I AM the True Vine
John 15: 1-17
On the walk to Gethsemane
sometime between 11:00 pm and midnight,
the fifteenth of Nisan

I am the true vine DIG: How does the apostles’ experience exemplify the pruning process (John 15:5-8 and 18-21)? Yeshua repeats the words remain in Me, love and bearing fruit. Why are these words repeated? What is the fruit that will last (verse 16)? How do verses 9 and 12 go together? How is love the essential dynamic in the life of a believer? How do verses 12-13 take Messiah’s command to love even further than Yochanan 13:34-35? How does our relationship with Jesus change once we start practicing this example of love? What is the link between obedience and prayer (verses 7, 16; see 14:13-14)?

REFLECT: The vine describes both the Jewish people and their Meshiach. Gentile believers are the branches who are grafted into the vine (Romans 11:11-24). As either a part of the vine or a branch, how would you describe the fruit in your life? Do you feel more like Christ’s slave or His friend? What helps develop that friendship? Do we listen to Him? Or do we only want Him to listen to us? Do we want to know what’s on His mind? Or do we only want to tell Him what’s on ours?

After hearing of Christ’s imminent departure from the world, fear gripped the apostles like a steel vice. How could they possibly go on without the Master? What would happen to His Kingdom? Was the Lord challenging them to build a Kingdom without a King? Not really.

First, Yeshua promised that His going away played a crucial role in ADONAI’s plan to redeem the world and that He would return (John 14:1-15). Second, the Good Shepherd promised that He would not leave them as orphans to fend for themselves; He would be present with them in the person of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, whose role is to teach and provide courage (John 14:16-24). Third, the Lord promised that confidence in the truth of His words and comfort in His continual presence would grow as we obey Him (John 14:25-31).

The talmidim had placed their faith in Yeshua ben David, but they lacked maturity. Jesus had taught them divine truth for three-and-a-half years. However, it had not yet been put to the test. The time had come for these baby believers to begin walking on their own. Their only hope of overcoming the fear that gripped them so tightly was to allow confidence in the truth of the Meshiach to grow and to gradually replace it.¹⁴⁴³

In Chapter 15, Jesus described three key relationships that every believer must have if they are to cultivate confidence and rise above the consequences of the Fall, including fear. The relationship of the believer and Jesus Christ (John 15:1-11); the relationship of the believer with other believers (Yochanan 15:12-17); and the relationship of believers to the world (John 15:18-27).

The relationship of the believer to Jesus Christ (John 15:1-11): Yeshua told His talmidim: I AM the true vine (John 15:1a). Isra’el is also God’s vine or vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6; Jeremiah 2:21, 12:10; Ezeki’el 17:5-6, 19:10-14; Psalm 80:8-16; Hosea 10:1; Joel 1:7 and also compare Yeshua’s parables in Matthew 21:33-34; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19). The fact that the vine describes both the Jewish people and their Meshiach reinforces the close identification of Jesus and Isra’el (Mattityahu 2:15). The messianic Jewish remnant, or the righteous of the TaNaKh (Romans 11:1-10), will obey the Lord’s commands, stay attached to the true vine, and have the true vine’s power and strength to bring forth good fruit (Matthew 7:16-19). And so will the grafted-in Gentile believing branches (Rom 11:17-24).¹⁴⁴⁴

Possibly walking past a vineyard, Yeshua said: My Father is the gardener (John 15:1b). This is the last of Jesus’ seven I AM’s (Yochanan 6:35, 8:12, 10:7, 10:11, 11:25, 14:6). The promise was clear: In Messiah and His disciples, the Father will find the kind of fruit He desires. We need to stay connected to the vine, drawing our nourishment from Christ. Our Father tends the vine and brings it to full fruitfulness.

He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:2). The first two verses introduce the imagery of the vine in summary fashion, describing the general care of a gardener nurturing a vine. Gardeners are seldom seen cutting off branches during the growing season. Instead, they carry a bundle of strings and a pair of pruning shears as they work their way down each row. Every year in Palestine gardeners prune their vines. They cut off the dead wood that has no life in it and trim the living branches so that their yield will be greater. To conserve moisture in a dry land, vines were allowed to run on the ground until blossoms began to appear. Then they carefully lift sagging branches and tie them to the trellis – a procedure called “training.” They also strategically snip the smaller shoots from branches in order to maximize their yield of fruit, which is called “pruning.”¹⁴⁴⁵

The Lord reassured the talmidim that they had already been pruned. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you (Yochanan 15:3). The adjective translated clean is based on the same verb for prune in verse 2. He followed this assurance with the command: Remain in Me, as I also remain in (Greek: ev) you. Remaining in terms of this metaphor refers to the branch remaining connected to the vine. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in (ev) Me (John 15:4). Branches that do not receive nourishing sap from the vine cannot produce fruit – or live.

A key to understanding what Yeshua meant by remaining is the expression in Me, which reflects the believers’ “union with, or in Christ.” Rabbi Sha’ul often described believers as being in (ev) the Messiah. The Greek preposition evis most often translated “in” (Yochanan 10:38; 14:10-11, 17, 20, here in John 15:4-7 and 16:33); however, its sense is hard to convey by a single English word, for it can mean in the sphere of, in connection with, within, inside, by on, near, among or with. Overall, the word conveys intimacy and involvement: Yeshua and the Father, or Jesus and the believer are intimately involved and concerned with each other’s existence, even to the point of being “one” (John 10:30, 17:21-23).¹⁴⁴⁶

But how does the believer end up in Christ?

First, God raises us up and seats us in Christ, at the right hand of the Father (Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:34, 7:55; Ephesians 1:1, 3-4, 6-7, 9, 11-13, 20), where as our High Priest, He continually intercedes for us (Job 16:19-21; Romans 8:26-27, 34; Hebrews 7:25; First John 2:1).

Secondly, God unites us with Himself in Christ (John 6:56, 17:20-23; Romans 7:4, 12:5; Eph 4:25, 5:30).

Thirdly, God seals us with His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; Second Corinthians 1:21-22), and baptizes us in (ev), by (ev), and with (ev) the Ruach ha-Kodesh (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5, 11:16; First Corinthians 12:13), into the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:27; First Corinthians 12:13).

The result of what God does for us at the moment of faith (to see link click Bw), is that through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is the actual uniting of the believer to Christ in such a manner that what is true of Messiah becomes true of the believer, minus His deity. This is called “union with Christ.” The Ruach is placed in us and we are placed in Christ at the moment of faith. This union is personal, intimate, and cannot be broken. Ever.

In order to make the teaching drawn from nature to be clearly understood, Messiah said: I AM the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in (Greek: ev) Me and I in (Greek: ev) you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). All believers have a “union with Christ.” But if we attempt to operate independent of Him, we will not bear fruit. We can’t! Operating in the flesh will produce no lasting fruit. Everything done in the flesh will produce only wood, hay and straw, which will be burned up one day (see my commentary on Revelation Cc – For We Must All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ).

We all need constant cleansing and pruning. But pruning is a delicate art. You can cut too soon, too fast and too much. The result will be injured branches and poor fruit. Our heavenly Father is the ultimate Gardener. He prunes (disciplines) us so we will bear more fruit. Pruning is not punishment. ADONAI does not punish us for doing something wrong. As First John 4:18 says: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Discipline is always future-oriented. For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness (Hebrews 12:10-11 NLT).

If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (Yochanan 15:6). The word like very important here. There are four different kinds of parables, one of which is called a simile that uses the terms “like” or “as.” Story parables are longer, but similes can be much shorter, like a sentence in this case. You can’t press the details here because you can’t derive doctrine from a parable or an allegory.

If the details are incorrectly pressed in this case some people read this verse and wrongly conclude that since believers are the branches in the previous verse we can lose our salvation and be thrown into the fire of hell and burned. Nothing could be further from the truth (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). But this verse does teach that like a dead branch, a person without the Lord of Life is spiritually dead, and therefore will be punished with eternal fire (Mattityahu 25:46; Luke 12:4-5).

Jesus quickly turned from the negative to the positive . . . and to prayer. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (see John 14:13-14). Effective prayer is based on faith in Messiah and on His words remaining in believers. Yeshua’s words condition a believer’s mind so that his or her prayers want to conform to the Father’s will. Since such a prayer is in accordance with God’s will, the results are certain. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him (First John 5:14-15).

Furthermore, Yeshua declared: This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My talmidim (Yochanan 15:7-8). Fulfilled prayers bring glory to the Father because, like Christ, His talmidim were doing the heavenly Father’s will: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (see Dp – When You Pray, Go Into Your Room and Close the Door).

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now abide in, or remain in My love (Yochanan 15:9). When you abide somewhere, you live there. You grow familiar with the surroundings. You feel at home. So to remain in Christ’s love is to make His love your home. Not a roadside park or hotel room you occasionally visit, but your preferred dwelling. You rest in Him. When thunder claps, you step beneath His roof. His walls secure you from the winds. His fireplace warms you from the winters of life. As Yochanan would later write: We take up residence in a life of love (First John 4:16 MSG). You abandon the old house of worry and false love and move into His home of security and true love.¹⁴⁴⁷

A believer is motivated by the wonder of Messiah’s love, which is patterned after the Father’s love in its quality and extent. If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love (John 15:10). Jesus rewards those who seek Him. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him (Second Corinthians 3:18 TLB). Can you think of a greater gift than to become more like Messiah? The Lord felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; YHVH wants to remove yours. Christ had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased, mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges of life. God wants you to have the same. He wants you to be just like Yeshua.¹⁴⁴⁸

I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (Jn 15:11). Jesus had great joy in pleasing His Father by living a fruitful life (Heb 12:2). The purpose of His teaching is to give us an abundant life, not a joyless existence (Jn 10:10). The commands for us to obey are for our joy (Jn 17:13).¹⁴⁴⁹

The relationship of the believer with other believers (John 15:12-17). Yeshua gave one primary command to believers; they must love each other. Believers grow by caring and nurturing each other. The standard for the love is Messiah’s example of humble sacrificial service: as I have loved you (Yochanan 15:12). In a worldly sense, this command seems impossible. How can we possibly love someone we barely know and for whom we have no feelings? The world’s concept of love is self-oriented, performance based, and driven by fickle sentiment. People fall in and out of love as though it were a random, mysterious force that affects two minds for a season and then vanishes as quickly as it came.

The Greek word here is not the fickle eros, or even the heartfelt philia, but agape. This kind of agape love involves deep feeling, but it begins with a decision. Agape doesn’t consider merit and doesn’t wait for inspiration. Agape is the kind of love exemplified by ADONAI, especially toward His Son. Furthermore, the tense of the verb is present, which suggests a repeated or ongoing action: “keep on loving one another.” The quality of that love must be the same kind as the love we receive from Christ. He is our example and our standard.¹⁴⁵⁰

A friend is someone who loves you, who has your best interests at heart, who stands by you in your lowest moments and sacrifices himself or herself to meet your need. Have you ever had someone you thought was a friend desert you when the chips were down? Maybe you have seen friends scatter during times of adversity. But I hope you’ve had a friend stick by you through a tough time, demonstrating commitment and love. Proverbs 17:17 says: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.¹⁴⁵¹

Now comes the reference to the greatest love of all. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Yochanan 15:13). Everything must be less. This is the supreme test of love. In context, this must refer primarily to the love Yeshua has shown on the cross. There He laid down His life on behalf of His friends. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us (First John 3:16).

