Sunday, December 9, 2018
Matthew 26:20 says, Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. At the time for the passover meal, Jesus sat down with the disciples. We are not told where the man who owned the house was, but evidently the disciples and Jesus had a separate eating area. When God is using us to accomplish His will, we may not always be in the center of what is going on, but we need to be obedient non the less. Verse twenty-one states, And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Jesus had been teaching the disciples for a long time now, but He knew that one of them was not to really listening. Just because someone is always around Christians does not necessarily mean that they are a Christian, even if they celebrate all the Christian holidays. To be a Christian, a follower of Christ, requires a personal, spiritual relationship with Jesus. Verse twenty-two says, And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? Though this says that the disciples were sorrowful and asked if they were the one who would betray Jesus, there was one, Judas, who knew the answer. We might question why the other disciples had to ask if one of them was the one. If our faith is strong enough, we will not question our obedience to Christ, but the disciples were not at that point yet. If Judas was really sorrowful, I believe that it was because he saw an end to the material benefit of following Jesus. In verse twenty-three Jesus answers, And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. Jesus did not name anyone by name, but He let them know that He knew who it was that was going to betray Him. We can never fool God about our true relationship to Him. Verse twenty-four declares, The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. This was not just a warning to Judas, but to anyone who professes to follow Jesus and the betrays Him by their actions. Verse twenty-five states, Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. Judas didn't really have to ask the question for himself, but I believe asked it to see if Jesus really knew what he was going to do. If we decide to betray Jesus, we can be certain that He already knows that we are going to do it. This was not a case of Judas being selected as the one who had no choice but to betray Jesus. Though Judas knew what he was going to do, he was not somehow forced into doing it. He did so of his own free will. Verse twenty-six says, And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. This was the first Lord's Supper as we observe it today, and if it is to have real meaning then Christ does indeed need to be in the center of the observance and bless it. Nothing miraculous happens to the bread changing it to something else, but it is simply symbolic of the body of Christ. Verse twenty-seven says, And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; Then continuing in verse twenty-eight, For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Jesus gave thanks for the cup and told the disciples to drink it all, as it was symbolic of His shed blood. We are not covered with just a little of the blood of Christ when we accept Him as our Savior, but we are covered by all His blood. There is no partial salvation, only complete through the death of Christ. Verse twenty-nine states, But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. Jesus told the disciples that he would not drink again here on earth. Jesus' time to go to the cross was almost at hand, and He knew it and was attempting to prepare His disciples for it. I don't believe that God will ever send us into a situation unprepared if we are following Him in total obedience and faith. Verse thirty says, And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. We are told that the sang a hymn and went out to the mount of Olives. After we observe the Lord's Supper, we are to sing praises to Him, and then we are to go out into the world to do His work, and it means we must die to self will and live under the will of God.
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