March 25, 2024 • 22 mins
This Palm Sunday message was divided into three parts with Pastor Dan offering brief commentaries for Passion readings from the Gospel of Luke. Each segment was divided by an act of worship, including offerings and Holy Communion.
In the scripture reading and homily we embark on a deeply insightful journey as we explore Jesus Christ's path into Jerusalem, a crucial moment in biblical history. This journey unpacks what is beyond the Palm Sunday celebration, as we take an in-depth look at Jesus’s divine mission and the ultimate sacrifice he made for humanity. We trace His journey from Mount of Olives, to the temple, and how this intricate narrative unfolds, often challenging preconceived notions and enhancing spiritual comprehension.
The narrative continues with the divulging moments leading to the Last Supper. It provides profound understanding of Jesus’s self-sacrifice and the immense implications of His final journey into Jerusalem. We delve into the words of wisdom exchanged during the Last Supper—marking a significant shift from the old covenant to a new one. The rituals of sharing bread and wine, symbolising His body and His blood are introduced, thereby illuminating on the core elements of Christian faith as practised today.
Further, we dissect the dramatic moment of the betrayal hint dropped by Jesus, causing introspection and suspicion among His disciples. This moment starkly projects an honest assessment of their own potentials for treachery and encompasses a critical lesson for believers in acceptance of Jesus's continuous offer of redemption.
Progressing into the tense ambiance of the Garden of Gethsemane, we witness Jesus’s desperation, solitude, and the spiritual warfare playing central roles in our spiritual redemption. We also journey through Judas's betrayal and Peter's denial of Jesus, honing in on the strategic implications on Peter's character and his recurring attempts to save Christ.
Lastly, we invite contemplation on the interpretation of Peter's actions and faith. The episode concludes by encouraging listeners to engage in self-examination and truth-seeking in the lead up to Easter. Join us for a comprehensive exploration of the new covenant, the importance of the Lord's Table, the character of Peter, and our individual journeys of faith and redemption.
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:09):
Verse 28. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
And when he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,
he sent two of his disciples saying, Go into the village in front of you,
where on entering you will find a colt tied,
(00:30):
on which no one has ever yet sat.
Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you,
why are you untying it you shall
say this the lord has need of it
and so those who were sent went away and
found it just as he had told them and as
(00:50):
they were untying the colt its owner said to them why are you untying the colt
and they said the lord has need of it and they brought it to jesus and throwing
their cloaks on the colt they set jesus on it and as he rode along they spread
spread their cloaks on the road,
as he was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives.
(01:14):
The whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a
loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples.
(01:36):
And he answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.
And when they drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying,
Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that made you for peace.
But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when
(02:00):
your enemies will will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem
you in on every side and tear you down to the ground,
you and your children within you.
And they will not leave one stone upon another because you did not know the
time of your visitation.
(02:21):
And that's the word of the Lord for the people of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
So before we go to the next things, let me just give I want to give you a brief
commentary on that passage because this picture is so vivid.
How many of you who went on the last trip to Israel are picturing all of this
(02:42):
in your mind's eye now? You can see it, can't you?
Bethany and Bethpage were villages just on the other side of the Mount of Olives
from the side facing Jerusalem.
And so if you were in Bethany and Bethpage, you would not be able to see the
Temple Mount, but it would be just over the hill.
And so as you crest the hill, then it would come into view. And likewise,
(03:06):
this place of refuge that Jesus went to repeatedly in Bethany,
where his friends were, his true friends, was just out of sight of the temple.
And I don't think you want to miss the significance of that.
The next thing you need to understand is that all roads kind of lead to the
temple, like in an old city in Europe,
(03:29):
you know, the roads all sort of turn toward the center, and the temple was the center.
Or Zion or Salem, as it's called in the Old Testament, this place where the
sacrifice of Abraham occurred or almost occurred,
where the temple was erected, where God had interacted with people repeatedly,
(03:50):
was right at the center of all things in those days and still to a certain extent.
And so when Jesus is moving towards the temple, it's a very purposeful thing.
And, you know, Becky did a marvelous job of teaching the children and us the
significance of the irony, right?
(04:12):
Like, this was really ironic.
They were celebrating him as though he was the conquering Messiah who was going
to lead a coup that would undermine the Romans and the corrupt Jewish authorities.
This was going to be the reset button.