The use of the Greek word philos (friend, comrade) is unusual with respect to Jesus, who usually was addressed as Lord, Master, Rabbi, or my God. Philos in this context suggests a peer relationship. We certainly cannot claim equality with Messiah, even when we eventually see Him face to face and are made like Him (First John 3:2). The relationship is one in which Yeshua elevates us to a higher standing then we deserve; however, His superiority is never compromised.¹⁴⁵²

You are My friends if you do what I command (John 15:14). This does not mean that we must obey perfectly; after all, we’re just human. Instead, this speaks to our intent to pursue His aims by following His commands. A slave doesn’t have a close relationship with his or her master, as friends do. The slave is no more than an instrument. But there are no secrets among friends. Therefore, the Lord says: I no longer call you slaves, because a slave doesn’t know his master’s business. Instead, Jesus takes you into His confidence and declares: I have called you friends (John 15:15a CJB). Through Yeshua’s sacrifice, our past is pardoned and our future is secure. And since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Peace with God. What a happy consequence of faith! Not just peace between countries, peace between neighbors, or even peace at home. Salvation brings peace with God. Whether isolated by our own choices, the cultural trends around us, or by the painful losses of life, all who know Christ can rest in the presence of the Shepherd of our hearts. God is no longer a foe, but a friend. Consequently, we are at peace with Him. What a friend we have in Jesus!¹⁴⁵³

Because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you (John 15:15b CJB). Remember how ADONAI searched for Abraham to reveal His plan to him? Well, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend (James 2:23). Now Jesus tells us that He has revealed everything His has learned from the Father to us. We are no longer slaves to sin, but His friends. And as proof that we are joined at the heart, the Creator of the universe has invited us to relate to Him in this profound way. Consequently, the basis of our faith is a relationship with Him.

Believers are chosen and appointed for the purpose of bearing fruit. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you (see Kq – No One Comes to the Father Except Through Me). This is my command: Love each other (John 15:16-17). Jesus is not suggesting a legalistic walk with Him. We are not saved by how we behave; we are saved by what we believe. Belief always precedes behavior (Second Cor 3:5-6). We are to do what we believe and become what we already are in Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). And it is the Ruach who enables us to walk by faith.¹⁴⁵⁴  Jesus’ concluding command not only brackets His teaching on love in the kingdom of God, it also introduces the contrasting kind of relationship that exists between the Kingdom and the world.

Dear Friend,

I just had to send a note to tell you how much I love you and care about you. I saw you yesterday as you were walking with your friends. I waited all day long hoping you would want to talk with Me also. As evening drew near, I gave you a sunset to close your day and a cool breeze to rest you. And I waited. But you never came. It hurt Me, but I still love you because I AM your friend.

I saw you fall asleep last night and I longed to touch your brow. So I spilled moonlight on your pillow and your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down so that we could talk. I have so many gifts for you. But you awakened late the next day and rushed off to work. My tears were in the rain.

Today you looked so sad, so all alone. It makes My heart ache because I understand. My friends let Me down and hurt Me so many times too. But I love you. I try to tell you in the blue sky and in the quiet, green grass. I whisper in the leaves on the trees and breathe in the colors of the flowers. I shout it to you in the mountain streams and give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you in the warm sunshine and perfume the air with nature’s scents. My love for you is deeper than the oceans and bigger than the biggest want or need you have.

If you only knew how much I want to help you. I want you to meet My Father. He wants to help you too. My Father is that way you know. Just call Me, ask Me, talk with Me. Please, please, don’t forget Me. I have so much to share with you. But I won’t bother you any further. You are free to call Me. It’s up to you. I’ll wait because I love you.

Your Friend,
Jesus

The Walk to Gethsemane
Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26, John 18:1
About 11:00 pm on Friday the fifteenth of Nisan

When they had sung a hymn, Jesus was ready to leave. He looked around and signaled to Peter. It was almost 11:00 P.M. Yeshua led the way down the outer stairs, pausing at the foot to whisper His thanks to the father of the young disciple Mark. Then they walked out into the night, a little band of men spoke softly to one another in the vivid moonlight. A breeze came from the west. They could see white clouds move across the sky toward the moon. They saw the thousands of stars, the brilliant jewelry of the heavens. The moonlight was so bright that night that the huge limestone slabs in the Roman steps showed white, and the trees cast a shadow across them. While the location of the Upper Room is unknown, the distance from the wall of Yerushalayim to the olive press and the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives was about a quarter mile.

So Yeshua finished the remainder of His teaching as He and the eleven talmidim walked through the streets of Jerusalem, stopping from time to time, and then across the Kidron Valley. The streets were quiet now, but the Temple would be opened at midnight, and the same streets would be noisy and crowded. He used the time wisely. In the cool evening air, Jesus pointed to things along the way, using illustrations as He did in many of His parables, making important lessons as simple as possible. The Master taught them as they walked slowly. It is not easy for one man to be properly heard by eleven while walking, so when He had something to say He stopped and the talmidim clustered around Him in the silver moonlight. He would say the things He had to say and then move on and, in a little while, He would stop again. Never had the apostles known the Savior to talk so much. And with such finality. But this was different. The Son of God had an overwhelming sense of urgency to talk to His Father. There could no longer be any delay. But His apostles still needed to hear some things from Him and His time was short.¹⁴⁴¹

The group of talmidim probably walked right past the adjacent homes of Annas and Caiaphas, north and through a rich residential area. After Lazarus had been raised from the dead, we learn that Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin from that day on planned together to kill Him (John 11:45-53). The high priest was the one who prophesied that it was expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation would not perish . . . he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation (Yochanan 11:49-50). If God could use a donkey in the TaNaKh to express profound prophetic truths (Numbers 22:20-35; Second Peter 2:15,16), He could use Caiaphas just as easily to benefit others.

If they would have continued south they would have come to the pool of Siloam, where a blind man washed and received his sight (John 9:1-7). Earlier in John’s gospel Jesus emphasized: For judgment I came into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (Yochanan 9:39). In Isra’el’s case it was true that God had purposely blinded their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them (John 12:39-40). In the Kingdom this will change when the literal blind and deaf will be cured: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped (Isaiah 35:5). And it will be spiritually true as well, for he will open the graves to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house (Isaiah 42:7). But they didn’t continue south, but turned to the east.

The final leg of the journey through Tziyon brought them past the highest point of the Temple Mount, then along the chalky road that hugs the base of the east wall of the City. Going past the highest point of the Temple Mount, the pinnacle of the Temple, reminded Jesus of Satan’s suggestion that He throw Himself from there to prove to everyone He was indeed the Messiah. Shortly He would be mocked on the cross with a similar challenge: Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God (Matthew 27:40c).

On the other side of the Kidron Valley there was a garden at the base of the Mount of Olives, and He and His apostles went into it (John 18:1). As their walk continued it took them to the outskirts of the City where they would have seen the Temple in the glow of the moon before descending into the valley below. Crossing it, turned somewhat to the left, where the stony road led up towards Olivet, along terraces covered with olives, whose silver and dark green leaves rustled in the breeze. Gnarled fig trees also twisted themselves out of the rocky soil; there clusters of palms raised their knotty stems high up into waving plumed tufts, or spread, bush-like, from the ground, the rich-colored fruit bursting in clusters from the pod. Then there were groves of myrtle, pines, tall, stately cypresses, and on the summit itself two massive cedars.¹⁴⁴² To those shady retreats Yeshua and His talmidim would often come from the City of David to rest and enjoy themselves.

The walk from the Upper Room to the Garden would have taken some time because of the distance and hilly conditions, which gave Jesus time for His final words of instruction. He used the time wisely. They went to the Mount of Olives to the garden of Gethsemane (Mattityahu 26:30; Mark 14:26). Gethsemane is identified as a place to press oil. It could also have had the appearance of a garden or orchard, as there were olive trees growing nearby. Yeshua specifically chose it as a place for some of His prayers during His last hours. Appropriately, He Himself would endure great agony there. He was crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5b) at the place well known for that purpose.

The Holy Spirit Will Teach You All Things
John 14:15-31; Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26
The Upper Room Discourse
Late Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things. DIG: How are the apostles to show love to each other (John 13:34)? To Jesus (Yochanan 14:14)? Why is this idea repeated four times (John 14:15, 21, 23 and 24)? How does Yeshua set the example for us in verse 31? What do you learn about the Ruach in verses 16-17and 25-27? What is the relationship of the Father, Messiah, and the Spirit to the believer? To each other? What is the difference between how Messiah and the world gives us shalom? Since the Adversary has no power over Christ, why must the Lord die (John 3:14-15, 6:53-54, 10:15-18)?

REFLECT: God wants to be your dwelling place. ADONAI has no interest in being a weekend getaway. He wants you under His roof permanently. How “at home” are the Father, the Son and the Spirit in your life? What is your worst fear? If you should have to face it, do you believe Christ will be there with you? Where do you need the Lord’s shalom? Where can you find hope in this passage? Of all the promises here (Yochanan 14:16-18, 21, 23, 26-27), which one means the most to you? Why?

Jesus established an unbreakable connection between love for ADONAI and obedience to His commands. Whereas Peter wanted to show his love in a blaze of glory with sword in hand in the Garden (Matthew 26:51), his Master asked for something far more difficult: consistent obedience daily. Yeshua’s announcement of His departure sent the apostles into an emotional tailspin. They wouldn’t imagine their future without Him, and the prospect of going on alone terrified them . . . and rightfully so! I cannot imagine having to face life without Christ in my life. Those trembling eleven men needed courage, just as we do today.¹⁴³²

If you love Me, keep My commands, My mitzvot (Yochanan 14:15). There are 1,050 commandments in the B’rit Chadashah, which according to this verse are to be obeyed by those who love Yeshua. Any distinction drawn between messianic Judaism as a religion of commandments and the New Covenant as a religion of love is unfounded. Both the Torah and the B’rit Chadashah are based on both love and commandments, both mercy and justice, it has always been so and always will be.¹⁴³³

Christ recognized the weakness of these men and their ability to fulfill the ministry of revealing the Father that was being entrusted to them. Therefore He said: I will ask the Father, and He will give you another comforting Counselor like Me, the Spirit of Truth, to help you and be with you forever (John 14:16 CJB). The Greek word parakletos means Counselor, Comforter, Advocate, or literally one called alongside, that is, to help. The word might have been translated the Helper. There are two words in the Greek for another – allos, meaning another of the same kind, and eteros, meaning another of a different kind. Here the word is allos, a comforting Counselor just like Yeshua, namely the Ruach Ha’Kodesh (Yochanan 14:17). The Holy Spirit would do for these men all that Messiah had done for them while He was with them. They had been sent out on missions during the time when they followed in the dust of their Rabbi while He was on the earth. They would now be sent out to be His witnesses during the time of His absence from the earth. He had been their Helper while He was with them. In His absence He would send them another Helper.

This is an amazing promise for a Jewish person to read, because the TaNaKh speaks of only a few persons as having the Ruach Ha’Kodesh with or upon them. Among them are Moshe and the seventy elders (Numbers 11:17-29), Gideon (Judges 6:34), Jephthah (Judges 11:29), Samson (Judges 14:6), Saul (First Samuel 11:6), David (First Samuel 16:13; Psalm 51:11), and Saul’s messengers (First Samuel 19:20), and only Joseph (Genesis 41:38) and Bezalel (Exodus 31:3) having the Holy Spirit in them.¹⁴³⁴

The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is not a person and therefore is not God. They teach that He is nothing more than an impersonal, invisible, active force similar to electricity. Messiah said: The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives in you and will be in you forever. I will not leave you as forsaken orphans; I will come to you (John 14:17-18). By this He meant that the Ruach would not come to them until after the resurrection. There would not be a time when the Spirit would be taken away from them in the way Jesus was being taken from them. Consequently, permanent help was promised to these men at the time they were being sent into the world to be witnesses to the Father and the Son.

We have His seal of ownership. Now God . . . has anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (Second Corinthians 1:22 and also see Ephesians 4:30). This happens at the moment of faith (to see link click Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). A seal on a document in B’rit Chadashah times identified it and indicated the owner, who would protect it. So too, in salvation, the Holy Spirit, like a seal, confirms that believers are identified with Christ and are God’s property, protected by Him. It was probably this thought that caused Rabbi Sha’ul to describe himself as a bondslave of Messiah (Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1).

