Lesson
#9
The Old Testament:
And the king of Sodom went out to
meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that
[were] with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which [is] the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth
bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be]
Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (Gen 14:17-19)
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth [day] of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of [their] fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take [it] according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike [it] on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast [with] fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; [with] your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it [is] the LORD'S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I [am] the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye [are]: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy [you], when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Ex 12:3-14)
The
Gospel:
Jesus said to his disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is
coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." Then the chief priests and the elders of the
people gathered in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they
conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, "Not
during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people." Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas
Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I
betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that
moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the
disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make the
preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city
to a certain man, and say to him, `The Teacher says, My time is near; I will
keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" So the disciples did
as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with
the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of
you will betray me." And they became greatly distressed and began to say
to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" He answered,
"The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The
Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of
Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."
Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied,
"You have said so." (Matthew 26:1-5, 14-25)
When the hour came, Jesus took his
place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, "I have
eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you,
I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." Then he
took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take this and divide it
among 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." Then he took a loaf of 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 he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup
that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one
who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is
going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!"
Then they began to ask one another, which one of them it could be who would do
this. A dispute also arose among them
as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to
them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority
over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest
among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.
For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it
not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. "You are those who have stood by me in
my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a
kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:14-30)
Description of the Last Super Window
· Top Icon: The top icon represents the sacramental element bread. What is pictured resembles a communion wafer with rays of sunlight extending away from it.
· Main Window: Jesus, in red, is sitting at the head of a table surrounded by the 12 disciples. It is impressive that the artist could create such a perspective to have all of them at or around the table. On the table, there is an interesting collection of images including a fish on a platter, four knives and a collection of cups and plates. Some of the disciples are obvious such as Judas in the upper left who seems to be slipping out. The others seem to have hints such as Peter perhaps on the middle left with his finger pointing – similar to Michelangelo’s Last Supper.
· Bottom Icon: The bottom icon represents the sacramental element wine. A simple goblet is surrounded by grape leaves and a bundle of grapes. The symbol above the goblet also resembles a communion wafer with a distinct red cross on it.
Perhaps due to the fact that most Christians, if they attend church at all, attend Easter services, the story of Jesus’ last supper and subsequent betrayal by Judas is generally well known. Even the name Judas has become synonymous with traitor in casual conversation. Aside from the obvious well known parts of this story, the underlying reasons and events that played themselves out on that table have far reaching spiritual significance to us to this very day and even in the future. Jesus said he would not eat of this meal again until we all ate it together with him in the kingdom.
Jud, oh Jud, what have you done is the lyric
from Cotton Patch Gospel that embodies Judas' betrayal of Jesus.
Over the centuries there has been mystery and conjecture surrounding the
motives of Judas. Of late, there has been more of a willingness during the
last century to give him a little more credit for trying to achieve something
noble in his betrayal.
The traditional school of thought is that Judas was simply a bad seed that
somehow ended up being a disciple. In this mindset, Judas became the
archetypical betrayer of all time. In JC Superstar, Judas sings to the
Pharisees after he makes his deal, Just don't say I'm damned for all time.
A modern school of thought places Judas as a vital key in God's plan. For
example, Jesus as the messiah was supposed to die for the sins of the
world. Thus, there had to be someone to kill him in a proper way
[crucifixion] at the proper time [passover]. To achieve this, there had
to be a rather remarkable conspiracy between the Romans who killed in such a
manner along with the Jewish high priest who gave his blessings to it.
Since every other apprehension attempt of Jesus thus far had failed miserably,
the authorities were seeking the perfect opportunity. Judas was the
messenger who brought everything together.
To propose a hypothetical possibility, consider the
following: If the Romans had said no to his execution, the only
way for Jewish leadership to have lawfully killed Jesus was by stoning (cf John
8:1-11). Well, what if the Jewish leadership had accepted his
messiahship. How would he have died in
that case? Would he have had the high priest slit his throat at the
temple altar like that of the paschal lamb?
Such seems totally crazy since we all know how it really
happened. On the other hand, the way it
did happen is still a very remarkable series of events.
To my Calvinist friends' credit, the way it actually happened seems prophesied
in detail (cf Isa 52-54, Psalm 22, Zech 12:10-13:6). Judas' part in the
whole thing seems just as vivid in prophecy to many too (Psalm 109). In
this reformed view, God planned it, it happened and that settles it.