They basically imagined him being a new form of King David.
(04:36):
They considered him the greatest of their kings, and they still do.
And so in that respect, they're still looking for a coming Messiah who is like
King David in that he makes Israel the center of the world.
You know, when you go to the Temple Mount now, there's a place where you can
stand, and it actually is steeped in Muslim tradition.
(05:01):
Islamic believers have a place on the Temple Mount they refer to as the navel.
And when you stand there, the idea is that you're literally standing in the center of the world.
And if you were to look at a world map spread out in one of those maps that have the peach,
what do they call it, the orange peel type breakdown of the map so that things
(05:25):
are geographically balanced on the map.
Because my point is nothing's exaggerated in that map view. you.
So when you look at it, you can point to that spot in Jerusalem,
and you can see that it literally is the center of the geographic outline of the world, in a sense.
And so that place has a central significance in human history, even prehistory.
(05:50):
And all that to say that when Jesus, who is God in the flesh,
is about to do the thing that is more God-like than anything else he's ever ever done.
I mean, he's done miracles. He's raised the dead. He's healed the sick.
He's returned sight to the blind. But in this moment that is coming.
He knows like no one else does that he's about to do battle with the darkest forces of evil,
(06:15):
the very opponents of God the Father in heaven, the very resistance against
God's ultimate authority as creator and God above all.
And he's heading towards that, focused on that temple mount and seeing himself
clearly as he describes and defines this moment when he's going,
(06:36):
we call it Palm Sunday, but what he's really doing is he's presenting himself
at the temple as what will be the last sacrifice.
He will be the last sacrificial offering in that old covenant worship of the temple mount.
The smoke that's coming up from the temple courtyards is the smoke of burning
(06:58):
flesh and the blood that is pouring in literal streams through channels that
are carved into the floor or the ground around the temple.
It's literally flowing that much because they're constantly killing sacrifices
and presenting them as burnt offerings, all of that will end in a few days,
(07:20):
and Jesus knows it, and he's presenting himself.
He's going to literally circle the temple in exactly the route that the sacrifices
are brought to the temple and presented on behalf of the people.
He's literally presenting himself that way, but nobody gets it.
(07:40):
Nobody gets it. everybody thinks this is him heading for the palace.
And you remember when he was born? You remember just a few months ago,
we were talking about the birth of Jesus and how the wise ones went to the palace
to find the newborn king?
They were wrong then and they're wrong now.
They're still going to the palace to find the king or they're still going to
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the palace to make a king. And he's not going there.
He started at an animal pen where sacrificial lambs for temple worship were born.
The Bethlehem flocks were for the temple. They were particular flocks dedicated
to temple worship, and that's where he was born.
(08:26):
And on the days leading up to his death, he's going the route of a temple sacrificial lamb.
He's driving himself just as the shepherds would drive the sheep from Bethlehem
toward the temple where the sacrificial lambs would be sacrificed and offered
in burnt for the sake of atonement.
(08:47):
This is what Jesus is doing, but all the while, people think that they're driving
him to the place where the authority dwells, where the king of Jerusalem is going to dwell.
That's not where he's going. Just keep that in mind. When you hear him say how
I have wept over you because you just don't get it.
(09:10):
Now you understand why he's crying over them. Now you understand why Jesus wept.
And now, like those people, you can lay your sacrifices before Him.
You can lay down your cloaks and your palms before Him in an act of worship
we call giving God's tithes and your offerings.
So let this be your Palm Sunday, Hosanna, praise as the ushers come to wait upon you.
(09:34):
And then I'll meet you at the Lord's table for the next reading.
Luke 22, starting at verse 7. Then came the day of unleavened bread,
on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.
And they said to him, Where will you have us prepare it?
(09:59):
And he said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city,
a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him into the house that he enters
and tell the master of the house
the teacher says to you where is
your guest room where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples and he will show you a large upper room furnished prepare
(10:22):
it there and they went and found it just as he had told them and they prepared
the Passover and when the hour came he reclined at table and the apostles with And he said to them.
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Now just stop there for a second, if you don't mind.
I want you to just think about what he just said, because this is what I try
to tell you almost every week when we come to the Lord's table.
He's saying, I'm not going to eat this old covenant Passover with you.
Any more after this, because he's saying, guys, I've been looking forward to
the day when I would introduce the new covenant.