Messiah referred to His death by saying: Before long, the world will not see Me anymore. But He promised: You will see Me. This seems to be a clear reference to the resurrection. Because of His own resurrection, He could assure these men of their resurrection. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I AM in My Father, and you are in Me, and I AM in you (for more on the doctrine of the believer’s “union with, or in Christ,” see Kt – I AM the True Vine). This new intimacy would produce obedience to Christ’s commands: Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show Myself to them (John 14:19-21). It would produce a deeper intimacy than these men had previously experienced, both with Himself and with the Father.

When Jesus stated to His talmidim that He would soon leave them and that it would be impossible for them to come with Him (John 13:33), it raised four specific questions that Messiah, in turn, answered. The first question came from Peter: Lord, where are you going (Yochanan 13:36)? The second from Thomas: Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way (Yochanan 14:5)? And the third question came from Philip: Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us (John 14:8).

The promise of restoration after the resurrection raised a fourth question in the mind of Judas son of James, also known as Thaddaeus (see Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles). He asked: But, Lord, why do you intend to show Yourself to us and not to the world (John 14:22)? This question apparently arose because the apostles expected the Messiah would set up David’s throne and rule over David’s Kingdom. In their minds that would have necessitated a public manifestation of Yeshua, but the nation had rejected Him. So the messianic Kingdom would be postponed until the far eschatological future. But that would not stop the righteous of the TaNaKh from being resurrected (see my commentary on Revelation Fd – The Resurrection of the Righteous of the TaNaKh). Thus Jesus replied: Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching. My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them. Anyone who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me (Yochanan 14:23-24).

I have told you these things while I AM still with you. In a few hours Judas would come with his henchmen to take the Lamb. But the Counselor, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything. The Spirit’s teaching would cause the talmidim to understand those aspects of Messiah’s teaching that had remained beyond their comprehension. In addition, Jesus said: The Ruach will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:25-26 CJB). Thus, they would be able to recall truths Christ had taught them that they had neither understood nor remembered. When they ministered as His representatives, they would be able to proclaim His own words.¹⁴³⁵

We have a guaranteed inheritance. You who heard the message of truth, the Good News offering you deliverance, and put your trust in the Messiah were sealed by Him with the promised Ruach ha-Kodesh, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14 CJB). The last part of verse 13 is literally: They were sealed in Him [Messiah] with the Ruach ha-Kodesh of promise. The word seal indicates security (Matthew 27:66; Ephesians 4:30), authentication and approval (John 6:27), certification of genuineness (Yochanan 3:33), and identification of ownership (Second Corinthians 1:22; Revelation 7:2, 9:4). God is the One who seals, Christ is the sphere in which the seal is done, and the Holy Spirit is the instrument of the seal.

The Ruach Ha’Kodesh who seals is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. The deposit is more than a pledge that could be returned; it is a down payment with a guarantee of more to come, or the firstfruits of the Spirit (Romans 8:23). A deposit guaranteeing translates the Greek word arrabon. It guarantees believers’ inheritance of salvation and heaven (First Peter 1:4). In essence, the deposit of the Holy Spirit is a little bit of heaven in believers’ lives with a guarantee of much more yet to come.¹⁴³⁶

What I AM leaving with you is shalom – I AM giving you My shalom. I don’t give the way the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (Yochanan 14:27 CJB). “If Jesus is the Messiah, where is world peace?” The question is often asked as if the implied negative answer proves Yeshua’s claim of messiahship is false. For it is true that the swords have not yet been beaten into plowshares, and nations still learn war (Isaiah 2:4). The answer is that Jesus is indeed fulfilling His promise but not all at once (Second Peter 3:9). Shalom does not come to those who refuse it, to those who, as it were, fight shalom, but to those who receive it gladly.

Within every believer is a shalom that comes from God Himself. It is not a self-satisfied false peace that ignores suffering, but a compassionate peace that longs for God’s shalom to be present with everyone and motivates action to help bring it about.

When the Meshiach returns He will rule them with an iron scepter (Revelation 2:27), He will compel cessation of hostilities between nations. Meanwhile, where is world peace? It is in the lives of believers; so that in the Lord blacks and whites, Israeli Jews and Palestinians, indeed members of any groups at enmity can experience in themselves and in each other Yeshua’s shalom.¹⁴³⁷

You heard Me say, “I AM going away and I AM coming back to you.” If you loved Me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I (John 14:28). Because Jesus said: for the Father is greater than I, the Jehovah’s Witnesses will say Yeshua is inferior to His Father, and therefore, not deity. But was that really what Jesus meant? We should be careful how we think of key words in the Bible.

One of the terrible mistakes Jehovah’s Witnesses make in their teaching about Christ is that at His resurrection He gave up His humanity forever. They believe that when Jesus died and His human body went into the tomb it was dissolved by Almighty God. Obviously, the Bible says no such thing, but the Jehovah’s Witnesses have to stick to that foolish explanation because, according to their belief, Yeshua had to rise from the dead as a spirit in order to become Michael the Archangel once again! Unbelievable!

When Rabbi Sha’ul wrote his letter to Timothy it was many years after the Lord had died and had been resurrected and gone back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. Yet Sha’ul writes in the present tense: For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (First Timothy 2:5). Therefore, Sha’ul clearly indicated that Yeshua retained His humanity at His resurrection and took it with Him to heaven.

In their attack on the deity of Christ, the Jehovah’s Witnesses use two basic arguments. First, they say that Messiah cannot be God because Jesus had a beginning. Another way of saying the same thing is that they say He was created. Secondly, they state that Yeshua cannot be God because the Bible shows that He is inferior to God and obviously, by definition, God could not be inferior to Himself.

To support their two arguments, the Witnesses use eight primary passages of Scripture. These are the only passages in the entire Bible that the Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves feel can be used to prove that Jesus is not God. The scriptures they use to prove that Christ had a beginning are Proverbs 8:22-30; Colossians 1:15 and Revelation 3:14 (see my commentary on Revelation Bf – The Church at Laodicea). The scriptures they use to prove that Jesus cannot be God because He is inferior to God are John 14:28; John 20:17; First Corinthians 8:6; First Corinthians 11:3 and First Corinthians 15:28.

The key word here is greater. In what sense is the Father greater than Jesus? As an example, it would be true to say that the President of the United States is greater than I am, but is he necessarily better? No. He is greater than I am by virtue of the position of Chief Executive of the United States Government. Does that make Him a better person? No. He is a member of the human family just as I am and we both have equal status when it comes to our possession of human nature. Yeshua wasn’t saying that His Father was superior to Him, only that His Father’s office was greater.

It is important to understand what the Messiah had to do in order to become a man on the earth, as described by Rabbi Sha’ul. Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. On the contrary, He emptied Himself, in that He took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are (Philippians 2:6-7 CJB). He existed in heaven in the very form of God (Colossians 2:9) and He emptied Himself. Meaning He stripped Himself of His privileges as God and placed Himself voluntarily under the tremendous restriction and limitation of being a man on this earth, carrying out the roles of Mediator and Messiah. So, while on earth in those roles, He would obviously be dependent on His Father in heaven. However, Jesus was not inferior to His Father, because Yeshua still possessed His God-nature, and so was equal with His Father by nature, even as I am equal by nature with the President of the United States.

Fulfilled prophecy is a great comfort to believers and Christ had predicted His death and resurrection many times (Matthew 12:40, 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19; Mark 8:31-32, 9:91, 10:33-34; Luke 9:22, 18:31-33; John 2:19-21). When it actually happened, after the initial shock, it would greatly encourage the apostles’ faith. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. The Lord’s teaching time was limited for the prince of this world (John 12:31; 16:11), Satan, the enemy of Souls, is coming. Yet he has no hold over Me. Sin leads to death (Romans 5:12, 21:a, 6:16), and sin and death give the Adversary a hold over people (Hebrews 2:14-15; Revelation 12:10). But since Yeshua is sinless, the evil one cannot claim Him for his kingdom of darkness. The ancient Serpent thought Messiah’s death was a victory for him and hell, but it was actually a victory for Christ and heaven (Colossians 2:15). Because Yeshua loves the Father, He did exactly what the Father commanded (John 14:29-31a, also see John 10:18, 12:49-50), including being obedient to death (Philippians 2:8).¹⁴³⁸

Then the apostles, but not Christ, drank the fourth cup of wine or the cup of praise. After drinking the third cup of wine the Master had clearly said: I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink new wine with you in My Father’s Kingdom (Matthew 26:29). Then the Passover meal was over.

In modern Judaism, a fifth cup of wine is reserved for a very important guest. This cup is called the cup of Elijah because it is reserved for Elijah. It actually started with a debate among the rabbis whether one should drink four cups of wine or five cups of wine. Finally they reached a compromise which was that only four cups would actually be drunk but there would be a fifth cup on the table next to an empty chair that was not to be drunk until Elijah comes to settle the dispute among the rabbis.

Based upon Malachi 4, the bible teaches that Elijah the prophet must come before Messiah can return (see my commentary on Revelation Bw – The Return of Elijah). Judaism teaches that when Elijah does come it will be on the first night of the Passover. So just in case this is the Passover when Elijah comes, the chair and the cup are reserved for him. It has become customary that at the end of the Seder service, the youngest son goes outside to see if Elijah is coming. After he comes back and states that Elijah is not coming, the Seder comes to a close with the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.”¹⁴³⁹

With the Passover meal concluded, Yeshua stood and the other men followed suit. He didn’t seem to want to leave at once, so the men fell into conversation and conjecture. They discussed the meaning of the matzah being Messiah’s body. A few reminded the others that a year ago Jesus had told them in the synagogue at Capernaum (see Fr – Jesus is the Bread of Life) that He would give them His flesh to eat and His blood to drink or else they would not have life. Some understood now, some were not so sure. Then Jesus said to His apostles: Come now, let us leave (John 14:31b).

Yeshua’s last earthly Seder with His talmidim concluded in the normal fashion with the singing of the Hallel, or Psalms 115-118. These are messianic psalms. How appropriate the Hallel would be as it includes such messianic verses as: This is the day [of redemption at Passover] ADONAI has made and, Blessed is He [the Messiah] who comes in the name of ADONAI (Psalm 118:24-26). Following that, Psalm 136, or what is known as the Great Hallel is sung. It is based on Isaiah 30:29, which prophesied: And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival. The Eleven concluded the Seder with their Rabbi, singing about the prophetic events that would soon be fulfilled right before their very eyes.¹⁴⁴⁰

Psalm 115 compares the God of heavens to idols made from the hands of men. It reminds Israel to trust in ADONAI and promises Isra’el and the house of Aaron blessings that will be realized in the messianic Kingdom.

Psalm 116 bemoans the pains of death and hell, then praises the LORD for overcoming them: Yes, You have rescued me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling (116:8 CJB). The atoning power only comes when Messiah fulfills His destiny. The Savior’s immediate mission that very day would be to drink the bitter cup of our salvation as mentioned in 116:13 in the CJB, “I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of ADONAI.” But it would not be easy as seen in Yeshua’s words: Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not what I will, but what you will (Matthew 26:39b-c; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).

Psalm 117 CJB reads: Praise ADONAI, all you nations! Worship Him, all you peoples! For His grace has overcome us, and ADONAI’s truth continues forever. Halleluyah!

Psalm 118 is a messianic Psalm that says in part: The Rock the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This had come from ADONAI, and in our eyes it is amazing (Psalm 118:22-23 CJB). After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). Then it was time to go. The cross was waiting.

No One Comes to the Father Except Through Me
John 14: 5-14
The Upper Room Discourse
Late Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

No one comes to the Father except through Me DIG: Put Yeshua’s statement in verses 6-7 in your own words. What is the force of the claims of Christ made here? How does John 1:18 relate to what Jesus is saying here in John 14:9? With what tone of voice do you imagine Him speaking in verses 9-14? What evidence does the Lord give for His claims? Do you feel the promises Christ makes in verses 13-14 are “blank check” promises about prayer? Or are there some conditions to them? What does Messiah mean when He says that believers will do even greater things than even He did? How could this be?

