2024-12-12A
A. OVERVIEW.
As in the rest of this series on the Gospels, mainly the Gospel according to Luke is discussed since it is the most comprehensive record of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Bible students should however, over a period of time, also study each of the other Gospels.
This study guide deals with the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples, His painful spiritual struggle in Gethsemane, betrayal by Judas and, finally, His arrest.
But before we get to that, it is important that we note how He faced these traumatic events; His spiritual attitude towards this most important part of His ministry.
B. JESUS FACED HIS CRUCIFIXION WITH PURPOSE AND DETERMINATION.
And it happened in the fulfilling of the days of His taking up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. (Luk 9:51).
… On account of this I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isa 50:7).
In both texts we see Jesus’ determination to fulfill His Father’s will to surrender Himself to be crucified for the sins of mankind. It is said that He made his forehead like a flint. Flint stone is very hard. Striking two together causes sparks capable of lighting a fire. We could summarise these two texts as follows: “Jesus set his face as flint and began walking purposefully towards Jerusalem to be crucified.”
Notice how the same Jesus whose face had radiated so much love as He touched and cleansed outcast lepers and raised a child from the dead, handing it back to its weeping mother, now made His face like flintstone to prepare Himself for the fiery trial that lay ahead of Him.
In this He set us a perfect example for we too will face traumatic challenges for the sake of His Name, situations in which we will stand alone against the accusations and persecutions of wicked people, even those pretending to be Christians but living a worldly life.
And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it. (Matthew 10:38,39).
The life of a Christian is not all “moonlight and roses”, not just loving smiles, but also requires a rock-solid determination to do the will of God, come what may. This is because the devil sometimes launches all-out attacks to destroy our relationship with God. He may use someone you love dearly but is living in sin to entice you to do likewise. Such a loved one you may have to reject brusquely, causing a break in relationship, because you love the Lord Jesus so much more.
When you take a bold stand for Jesus, there will be many who will crucify you with their harsh words. Their hurtful remarks will go through you like the nails that pierced your Master’s hands and feet, but you will have to set your will as a flint on doing the Lord’s will because you realise that there is no other way to go.
C. JESUS’ LAST DAYS OF MINISTRY.
And in the days He was teaching in the temple. And in the nights He went out, and lodged in the mount called the Mount of Olives. (Luk 21:37).
His final teaching was not to the heathen but to his own people, delivered at the Temple, the very centre of their religious activities. Compelled by love, He afforded them, the descendants of his friend Abraham and his beloved servant, David, a final opportunity to accept him as their Mesiah. He spoke on very signinicant topics, foretelling the destruction of the temple and the signs that will be preceding his later return to earth, concluding with a warning to be ready for his coming.
He also, up to the very end, set an example of a lifestyle conducive to the preparing for his return. The simplicity of his daily living brings one down to earth. The Prince of heaven slept outside at night, on the slope of the Mount of Olives. During the day He ministered at the temple. Towards sunset all except the night staff, returned home where they could wash off the day’s sweat and dust, enjoy a nice plate of food, then crawl into a soft warm bed and sleep peacefully, sheltered from cold and rain. The Lamb of God however, rolled Himself into His cloak among the rocks and trees of the Garden of Gethsemane and there He fell asleep, exhausted. Early next morning, He was back at His post in the temple. He did not consider His own comfort. The Kidron stream probably was the only available running water where He could wash himself.
(Are we willing to be sent to a remote place and face hardships so that others can be saved?)
D. THE LAST LAP TO THE WINNING POST: THE CROSS.
The time for Jesus’ ministry to man by way of teaching and healing the sick had, after three and a half years, been concluded. Now He had to do what only He could: making the greatest sacrifice ever, the payment by which man could be reconciled to God.
E. THE FORCES OF DARKNESS COMBINE TO KILL JESUS. (Please read Luk 22:3-6, Matt 26:1-5 and Mark 14:10,11).
The devil now was ready to kill the Son of God. He probably thought that by destroying Him he could retain his rulership on earth, for he was roaming the globe and had nowhere else to go. With this in mind, he prepared his disciples to do his evil work on his behalf. They were the High Priest, the Scribes and one of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot. These joined forces. The High Priest took the lead, awaiting an opportunity to secretly arrest Jesus where the public would not be able to interfere.
F. BETRAYAL, AND THAT BY AN INNER CIRCLE DISCIPLE. (Please Luk 22:1-6. Also recorded in Matt 26:14-16, Mark 14:10).
Judas, who knew where Jesus spent His nights, saw his opportunity and agreed with the High Priest to lead his squad of Temple guards and police to Him on condition that he be prepaid 30 pieces of silver for his services.