(11:10):
Remember, he's come into the city with a totally different mindset than anybody else alive.
And he enters this Passover meal with the same completely different mindset.
He's looking forward to this because this is the last time it will be done under the old covenant.
Now it will be a new covenant, which he introduces momentarily.
(11:34):
Verse 17, and he took the cup and when he had given thanks, he said.
Take this and divide it amongst yourselves.
For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until
the kingdom of God comes.
And so he took the cup and he said this to them again under the old covenant.
(11:56):
And he's not saying he's never going to drink wine again. What he's saying is
until the kingdom comes and what will usher in the kingdom, the new covenant,
which will be certified or ratified in his blood.
So So what he's saying is, I'm going to drink wine with you again,
but under a new covenant when the kingdom comes.
(12:17):
The very kingdom that we've been talking about being insurgent servants to.
Now verse 19, and he took the bread and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, This is the cup that is
(12:42):
poured out for you, and it is a new covenant in my blood.
And so we will come to his table to eat the bread of the covenant that he has
established for our time,
and we will come to his table for the cup that he has established for our time
under a new kingdom covenant.
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Verse 21, But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.
And they began to question one another, which of them it would be who was going to do this.
(13:26):
The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
And so before we consume at the Lord's table, let me just comment again very
briefly to say that the most profound thing I read in this passage is that no
one had any question about whether it might be them who would betray Jesus. Did you see that?
(13:46):
They didn't know until Jesus told them and until Judas revealed himself that it was Judas.
They all suspected that they might be capable of betraying him.
When you come to the Lord's table today, you have to come with that same honesty.
It's why we say prayers of confession, typically.
It's not that we need to renew the covenant that saves us. That's done.
(14:10):
But we remember each time we come to the table, his body and his blood and our
capability or our capacity for betrayal, and we acknowledge it.
And so when you come to the Lord's table today, confess privately now,
Lord, it could be me, couldn't it?
And then accept the redemption that he offers you anyway.
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Before I read it, let me set the stage just a little to say that,
again, referring to those who have had the experience of visiting,
there is a certain energy that's hard to explain,
and I'm not real superstitious or mysterious in my way of viewing the world.
I nevertheless cannot deny I that there's some sort of residual energy there
(14:57):
at the Garden of Gethsemane?
It's mysterious and strange and wonderful, but maybe it's because at the Garden
of Gethsemane there was a battle that was spiritual in nature that was as much
a part of your redemption as the cross itself.
There was the place where Jesus pleaded with the Father, take the cup away from him.
(15:21):
There was the place where he called out to his friends because perhaps he never
felt so lonely in all of his existence than he did at that moment.
So desperate he even called out to his earthly friends.
What would separate him from God the Father in a way that he'd never been separated
from God the Father before?
Your sin and mine. And so bear in mind that this is what has happened in the
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garden before what we are about to read.
Luke chapter 22, starting at verse 47.
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and a man called Judas,
one of the twelve, was leading them. him.
He drew near to Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the son of man with a kiss?
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And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said,
Lord, shall we strike with the sword?
And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said, no more of this. And he touched his ear and healed him.
Then Jesus Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders
(16:28):
who had come out against him, Have you come out against a robber with swords and clubs?
When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me.
But this is your hour and the power of darkness.
Then they seized him, and they led him away, bringing him into the high priest's
(16:51):
house. And Peter was following at a distance.
And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down
together, Peter sat down among them.
Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at
him, said, This man was with them.
(17:11):
But he denied it, saying, Woman, I do not know him. And a little later,
someone else saw him and said, You also are one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not.
And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted,
saying, Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is Galilean.
(17:33):
But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you're talking about.
And immediately, while they were still speaking, the rooster crowed.
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.
And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him,
Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.
And he went out and wept bitterly. Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
(17:59):
Now, I was thinking about that passage the other day, and there was a new thought
that popped into my mind.
I don't know about you, but the beautiful thing about being on a Christian walk
of sanctification is every day you have a chance to learn something new.
You can never read the same passage and say, oh, I know that one,
because something new will speak to you from the very heart and mind of God,
(18:20):
what we call the Logos, or the Word of God.
Here's what I got. Peter probably wasn't denying Jesus as though he was now
ashamed and embarrassed of him as much as he was trying to be strategic.