REFLECT: In light of John 14:6, how would you respond to someone who said, “there are many ways to God?” In troubled times, what promises of Ha’Shem give you hope and courage? How has Yeshua been the way and the truth in your life? How tolerant are you of other ways to salvation? Does it matter? How so? How do you align your prayers with God’s will? Does ADONAI always answer your prayers? How so?

When Yeshua stated to His apostles that He would soon leave them and that it would be impossible for them to come with Him (John 13:33), it raised four specific questions that Messiah, in turn, answered. First, Jesus answered Peter’s question: Lord, where are you going (John 13:36)? The Master’s answer was: In My Father’s house are many dwelling places . . . I am going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:2 NASB). But this raised another question in the mind of Thomas. When Christ said: You know the way to the place where I am going (John 14:4). Thomas was left in doubt.

This led to the second question. Thomas asked Jesus: Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way (John 14:5)? There was an apostle sitting there whom we call “doubting Thomas” (to see link click Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles). He had a question mark for a brain, and it took our Lord a long time to turn it into an exclamation mark out of it! He would remain puzzled until he put his hand into the side of the resurrected Lord (John 20:28). But I’m really glad that he was there and he asked the question, because it’s a good question. I would have wanted to ask it if I had been there. If he hadn’t asked the question, we would never have had Messiah’s wonderful answer, which is the Gospel in a nutshell.

He answered: I AM the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6a). This is the sixth of Jesus’ seven I AM’s (John 6:35, 8:12, 10:7, 10:11, 11:25, 15:1). The article in the Greek is an adjective. Yeshua said: I AM the way. He is just not a person who merely shows the way, but He, personally, is the way. No church, messianic synagogue, or ceremony can bring you to ADONAI. Only Christ can bring you to God. He is the way. Either you believe in the Lord or you don’t have Him; either you trust in Messiah or you don’t. Also Jesus said that He is the truth. He isn’t saying that He tells the truth (although He does do that), He is the truth. And He is the life. He isn’t simply stating that He is alive. He is the source, the origin of life from the lowest vegetable plane of life to the highest spiritual plane of life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6b; Acts 4:12). He made a dead-end street of the cults and “isms.” He says the only way to God is through Him. That is a dogmatic statement, but the truth has to be dogmatic. J. Vernon McGee relates a humorous analogy. He said, “I had a teacher who was the most dogmatic, narrow-minded person I’ve ever met. She insisted that 2 plus 2 = 4. It didn’t make any difference what you had two of – two apples or cows or dollars – she always insisted that 2 plus 2 = 4. She was dogmatic. I have found a bank I do business with operates the same way. Only in my case it’s 2 – 2 = 0, and they’re dogmatic about it. Friend, let me say to you that one of the characteristics of the truth is its dogmatism. Now, not all dogmatism is truth – there’s a lot of ignorance that is dogmatic. However, that which is truth has to be dogmatic.”¹⁴²⁵

In his book The Glories of Mary, the Catholic Bishop Alphonse de Liguori, one of the greatest devotional writers of the Catholic Church, gives us a glimpse into how much of the official Catholic doctrine differs from the Word of God. The editor says, “Everything that our saint (Bishop Alphonse de Liguori) has written is, as it were, a summary of Catholic tradition on the subject that it treats, it is not an individual author, it is, so to speak, the church herself that speaks to us. No other book appears to be more worthy of recommendation in this respect than The Glories of Mary” (1931 edition; Redemptorist Fathers, Brooklyn). And it wasn’t like he was merely some run-of-the-mill Catholic author. Pope Gregory XVI canonized him in 1839 and Pope Pius IX proclaimed him Doctor of the Church in 1871. Today Saint de Liguori is the patron saint of confessors.

This same doctrine is taught in Catholic churches and schools today. Most people outside the Catholic Church do not understand these teachings and wrongly believe that the doctrine of the Roman Church is orthodox. In citing these examples I do not mean to infer that there are not millions of Catholics who are saved. There are. But I am saying that a believer, someone raised in the Catholic Church would have to act counter to her doctrine to be saved.

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is given the place belonging to Christ. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that she is truly the mediatress of peace between sinners and God. Sinners receive pardon by Mary alone (pages 82-83). Mary is our life. Mary, in obtaining this grace for sinners by her intercession, restores them to life (page 80). The one who fails and is lost is the one who has no recourse (a way out, a source of help) from Mary (page 94).

However the Bible teaches that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is glorified more than Messiah. The Holy Roman Church commands the worship particular to Mary (page 130). Many things are asked from God, and are not granted; however, they are asked from Mary and are obtained, for she is even Queen of Hell, and Sovereign Mistress of the Devils (pages 127, 141, 143).

But the Scriptures teach that in the name of Jesus Christ . . . salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 3:6, 4:12). His name is above every name . . . not only in this world, but also in that which is to come (Ephesians 1:21 KJV).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is the gate to heaven instead of Jesus. The pope teaches that Mary is called the gate of heaven because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her (page 160). The way of salvation is open to none otherwise than through Mary, and since our salvation is in the hands of Mary, the one who is protected by Mary will be saved, and will not be lost (pages 169-170).

But Jesus says: I AM the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved (Yochanan 10:1, 7 and 9). Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (in the book of Acts 4:12).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is given the power of the Lord. The Catholic Church teaches that all power is given to her in heaven and on earth so that at the command of Mary all obey – even God. And so God has placed the whole Church under the domination of Mary (pages 180-181). Mary is also the advocate of the whole human race, for she can do what she wills with God (page 191).

God’s Word, however, teaches all power is given to [Jesus] in heaven and in earth so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and that in everything He might have the supremacy (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 1:18). But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (First John 2:1-2).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is the peacemaker instead of Jesus Christ our peace. Catholic schools teach that Mary is the peacemaker between sinners and God (page 197). We often more quickly obtain what we ask by calling on the name of Mary, than by invoking the name of Jesus. She is our salvation, our life, our hope, our counsel, our refuge, and our help (pages 254 and 257).

But the Holy Spirit teaches: But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:13-14). (John 16:24). Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, for whatever you ask for in My name, My Father will give you (John 16:24). We wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary is given the glory that belongs to Messiah alone. The Catholic Church teaches that the whole trinity, O Mary, gave you a name above every other name, that by your name every knee should bow, the things in heaven, on earth and under the earth (page 260).

However the Bible says: Therefore God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:9-10).

The titles given Mary are in themselves a revelation of Roman Catholic sentiment toward her. She is called: Mother of God, Queen of the Apostles, Queen of Heaven, Queen of the Angels, The Door of Paradise, The Gate of Heaven, Our Life Mother of Grace, Mother of Mercy, and many others that ascribe to her supernatural powers.¹⁴²⁶

In 1962 through 1965 the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) took up all Marian issues. The final vote of 1114 to 1074 resulted in the treatment of Marian issues in the Catholic Constitution, as chapter eight of Lumen Gentium, a summary of the Catholic doctrines on Mary (which does not claim to be complete). Some observers interpreted this to be an attempt to minimize the effects of Mary on the Roman Catholic Church, others interpreted her inclusion as a chapter into the Church document as emphasizing her role for the Church. With the inclusion of Marian issues within the Constitution of the Church rather than in a separate document, many believed that her influence was emphasized, namely that Mary belongs “within the Church.” The perceived impact of concessions to ecumenicalism made at Vatican II did not, however, impact the fundamental loyalties to Mary within Catholicism and their attachment Marian veneration. Devotion to Mary had not been reduced in any significant manner since Vatican II, despite the various statements made about its perceived impact on Catholics.

Tolerance. A prized virtue today. The ability to be understanding of those with whom you differ is a sign of sophistication. Yeshua, also, was a champion of tolerance. Tolerant of the apostles when they doubted. Tolerant of the multitudes when they misunderstood. Tolerant of us when we fall. But there was one area where He is intolerant and dogmatic . . . As far as He is concerned, when it comes to salvation, there aren’t several roads. There is only one road. There aren’t several paths. There’s only one path. And that path is Jesus Himself. That’s why it is so hard for people to believe in Messiah. It’s much easier to consider Him to be one of several options rather than THE only option.¹⁴²⁷

If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well (John 14:7a). The conditional construction implies that the talmidim did not really know Christ and, accordingly, they did not know the Father. While verse 6 declares the cardinal truth of the Gospel, this is a rebuke. This was not a new teaching. The apostles had been watching and listening to Jesus for more than three years, yet some disciples understood His teaching better than they did (John 11:24). In a sense, of course, they had known Yeshua. They had known Him well enough to leave their homes and friends and livelihood to follow Him wherever He went. But they did not know Him in His full significance. To really know Him was to know His Father.

Up to this point all had been preparation. They had not really come to the full knowledge of Jesus and His significance. But from now on, it will be different, you do know Him and have seen Him (John 14:7b). This is to be understood in terms of John 1:18, where the inspired author wrote: No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known. God cannot be seen in a literal sense. But to know Yeshua fully is to see the Father. This is a promise, which looks beyond the cross and the resurrection.¹⁴²⁸

The statement about Christ’s relationship with His Father raised a third question in the mind of Philip. While Philip was intimately associated with Christ, he felt that he did not know the Father. And so he asked, in an indirect way, for Yeshua to reveal the Father to them: Lord, He said stroking his thick beard, show us the Father and that will be enough for us (John 14:8). Jesus answered: Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.

Should a man see only popularity, he becomes a mirror, reflecting whatever needs to be reflected to gain acceptance. Though in vogue, he is vague. Though in style, he is stodgy . . .

Should a woman see only power, she becomes a wolf – prowling, hunting, and stalking the elusive game. Recognition is her prey and people are her prizes. Her quest is endless . . .

Should we see only pleasure, we become carnival thrill-seekers, alive only in bright lights, wild rides, and titillating entertainment. With lustful fever we race from ride to ride, satisfying our insatiable passion for sensations only long enough to look of another . . .

The end result for those who seek popularity, power and pleasure is the same – painful unfulfillment. Only when we seek our Father do we truly become whole. For only in seeing the Son, do we catch a glimpse of what we were intended to be.¹⁴²⁹

How can you say, “Show us the Father?” Don’t you believe that I AM in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? This showed that the apostles still didn’t get it. Jesus reminded Philip and the others that He is the perfect representation of the Father. In other words, the Father cannot take a visible, audible form more suitable than the Son. So because they are the same essence, everything the Son says or does reflects the Father’s words and works.¹⁴³⁰ Christ revealed the Father in two ways. First, His words had been a revelation of the Father (John 3:16). The words I say to you I do not speak on My own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Second, His works, the miracles of healing and those coming to faith, had been a revelation of the Father. Believe Me when I say that I AM in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves (John 14:9-11).

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and in fact they will do even greater things than these, because I AM going to the Father (Jn 14:12). The apostles were to go forward with His works. His departure, far from being a calamity, would enable them through His intercession to do even greater things than He had done for the glory of the Father. The talmidim would not necessarily do more astonishing miracles than Jesus did, but their outreach would be greater. During His lifetime the Son of God never preached outside of Palestine. But the apostles and their disciples would take the Gospel all over the world. He would send God the Holy Spirit to assist them with this ministry (Jn 16:7).

The releasing of these new energies was linked to their (and our) prayers. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it (John 14:13-14). The apostles had direct access to Jesus in prayer. This was a great assurance to them as He was on the verge of His departure. Their greater things would depend on true, constant, and faithful effort in prayer. They were to pray in Yeshua’s name, but what does that mean? There is no magic power in the name of Jesus.¹⁴³¹ It is not a blank check to play God. I want a new house? No. To pray in His name is to identify one’s self with Him and pray according to His will. If your baby girl is dying and you pray in Jesus’ name that she will live, but she dies. Does that mean that God is mean or ambivalent to your suffering? No. Does it mean that you’re not following all the commandments? No. It means that it wasn’t His will that she live. It doesn’t make sense to us in this life (Romans 8:28). Why couldn’t He just save her life? We don’t know. That’s where faith comes in. This will be one of the many questions for God once we get to heaven. But when Jesus says, and I will do it, He means and I will [carry out My will]. Basically, we have to align our prayers with His will. Then our prayers will be answered. Sometimes that answer will be “no.” But our prayers will always be answered. And the goal of answered prayer is to bring glory to the Father.