G. A VENUE FOR HOLDING THE PASSOVER. (Please read Luke 22:7-13. See also Matthew 26:17-19 and Mark 14:12-16).
See how wonderfully the Father provided in the needs of His Son and how the Son knew the thoughts of His Father and could tell His disciples exactly where to go to find a suitable place where they could enjoy the Passover together. When we earnestly seek to do God’s will, we will be led clearly in the detail of performing it. He will sometimes cause mountains of problems to melt into smooth paved roads by which we can travel quickly and effortlessly to reach his goal for us.
H. THE LAST PASSOVER TO BE HELD.
The Passover feast was held to commemorate the Israelites’ deliverance and exodus from Egypt. They were to recall how, in that land of slavery, they had to eat unleavened bread on the night of their deliverance and were to put the blood of a lamb on their doorposts and lintels so the angel of death would “pass over” their firstborn. Moses had prescribed that this feast be kept by all generations, and this is what the group now did.
I. THE FIRST HOLY COMMUNION TO COMMEMORATE THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.
Jesus took this opportunity to reveal to them what the feast symbolized, namely that He would come into the world as the Father’s lamb to give Himself as the supreme and final sacrifice to atone for the sins of man. All the previous animal sacrifices pointed to the sacrifice He would make within the next few hours by dying on a cross, for the blood of an animal could not atone for the sins of man (Heb 10:4).
To explain this sacrifice to His disciples, He took bread and wine and gave it to them saying:
Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of Me. In the same way He took the cup also, after supping, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood; as often as you drink it, do this in remembrance of Me.” 26 For “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show the Lord’s death until He shall come. (1Cor 11:25).
This ended the Old Testament Passover and instituted the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Communion which Christians celebrate in memory of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. This, then, is how it must be done until He returns to us on the clouds.
J. JUDAS FINALLY DECIDES TO BETRAY JESUS.
Then Jesus told them that one of those who were with him at the table , would betray him. In the Gospel of John (13:27) we read that after He had said this, the devil took final control of Judas so that he left the upper room and went forth to the Chief Priest offering to lead his squad to Jesus.
What a terrible sin he committed! For three years plus he had been walking with Jesus wherever He went, listened to His precious Words of teaching, witnessed His multitude of miracles, personally experienced His love and care and now he turned about and betrayed Him, like a dog tearing the hand that had fed him. The Lord called him the “son of perdition” (John 17:12), adding that it would have been better for him never to have been born.
Why did Judas steep so low, committing such a despicable deed? The answer is that he never was a disciple of Jesus at heart. For example: as Jesus’ treasurer he carried his purse and at times stole the funds donated as sustenace for Him and his group of disciples. He also was first to object when Mary used her very expensive ointment to anoint their Master ahead of his cricifixion and burial. The bottomline is: he never loved Jesus.
We must take care to deerly appreciate the grace God bestows on us. Every time we reject it by stubbornly choosing to do our own will, we allow a piece of the Judas heart to enter into our lives. Eventually the devil himself wiil enter us as he did with Judas destroying all the good that God had worked within us during the course of many years. From then on there will be no hope to be reconciled to the Lord anymore for we will have trampled underfoot the very Blood of God’s Lamb.
K. FOUR MORE IMPORTANT UPPER ROOM EVENTS.
The following events that took place in the upper room, need to be mentioned briefly before we follow Jesus to Gethsemane.
a. “I am the greatest”, “No, I am”. (Please read Luke 22:24-30).
Mercifully, this meeting was held behind closed doors, to which members of the public were not allowed. How disappointing it must have been for Jesus that His top leaders were engaged in a war of words with each other about who among them qualified to exercise authority over the others and over His entire Kingdom – Ambition. Were they any different from the Pharisees who stood on the street corners praying loudly to be seen by men?
Shortly before, while on their way to Jerusalem, the mother of James and John had approached Jesus with a similar request. She had requested Him to grant her two sons special positions of honor in His Kingdom: one at his right hand and the other at his left. This had greatly disturbed the other disciples, showing that they had secretly been desiring those places themselves.
He had then explained to them that greatness in God’s Kingdom is measured by the degree to which you are willing to humble yourself and serve like a servant, without recognition or admiration. You even have to be willing to lay down your life for others as He would soon do. Qualities such as humility, service and sacrifice were what counted in his Kingdom and were the measuring instruments by which a person’s standing and ability were determined. Furthermore, only the Father made all appointents, including those to the highest leadership positions.
