Treason and Ambition walking hand-in-hand ...

Two conversations happened at that last supper so long ago, one on the heels of the other.  They may have even overlapped each other and occurred at the same time.  Yet the contents of each of them should have been polar opposites.  The disciples had always harbored a vision of what the long-promised Messiah was supposed to do when He got here.  And even with all the warnings, and all the evidence Jesus had offered them that this vision of an earthly conqueror was misplaced and incorrect; they clung to it even now.  Nothing could disrupt it.  That vision of an earthly king brought power with it.  And each of the disciples wanted their “fair share” of that power for themselves.  After all they had been with Jesus the longest.  They had been following Him everywhere, and witnessed so many many miracles.  The disciples knew the people were longing to crown Jesus as their king.  The people had even tried to forcibly crown Him king on several occasions.  All Jesus need do was accept the crown, and it would happen.  Rome would be thrown out of Israel forever.  All the other nations would come bow at the feet of Jesus, and of course Jesus would need some help in administering His kingdom forevermore.  Who better to help Jesus than say … me (each of the disciples pondered this idea with what they though was well deserved logic).  If this had been the only conversation held it would have been at least predictable, as it had been held more than few times before.

But think of the contrast in the setting of this perhaps one final argument over which of them should be the greatest disciple and leader in the new Kingdom.  Jesus offered the symbols of the Lamb throughout the meal pointing directly to His own death.  And they somehow just ignored all of it.  Prior to sitting down to eat, Jesus took on a towel of a servant, wrapped it around His own waist, and then proceeded to wash the filthy feet of each of His own disciples in abject humility.  Each one of them dumbfounded that the Son of God would stoop so low and do the work of a servant.  None them thought to do this.  That would have been too humiliating for any of them.  But here is Jesus doing it.  The King of the Universe is doing the dirty work of cleaning the filth off of each of them.  It was unthinkable.  It was a picture of humility we stand in awe of even today.  And despite it, it did not prevent the next argument over which of them would be the greatest.  How could their minds go from that kind of example of humility to completely ignoring it?  None were immune to this.  But it gets worse.

Luke offers us an insight into the unconverted mind and heart of someone who thinks themselves a believer.  He picks up in his gospel letter in chapter 22 beginning in verse 21 saying … “But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. [verse 22] And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! [verse 23] And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing.”  Jesus drops the bomb.  He has just performed washing of feet on everyone of His disciples.  Judas was in that number.  So was Peter, and John.  All of them should have been humbled by that act of service and love into silence.  Jesus then proceeds to offer us the symbolism of bread and wine as symbols of the sacrifice He is about to make for them as the Lamb of God, to take away the sins of the world.  Lambs die.  They don’t get a happy ending.  And now on top of all of this, Jesus is to be betrayed unto death, as all the prophecies have long foretold.  But how Jesus meets His end will be by the betrayal of one of His own disciples.  One of them.

And so where does the hearts and minds of His disciples immediately go?  Not in prayer.  But in argument with each other, as to which one of them was to be the betrayer of their master.  Can you imagine the face of Judas as this conversation begins.  Can you imagine the fear?  But then, can you imagine how Matthew must have felt as well?  Matthew was a tax collector.  He already had a history of betraying his people to the Romans, if he did it before he could do it again.  Imagine how many eyes looked his way.  These hearts could have reacted by praying first that it was not them, next for the heart of the guilty that whoever it was might still change his mind.  And not even just a “he”, Mary Magdeline had once been possessed by demons, in fact at least seven times, perhaps the demons were back in her.  Men had been betrayed by women many times in history, perhaps it was happening again.  Just ask Samson if that is possible.  And Jesus loved Mary like a daughter, but not like a wife, maybe that alone would be enough to push her into betrayal.  As the minds of the men stray back and forth across which one of them it could be they begin asking Jesus if it is them.  Hoping Jesus will prove their fidelity to the others.  But then the picture Luke paints goes to the unthinkable in this chaos.