In My Father’s House Are Many Dwelling Places
John 14: 1-4
The Upper Room Discourse
Late Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

In My Father’s House are many dwelling places DIG: What comfort does Jesus offer His apostles? Look at Peter’s question in John 13:36. What question is he struggling with? How does Yeshua answer Simon’s question here? What Jewish custom did the Lord use to serve as an example of His ultimate return? How was this Good News to Kefa?

REFLECT: Do you have a troubled heart today? Are you finding it difficult to sleep? Are you under stress? Is your joy crushed? Are you burdened? Worried sick? How do you react during such times? Do you blame God? Or do you run to Him for comfort?

Jesus was giving His final instructions to the eleven apostles in the Upper Room. They had never known their Rabbi to talk so much, and with such finality as He spoke of His departure (Jn 13:31-35). He referred to it as His glorification, saying: Now is the Son of Man glorified (Jn 13:31). No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known (Jn 1:18). By Christ’s life, words, and works Yeshua had revealed all that is possible to reveal about the Father to the world. Now through Messiah’s death and resurrection the Father would confirm to the world that the Son was who He claimed to be. Thus, the Lord referred to the coming events as God’s glorification of the Son.

Jesus clearly stated to His talmidim that He would soon leave them and that it would be impossible for them to come with Him (John 13:33). He must go alone. The thought completely overwhelmed the Eleven. During the years of the relationship with Him, they had come to trust Him completely for every need. Complete dependence. He had assumed a role like a father, providing, protecting, guiding and instructing these men like children. In truth, babes in the faith. They had come into an intimate fellowship with Him. The proof that they desired to see it continue was their willingness to accompany Messiah to the City of David even though they felt it would involve their own deaths. Thus when Yeshua told them that they could not go with Him when He went away, they felt utterly depressed and abandoned. The apostles addressed four specific questions to Christ that He, in turn, answered.

Peter’s question was the first. He asked: Lord, where are you going (John 13:36)? A storm raged within these men as they heard Messiah announce that He would shortly leave. To quiet the storm Jesus poured out His heart by saying: Do not let your hearts be troubled. Obviously Yeshua didn’t condemn worry per se, neither does the Bible for that matter. In order to quiet their fears Christ said: Trust in God; trust also in Me (John 14:1). The present tense of the verb implies continuous action: Keep on trusting . . . To trust in someone is to have faith in them or believe in them. The Greek word pisteo has a wide semantic range and can be translated: trust, faith or belief. This word, in one form or another, occurs ninety-nine times in the book of Yochanan. In God’s case, we are encouraged to trust, have faith in, and believe in His ability and willingness to care for His children.

Let’s face it. Humanly speaking, when something goes horribly wrong in life we look up to heaven and ask two questions. Why did God allow this to happen? Or, where was ADONAI? Both suggest that the Lord was either unwilling or unable to prevent tragedy. When pressed by worldly affliction, we naturally begin to wonder if He was abandoned us. We doubt His goodness or power. Yeshua asked His talmidim to trust in the midst of their confusion.¹⁴²¹

One of the unique features of the B’rit Chadashah is that Jesus is our High Priest who goes before us into the most holy place, not as a substitute, but as a forerunner whom we are to follow.¹⁴²² In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you (John 14:2 NASB). He gave them the promise to return and receive them personally into that eternal home of heavenly fellowship.

In order to further quiet their fears, the Lord gave them a promise concerning the future. The separation that resulted from His departure would not be permanent; it was only temporary. The Jewish wedding ceremony was broken into four distinct stages (to see link click Al – The Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary). The first stage was called the shiddukhin, meaning the arrangement. As time passed, there would come a point when the couple was old enough to confirm their desire to be married. This is known as the erusin, or engagement. Our modern understanding of engagement does not fully capture its meaning for the people of the New Covenant times. Today, an engaged couple may break off their commitment with no legal ramifications, but a couple in first-century Judea were bound together with a much stronger agreement. To enter into this erusin period, the couple would have a public ceremony called a ketubah. When the ketubah was signed, the couple would enter a formal one-year betrothal, which meant the man and the woman were legally bound in marriage.

Before the actual presentation of the bride to the groom, he would busy himself preparing a future home for the couple, often as a room addition on the father’s house. Using this imagery, Christ said to these men: I AM going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:2 NASB). This indicated that while He was away from them, He would not have forgotten them. Rather, He would occupy Himself by preparing a place where they could dwell with Him together in His Father’s house.

The second stage of the wedding ceremony was known as the fetching of the bride. At that time the groom’s father would sound the shofar or the ram’s horn. He determined when the fetching would occur (see Jw – The Parable of the Ten Virgins). Then the groom would fetch, or take his bride, and she would literally be carried back to his home, the place of the ceremony. Therefore, Jesus said: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I AM (John 14:3). This was a promise that the separation that had so distressed the apostles would not be permanent. Simon Peter knew this custom well and it would have been very reassuring to him. He could look forward to a blessed reunion with the Lord. One day Jesus would come back as the bridegroom for His bride and take him and the rest of the talmidim to a place that the Meshiach had been preparing for them during the time of His absence.¹⁴²³

Then Yeshua added. You know the way to the place where I AM going (John 14:4). The Lord had answered Peter’s question. Kefa could not follow Jesus where He was going at that time, but Messiah would came back and take him to His father’s house where they would be united forever.

This is the Good News for us also. Let’s not let our hearts be troubled. The suffering of this present time is temporary. The joy and glory to come are for all believers, for all eternity (see Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Whatever you are suffering, God is committed to you. Surrender to ADONAI in love and watch Him bring good out of even seemingly unbearable situations, or bring you through the heartache. Let His Ruach ha-Kodesh form you more completely into the image of Jesus, who is the fullness of life.

Lord, we are watching and waiting for Your return. Enlighten our minds to reach out to others; kindle our hearts to speak healing words; empower our wills to trust in You when things get tough. You are worthy, Amen.¹⁴²⁴

The Upper Room Discourse
About 10:00 pm on Friday Evening

Time was running short. In the Upper Room Jesus gave His final instructions to His eleven talmidim. He would be leaving them to go to a place they could not follow. The bulk of  Yeshua’s teaching here is in response to four different specific questions asked by Peter, Thomas, Philip and Thaddaeus. It was getting close to 10 pm and Caiaphas waited for Pontius Pilate outside the double gates of his headquarters. He was impatient. Very impatient. This thing that had to be done needed to be completed at once and quietly. But to avoid ceremonial uncleanness Caiaphas and the chief of the Temple guard did not enter the praetorium because they did not want to be defiled. So, reluctantly, Pilate came out to them and asked them what they wanted. The two men needed each other to survive their uneasy peace. So the willingness of the two schemers tended to cancel each other out evenly. Each understood the strategic treachery of the other. Each understood that this Nazarene was a pawn in a much bigger game. The fight was over power. Caiaphas and Annas for the retention of power in Jerusalem – and Pilate to bring the Jews to heel.

According to Roman law, Judas needed to be present to make the accusation. So the high priest called Judas to his side and watched the money-keeper’s great deference with scorn. Caiaphas was shrewd. He knew that if Judas would actually live with someone who claimed to be the Messiah and then betray him for next to nothing, then Judas, if given the opportunity, would betray the high priest for an even smaller sum.

Caiaphas had to think of all the possibilities. He ordered Judas to lead the arresting party to the house of the feast, and to make sure that he pointed out the right man to the Roman soldiers. He envisioned some confusion when the raid was in progress, and he did not want the Nazarene to escape. If he slipped through the net tonight, he might flee to Galilee or the wilderness and not be seen in Tziyon again until the high holy days of the autumn.

Moreover, the high priest did not want to arrest Jesus’ followers this night. They were merely sheep and would scatter at the first sign of attack on the shepherd. He had instructed the chief of the Temple guard only to threaten them with arrest. That would be enough. Roman law must be followed and he wanted only one person to be judged. It would be far better if the small band were able to tell His followers that He had been arrested, tried and convicted of blasphemy. Then this new cult would die out, the people would return to worship at the Temple where they belonged and this nightmare would be over at last.

Judas said that the Passover feast would probably continue for another hour or so. It should be simple enough to surround the house and to send a raiding party up the outside stairs – there was no other exit – and then he would lead a detachment of soldiers into the room to arrest Him.

Exploring all the possibilities, Caiaphas had demanded an alternate plan apart from Judas’ if Jesus had escaped from the upper room. He asked Judas where the most likely places to find him would be. The betrayer said that the renegade rabbi would probably go to the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, because when Yeshua was in Jerusalem he often slept there with his men. Should he not be there, the soldiers should go to Bethany to the home of Martha and Mary, because that was the only other place Jesus would sleep. And as Bethany was only three miles from where the high priest stood, the arrest could be made long before dawn and the awakening of the City.

Caiaphas was pleased. So long as the criminal was surely in either the Upper Room, Gethsemane or the home of Martha and Mary, there was little cause to worry. It would, of course, simplify everything if Jesus was caught in the Upper Room, resist arrest, and receive a Roman spear through the heart as a result. This would take the onus off of him and the Sanhedrin. The thousands of followers of Jesus in and around Jerusalem could then spew their venom on the Romans, an ideal situation for the high priest.

Still, resistance was hardly to be expected, unless the Jewish leaders had read their man incorrectly. The counterfeit Messiah preached love, non-violence and forgiveness. Thus, these traits did not lend themselves to an early morning brawl with Roman soldiers. But Pilate’s gesture of sending a cohort of soldiers may have been an act of deliberate sarcasm. It was like sending a major general and two brigades to apprehend a child.¹⁴²⁰

The procurator and Caiaphas had already agreed on a plan (to see link click Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption). The Roman cohort would leave Fortress Antonia and meet the Temple guard at the home of the high priest. From there they would travel a few blocks to the south and take the troublemaking Rabbi into custody. If He wasn’t in the Upper Room, they knew where to look next.

The Promises and Warnings of King Messiah
John Chapters 14, 15 and 16

John’s gospel reports more of the content of Yeshua’s instructions to His apostles than do the other three gospels combined. Chapters 14 through 16 concentrate on His teachings on that fateful day before His arrest, trials, crucifixion and burial. In Chapter 14 Christ gave what has become known as the Upper Room Discourse (to see link click Ko). He promised that in His Father’s House are many rooms (Kp), but warned that no one comes to the Father except through Him (Kq). Chapter 14 ends with the promise that He would not leave them (or us) as orphans, but that the Holy Spirit would teach them (us) all things (Kr). Then the Lord and His talmidim left the Upper Room and walked through Jerusalem, down into the Kidron Valley, and up the Mount of Olives to the garden of Gethsemane (Ks). On the way Jesus promised He is the True Vine (Kt), but warned that if the world persecuted Him, they would also be persecuted (Ku). Chapter 16 ends with the promise that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth (Kv) and that their grief would turn to joy (Kw).

Three Times You Will Deny That You Know Me
Matthew 26:31-35; Mark 14:27-31; Luke 22:31-38; John 13:31-38
After the Third Cup of Redemption
Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

Three times you will deny that you know me DIG: Why did Yeshua wait until Judas had gone to share what He does here? What emotions and motives accompany Messiah’s next prediction? Peter’s vow? The Lord’s reply? Peter’s follow-up vow? How does Peter see himself in relation to the other apostles? How might the others feel about that? Why do you think Jesus warned them (especially Peter) of their upcoming denial?

REFLECT: When have you felt betrayed? How did you deal with it? When, if ever, have you felt like you betrayed Jesus? How did you and Christ resolve that issue? How do you feel, realizing that Messiah knows your weaknesses and also your failures? How would you compare your “good intentions” to Peter’s?