I mean, put yourself in Peter's shoes. He's He's courageously followed Jesus
through this journey to the priest's house, and he's followed in a way where
(18:43):
he's trying to be clandestine and sneaky,
hoping that no one will figure out who he is and why he's there. Why would he do that?
Perhaps because he's still thinking he can rescue Jesus.
He's thinking, I'm going to save Jesus.
Now, believe me when I say that doctrinally and theologically,
(19:04):
we still arrive at the same conclusion about Jesus and Peter,
and it'll make more sense when
he's making his confession of love to Jesus later by the Sea of Galilee.
But for now, just think about this. Why would he do what he did?
Why would Peter follow Jesus right to the place where this trial is happening?
(19:24):
And why would he deny that he knows Jesus? Because he's trying trying to stay close to Jesus.
And all the others ran. You know, it's like that story of Peter in the boat.
Remember how Peter was the only one that got out of the boat? The other guy stayed in?
I mean, this is more consistent with his character, I think.
He got out of the boat. Everybody else stayed in.
He followed Jesus to the house of the high priest while the rest scattered to the four winds.
(19:50):
And that's admirable, except for the problem.
It's just like he set himself out on the Sea of Galilee in the storm by walking
on the water in faith and then failing and then having Jesus say,
Nice try, Peter, but you failed.
Peter's not being chastised necessarily.
(20:10):
He's being sort of admonished for stopping short of getting it.
But we shouldn't forget that Jesus is also very aware that Peter was stepping
out in a way that nobody else would.
And same here. Peter denied Jesus, but maybe he denied Jesus because he was
just trying to stick close to save Jesus. But you forget, if you're not careful,
(20:35):
that Jesus already said, this is the enemy's hour.
Everything's going the way it's supposed to go. Peter, stop trying to interfere.
Stop trying to change the plan.
You're thinking like a human being. You're thinking like a man of the flesh.
Stop trying to interfere.
Don't cut off people's ears and get ready for battle. It's time for this to
(20:58):
run its course because there's a greater thing going on.
Something major is going on, something cosmic in scope, something beyond Peter's
ability to understand at that time.
So let's give Peter a break and admire his courage and his faith.
Let's recognize that he wasn't denying Jesus as though he just suddenly decided.
(21:20):
I think when Jesus confronts Peter later, as we will see, that it isn't about
Peter's faith in Jesus, it's Peter's faith in Jesus' plan that's being questioned.
You spend some time thinking about that this week, as I will.
And if you have a different idea about it, feel free to talk to me,
(21:41):
because it's a wonderful thing to work out these stories together and find the truth together.
Let this be a week of truth-seeking. I want to encourage you,
as you finish out this last week of your fast, to be even more faithful and
to keep seeking the Lord's promise for Shiloh Church and for you and your loved ones.
(22:03):
I want to encourage you to keep up the faith, and I'd also like you to finish
with glory for the Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday.
For now, let us pray. Pray. Almighty God, thank you for being present to us
today in a peculiar and wonderful way as we feel your heart and mind expressed to us in the Word.
(22:24):
And now, Lord, send us into this Holy Week ready to experience you in a more
profound way than any other so that we might be more intimate and more committed with you.
Let us be insurgents, Lord, that change the world by by being your disciples.
We pray this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
(22:46):
Music.
Music.
(00:09):
Verse 28. And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
And when he drew near to Bethpage and Bethany at the mount that is called Olivet,
he sent two of his disciples saying, Go into the village in front of you,
where on entering you will find a colt tied,
(00:30):
on which no one has ever yet sat.
Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you,
why are you untying it you shall
say this the lord has need of it
and so those who were sent went away and
found it just as he had told them and as
(00:50):
they were untying the colt its owner said to them why are you untying the colt
and they said the lord has need of it and they brought it to jesus and throwing
their cloaks on the colt they set jesus on it and as he rode along they spread
spread their cloaks on the road,
as he was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives.
(01:14):
The whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a
loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying,
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to to him, Teacher, rebuke your disciples.
(01:36):
And he answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.
And when they drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying,
Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that made you for peace.
But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when
(02:00):
your enemies will will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem
you in on every side and tear you down to the ground,
you and your children within you.
And they will not leave one stone upon another because you did not know the
time of your visitation.
(02:21):
And that's the word of the Lord for the people of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
So before we go to the next things, let me just give I want to give you a brief
commentary on that passage because this picture is so vivid.