Luke continues in verse 24 saying … “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”  Can you imagine this?  In the middle of not knowing if perhaps you were to betray Jesus to the Romans, ambition rears its ugly head, and now comes the argument - not over whether you are the betrayer, but whether you deserve to be the number two in His Kingdom.  Polar extremes.  You could very well be the hand that betrays the Master to His death.  But instead of worrying about this very real possibility, after all, Jesus does not lie.  You are consumed with proving you should be the number two leader in a kingdom that is not even meant to be.  Treason and Ambition walking hand in hand at the very table where your feet were just cleaned by the God of the Universe who did not think it too humiliating to clean you up Himself.  The unconverted minds and hearts of the disciples had not been broken yet,  Their pride was still in tact.  And Satan leveraged the door held open for him in that very place at that very time.  Imagine how discouraging hearing this ambitious argument must have been for Jesus at this particular time.

But Jesus does not scream at them to shut up (probably what I would have done).  He does not storm out unable to take it anymore.  He does not throw the wine at them and tell them how particularly unworthy each of them truly is.  No.  That is not our Jesus.  He suffers it all.  And even in the moments of His hardest night, already beginning to feel that He will be separated from the presence of God He can feel coming, Jesus is still patient with each of them, with each of us, whether we are converted, or just men and women who claim to believe, while pride still firmly in place, humility no where to be found.  Luke continues in verse 25 saying … “And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. [verse 26] But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. [verse 27] For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.”

Here is the answer of Jesus to greed and ambition.  If you want to be number one, or number two, then be the chief servant of all.  Jesus offers His own life and example to them as proof of this idea.  Jesus is the God of the Universe and His entire life has been one of humble service to those who did not deserve it, to those who did not believe, to those Romans who oppressed His people, to religious leaders who hate Him.  Jesus serves all without any hesitation,  Not just His disciples.  Not just when they were clean, but when they were very dirty.  The King of all, has been the servant of all.  So to the argument about who wants to be the greatest, here is your path to the top, or rather the bottom, hard to tell the difference based on the words of Jesus.  And all of the sudden they did shut up.  For this was NOT what their pride had in mind.  This was not about fancy robes, and rings of power.  This was about wearing servants towels wrapped around their waist, not just once, but for all, forever.  In that position, you find yourself closest to Christ.

And it works in many aspects of life.  You want a fantastic marriage?  Then give up all ideas about what you want out of it, and start putting on that servant’s towel, and find ways to serve your spouse from top to bottom.  Don’t look for them to serve you first, in fact don’t expect them to ever serve you at all.  Instead learn to find your joy in serving them in every way, whether big or small.  Let service become how you live and how you love and start at home with the one you are supposed to love the most.  But don’t let it end there.  You want a better relationship with your parents?  Then find a way to begin serving mom and dad as best you can in any way they need, not that they ask you for, but way beyond that to anything your service-built-heart can imagine.  You want a better relationship with your kids?  The same approach works as a path to it.  You looking to make a real impact at work, no matter what your job is.  Find a way to serve your co-workers, meet their needs, do anything you can for them.  Become that servant of all, not for the goal of becoming number one, but for the goal of learning to love to serve.  Let service come to change who you are, how you think.  Let humility open you up, to having Jesus change the core of you from the inside out.

Given this philosophy of total service, having authority in the Kingdom of heaven does not come with power and prizes for you, it comes with you taking on the burden of service to others.  And so Jesus tactfully grants them an unexpected answer to their prayers.  Luke picks back up in verse 28 saying … “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. [verse 29] And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; [verse 30] That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”  Whether this was a future reference to serving in heaven, or a closer reference to serving in the new church Jesus was reforming and recreating;  judging or leading does not come with power over others, it comes with care, concern, redemption, and the service for others.  Notice the Kingdom Jesus grants His disciples did not mean they would ever rule the world.  In fact, they all died martyrs just like He did perhaps except John.  They never had power or authority over the world, but did have it in spiritual matters, performing miracles in the name of Jesus long after Jesus was out of our world.