Christ had just revealed that one of the Twelve would betray Him; now He predicted that the Eleven would deny Him. The Lord viewed this denial as a fulfillment of Zechariah 13:7, where the prophet stated: Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.

When Judas was gone, the process of glorification had begun. Yeshua had predicted His own death many times and had promised to rise from the dead many times (Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19; Mark 8:31, 9:9, 10:34, 14:28; Luke 9:22, 24:7; John 2:19-22). His closest followers failed to connect the dots. In a few hours, Judas’ betrayal and Messiah’s death represented the end of all their messianic hopes. Consequently, the Lord reassured them in simpler, more direct terms. He wanted them to know that God’s plan had not been thwarted and His impending crucifixion was a necessary part of it.¹⁴¹¹ He said: Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will glorify the Son in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. It was a matter of hours now until His death and that would be followed soon by His ascension. And as the apostles continued to eat the paschal lamb, which must be totally consumed, the Good Shepherd talked to them in fatherly tones about the hours ahead. My children, He said softly, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for Me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come (Yochanan 13:33b).

Yeshua continually spoke of a coming hour in which the Son of God would be glorified. He announced the arrival of His hour using a form of the Greek term doxa no less than five in verses 31-32. Doxa comes from the verb dokeo, which means to believe or to think. To be glorified is to be thought good of and vindicated in the eyes of all witnesses. Jews in the first-century chose doxa to translate the Hebrew term kabod, or the term for the radiant splendor of ADONAI’s character, which He often displayed as light, or the Sh’khinah glory (see my commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Ju – The Glory of the LORD Rises Upon You). With the departure of Judas to betray Him, that process of glorification had begun.¹⁴¹²

As the men sat in bewildered silence, He said: So now I’m giving you a new commandment (John 13:34a). Why is this a new commandment? Doesn’t Leviticus 19:18 already say: Love your neighbor as yourself? The difference is this . . . Leviticus says: as yourself, whereas Yeshua says: As I have loved you, which assumes that God’s way of loving can be ours. Humanly this is impossible. But Jesus gives us a new name, and a new Spirit, in fulfillment of the promises in the TaNaKh (Ezeki’el 36:26, 37:14; Jeremiah 31:31-33).¹⁴¹³

Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34b). When we accept Messiah as our Lord and Savior, the Ruach Ha’Kodesh comes to live inside of us. Rabbi Sha’ul said it this way: When you believed in Christ, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Caring for others – with God’s supernatural assistance – shows the world that we are His disciples. By this all mankind will know that you are my talmidim, if you love one another (John 13:35). This was hardly a new commandment, except that it was explicit. Jesus had often preached love and the apostles could doubtless remember every date. “Love God as God loves you; love your neighbor as he must love you.” The only thing new about it was that it now had a note of finality – and a new tone, which said: As I have loved you.

The world struggles to understand love. Most people think mainly of romantic love, that mysterious sickness that overtakes someone like a delightful case of the flu – can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t concentrate on anything except one’s lover. But that kind of love comes and goes as it pleases and trumps all logic and no one knows the cause. So when the Lord says: Love (agape) one another as I have loved (agape) you, what kind of love was He talking about?

The Greek word agape is rarely found outside the Bible. The Greek language celebrated eros, an intoxicating, impulsive physical love between men and women, and honored philia, the warm, noble affection of deep friendship. The human authors of the B’rit Chadashah needed a Greek word to express the kind of love taught by Christ and commanded in the Upper Room, but the most common Greek terms wouldn’t do. Fortunately, agape, was relatively unknown and largely undefined, so it suited their purposes perfectly.¹⁴¹⁴

Agape love is a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. Jesus lived out agape love by sacrificing Himself on the cross for our sins. As a result, as Christ is the embodiment of the Father’s love, so now we should embody Messiah’s love.

Simon Peter, quick to speak, picked up on what Jesus had said about going away: Where I am going, you cannot come (John 13:31-33). He asked, “Lord, where are you going?” Kefa’s love was such that he wanted to be with his Lord and could not conceive of any situation that would make Yeshua’s words necessary. But Christ answered: Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later. For a moment, Peter digested this reply. He was certain that his love and courage were up to any challenge, including death. But not totally understanding what Yeshua meant, he pressed one more question. And why, Lord, can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you (Yochanan 13:36-37).¹⁴¹⁵

Jesus addressed the impulsive Peter and calling him by his old name, said: Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you [apostles] as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back (see Mn – Jesus Reinstates Peter), strengthen your brothers (be the leader of the talmidim). Because this very night you will all fall away on account of Me, for it is written in TaNaKh itself: I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered (Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27; Luke 22:31-32; Zechariah 13:7). The prophet, who has much to say about the appearance of the Meshiach in Zechariah Chapters 12-14, predicted a most unusual occurrence in the life of the coming Messiah. In the original Hebrew, Zechariah says it is ADONAI –Tzva’ot Himself who calls for the strike against the man who is close to Me, a fitting description of the close relationship to the Father. In the typology of the Suffering Servant (see my commentary on Isaiah Jb – Yet We Considered Him Punished, Stricken and Afflicted by God), Ha’Shem Himself will strike His own Son.

This reminds us that the tragic events leading up the Christ’s crucifixion and death were not events dictated by men, but, rather, were all part of God’s plan of redemption. Yet in the process of striking the Shepherd, the flock will be scattered. Jesus prayed that after they denied Him, that their denial would not destroy them. He prayed that their denial would not cause their faith to fail. He also prayed for their restoration. The Chief Shepherd anticipated that after their denial they would be restored to fellowship with Him, and they would strengthen their brothers and sisters in the faith. Having failed themselves, they would be able to have compassion on others who failed.

As they sat around the U shaped table at the Seder, it must have seemed inconceivable that any or all of them would desert their Rabbi. Nevertheless, this would happen, but according to the Good Shepherd, it is actually part of God’s larger prophetic plan. Judas had already arranged to betray Him and the other talmidim would accordingly deny their association with Him in just a few hours. Yes, the sheep would be scattered temporarily, but we should not overlook the bigger picture.

The entire flock of Isra’el would be scattered in 70 AD, just one generation after these events transpired. So if these were the last words from Yeshua, that would be a sad commentary on events of Pesach and the nation of Isra’el – but there is more.

Yeshua added: But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee (Matthew 26:32; Mark 16:7). His death was both unavoidable and necessary, but the ultimate victory will come when He conquered death through the Resurrection. This was the first command to go to Galilee after His death. At that time they will have a hard time with this because of their unbelief. But now, the apostles were captivated with what He said.

Like a self-willed child, Peter seemed to hear only what he wanted to hear and believe only what he wanted to believe. Therefore, he boasted: Even if all fall away on account of You, I never will. And a few moments later adding: I am ready to go to prison and to death (Matthew 26:33: Mark 14:29; Luke 22:33). Kefa would later back up those words with action when he drew a large knife and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear (Mattityahu 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:50). The word translated sword in some translations is the Greek word machairan, and is used in the Septuagint to refer to the large single-edged knife that Abraham used for sacrificial purposes (Genesis 22:6 and 10). The former fisherman may have used this knife in the preparations for Pesach (Matthew 26:17) and still may have had it with him.¹⁴¹⁶

Simon Peter, however, did not know his own weakness. Jesus shook His head saying: Will you really lay down your life for Me? As sincere and commendable as Kefa’s comments were, Yeshua revealed that his denial would take place within hours: I tell you the truth: Jesus answered, this very night, before the rooster crows today, three times you will deny that you know Me (Mt 26:34; Mk 14:30; Lk 22:34; Yn 13:38). The rabbis debated about the reality of the spirit world, both good and evil. The power of  the rooster was just one animal regarded by some as representative of the power of darkness as it crows in the dark (Tractate Sanhedrin 63b).¹⁴¹⁷

But in response to Yeshua’s statements, Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You.” This is in the imperfect tense, meaning he kept on and on insisting emphatically. And all the other apostles said the same (Mattityahu 26:35; Mark 14:31). But the Great Rabbi knew better.

When Christ had previously sent them away to minister (see Gv – Jesus Sends Out the Seventy), He told them that they were to walk in constant dependence on Him: When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything? Nothing, they answered. He had been faithful to them. Now He was to be absent from them after His death; so the Lord commanded them to make provisions for their needs, saying to them: But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a large knife (Greek: machairan), sell your cloak and buy one (Luke 22:35-36). What is Jesus seeking to teach by this saying of buying a sword? If the context is noted, it can be seen that in the preceding verse Yeshua reminds His talmidim that earlier in His ministry when He sent them out to preach they had no need for purse or bag or sandals. They were completely taken care of by the cordial reception of their audience. But this took place during the height of Messiah’s popularity and they experienced great hospitality from the people.

But now the situation had changed. Jesus will soon be crucified. Instead of hospitality, the apostles can expect hostility and persecution. They needed to prepare for this new situation by providing themselves with a purse and a bag. The need for a sword can be understood as a metaphorical way of describing the hardship and struggle of the “war” they were to fight for the cause of Christ. We interpret the Scriptures literally unless it is impossible to do so. Here, rather than interpret this saying about the sword literally, which is impossible in the light of Jesus’ life and teachings elsewhere, it is best to interpret it as a metaphor describing the “war” His talmidim were involved in. This “war” at times will involve persecution and perhaps martyrdom. At times the struggle will involve a “war” against sin and temptation. Hence, Messiah’s use of the sword metaphor is to prepare them to enter this battle with their eyes wide open, dedicated and armed with the full armor of God.

It is written, “And He was numbered with the transgressors” (Is 53:12), and I tell you this must be fulfilled in Me. He shrugged ever so slightly. Yes, what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment. Later, apparently not understanding Yeshua’s figurative language, the apostles took Jesus literally and produced two knives as evidence that they were ready. See, Lord, here are two large knives (Greek: machairai). He quickly dismissed the thought, saying: That is enough (Lk 22:37-38). Perhaps the best interpretation of this is to see these words as an idiomatic way of stopping a conversation that is on the wrong track by saying: That is enough [of such foolish talk]. An example of this can be found in Deuteronomy 3:26 where God puts a stop to His conversation with Moshe by saying: That is enough. Do not speak to Me anymore about this matter.¹⁴¹⁸

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

I am an Occasional and Unsuccessful Gardner. But I raise Hollyhocks. And when they are once planted they continue without much help from me. For the old plants die the Second Winter, but the young ones bear in the Second Summer. And I like to remember how the Crusaders when they went to the Holy Land brought back this Glorious Blossoming Staff to the Gardens of Europe and to my garden and that of Keturah.

But Keturah is more industrious than I. She plants all kinds of Flowers.

And it came to pass that she set out Flowers, and Rude Boys came by in the night and pulled them up. And Keturah suspected who they were. Now it came to pass on a day that Keturah saw that Tough Bunch coming. And she took a Basket of Apples that she had ready, and she went out to the Porch. And she saluted them as they walked by, and they answered her Gruffly, and edged away, for they feared that she would Bawl them Out or threaten them with the Police.

But Keturah said them, What tall, manly fellows you are. How strong you are, and brave. And by that she kept them Guessing. And she said, I need help from you, and I am sure that you will give it. I plant flowers, and boys pull them up. They are not bad boys, but thoughtless. I want you to help me protect my Flowers.

And they said nothing.

And she said, I have boys, and they are also strong and tall. And they have grown up and gone out into the world. I am as old as the mothers of you boys, and it is hard work to set out Flowers and have them plucked up. And I know that if you boys, who are so strong and brave, will protect my Flowers, and speak to the other boys about them, then my Flowers will Grow and Blossom.

And when she had said this, she produced her Apples.

Now it has been this way ever since the Wind and the Sun argued over which one could compel a man to take off his Coat. And the stronger the Wind blew, the more he tightened it, but the warmth of the Sun quickly accomplished what the harsh treatment could not do.

And if you will pass the Garden of Keturah, you will find her Flowers unharmed. For they are guarded by the best policemen in town, even by the boys.

