since the leaders of the Jews rejected it.

The third parable is found in Matthew 22:1-14. It’s the “Parable of the Wedding Banquet.”

In the culture of the day, when you were invited to a wedding, you would need to give up living your life for at least one or perhaps two weeks. (That’s how long weddings lasted.)  As an invited or chosen guest of the wedding, you would devote your full attention to the festivities, eat the food provided and even wear the clothing which was given to you. Everything you needed to live for the duration of the wedding…think Kingdom with me…was provided for you.

Jesus said the “Kingdom” is like a wedding. He didn’t say it was a wedding but was like one. This meant you gave yourself over to the agenda of the Kingdom. The wedding or the Kingdom is to become primary focal point. Once that happens, everything else will be provided. (Matthew 6:33, 34)

One thing sticks out to me in this parable. In Matthew 22:11-13, the king or the host of the wedding, walked about and noticed someone not wearing “wedding clothes.” This person was quickly removed and thrown into the “darkness.”

I believe Jesus included this in His parable to help us know that being part of the Kingdom would require a total “makeover” and not just maintaining the appearance of being part of the Kingdom.

As we give our lives to God, we will be changed, by His Spirit, from the inside out. It’s always our choice. Do we accept His invitation to be part of the Kingdom or do we continue to live as we see fit?

Always in Pursuit!

Don