And there is no reason why that kind of church could not return with us.  We need only embrace humility, and learn to love to serve, and find peace in joining the redemptive ministry of Jesus.  Where I might have screamed at the disciples to “shut up” and stop arguing, Jesus is patient, gives them new insights about becoming a servant of all.  Then our Jesus offers them more rewards they do not deserve, nor have they earned, but offers them these gifts because He loves them.  Just like He loves you and I.  No different.  Are we willing to embrace humility and find the recreation of our souls and hearts?  Or will we blind ourselves in pride, and reject anything that even resembles humility lest it embarrass us in front of whoever?  At that last supper of Jesus, a traitor sat right there and was given every opportunity to stop from his treason.  He did not.  Is that you?  Is that me?  Are we still clinging to ideas about what we think God should be doing and are unhappy He does not?  Perhaps looking to help Him get the job done like we think it should.  Or have we finally come to a point where we can lose the pride, hope it is not us, and ask Jesus if we are that traitor, and beg for help if it is us.  Whether treason or ambition, neither should have any place in the heart of a servant, in the heart of a disciple, or in your heart, or my heart.  It is time to let all that go, and just follow Jesus for a change.  Not trying to lead, but content to follow behind and minister as He presents the opportunities for us to serve.

 

It Will Begin with Promises Held in Symbolism ...

A wedding ring is supposed to hold a clear purpose.  It is supposed to be a symbol to all who see it, that the person wearing it is married.  But wearing a ring is no defense to the actions of evil.  What begins in the heart is seldom forestalled by a certain ring on a certain finger.  When you think about it, Adam offered Eve no such symbol, yet he was her husband for more than 900 years before his death, and will remain her husband for all of eternity when the saved are called up to redemption.  A ring was not needed to make that promise, or to hold to it.  His heart aligned to hers, and hers to him, was more than enough to make that marriage so.  Hearts display fidelity, or they do not, rings have little effect.  Yet some modern Christians get lost in the idea that a wedding ring is some sort of fence to keep the evils of betrayal at bay.  They put faith in the symbol, instead of the in the God who alone can keep the hearts pure.  But then as noted above, these rings were never given to us by God to be a part of our marriage services or lives, they were symbols we chose to adopt on our own.

I see women who wear necklaces of gold or silver with a Greek fish symbol, or a cross, as the only piece on the chain.  The Greek fish was to symbolize how early Christians could recognize each other during a time of violent persecution.  Though more often this symbol was drawn in the sand and quickly erased, not put on constant display for any to see.  And in our world today, there are few places where persecution exists, and where it does, this symbol would not be a secret anymore, it would be a neon sign effectively identifying a Christian to go persecute.  The cross on the other hand is more of a mystery to me.  For reasons I do not understand, Christians choose to venerate and treat with reverence the most ignominious symbol of torture and death ever to be invented by the spirits of cruelty.  We make them out of gold and silver and hang them around our necks.  We adorn our churches with fantastic stained glass depictions, or tall steeples on the tallest towers of our church buildings to declare to all who see it that this is a “Christian” church.  We talk about the cross as if “it” were the magnet drawing us to Christ at the most painful moments of His life.  Why?  Why not venerate the stone rolled away on the tomb that could not hold our Savior down?  Why do we pick the moment of death to uplift, and seem to ignore the moment of resurrection, is it because it is not as pretty on a necklace?

But while Christ was crucified on a Roman Cross, He was put there by the leaders of His own church.  And it was not Christ who chose that fate, we chose it for Him.  He died willingly, we made sure it was the most painful way ever.  Christ did not offer the cross as our symbol of our salvation.  We chose that as well.  And now we sing about it.  We wear tiny little ornate crosses around our necks.  We tell each other there is grace found at the foot of the cross, as if it is found no where else.  And again we get caught up in a symbol Jesus never offered, as if it is protection against vampires and evil of all varieties.  It is not.  It is a symbol of wicked evil we choose to venerate over the symbol of a heart steeped in love for others.  And so we expect the Christian to be recognized by Greek fish symbols, or the wearing of a Roman torture device, but notably NOT for the fact that said Christian loves other so hard nobody can scarcely believe it.  Love has always changed the world for the better.  What we wear is a symbolism we choose for ourselves that does not increase our love one iota.