There are those whose word of progress is, Treat them Rough; but Keturah can show that love is a More Excellent Way.¹⁴¹⁹

I AM Among You As One Who Serves
Luke 22: 24-30
After the Third Cup of Redemption
Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

I am among you as one who serves DIG: Why was it surprising that the apostles would argue at that particular time? What was the culturally established rule regarding seating arrangements? How does this help to explain the conversations between John and Judas at the Passover table? Why was the arguing over their seating arrangements so intense at that time? How did Jesus handle that situation? How did He encourage them? What would be their surprise?

REFLECT: Where are you on the servanthood scale? Do you vie for important positions in the congregations of God, or do you merely use your spiritual gift(s)? Do you care where you will sit at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-10)? Why? Why not? What constitutes faithful service in your eyes?

Inexplicably, right after Yeshua mentioned His coming Kingdom, He said: I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink new wine with you in My Father’s Kingdom (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25), that the apostles started arguing about who was the greatest. Obviously, vying for the best seat in the Kingdom next to King Messiah. We know that the Pharisees were contentious about the same issue and were seated according to their supposed rank. But the talmidim arguing was surprising in view of what Christ had just said about one of them betraying Him.

Jewish documents are extremely clear as to seating arrangements. It seems to have been quite an established rule that, in a company of more than two, the most important person – in this instance it was of course Messiah – reclined in the middle of the U shaped lowered table. We know from John’s Gospel that the apostle whom Jesus loved reclined to His right. But the place of highest honor next to the Master would be to His left. On this night of nights, Judas actually occupied the most honored position.

This explains how, when Christ whispered to John how to recognize the traitor: It is the one to whom I will give this piece of matzah when I have dipped it in the bowl (John 13:26a), none of the other apostles heard Him. It also explains how the Lord would start the Paschal ritual of dipping the charoset, and giving it to Judas first without calling undue attention to the false apostle. Lastly, it accounts for Jesus affirming that Judas was indeed the betrayer: The words are yours, with no one else at the table hearing it.

As regards to Peter, we can only imagine how, after Christ’s rebuke of the apostles’ self-seeking ways: Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all (Mark 9:35), he would have rushed to take the lowest place at the far end of the U shaped table, on the same side as Yochanan. It was from there that he motioned to John and said: Ask Jesus which one He means because John was reclining next to the Lord. The rest of the talmidim would occupy places that were most convenient, or suited their fellowship with one another.¹⁴⁰⁷

Evidently a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest (Luke 22:24). Christ had previously promised the apostles that when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Isra’el (Matthew 19:28). The fact that the Passover would find its fulfillment in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:16) led them to anticipate that the Kingdom would soon be instituted. Therefore, they concluded that the positions they would occupy in the future Kingdom would be determined by the positions they occupied at the Passover table that night. If the truth be known, from the time that the previous announcement had been made these men had been seeking positions of honor at Messiah’s right and left hand (Matthew 20:21).¹⁴⁰⁸

But the issue had never been settled as to the order of preference. Evidently it seemed to them that the decision could no longer be postponed. So they came to Pesach selfishly seeking positions of honor. Jesus then told them that such thinking is that of the pagans. He said to them: The kings of the Gentiles lord it over their people; yet those who exercise authority over them are called “friends of the people” (Luke 22:25 NLT). But you are not to be like that (the you is emphatic). Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest (people who possess the least claim for ruling over others), and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I AM among you as one who serves (diakonon) meaning serves in a lowly way (Luke 22:26-27). Although Jesus is clearly greater than the apostles, His behavior during His earthly ministry was one of serving them (John 13:3-17; Philippians 2:6-11). Thus the one who would follow Yeshua also should be the servant of all.¹⁴⁰⁹ There was no question that Messiah should occupy the place of honor at the Passover table, and that honor came to Him because He was the Servant of ADONAI. But the Lord did not seek that honor for Himself. Rather, His Father gave it to Him due to His faithful service.

Ultimately, He said, they would have places in the Kingdom because they stood by Him in His trials. And I confer on you a Kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Isra’el (Luke 22:28-30; also see Matthew 19:28). They would be honored along with Him. But their positions would be determined by faithful service, not by their covetousness. Little did they know that their faithful service would end in martyrdom (to see link click Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles).

Jesus didn’t have to wash the apostles feet, yet He did. There were servants who did that job, but Messiah chose to serve them. Today’s society insists that we should aim to “be somebody.” We want the best-paying job, the highest position in the company, or the top leadership in the congregations of God. Yet whatever position we are in, we can learn from our Savior to serve.

We hold different roles as parents, children, friends, workers, leaders, or students. The question is this: Do we carry out those roles with an attitude of servanthood. Even though my everyday routine is sometimes tiring, I’m thankful the Master will help me because I do want to follow His steps and willingly serve others. May God help us to do this each day.¹⁴¹⁰

The Third Cup of Redemption
Matthew 26:27-29; Mark 14:23-25; Luke 22:20;
First Corinthians 11:25-26
About 9:00 pm on Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

The third cup of redemption DIG: What clues were given to the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection in Exodus? What did Rabbi Sha’ul add? How many cups of wine were/are consumed during the Seder meal? What are their names? What does each cup represent? What does the cup of Elijah have to do with the four verbs from the four cups? What do the four cups describe for believers today?

REFLECT: When will Yeshua drink the fourth cup of praise again? How can you drink it with Him? What does it mean to you that you are redeemed? How often do you think of the cost of your redemption? Do you take it for granted? Did you ever? Do you ever thank Messiah for His sacrifice and the spilling of His blood for your sins? Why not?

In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the third cup of redemption, also called the cup of blessing, and when He had given thanks He offered it to them saying: Drink from it, all of you. This cup is the New Covenant (see my commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Eo – The Days are Coming, declares the LORD, When I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el) in My blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me (Matthew 26:27-28; Mark 14:23-24 Luke 22:20; First Corinthians 11:25). This becomes not just merely a physical redemption from the land of Egypt (see my commentary on Exodus Bz – Redemption), but a spiritual redemption that will come by the shedding of His blood. A clue from Exodus points to the fact that the blood of Christ would have something to do with the Passover (see my commentary on Exodus Bx – He Will See the Blood and Pass Over that Doorway). Rabbi Sha’ul added: For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (First Corinthians 11:26). During the course of the Pesach meal, participants drink four cups of kosher Passover wine, the fruit of the vine:

The first is the cup of sanctification or the cup of blessing. It is based on the promise from ADONAI that I will bring you out (hotzeyti) from the yoke of the Egyptians (Exodus 6:6a). In the haggadah, this cup is called Kadesh, or the Cup of Sanctification. The Hebrew word implies separation or being set apart, and an appropriate word for the first step of redemption from Egypt. At the beginning of every Seder, the b’rakhah is chanted, “Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine.” Celebrants drink the first cup to thank God for bringing the children of Jacob out of Egypt.

The second is the cup of plagues, but it is not mentioned by any of the four Gospel accounts. It is based on the promise from Ha’Shem that I will deliver you (hitzalti) from being slaves to them (Exodus 6:6b). This goes beyond celebrating the deliverance from a life of slavery. It is called the cup of plagues, a reminder of the ten plagues upon Egypt (see my commentary on Exodus Bj – The Ten Plagues of Egypt). Although this cup represents the freedom of the Jewish people, the rabbis teach that they are not to rejoice in the misfortunes of evil (in this case, the Egyptians). As a result, this cup of wine is not tasted and enjoyed, but emptied by spilling out ten drops, one at a time, for each plague.

The third is the cup of redemption. It is based upon God’s promise that I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment (Exodus 6:6c). This has always been the cup taken right after the main meal, immediately after the afikoman search (see Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah). The Hebrew term gaalti implies buying back something that belonged to someone else. It’s the same verb used in the redemption of a slave at the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:47-55). Each year when Jews celebrate the Seder, they are to remember that ADONAI paid an unbelievable price for the redemption of His people. Before Christ, this was clearly understood to be the death of the Pesach lamb and the blood applied to the doorframe of the house (see my commentary on Exodus By – The Tenth Plague of Death). They were slaves, now they are free. The Cup of Redemption is a wonderful reminder of God’s love for us. We were slaves to sin, now we are set free.

The fourth is the cup of praise (also called the cup of acceptance). It is based on the LORD’s promise that I will take you as My own people (lakakhti), and I will be your God. Then you will know that I Am the LORD who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians (Exodus 6:7). At the very end of the Seder, the fourth and final cup is taken when the second part of Hallel (Psalm 115-118) is recited. This is the climax of the previous three cups. After the blessing is chanted again, the cup is shared, followed by songs of praise in celebration of our full redemption.

The famous messianic Jew Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) observed that, “the Lord ended each phase of His ministry with a feeding. He ended His Galilean ministry with the feeding of the five thousand. He ended His Gentile ministry with the feeding of the four thousand. And He ended the Judean ministry before His death on the cross with the feeding of His own talmidim in the upper room.”¹⁴⁰⁴

There are many wonderful symbols that are part of the Seder service and the Passover holiday. One of the most important symbols is in many ways, one of the most misunderstood symbols. It is called the cup of Elijah. In many ways this cup represents the messianic vision of the Jewish people.

At the Passover meal, the question is raised, “Why do we drink four cups of wine?” And the truth is that the four cups of wine represent the four verbs that are in Exodus 6:6-7, which describe the way God brought the children of Isra’el out of Egypt. These four Passover verbs are bring out, save, redeem and take out.

In fact, some rabbis argue that there should be a fifth cup of wine because there is a fifth verb, bring, in verse 8 of Exodus 6, which refers to the way God would bring the Israelites into the Land. Some rabbis felt that this was a separate process. It wasn’t part of the redemption of the children of Isra’el; it was part of their future. So there was a division among the rabbis as to how many verbs applied to the redemption of the Israelites. Therefore, there was a difference of opinion as to how many cups of wine you should drink at the Seder.

And so the rabbis came up with a compromise. They said, we will drink four cups of wine at the Seder, but we will pour a fifth cup. Even though it sits in the middle of the table – no one touches it. In the messianic future, when the Messiah comes, He will answer all of our questions. The most important questions, like how do we have peace in this troubled world? And the rabbis say that when the footsteps of the Messiah arrive, some of the other questions of life will be resolved. One of those resolved questions would be, do we drink four cups of wine or five cups of wine? Do we drink the fifth cup of wine at the Seder table?

This is the cup of Elijah and serves as a reminder that he will come before that great and dreadful Day of the LORD (see my commentary on Revelation Bw – See, I Will Send You the Prophet Elijah Before the LORD Comes). The hope is that Elijah will appear at our Seder and announce the arrival of King Messiah. So as long as this cup sits on a Seder table, untouched, it means that we still live in a world that needs to be redeemed. It reminds us that our work, our ministry is not completed.

While all the cups picture wonderful historical lessons, the four cups of the Seder also reveal critical spiritual lessons for us today. For both Jewish and Gentile believers the cups describe our spiritual journey. Like the cup of sanctification, we were set apart for a purpose; like the cup of plagues, we were delivered from the foolishness of our old life; like the cup of redemption, we were bought back by a faithful redeeming kinsman (Ruth 3:9 CJB); and like the fourth cup, we praise God for our acceptance as His child (see Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). Messiah was about to fulfill the ancient promises illustrated by symbols of the Seder!

Most certainly Jesus celebrated the first three cups at the last Seder, but then He said something surprising at the end of the evening. Normally the talmidin would have expected to celebrate the end of the Seder with the drinking the last cup. That was what they had done their entire lives. At that point, however, Christ said: I tell you the truth, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink new wine with you in My Father’s Kingdom (Mattityahu 26:29; Mark 14:25). He was referring to the final fourth cup of praise, which He clearly did not drink. How inexplicable, yet, at the same time, how profound!¹⁴⁰⁵

Wine has been manufactured from earliest times and is first mentioned in the Bible in connection with the drunkenness of Noah (Genesis 9:21), which in turn led to the sin of his son, Ham. The vineyard provided one of man’s first sources of both sugar so necessary for his health and the alcohol so harmful to his health.

