THE STORY OF BETRAYAL

“On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ He replied, ‘Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, “The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with My disciples at your house.”’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.”  (Matthew 26:17-20 NIV)

The Passover is meant to be a festive and celebratory time, filled with joy as participants remember that those who were slaves were now set free, at last becoming one people, the people of God. If indeed the Last Supper began with such a tone, it changed during the course of the evening. Even beyond Jesus' foreknowledge of events, there was great apprehension in the room. Everyone was conscious of the heightened tension between Jesus and the religious leaders. They all wondered what was going to happen to Jesus -- and to them. Would there be repercussions from His action in the Temple? Might He finally proclaim Himself Messiah?

Jesus cut through the uncertainty with a statement so electric it still echoes across the centuries. "One of you," He said, looking at them in the sudden stillness of the Seder celebration, "will betray Me." (Mark 14:18)

He knew which one it was, but He did not say. "Surely, not I?" the disciples asked. (Mark 14:19) "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with Me" (Mark 14:20), Jesus said, probably referring to the bowl of charoset before them.

The story of betrayal winds its way through the rest of the Gospel accounts of the final twenty-four hours of Jesus' life. Before the night was through, Judas would betray Jesus; Peter would deny Him; and the disciples would desert Him, leaving Jesus utterly alone as He faced trial at the hands of His enemies.

The echoes of Jesus' prediction and of the acts of betrayal by those closest to Him are still discomfiting. In our own age,… we realize that such betrayals are commonplace. Jesus might well have said, "All of you will betray Me;" and with that realization, we must look finally at ourselves. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “24 Hours That Changed the World” 

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MAUNDY THURSDAY SILENCE

“When the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, ‘With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.’… [When the supper was over], He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”  (Luke 22:14-20, 39-44 NKJV)

The liturgical mood of Holy Thursday is complex.  It begins with grandeur… Yet quickly enough the mood shifts as the liturgy moves to its conclusion.  The momentum of the Passion story asserts itself and we find ourselves aware of the coming, dark events, the necessary descent before the rising.  We move, as it were, into the garden with Jesus where He retires and waits.  We, like the disciples with whom He pleads to remain, watch and pray.

Traditionally, the Maundy Thursday service has no closure.  We leave the church unaccompanied by music or benediction or blessing.  The altar is stripped of the celebrative dressing.  The church is left stark and bare.  We hear the footfalls echo as we leave in silence. 

-- Wendy M. Wright in “The Rising” 

#6096

CHRIST IN GETHSEMANE

“Jesus went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”  (Matthew 26:29 NKJV)

We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. Yet the Christian insists that salvation is free. Well, yes and no! It is freely offered to the sinner, but at a tremendous cost to the Savior. Our appreciation of salvation is directly related to our recognition of its cost…

[In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed an agonizing prayer.] He knew that He would rise again in a matter of days, so death held no fear for Him. It was the uniqueness of His dying that horrified Him. He would become a sin offering (2 Corinthians 5:21), He would carry the responsibility and the penalty for the sins of the entire human race (Isaiah 53:5), and He would experience being forsaken by His Heavenly Father (Matthew 27:46; see Psalm 22:1). In agony Jesus contemplated not so much the physical suffering, although this would be considerable; nor the emotional anguish, although this would be excruciating; but the spiritual dimensions of His death, the likes of which no other human has ever experienced or ever will (see Mark 15:34). Yet He was willing to suffer even to that extent for the salvation of a sinful world -- He was committed to His Father’s will (Matthew 26:29,42). 

-- Excerpted from “Daily Study Bible for Men” with daily studies by Stuart Briscoe

#5825

A TOWEL AND BASIN

“But Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’”  (Matthew 20:25-28 NRSV)

One of the most meaningful and dramatic episodes in the life of Christ came on the eve of His death, in what was to be His last formal meeting with the disciples (John 13). Jesus girded Himself with a towel, took a basin, knelt, and washed the disciples' feet. If ever we who administer need a model for leadership, there it is with Jesus at the disciples' feet. Power is subordinated to service; authority cloaked by humility. The managerial tools are not ROIs (return on investment), MBOs (management by objective), LISs (labor information statistics), or PFRs (project feasibility reports) but a towel and basin -- instruments of service. 

-- Lawrence E. Holst in “Hospital Ministry”

#5824

YOUR GARDENS OF GETHSEMANE

How did Jesus endure the terror of the crucifixion? He went first to the Father with His fears. He modeled the words of Psalm 56:3: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”

Do the same with yours. Don’t avoid life’s Gardens of Gethsemane. Enter them. Just don’t enter them alone. And while there, be honest. Pounding the ground is permitted. Tears are allowed. And if you sweat blood, you won’t be the first. Do what Jesus did; open your heart.