But Jesus did offer us modern believers some symbolism.  Not just empty remembrances of historical events, but rather promises embedded within the symbols.  Promises we cling to.  Luke recounts now the main events of the death of Jesus Christ accomplishing the salvation of you and I.  They begin in a most unlikely place, at dinner.  But not just any dinner, a Passover dinner.  You may remember the Passover dinner contains unleavened bread, which is the bread of haste.  No time to let it rise.  Just get it in the oven and eat the tortilla, or pita bread, or naan bread if you prefer, whatever your culture may be.  Also at this meal were bitter herbs to remind Israelites of their bitter time as slaves to Pharaoh.  And perhaps our bitter time as slaves to sin.  A lamb offering used to spread blood over the doorposts would also serve as the meat at such a dinner, though there is no mention of that in the gospel accounts.  Is that detail significant?  On the other hand the drinking of pressed grapes is mentioned.  A delicacy unlikely to be experienced by any captive Israelite on the night when this feast was first commemorated.

Luke begins in chapter 22 picking up in verse 14 saying … “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. [verse 15] And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”  Luke omits a preliminary of Jesus washing the feet the disciples.  Other accounts offer this.  But Luke does capture how much Jesus was really looking forward to eating this meal with His disciples using the words “before I suffer”.  You will note it is not even His death that occupies His mind, but it is the suffering He will endure at having to be separated from the presence of God while He carries the sins of this world on His shoulders.  Jesus has never known a break in that connection, and He can sense it is coming very soon.  It will begin this very night in fact.  So this meal Jesus will enjoy with His merry band of followers is the last moment of reprieve before what comes is an agony no mortal will ever understand.  Time with those you love is more important than anything this world will ever have to offer.  And how casually so many of treat the meals we spend with each other, until they are gone forever.

Luke continues in verse 16  saying … “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. [verse 17] And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: [verse 18] For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.”  This is it for Jesus.  This is not just dinner, not just a special Passover feast, but it is His last dinner, His last supper on this earth.  Over the next few days, no one will think to offer Jesus any food.  You don’t feed the torture victim, you starve Him, as it adds to the torture.  He won’t be eating again until our salvation is fulfilled.  And as for pressed grapes (juice not wine), He won’t be drinking that until after the second coming and we can drink it with Him in heaven,  What a wonder I expect that taste will be.  Jesus has been waiting more than 2000 years to taste it, I should imagine it is going to be earth shattering.  The point here though, is that this particular dinner is different, special, and is something Jesus plans to mark as well.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. [verse 20] Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”  And here is where our salvation is bound up in symbolism and intended to be committed to our collective memories.  So the eating of this Passover style bread, and the drinking of pressed grapes, is supposed to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made to save us.  Jesus was to be lamb.  The innocent blood to cover for our guilty blood.  His body given for us.  His blood shed for us.  Now we modern Christians do just what our Pharisee forefathers liked to do with stuff like this.  We create pageantry out of it.  We give it a ceremonial name like “communion” and attach this ceremony to calendars to offer it “every so often”.  Outside of that, go about your normal routines.  But when “communion” comes up, we do things in a special way.  We may even setup a ceremonial foot washing service ahead of the trinkets of food and grape juice.

But that is not what Jesus proscribed.  No, what Jesus said, was … every time you eat bread, think of me.  At every meal.  Every day.  Nothing special about it per se.  The bread is the reminder.  And every time you drink pressed grapes think about how my blood was shed for you.  Jesus attached no names to these behaviors.  Jesus attached no special calendars.  And eating a tiny ceremonial morsel of bread, or small sip of grape juice, does not make it special.  It defeats the point.  Eating meals with our loved ones is the back story.  Bread is a frequent menu item at these meals.  Grape juice perhaps more rare.  But anytime we do choose to consume these things we are meant to remember Jesus offering body and blood for us.  We don’t have to be in a church to get it.  And as for being humble enough to wash each others’ feet, we should be that humble, and provide that level of service every single day, to every single person we come across.  You don’t need communion to make that special either.  That defeats the purpose.  Jesus was servant of all of us all the time.  So we should be to each other, all the time, to every single person you encounter.  Especially your own family.  If you find it hard to serve them, you have found your practice grounds to get better at serving.  Just don’t let it end there.  Take that service out and find others who need it, and keep serving.