How many of you who went on the last trip to Israel are picturing all of this
(02:42):
in your mind's eye now? You can see it, can't you?
Bethany and Bethpage were villages just on the other side of the Mount of Olives
from the side facing Jerusalem.
And so if you were in Bethany and Bethpage, you would not be able to see the
Temple Mount, but it would be just over the hill.
And so as you crest the hill, then it would come into view. And likewise,
(03:06):
this place of refuge that Jesus went to repeatedly in Bethany,
where his friends were, his true friends, was just out of sight of the temple.
And I don't think you want to miss the significance of that.
The next thing you need to understand is that all roads kind of lead to the
temple, like in an old city in Europe,
(03:29):
you know, the roads all sort of turn toward the center, and the temple was the center.
Or Zion or Salem, as it's called in the Old Testament, this place where the
sacrifice of Abraham occurred or almost occurred,
where the temple was erected, where God had interacted with people repeatedly,
(03:50):
was right at the center of all things in those days and still to a certain extent.
And so when Jesus is moving towards the temple, it's a very purposeful thing.
And, you know, Becky did a marvelous job of teaching the children and us the
significance of the irony, right?
(04:12):
Like, this was really ironic.
They were celebrating him as though he was the conquering Messiah who was going
to lead a coup that would undermine the Romans and the corrupt Jewish authorities.
This was going to be the reset button.
They basically imagined him being a new form of King David.
(04:36):
They considered him the greatest of their kings, and they still do.
And so in that respect, they're still looking for a coming Messiah who is like
King David in that he makes Israel the center of the world.
You know, when you go to the Temple Mount now, there's a place where you can
stand, and it actually is steeped in Muslim tradition.
(05:01):
Islamic believers have a place on the Temple Mount they refer to as the navel.
And when you stand there, the idea is that you're literally standing in the center of the world.
And if you were to look at a world map spread out in one of those maps that have the peach,
what do they call it, the orange peel type breakdown of the map so that things
(05:25):
are geographically balanced on the map.
Because my point is nothing's exaggerated in that map view. you.
So when you look at it, you can point to that spot in Jerusalem,
and you can see that it literally is the center of the geographic outline of the world, in a sense.
And so that place has a central significance in human history, even prehistory.
(05:50):
And all that to say that when Jesus, who is God in the flesh,
is about to do the thing that is more God-like than anything else he's ever ever done.
I mean, he's done miracles. He's raised the dead. He's healed the sick.
He's returned sight to the blind. But in this moment that is coming.
He knows like no one else does that he's about to do battle with the darkest forces of evil,
(06:15):
the very opponents of God the Father in heaven, the very resistance against
God's ultimate authority as creator and God above all.
And he's heading towards that, focused on that temple mount and seeing himself
clearly as he describes and defines this moment when he's going,
(06:36):
we call it Palm Sunday, but what he's really doing is he's presenting himself
at the temple as what will be the last sacrifice.
He will be the last sacrificial offering in that old covenant worship of the temple mount.
The smoke that's coming up from the temple courtyards is the smoke of burning
(06:58):
flesh and the blood that is pouring in literal streams through channels that
are carved into the floor or the ground around the temple.
It's literally flowing that much because they're constantly killing sacrifices
and presenting them as burnt offerings, all of that will end in a few days,
(07:20):
and Jesus knows it, and he's presenting himself.
He's going to literally circle the temple in exactly the route that the sacrifices
are brought to the temple and presented on behalf of the people.
He's literally presenting himself that way, but nobody gets it.
(07:40):
Nobody gets it. everybody thinks this is him heading for the palace.
And you remember when he was born? You remember just a few months ago,
we were talking about the birth of Jesus and how the wise ones went to the palace
to find the newborn king?
They were wrong then and they're wrong now.
They're still going to the palace to find the king or they're still going to
(08:02):
the palace to make a king. And he's not going there.
He started at an animal pen where sacrificial lambs for temple worship were born.
The Bethlehem flocks were for the temple. They were particular flocks dedicated
to temple worship, and that's where he was born.
(08:26):
And on the days leading up to his death, he's going the route of a temple sacrificial lamb.
He's driving himself just as the shepherds would drive the sheep from Bethlehem
toward the temple where the sacrificial lambs would be sacrificed and offered
in burnt for the sake of atonement.