That teaching clearly did not resonate with them, because now, shortly afterwards, they were once again wrestling for places of honour around His table and throne, and again Jesus had to explain that it was a Kingdom principle that the eldest should become like the youngest and a leader like a servant.
b. Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. (Please read John 13:2-17).
Perhaps it was this very argument that led Jesus to rise from the table and, in the presence of the twelve, take off His outer garment, tie a towel around His waist, pour water into a basin, and begin to wash their feet. This was a task that should have been performed by a servant before the meal, but since none were present and none of them had taken the opportunity to take on that humble task, Jesus had to do it himself. They thus let the opportunity to distinguish themselves as potential leaders, slip through their fingers.
Jesus, however, did not write them off, but asked if they understood what He wanted to convey to them. Then He implored them to follow His example in future.
Also instructive is the interaction between Him and Peter who would not allow Him to wash his feet. Jesus’ explanation amounts to the fact that man, when he is born again, is washed completely clean by the Blood of the Lamb, Christ. However, because he has constant contact with the sinful world, just as his physical feet have contact with the dust of the earth, his “spiritual feet” must be washed continually for the rest of his life. This is Jesus’ task and will be His as long as the world continues to exist. In a spiritual sense, Jesus will therefore, even after His ascension, still do the work of a servant, washing the feet of His disciples.
This teaching, together with the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper, that we must drink His Blood and eat his Body, also indicates our total dependence on Him.
c. Peter’s unintentional boasting. (Please read Luke 22:31-34. See also Matt 26:31-35, Mark 14:27-31).
And he said to Him, Lord, I am ready to go with You, both into prison and into death. 34 And He said, I say to you, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before you shall deny knowing Me three times. (Luk 22:33,34).
Peter’s intention was good, honest and sincere, but he did not yet know his own weakness. Jesus had prophetic insight into the future and warned him, even though He knew that it would happen anyway. However, the fact that Jesus, knowing in advance that he would betray him, yet, did not reject him then, would later, after the tragic event, help Peter to accept that Jesus had forgiven him.
This warning also served a good purpose in another way. The crucifixion would come as a severe shock to the disciples for it would seem that Jesus had been too weak to stand up against his enemies. However, when recalling that He had prophesied this beforehand would make them realize that everything had happened according to God’s premeditated plan and that Jesus had not, because of his own weakness, been overcome by the devil and mankind.
d. Jesus teaches His disciples and prays for them (Please read John 13:31- 17:26).
These last chapters are extremely precious. It is like a father’s deathbed conversation with his loved ones; his wife and children. He knows that his time is running out and wants to convey to them some important thoughts and then, finally, pray for them.
Jesus speaks to them about the house that He is going to prepare for them, the way there, the Comforter that He will send them and what He will do for them, that He and the Father will also come to them and live with them, that He will come to get them in due time, that He will leave His peace with them, that whatever they ask the Father in His Name, He will give them, that He is giving them a new commandment, namely to love one another, and much more.
His subsequent prayer, known as his High Priesterly prayer, speaks of an intimate, childlike communion with His Father and is also a rearward glance on His ministry. He had faithfully carried out all the Father had sent Him to do and would complete his assignment by his death on the cross the next day. Thus He would empty the cup His Father put into His hand to the very last drop.
L. JESUS’ STRUGGLE IN GETHSEMANE. (Please read Luke 22:39-46. See also Matt 26:36-46 and Mark 14:32-42).
And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luk 22:44).
We may think that the Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, always experienced peace and calm within, regardless of the situation He found Himself in, and there are so many incidents recorded in which this was indeed the case.
a. Jesus had always been the epitome of strength in every situation.
When He and His disciples were sailing in a small boat across the Sea of Galilee and a storm hit, threatening to sink and drown them, He lay peacefully asleep while the disciples rowed feverishly to keep the boat afloat. Desperate with fear, they woke Him up shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” As they scrambled about in panic, He coolly and calmly rebuked the wind, and immediately the storm ceased. Then He even rebuked them, saying, “Where is your faith?”
When the people of Nazareth seized him, wanting to throw him over the edge of a cliff, he calmly walked away from them. He went to the demon-possessed man of Gadara, from whom everyone had fled, and cast the demons out of him. He walked over the waves of the lake as if on dry land, and when Peter was about to disappear under the waters, he stretched out his hand and saved him.
b. Why then was He so distressed about His coming suffering?
Why would a Man of such spiritual strength, sweat as if bleeding while praying before His crucifixion? Even the two thieves crucified with Him showed more inner strength by mocking Him as they hung suffering on their crosses (Matt. 27:44). Could He not have trusted God and experienced complete calm in this trial? But listen to His words as recorded in Matt. 26:38:
Then He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Wait here and watch with Me. (Mat 26:38).
