Read Matthew 26:1-5 & 14-16; Mark 14:1-2 & 10-11 and Luke 22:1-6. The time is Wednesday evening. Following his teaching the disciples about the end times, our Lord again instructs his disciples.
1. What did Jesus tell His disciples?
He told them that in two days on the Passover, He would be handed over for crucifixion.
2. Why do you think Judas decided to go to the religious leaders and offer to betray Jesus?
While it is not stated and we do not know with certainty, it seems likely that he finally realized what Jesus was telling them about His coming death was true. He was indeed going to be arrested and put to death. But that was not what Judas wanted to happen. We know he was a thief and was stealing from the funds of Jesus and the Twelve. Certainly, he had thrown in his lot with the Twelve and Jesus because he thought Jesus might indeed be the promised Messiah. He was looking for a Messiah to drive out the Romans and set upon His own Jewish kingdom. No doubt, Judas saw in that a chance for power and wealth. That was what he was looking for. When he finally realized that Jesus was not going to do this, but in all probability was indeed going to be killed, he decided to cut his losses. He wanted to be on the winning side, and it did not look as if Jesus was going to win this one. Therefore he decided to get out and get what he could out of it. It is likely Satan used these thoughts to manipulate Judas to offer to betray our Lord.
3. Why do you think Satan wanted Jesus to be killed? Do you think he understood what the death of our Lord would accomplish and that Jesus would rise from the dead?
Although we do not know what Satan knew and was thinking at the time, in all probability, he did not realize the extent of what the death of the Messiah would accomplish. Without a doubt, he knew the Old Testament Scriptures probably better than any human being apart from our Lord. But then again, the Scriptures can only truly be discerned by those who have the Spirit of God. Maybe he did not see that the Messiah would be a sacrifice; maybe he did not see that the Messiah would have victory over death. In some way, he believes, even to this day, that he can win, or at the least, knowing he cannot win, he is determined now to do as much damage to God’s kingdom as possible.
Read Matthew 26:17-19, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 22:7-13 and John 13:1-20. Jesus and His disciples retire for the night, and on the next day, Thursday, the disciples ask Him where they are supposed to prepare for the Passover.
4. What instructions did Jesus give His disciples concerning where they were to prepare for the meal?
He sent two disciples, Peter and John, telling them they would be met by a man carrying a pitcher of water. They were to follow that man to the house he entered then ask the owner of the house the location of the guest room where they were to prepare the Passover meal.
5. How did Jesus know about this particular room?
We do not know; it is not told us. It might have been a supernatural thing where the Holy Spirit revealed this to Jesus. (At this point, Jesus was not exercising His own divine power, but only the power of the Father through the Spirit of God.) It might have had a more natural explanation as well. The owner of the house might have offered this to our Lord earlier and told Him that if He wanted to use this place, meet his servant in the morning when he went to get some water. The servant, looking for the disciples of our Lord, recognized Peter and John and told them to follow. The fact is that we are not told the circumstances of this event.
6. When was the washing of feet customarily done? (See Luke 7:44)
It was the custom to do this upon entering the house, especially for a special occasion. If you had servants, they might have performed this function. Since Jesus was doing this now, it seems very likely it was not done prior to this point.
7. It seems likely that no one had washed the feet of anyone else before they sat down to this meal. Why do you think the disciples had not taken it upon themselves to perform this task?
The disciples had been involved in a running discussion and/or argument for some time now which one of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom. No doubt each of them felt if they performed this task, they were admitting that they were not the greatest but inferior to the rest of their group. So their thinking probably was, “I’m not going to wash your feet; you should wash mine!”
8. What did Jesus mean when he told them in verse 16, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”?
The disciples, being the servants and the ones sent, were not greater than Himself, the master and the one sending them. If He, as master, served them, so should they serve one another!
Read Matthew 26:20-29, Mark 14: 17-25, Luke 22:14-23 and John 13:21-30. As they were celebrating the Passover meal, Jesus announced that one of the Twelve would betray Him. As they all began to deny that they were the one who would do this, Peter, who was probably seated at the end of the U-shaped table across from John, at the other end, gestured at him to ask our Lord who it might be.