(08:47):
This is what Jesus is doing, but all the while, people think that they're driving
him to the place where the authority dwells, where the king of Jerusalem is going to dwell.
That's not where he's going. Just keep that in mind. When you hear him say how
I have wept over you because you just don't get it.
(09:10):
Now you understand why he's crying over them. Now you understand why Jesus wept.
And now, like those people, you can lay your sacrifices before Him.
You can lay down your cloaks and your palms before Him in an act of worship
we call giving God's tithes and your offerings.
So let this be your Palm Sunday, Hosanna, praise as the ushers come to wait upon you.
(09:34):
And then I'll meet you at the Lord's table for the next reading.
Luke 22, starting at verse 7. Then came the day of unleavened bread,
on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.
And they said to him, Where will you have us prepare it?
(09:59):
And he said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city,
a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.
Follow him into the house that he enters
and tell the master of the house
the teacher says to you where is
your guest room where I may eat the Passover
with my disciples and he will show you a large upper room furnished prepare
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it there and they went and found it just as he had told them and they prepared
the Passover and when the hour came he reclined at table and the apostles with And he said to them.
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Now just stop there for a second, if you don't mind.
I want you to just think about what he just said, because this is what I try
to tell you almost every week when we come to the Lord's table.
He's saying, I'm not going to eat this old covenant Passover with you.
Any more after this, because he's saying, guys, I've been looking forward to
the day when I would introduce the new covenant.
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Remember, he's come into the city with a totally different mindset than anybody else alive.
And he enters this Passover meal with the same completely different mindset.
He's looking forward to this because this is the last time it will be done under the old covenant.
Now it will be a new covenant, which he introduces momentarily.
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Verse 17, and he took the cup and when he had given thanks, he said.
Take this and divide it amongst yourselves.
For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until
the kingdom of God comes.
And so he took the cup and he said this to them again under the old covenant.
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And he's not saying he's never going to drink wine again. What he's saying is
until the kingdom comes and what will usher in the kingdom, the new covenant,
which will be certified or ratified in his blood.
So So what he's saying is, I'm going to drink wine with you again,
but under a new covenant when the kingdom comes.
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The very kingdom that we've been talking about being insurgent servants to.
Now verse 19, and he took the bread and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.
And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, This is the cup that is
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poured out for you, and it is a new covenant in my blood.
And so we will come to his table to eat the bread of the covenant that he has
established for our time,
and we will come to his table for the cup that he has established for our time
under a new kingdom covenant.
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Verse 21, But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined. But woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.
And they began to question one another, which of them it would be who was going to do this.
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The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
And so before we consume at the Lord's table, let me just comment again very
briefly to say that the most profound thing I read in this passage is that no
one had any question about whether it might be them who would betray Jesus. Did you see that?
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They didn't know until Jesus told them and until Judas revealed himself that it was Judas.
They all suspected that they might be capable of betraying him.
When you come to the Lord's table today, you have to come with that same honesty.
It's why we say prayers of confession, typically.
It's not that we need to renew the covenant that saves us. That's done.
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But we remember each time we come to the table, his body and his blood and our
capability or our capacity for betrayal, and we acknowledge it.
And so when you come to the Lord's table today, confess privately now,
Lord, it could be me, couldn't it?
And then accept the redemption that he offers you anyway.
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Before I read it, let me set the stage just a little to say that,
again, referring to those who have had the experience of visiting,
there is a certain energy that's hard to explain,
and I'm not real superstitious or mysterious in my way of viewing the world.
I nevertheless cannot deny I that there's some sort of residual energy there
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at the Garden of Gethsemane?
It's mysterious and strange and wonderful, but maybe it's because at the Garden
of Gethsemane there was a battle that was spiritual in nature that was as much
a part of your redemption as the cross itself.
There was the place where Jesus pleaded with the Father, take the cup away from him.
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There was the place where he called out to his friends because perhaps he never
felt so lonely in all of his existence than he did at that moment.
So desperate he even called out to his earthly friends.
What would separate him from God the Father in a way that he'd never been separated
from God the Father before?
Your sin and mine. And so bear in mind that this is what has happened in the
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garden before what we are about to read.
Luke chapter 22, starting at verse 47.
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and a man called Judas,
one of the twelve, was leading them. him.
He drew near to Jesus to kiss him.
But Jesus said to him, Judas, would you betray the son of man with a kiss?