There is a book called “Foxes Book of Martyrs” which records the stories of Christians who were martyred for Christ throughout the centuries. Many of them died at the stake surrounded by hating, yelling, mocking crowds. Yet they passed from this world while praying and singing hymns of praise.
In the Bible we read of Stephen, the first martyr, who was strengthened by God’s opening of the heavens as the angry mob was stoning him. He saw the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father up there. This empowered him to die in victory, praying for his excecutioners.
Why, then, did Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, go through such terrifying, unbearable inner conflict?
c. A possible answer to the question.
Probably no one has the full answer to this; yet we can suggest the following solution.
Regarding his crucifixion (which was to follow later): Jesus did not suffer like an ordinary man or even a Christian being crucified, but like a lost sinner in damnation; more than that, like a lost humanity would suffer in hell for all eternity. When being nailed to the cross, He took all the sins that had ever been and would still be committed by man onto His shoulders. Then the judgment of God struck Him. All of God’s wrath for this unimaginable load of evil focused on Him, came to bear on him. The wickedness of all mankind committed through all ages, from Adam to the last soul that will live was poured onto him as by a huge funnel. He was spiritually immersed in absolute nocturnal darkness. (This was conveyed to the bystanders by three hours of darkness that came upon them. His holy Father could not look upon that mountain of evil and He turned his face away from Him.) For the first time in eternity, Jesus was experientially separated from Him. This caused him unbearable anguish and sorrow. He had never, ever experienced before to be separated from His Father and it made His soul cringe in pain, causing him to cry out:
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? (Mat 27:46).
In Gethsemane, Jesus had a foretaste of this suffering He would be experiencing a few hours later, causing him to cry out in anguish:
Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done. (Luk 22:42).
All the powers of darkness combined in a furious attack to push His inner conflict to its limits (please read Ps 22 and especially verses 13-22). The pain of the heart, of the human spirit, is perhaps worse than any pain the body can experience. The demon-possessed man of Gadára suffered so intensely under the onslaught of a legion of evil spirits that he cut his body to pieces with stones in an attempt to relieve his inner pain. How much more fiercely would Satan and his forces have attacked Jesus, their greatest Enemy!
d. In Gethsemane He was engaged in a war with Satan and his hosts of demons.
In the wilderness he tried to tempt Jesus to sin, but here in Gethsemane he tried to break His will, to break Him inwardly so that He would no longer be willing to proceed to die on the cross for humanity!
e. How did Jesus achieve the victory?
After His humanity He was afflicted with weakness, but after His divinity He nevertheless kept His eyes on His Father in this struggle, as is written in Ps 16:8:
I have set Jehovah always before Me; because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved.
His Father therefore did not leave Him to His fate, but sent an angel to strengthen Him so that He could achieve victory on His knees and courageously face the crucifixion that would follow.
By keeping His eyes on the Father in faith and by fervent prayer, He gained the victory. We read that when He came into a hard struggle, He prayed with greater effort and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. Thus He won the first phase of the struggle, the Gethsemane phase.
f. Prayer can take on the character of a bloody war.
Prayer is not just about communing peacefully with God and being refreshed by Him. Sometimes it involves a “bloody war” in which the human spirit can experience great exhaustion and intense pain. In this struggle, however, the Father is constantly at our right hand so that we “will not be shaken.” In Heb. 12:4 the writer admonishes certain Christians who were persecuted for their faith, saying:
You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
The writer may have had Jesus’ struggle in Gethsemane in mind when he wrote this.
M. JESUS’ ARREST. (Please read Luke 22:47 to 53. See also Matt 26:47-56, Mark 14:43-52 and John 18:1-11)
Just a few brief remarks on this pericope. Judas led the crowd of people sent by the High Priest to arrest Jesus. He walked ahead of them and then proceeded to his final act of betrayal by kissing Him. He pretended to greet Him as a friend, but in fact it was his agreed-upon sign with the group. In doing so, He actually said: “This is Jesus; seize Him.”
Peter drew his sword and struck out with it to repel the attack on Jesus, cutting off the ear of the High Priest’s servant (John 18:10).
Jesus, who had just won the spiritual victory in prayer, was now in complete control of the situation, neither fearing nor doubting. He was deeply convinced that He had come into the world to reconcile man to God and was ready to do so. So He restored the man’s ear, rebuked the group for treating Him like a criminal, and then willingly accompanied them to be tried.
Likewise, God will see through each of us who desires to carry his cross to the very end in order that His will may be done and His purpose achieved.
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