9. What was our Lord’s answer to John’s question?
Our Lord’s reply was that it was the one dipping the bread with Him in the bowl. John adds more detail, stating that it was the one to whom Jesus would hand the bread that He had dipped. It was the custom to dip the bread and give it to the person on your left. Jesus did this and handed the bread to Judas. Judas also asked, probably at this point, if it were he, to which our Lord’s reply was that Judas himself had said it.
10. What was Judas’ response?
Judas probably realized now that our Lord knew of his agreement to betray Him. It is at this point that Judas was possessed by Satan. Our Lord told Judas/Satan that what he was doing, go and do quickly. Judas got up at this point and left the Passover celebration.
11. After the main meal was eaten, Jesus and the eleven remaining disciples concluded the Passover rituals with the eating of the unleavened bread (afikomen) and the third cup of wine (the Cup of Redemption). What did the bread represent? What did the cup represent?
a. The bread represented the broken body of our Lord which, having been hidden earlier but has now been brought forth, brings us life and health.
b. The cup represented His blood poured out for us, which establishes the New Covenant of our redemption.
12. What is the New Covenant?
The New Covenant is the covenant spoken of in Jeremiah chapters 31-33 and Hebrews chapter 8. This new covenant, unlike the old, is unconditional. It is a covenant that God will establish with His people of Israel. It applies to us today as the church even though, as a whole, the church is Gentile and not Jewish. It applies because we are considered to be in Christ. We have been grafted into faithful Israel and are heirs of the promises made to her. Jeremiah 31:31-33 states: “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. People come to our Lord today for many reasons. Some come because they think if they accept this faith, they will become healthy and wealthy (the prosperity gospel). Some believe that if they are baptized and join a church, God will bless them in other ways as well, such as a life of happiness free from trouble and strife. They come looking for something they can get out of this religion. They are, if you will, almost believers. They think this might work but have not yet committed to trusting completely. When things do not work out as expected, they abandon ship and look elsewhere. This is how it probably was for Judas. He was initially persuaded that Jesus just might be the promised Messiah. This was the chance of a lifetime to get in on the ground floor of the Kingdom. Power, wealth and fame would all be His when Jesus came into His kingdom. He was almost persuaded but had not made the final commitment to trust. When it was clear Jesus was going to die, his true nature of doubt appeared, and he jumped ship.
Sometimes we present the Gospel in such a way that it sounds like a promise to make all one’s problems disappear, all hurts and pain vanish. But that is a lie; we do people a disservice if we make such promises. It is true God will heal all hurts. He will dry all tears. He will solve all the problems, but He does not promise to do it today or tomorrow or even in our lifetime. For those that truly trust in Christ, the only promise we have is that the world will hate us as it hated Him and that we will have trouble and trials in this life. But the promise is that victory will come someday. Those who trust Him will be on the winning side. Those who do not will lose, and the win and the loss are forever!
2. Leaders are to be servants rather than the served. This is a principle that is most often rejected in the world today by those who are in positions of authority. They believe that they have reached a place where they can tell others what to do and have them do the work. They work for me now. They are to help me; they serve me. Our Lord reversed that for His followers and set Himself as the supreme example. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the supreme, absolute ruler of the universe, and the day is swiftly coming when all the world will acknowledge that. But look at His first advent! He was a servant for each and every one of us. He did whatever was necessary for us to rise and excel. He gave up everything for His subjects and bore their sin, letting the wrath of God fall on Himself rather than us. If we want to lead, if we want to be in authority, that is how we achieve it; we serve.
If you are in a position of authority, exercise that authority as our Lord did. Ask yourself how you treat those under your authority. Do you expect them to work for you, or do you work for them? Do you do everything you can to help them excel at their tasks and do and be the best they can do and be? People will serve and obey for a multitude of reasons. The three major ones are greed, fear and love. If those that work for you do so out of greed, do not trust them, for they look out for their own interest only. They will take whatever they can get away with. If they work for you out of fear, be afraid lest they turn upon you when they feel strong enough to do so. If they serve you out of love, have no fear, you can trust them.