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And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said,
Lord, shall we strike with the sword?
And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said, no more of this. And he touched his ear and healed him.
Then Jesus Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders
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who had come out against him, Have you come out against a robber with swords and clubs?
When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me.
But this is your hour and the power of darkness.
Then they seized him, and they led him away, bringing him into the high priest's
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house. And Peter was following at a distance.
And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down
together, Peter sat down among them.
Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at
him, said, This man was with them.
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But he denied it, saying, Woman, I do not know him. And a little later,
someone else saw him and said, You also are one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not.
And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted,
saying, Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is Galilean.
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But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you're talking about.
And immediately, while they were still speaking, the rooster crowed.
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.
And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him,
Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.
And he went out and wept bitterly. Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
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Now, I was thinking about that passage the other day, and there was a new thought
that popped into my mind.
I don't know about you, but the beautiful thing about being on a Christian walk
of sanctification is every day you have a chance to learn something new.
You can never read the same passage and say, oh, I know that one,
because something new will speak to you from the very heart and mind of God,
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what we call the Logos, or the Word of God.
Here's what I got. Peter probably wasn't denying Jesus as though he was now
ashamed and embarrassed of him as much as he was trying to be strategic.
I mean, put yourself in Peter's shoes. He's He's courageously followed Jesus
through this journey to the priest's house, and he's followed in a way where
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he's trying to be clandestine and sneaky,
hoping that no one will figure out who he is and why he's there. Why would he do that?
Perhaps because he's still thinking he can rescue Jesus.
He's thinking, I'm going to save Jesus.
Now, believe me when I say that doctrinally and theologically,
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we still arrive at the same conclusion about Jesus and Peter,
and it'll make more sense when
he's making his confession of love to Jesus later by the Sea of Galilee.
But for now, just think about this. Why would he do what he did?
Why would Peter follow Jesus right to the place where this trial is happening?
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And why would he deny that he knows Jesus? Because he's trying trying to stay close to Jesus.
And all the others ran. You know, it's like that story of Peter in the boat.
Remember how Peter was the only one that got out of the boat? The other guy stayed in?
I mean, this is more consistent with his character, I think.
He got out of the boat. Everybody else stayed in.
He followed Jesus to the house of the high priest while the rest scattered to the four winds.
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And that's admirable, except for the problem.
It's just like he set himself out on the Sea of Galilee in the storm by walking
on the water in faith and then failing and then having Jesus say,
Nice try, Peter, but you failed.
Peter's not being chastised necessarily.
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He's being sort of admonished for stopping short of getting it.
But we shouldn't forget that Jesus is also very aware that Peter was stepping
out in a way that nobody else would.
And same here. Peter denied Jesus, but maybe he denied Jesus because he was
just trying to stick close to save Jesus. But you forget, if you're not careful,
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that Jesus already said, this is the enemy's hour.
Everything's going the way it's supposed to go. Peter, stop trying to interfere.
Stop trying to change the plan.
You're thinking like a human being. You're thinking like a man of the flesh.
Stop trying to interfere.
Don't cut off people's ears and get ready for battle. It's time for this to
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run its course because there's a greater thing going on.
Something major is going on, something cosmic in scope, something beyond Peter's
ability to understand at that time.
So let's give Peter a break and admire his courage and his faith.
Let's recognize that he wasn't denying Jesus as though he just suddenly decided.
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I think when Jesus confronts Peter later, as we will see, that it isn't about
Peter's faith in Jesus, it's Peter's faith in Jesus' plan that's being questioned.
You spend some time thinking about that this week, as I will.
And if you have a different idea about it, feel free to talk to me,
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because it's a wonderful thing to work out these stories together and find the truth together.
Let this be a week of truth-seeking. I want to encourage you,
as you finish out this last week of your fast, to be even more faithful and
to keep seeking the Lord's promise for Shiloh Church and for you and your loved ones.
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I want to encourage you to keep up the faith, and I'd also like you to finish
with glory for the Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday.
For now, let us pray. Pray. Almighty God, thank you for being present to us
today in a peculiar and wonderful way as we feel your heart and mind expressed to us in the Word.
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And now, Lord, send us into this Holy Week ready to experience you in a more
profound way than any other so that we might be more intimate and more committed with you.
Let us be insurgents, Lord, that change the world by by being your disciples.
We pray this in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
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Music.
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