And you married couples who have been relying on a ring to make you feel married.  Imagine what it would be like for the husband to rub the tired aching feet of his wife every single evening at the end of the day.  Not just for 2 minutes, but for as long as you possibly can.  And imagine if you wives rubbed the tired backs and heads of your husbands.  Not just for 2 minutes, but for as long as you possibly can.  Serving each other with affection, with love, with attention to the needs of each other.  Now add to that some toast, and grape juice, from time to time, and you have your own version of family communion where you can remember what Jesus has done for us.  You don’t need “church” to help you embrace the true symbols Jesus has offered.  You only need humility, service, and time to share a little food with each other with some particular ingredients and drink.  And the beauty is, you can do it anytime, with anyone.  Call out what Jesus has done, and you unlock the promises of your own salvation in the doing, in the remembering, and in the serving with love.

For so long we have chosen to create our own ideas of symbols that hold promise.  And we ignore the ones Jesus actually gave us.  We box those up and only attempt to experience them 4 times a year.  We trust to trinkets of silver or gold, and ignore the humility in our hearts that would lead us to submit, to allow Jesus to teach us what it really means to love.  A Christian should be easily identifiable because we love so hard, and so wide, there becomes no other explanation than we must know Jesus on a first name basis.  A true experience with Jesus leads to that kind of love.  A casual experience with Jesus results in no real changes of the heart.  Where are you with that?  Has Jesus so rocked your world, you find yourself overwhelmed with the needs all around you?  Or do you tend to pass that need right by?  Are you ready to remember the body of Jesus offered for you every time you eat bread, or would that idea just seem like it is too much for you right now.  But your salvation is there every single day.  Why not remember it.  Why not embrace it.  Why not let it over run you like a semi-truck going 90mph?  And watch what Jesus can do with the life you offer Him.  He may just change the world … through you.  That is the kind of promise He makes in the symbols He offers.

 

Back Story and Preliminaries ...

Sometimes when we know the story of a great event, we tend to focus on the major items that transpire in that story.  And while the main events do not ever change; they also on occasion lack context, or lack the backstory, that led up to them.  Were we to only know the main events, that might have been all the information we ever had with no opportunity to see the context.  But when the little things are known to us, we can study them, and find how all the large events were influenced by all the thousand little things that happened right up to the moments of the large actions or story elements.  In this case, the Bible is wonderful at revealing to us all the back stories, and preliminaries that were going on right up to the big story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not just trip and fall and find Himself nailed on to a cross.  In fact killing Him would prove no easy task.  It took planning.  Before planning, it took motivation.  Before motivation it took hate, jealousy, and many conspirators of like mind.  And running counter to this effort, was the Love of Jesus inspiring the hearts of believers to make them want to make Him king instead of Roman victim.  So what does Luke offer us regarding some of these backstories and preliminaries?  Quite a lot actually.  His account picks up at the end of the 21^th chapter and beginning of the 22^st chapter of his gospel letter.

If we were to roll the tape back all the way to the beginning, the idea of killing of Jesus actually begins in the mind of Satan because of the jealousy he had even in the perfection of heaven.  A war was fought with that as one of its goals all the way back then.  Satan lost.  He was thrown out of heaven.  Satan determines the best way perhaps the only way he can hurt God, is to hurt what God loves, namely us.  So in the garden of Eden when Jesus foretells the serpent biting the heal of Christ, Satan determines even then not to do this directly, but instead to use us, the targets of redemption, to tempt us to reject that redemption, and determine to kill Jesus on his behalf.  It will not be Satan who rips Jesus apart when the time comes.  It will be mankind who will hate Jesus so much, they will do it for him, slowly, and with great malice.  We were destined to be the instruments of Jesus’ destruction.  This was the plan created and acted out by Satan and all the dark forces aligned with him.