And be specific. Jesus was. “Take this cup,” He prayed. Give God the number of the flight. Tell Him the length of the speech. Share the details of the job transfer. He has plenty of time. He also has plenty of compassion.

He doesn’t think your fears are foolish or silly. He won’t tell you to “buck up” or “get tough.” Jesus has been where you are. He knows how you feel.

And God knows what you need. That’s why we punctuate our prayers as Jesus did. “If you are willing…”

Was God willing? Yes and no. He didn’t take away the cross, but He took the fear. God didn’t still the storm, but He calmed the sailor.

Who’s to say He won’t do the same for you? 

-- Max Lucado in “Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear”

#5329

YOUR WILL BE DONE

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”  (Luke 22:42 NKJV)

Gaze in adoring wonder at the scene (Luke 22:39-46). The solidary figure etched against gnarled olive trees. The bloodlike sweat falling to the ground. The human longing: “Let this cup pass.” The final relinquishment: “Not My will but Yours be done.” We do well to meditate often on this unparalleled expression of relinquishment.

Here we have the incarnate Son praying through His tears and not receiving what He asks. Jesus knew the burden of unanswered prayer. He really did want the cup to pass, and He asked that it would pass. “If You are willing” was His questioning, His wondering. The Father’s will was not yet absolutely clear to Him. “Is there any other way?” “Can people be redeemed by some other means?” The answer – no! Andrew Murray writes, “For our sins, He suffered beneath the burden of that unanswered prayer.”

Here we have the complete laying down of human will. The battle cry for us is, “my will be done!” rather than, “Thy will be done.” 

-- Richard J. Foster in “Prayer”

#5067

CRIES TO GOD FOR DELIVERANCE

“Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in the miry depths,

    where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

    the floods engulf me.

I am worn out calling for help;

    my throat is parched….

But I pray to You, LORD,

    in the time of Your favor;

in Your great love, O God,

    answer me with Your sure salvation.

Rescue me from the mire,

    do not let me sink;

    deliver me… from the deep waters.

Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

    or the depths swallow me up

    or the pit close its mouth over me.

Answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of Your love;

    in Your great mercy turn to me.

Do not hide Your face from Your servant;

    answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.”  (Psalm 69: 1-3, 13-17 NIV)

We usually think of Jesus in the upper room as calmly and patiently preparing His disciples for their coming crisis; only in the garden are we shown His deep anguish over what lies ahead for Himself.  But if this verse -- "They hated me without a cause." (Psalm 69:4) -- occurred to Jesus as describing His enemies, surely He was also identifying with the rest of [Psalm 69] with its vivid description of overwhelming troubles and importune cries to God for deliverance.  What in the upper room was still under the surface was openly expressed in the garden.

-- John R. Cogdell in "The Humanity of Jesus Christ, as Revealed in Certain Psalms" 

#4817

JESUS’ HUMBLE ACT

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross.”  (Philippians 2:5-8 NRSV)

When we look again at Jesus' humble act of foot washing [at the Last Supper], we see why the disciples were unable to immediately grasp the significance of the act. Jesus lowered Himself into the position of a lowly slave, He served like a slave, He washed the disciples' feet like a lowest-of-the-low slave, because ultimately He was preparing to die the dehumanizing death of a slave. In essence this is the connection made in Philippians 2:5-8.

As He washed out dirt from between the disciples' toes, Jesus performed a parable of the cross. The disciples could not see the symbolic anticipation, not here, not now. The full explanation for why Jesus washed their feet would only become clear after the substitutionary atonement of the Savior on Good Friday. Then they would look back and understand the act of deep humility in the cross that brought us a once-for-all, head-to-toe, cleansing from our sin.

-- Tony Reinke in an article entitled “The Creator On His Knees”

#4570

A SONG OF PASSION

NOTE: Today, March 29, 2018, marks the 19^th anniversary of our SOUND BITES Ministry™.  It was begun in 1999 in memory of my son, Dustin, who had died on March 29, 1998 -- now 20 years ago. As we continue to move through Holy Week, I would invite you to share how God has used SOUND BITES to minister to you… and invite you to share SOUND BITES with others, inviting them to subscribe. Thank you for your support over the years. -- Rev. Dave Wilkinson

A SONG OF PASSION

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”  (Mark 14:26 NKJV)

How fitting that on this very night Christ, the coming King, would give voice to songs penned centuries earlier just for Him… Imagine the Son of God singing these words as the seconds ticked toward the cross… “The Lord is with Me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?... The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Whatever Christ sang as the Passover meal concluded that night, the words had significance for Him that the others never comprehended. I wonder if His voice quivered with emotion. Or did He sing with exultation? Perhaps He did both, just as you and I have done at terribly bittersweet moments when our faith exults while our sight weeps. One thing we know: Christ, above all others, knew He was singing more than words. That night He sang the score of His destiny.

-- Beth Moore in “Jesus, the One and Only”

#4307