For those like me, I can't quite accept this without exploring it for more
details. Such as why did Judas do it? Some note his surname
Iscariot which sounds familiar to a knife used by the zealots who were on
occasion violent nationalists. In this view, Judas was a strong patriot
who felt Jesus needed to be forced to confront the political leaders of the
day. It also is used as an explanation at the level of remorse Judas had
after witnessing his treatment at the hands of the leaders. Prior to Jesus'
capture, Judas had witnessed him walk through hostile crowds untouched.
However this time, they caught him and were beating him without mercy.
Another view of his name is that it literally means "man of Kerioth"
which is a place in Judah. All of the other disciples were from the north
(Israel) and Judas was therefore from the south (Judah). This view feels
there was possible envy in being an outsider. Considering he was the
treasurer and was also a thief (John 12:6), he probably had even less in common
with the other disciples - except for perhaps Matthew who had been a tax
collector. This view maintains that Judas finally broke when rebuked by
Jesus over Mary pouring an expensive perfume on Jesus' feet (John 12:5-6, Mark
14:4-9). Afterwards, according to Mark, he sought out the chief priests
to set up the betrayal (Mark 14:10).
Another view of Judas is that he was the smartest of the disciples and actually
understood more of what Jesus was up to. JC Superstar and the Last
Temptation of Christ take this position. In these movies, Judas is
the right hand man to Jesus. Although Judas takes his own life (Acts
1:15-20) and Jesus says that it would have been better that he not have been
born (Mark 14:21), Judas is redeemed in the end according to this view.
There is some controversy in all of the above views as to whether or not Judas was ever a believer/disciple in good standing. This comes largely from the point of view that a saved person could never lose his salvation. Those who are not steeped in this belief generally have no problem considering that Judas was in as good a standing with God and Jesus as any of the other 11. Thus, he could simply lose this status. On the other hand, if one couldn’t lose it in the first place, then only one possibility is valid – that he was never really a member of the group from the start. Click here for a list of 18 facts about Judas from Finis Dake.
The mystery of Judas will probably not be solved until we all take Basic Bible
101 up in heaven. Until then, we take the Judas story at face value or
continue to wonder how someone accepted into the 12 disciples of Jesus could
even with good intentions betray his master. In a similar manner, how
could Peter betray Christ three times? The truth is that had we been
there, we might have done the same.
Passover
A major historic part of the Easter story is the Jewish celebration of
Passover. Many of us know bits and pieces of what is involved from
watching the movie The Ten Commandments. In short, the enslaved Jews of Egypt were to splash blood on
their door posts in a special way so that the death
angel would pass-over them and not take the life of a first born. [Notice how the blood pattern forms a
cross.] While waiting, they were commanded to share in a historic ritual meal
that was to be passed on and celebrated for generations. Interestingly, this meal was to be eaten in
a reclining position symbolizing royalty and wealth. In our window and in
Michelangelo’s famous Sistine Chapel painting, the disciples are clearly seated
at a table.
Many Christians lately have been
participating in actual Jewish Passovers as well as Christian versions of the
Passover. In either case, my experience is that Christians who
participate in such have quite a bit more meaningful Easter experience.
I've included a Passover Seder [service] that I
wrote for leading Christians through a "Jewish Passover".
Christians should see relevant things for themselves as they celebrate the
Passover. For example, it is important to know about Elijah and his
relationship to the Passover. There is usually an empty chair and a glass
of wine set out for only for Elijah. Towards the end of the service, the
door is opened to see if Elijah would physically join in and bring the messiah
with him based on the last two verses of the Old Testament. Behold I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord (Mal 4:5-6).
I once celebrated a Passover with a Jewish family in Anniston, Alabama. When they opened the door for Elijah, there
was a momentary silent glance, but as expected, nothing happened.
Suddenly, their rather rambunctious dog ran in barking up a storm and got under
the table and started playing with everybody's feet. Also, one of
my favorite "Saturday Night Live" skits involved opening the door for
Elijah. Suddenly, Jerry Seinfeld came in as Elijah and made the typical
big Jerry Seinfeld scene. Then Dana Carvey followed as Jesus! What
a riot.
Another important part of the service is the AFIKOMEN which is the hidden
bread. This bread is hidden before the meal and all of the children
search high and low all over the house for the bread after the meal. When
it is found, the child that finds it is rewarded.
The Opportunity Class