Fast forward to the live ministry of Jesus in Israel.  Jesus teaches with authority, authority the priests have not known, indeed no mortal man has ever known.  He teaches purity and truth in a way no one ever understood.  Jesus loves so strongly His love is tangible, it fills the air, rests in His eyes, and pierces you to the depths of your very soul.  And in the connection to the will of the Father, and because of God’s so great love for us, Jesus dares to heal the afflicted on the Sabbath day.  This puts Him at odds with the ruling class.  They teach the law absent of love, and do not enjoy that absence pointed out by the loving actions of Jesus on our behalf.  Instead of rejoicing at the miracles of healing like the crowds did, they grumbled that healing could have waited until after Sabbath as the law demands.  But the law never demanded a lack of love from us.  Instead it demands nothing but love from us.  Were our actions always to be motivated by love, we would already be keeping the ten commandments even better than we ever thought possible.  But this supposed disobedience of the law by Jesus in showing love, and with His disregard for the leadership of the church that Jesus Himself had created in the days of Moses; it serves as the catalyst to feed the hatred of those who think themselves in charge of the church of God and the faith of Israel.

Hatred grows.  Priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees unite in a plot to kill Jesus for the sake of God’s church, and for the sake of order in Israel.  In an irony of all ironies, it would not just be some random mob who would finally kill Jesus, it would be the leaders of His own church who would do it.  And then, to make it as painful as possible to God, the betrayal of Jesus would come from one of His own disciples, one who was close to Jesus for the length of His ministry, included in every miracle, and act of love, or sermon of redemption.  Yes, church leaders, and “that guy” would wind up being the instruments of the torture and death of Jesus.  But acting against all of this, was the love of the people for Jesus, who did believe in Him being the Messiah, and loved Him because of what Jesus had done for so many of them.  So many who walked now, who could never walk before.  So many with sight restored, hearing restored, limbs restored, demons thrown out, and souls set free from the slavery of sin.  The masses loved Jesus, even if for selfish reasons.  And the small group of conspirators had to be careful of killing Jesus lest the fury of an angry crowd wind up killing them instead.  That kind of thing had happened before.

So as the time draws close Luke sets the back stories and preliminaries to the greatest and saddest event in the story of our salvation.  He picks up in chapter 21 at the very end in verse 37 saying … “And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives. [verse 38] And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple, for to hear him.”  A pattern as to the whereabouts of Jesus begins to emerge.  As His hour draws closer, he preaches in public view in the daytime.  But more importantly at night He seeks the comfort of solitude in the Mount of Olives.  Had the Sanhedrin known about this nightly routine to be with God, they would have quickly made plans to catch Him alone right there, perhaps even killed Him there without witnesses or trial.  But that was not what scripture had long since foretold.  Yet this opportunity was right under their noses, and they did not discern it.  Satan knew.  You can bet he longed to see his plans accelerated right there, but was unable to make them come out that way.  God was always in control.

Luke continues in chapter 22 in verse 1 and says … “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. [verse 2] And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.”  Imagine, not just some random sect of low level offended priests trying to break into the leadership; no rather, the chief priests, the very pinnacle of leadership, and their lawyers looking for ways in how they might kill Him.  But their actions had to be considered and tempered by the fear of an outraged mob should they kill the One who that mob loved.  Ignorant people can still wield a sword.  And any chief priest might find himself skewered on the spear of an angry Israelite should they be seen trying to kill the Messiah the mob loved, even if they did not fully understand everything He said.  Perhaps nor do we understand it yet.  The priests must find a way to kill Jesus, without being seen to kill Jesus.

Luke continues in verse 3 saying … “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. [verse 4] And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. [verse 5] And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. [verse 6] And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude.”  The time is short now.  And Satan enters into Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus.  Satan did this himself.  And what is missing in these verses seems to be any sign of resistance on the part of Judas.  I wonder, did he welcome Satan in?  Did he even perceive it?  Or are we humans so weak that possession by demons and Satan is child’s play for them, and inevitable for us. 

We modern Christians trust in the power of Jesus to keep this from happening to us.  But if we are greedy, like perhaps Judas was greedy, do we hold the door open for dark forces that Jesus would have otherwise shut to protect us.  Or if we think God should be doing something He has not, and we set out to “help” God do it, do we also force a door open to demons that should otherwise be shut.  Judas took the money, that would argue for greed.  He agreed to betray Jesus in a secret alone time, that would argue for not getting caught.  And notice the chief priests were “glad” to have Judas helping them out.  They were glad to be bargaining with Satan in the person of Judas.  How often might you be “glad” to be bargaining with Satan in the person of others and you do not even know it, all because you are bent on actions God does not want you to perform.  The bigger fear being, that it is Satan who has gotten in to you, causing you anger, stealing forgiveness, accentuating all your base instincts, and perhaps you do not even see it.  Or worse like the chief priests, believe you are doing the will of God, when you are clearly not doing that will, only your own will masquerading as the will of God.

Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. [verse 8] And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. [verse 9] And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?”  Almost time for the last supper.  But have you ever wondered where that upper room came from?  None of the disciples owned anything like that.  It would not be held at the home of Lazarus.  So where did it come from?  And more importantly, if His disciples had no idea where they were holding this supper, then it would be impossible for chief priests to grab Jesus while he was eating and alone with His closest followers.  Notice too, Jesus only sends Peter and John, His two most trusted disciples, to go to find the room for where the Passover supper will be held.  Judas holding the money, might have been dispatched with others to secure the food they needed.  That too would deny him the chance to figure out where to betray Jesus.

Luke continues in verse 10 saying … “And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. [verse 11] And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? [verse 12] And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. [verse 13] And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.”  Notice, Jesus does not provide a name for the intended host of their Passover feast.  If Peter and John had spoken with the other disciples, they only had a man with a pitcher of water to go on, no names.  And then the timing of meeting that man would depend on Peter and John arriving in the city, not on Judas, or any other disciple, only Peter and John.  Then they followed him, to a destination only the man carrying the water was aware of.  On entering the house, they were to request a place for Passover, and the owner of the home would welcome them into a large upper guest chamber that was already furnished for them all.  They would eat there.  All things revealed to them in small increments of time, none of it ahead of time.  As they followed the instructions of Jesus, everything unfolded as He said. 

They had no idea the secrecy was needed to keep the chief priests from crashing through the door and killing them all alone and in private.  They had no idea that Satan himself had entered into Judas one of the trusted and loved disciples just like themselves.  And Judas probably did not know where the feast would be held.  He may have suspected back in Bethany at the home of Lazarus.  That would make sense.  Lazarus had the room.  After all they never mention the name of this host who gave them the room.  Likely Judas never knew him.  Never would suspect his generosity, and by the time he figures it out, he has no chance to leave to betray Jesus, lest the other disciples figure out his plan too early for him to act it out.  Judas too has some fear of what the others might do to him, if they knew he was planning to be a traitor.  Fear is the hallmark of the enemy.  Terror is in his toolkit.  Every time humans encounter the angels of God, the conversation or message always begins with “Do not be afraid”.  If you worry or fear about actions you take, about getting caught, about suffering the consequences, be sure you are on the enemy’s path and heading to a destination he intends not God.  Secrecy might be another indicator.  Peter and John did not even know why Jesus asked what He did.  But Judas knew full well, he must keep his evil intents secret.  He must lie to the others to protect his secret.  For the truth would surely cause pain, likely his own.

In the next part of this story in our next BLOG entry we will examine the last supper.  And even throughout his account, Luke provides us with more details, and more context of what went on during that event.  And the lessons there are meant for us even today.  But in reviewing the context Luke has already offered, perhaps the most important lesson of these preliminaries, is to follow what Jesus says, and not what we think on our own.  For it is our ideas that so often lead us on paths of the enemy, even when we are blind to see it.  Judas takes his own actions at the behest of Satan.  Peter and John do what Jesus said.  Judas is reassured by the leadership of the church, that what he is doing is the highest form of service to the church and the nation.  Peter and John are reassured by nothing, other than when they do what Jesus said, they discover everything unfolds in small bits of time, not all at once, but everything just like He said it would.  It is not our confidence that insures what we do is right, it is our humble obedience even when we are uncertain.  It is our faith in Jesus to lead, and open doors, when to us, everything looks impossible.  But even more lessons were coming …