The pure blood of the grape (Deuteronomy 32:14) is, in itself, not only harmless but sweet and beautiful. It is only after the grape sugar, through the fermentation process caused by the yeast bacteria that collect on the grape skins, is broken down into alcohol and carbon dioxide, that the wine becomes harmful. Fermentation is essentially a decay process, in which complex sugar molecules are caused to break down into the simpler molecules of alcohol. At body temperature, sugar taken into the system is inhibited form this type of decay and instead is a prime source of energy for the body’s activities. Alcohol, on the other hand, is itself a cause of bodily decay, entering the nervous system and the entire bodily structure, causing damage everywhere it goes and, eventually, if enough is ingested, death.

Two Hebrew words for wine are used in the TaNaKh. The first (tirosh), meaning the pure blood of the grape, and (yayin), meaning fermented or decayed juice. However, in the Greek language the same word (oinos), was used for both. The result is that in the B’rit Chadashah, the word wine can mean either the fresh fruit of the vine, or its decayed product, as the context may require. There is an abundance of both ancient Hebrew and Greek secular literature available to verify that both fermented and unfermented “wines” were in common use by the people of that day.

It is significant that, in establishing the Lord’s Supper, Yeshua was always careful to use the phrase fruit of the vine, instead of wine, least He be misunderstood. Alcohol, the product of putrefaction and decay, and thus the perfect symbol of death, could certainly not represent the life-giving quality of the blood of Messiah symbolized in the cup at His table. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that He would create a substance which would cause drunkenness (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bq – Jesus Changes Water Into Wine). The wine which He made was, in fact, new wine from the blood of the grape, freshly created! It was not old, decaying wine, as it would have to be if it were intoxicating. There was no time for the fermentation process to break down the structure of its energy-giving sugars into disintegrative alcohols. It thus was a fitting representation of His glory and was appropriate to serve at the very first of His great miracles, and here, at the last supper.

The next time Jesus will drink the fourth cup of acceptance will be at the wedding feast of the Lamb on the earth to start the messianic Kingdom (see my commentary on Revelation Fg – The Wedding Feast of the Lamb). That is a Seder you won’t want to miss. If you believe that Yeshua is the Son of God: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (First Corinthians 15:3-4). Then you will experience that Seder with Him!

Yerushalayim was quiet. The City of David seemed to be deserted. The streets were clear of people and animals with only the roofs and alabaster pinnacles catching the glow of the moon. On the wall of Pilate’s headquarters a Roman guard folded his arms against the chill of an east wind and watched his off-duty comrades roll dice on the flagstones below. He laughed at the soldiers’ arguments after each roll when his attention was diverted by the sentry at the twin gates, who stepped into the roadway and drew his sword.

He watched as the sentry, who spoke sharply to someone in the moonlight. In a moment the sentry was waving someone inside the praetorium, but whoever it was would come no further than under the twin gates. Through the courtyard torchlights the soldier above could see that it was the high priest and beside him the burly chief of the Temple guard.

They argued. The sentry thought, “They wouldn’t be here unless they wanted something from Pilate.” Always, it seemed to him, they wanted something done or they wanted something stopped. He watched and saw the soldier below sheathe his sword, cup his hands, and roar across the courtyard that Caiaphas, the high priest, desired immediate audience with Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea and Samaria, at the pleasure of Tiberius Caesar.

The sentry saw the high priest standing at the twin gates. Such superstitious people! He wouldn’t come in to a Gentile’s residence for fear of being defiled. What a fool. He was glad Pilate kept him waiting. The guards along the walls of Jerusalem called out the second watch of the night. In thousands of homes, the Seder was nearing an end.¹⁴⁰⁶

Breaking the Middle Matzah
Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19;
First Corinthians 11:23-24
About 8:30 pm on Friday evening
the fifteenth of Nisan

DIG: How is the Trinity pictured in this ceremony today? What new meaning did Jesus give to the Passover matzah? The wine? What vow did He make? How much do you think the apostles understood when Yeshua spoke about His body and blood? What is the afikoman and how does it point to Christ?

REFLECT: What does communion mean to you? What impresses you most about this scene? In what way is Jesus the One who came for you?

The reading of the haggadah continued as Judas had already left on his mission of betrayal. Jesus looked around the table at the Eleven who were left to Him. They ate with gusto and enthusiasm, and as He listened to bits of their conversation and examined the innermost recesses of their hearts, He found what He already knew – that these were good men. But the Chief Shepherd was troubled because these were His final hours and there was much – so very much – that He still had to teach His talmidim.¹⁴⁰⁰

While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of matzah. The entire meal would include only unleavened matzah, as this is one of the strict requirements of the holy day. Matthew’s wording here implies that Yeshua took a particular piece of matzah on the table. From ancient times to the present day, Jews have celebrated the Seder by focusing on a special matzah in the middle of the matzah tash (see below).

There were, and are, three requirements for the bread to qualify for the Passover. The first requirement is that the matzah had to be unleavened because leaven is the symbol of sin. Jesus had unleavened matzah in that He was sinless (First Corinthians 11:27, John 6:51). If Christ had committed only one sin, it would have disqualified Him from being the Passover sacrifice. But Yeshua was the only Jew (and the only person) who ever lived that kept the Torah perfectly, and thus, He had an unleavened body.

Secondly, the matzah had to be striped. The body of Yeshua was striped by means of the flogging (John 19:1). Isaiah said that by His stripes we are healed (see my commentary on Isaiah, to see link click Jb – Yet We Considered Him Punished, Stricken and Afflicted by God).

Thirdly, the matzah also had to be pierced. The body of Jesus was pierced twice at His crucifixion: first, by the nails in His wrists and feet (John 19:17-18), and second by the spear in His side (Yochanan 18:34 and 37). Zechariah 12:10 prophesied about the day when all the Jews still living at the end of the Great Tribulation will say: They will look upon Me, the one they have pierced, mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child.¹⁴⁰¹

From ancient times to the present day, Jews have traditionally celebrated the Seder by focusing at one point on a special bag called the matzah tash. It is one bag with three separate pockets, with a piece of unleavened matzah in each pocket. At the beginning of the Seder, the middle matzah is taken out of its pocket and broken in half. The larger half is wrapped in a white linen cloth and goes back into the matzah tash; the smaller half becomes very important and is even given a special name, the afikoman. It is then wrapped in a napkin or pouch and subsequently hidden from the sight of others by one of the Seder participants.

After the meal is over, during part of the haggadah called Tzafun (which means hidden), those present search for the hidden matzah. Today, the search for the hidden afikoman is one of the highlights for children and grandchildren at the Seder. When discovered, it is unwrapped, broken into small pieces the size of an olive, and distributed for all to eat. Biblical and linguistic scholars are not exactly sure of the origin of the word afikoman, although it is usually translated dessert or it comes last. It is noteworthy that John the Baptist uses the same form of the word when he called his followers to look for one coming after him, Yeshua the Meshiach (Mattityahu 3:11).

Unbeknownst to the modern Jew, the matzah tash symbolizes the three persons of the Trinity. The middle matzah is taken out, broken, and wrapped in a white linen cloth. The breaking of the matzah points to the broken body of Christ, unleavened, striped and pierced. When He was removed from the cross, He was also placed in linen cloth for a while (Luke 23:52-53). When the middle matzah is hidden for a while, it symbolizes the three days He spent in the tomb. The afikoman is the only Greek word in the Seder, and means He came. It is in the first person, singular. If the afikoman was already established as a traditional element of the Seder prior to the first century, then Yeshua was using a well-known ceremony to illustrate some new truth about His ministry as Meshiach. Or He might have created the ceremony for the first time at this Seder. But whatever its origin, the afikoman ceremony undeniably pictures the ministry of Messiah – His appearance (leaving the matzah tash as in Micah 5:2), His death (broken for our sins as in Isaiah 53:10) and His resurrection (the reappearance at the end of the Seder as in Isaiah 53:10).¹⁴⁰²

So while they were eating Jesus took a piece of matzah, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His apostles. Up to this point, they probably didn’t regard this as anything different than what they had celebrated at every Passover. But then He said something that must have shocked them greatly: Take and eat, this is My body, which is given for you. They began to eat the matzah but they were confused because this was an abrupt departure from the Passover Seder. Do this in remembrance of Me (Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; First Cor 11:23-24). Now they were guessing. He wanted them to do this, again and again and again, after He had gone to wherever He was going? But they didn’t understand that part yet.

The slaying of the lamb was the procedure until 70 AD, but then it changed. In that year the Jewish Temple was destroyed and it was no longer possible to offer up a sacrifice. No more Temple, no more priesthood. Among most Jews today lamb is forbidden and a substitute meat is used like roasted chicken. There is, however, a continuation of the practice of eating unleavened bread with a total removal of leaven from the home. From then on the Passover meal was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. As Jewish practice developed over the centuries, the unleavened bread, more and more, became the most important symbol for the Passover because the lamb was no longer there. Eventually, a little piece of unleavened bread known as the afikomen was eaten at Pesach as a symbolic reminder of the Passover lamb. In some Jewish traditions, as they eat that little piece of unleavened bread they say, “In memory of the Passover lamb that was eaten when the Temple stood.”

According to Jewish law, a Jew may not even own leaven during the Passover season. But this law created problems for a storekeeper who might own a lot of leavened goods and would suffer great financial loss if he had to destroy all of his leaven. To protect the storekeeper, the rabbis permitted him to sell his leaven to a Gentile temporarily and buy it back after Pesach. The sale itself must be unconditional and the buyer must be free to use it, to sell it, to donate it, or to destroy it. Normally, they would get a Gentile who was friendly to the Jew and did not do so but kept it until Pesach was over and then sold it back. The selling price would be quite minimal. For instance, in Israel some orthodox Jews sell all their leaven to an Arab for one dollar, and after the Passover pay the Arab one dollar and buy back all of the leaven. For a period of eight days that Arab owns all the leaven in that Jewish man’s shop. Although it is obviously only legal fiction, it is still considered, under Jewish law, a legal sale. The only difference between this sale and any other sale is one of knowledge in that the seller of the leaven knows that the Gentile will sell it back to him after the Passover. According to Jewish thinking, this knowledge in no way mars or interferes with the legal validity of that sale.¹⁴⁰³

Therefore, in modern Judaism, the rabbis have developed practices over the years that point to the Messiah without them even realizing it. A prime example of this is the Afikoman ceremony. The origin of this ceremony is based upon the Oral Law (see Ei – The Oral Law), of the rabbis that said that there was no dessert to be eaten after dinner because the Passover lamb was to be the last thing that was eaten. But after 70 AD there was no longer any Pesach lamb, so the afikomen became its symbolic reminder. Because the Passover lamb was to be the last thing eaten, now the afikoman is the last thing eaten. The rules that applied to Pesach lamb now apply to the afikoman.

The word remembrance is the key element throughout the Passover (First Corinthians 11:23-24). The Matzah is a remembrance of the One who came for us. Communion as practiced by believers today is not something new, but the fulfillment of the details of the Pesach Seder. And while the matzah is symbolic, the symbolism is significant. A symbol of the sinless life of the Messiah, the perfect payment for our redemption.

I Tell You the Truth,
One of You is Going to Betray Me
Matthew 26:21-25; Mark 14:18-21; Luke 22:21-23: John 13:21-30
About 8:00 pm on Friday evening
the fifteenth of Nisan

I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me DIG: In what stages does Jesus reveal His betrayer? If you had been reclining at that table, how do you think you would have felt? Or said? If foretelling His betrayal, what do you sense in Messiah: Resolution? Resignation? Restlessness? What do you sense in the talmidim? In Judas? Is Judas responsible for his actions (John 13:27 and John 6:70, 12:4-6, 13:2)? What is the significance of Judas going out into the night?

REFLECT: If you knew ahead of time that someone would “stab you in the back,” how would you treat that person? How does Yeshua show what love is all about? How hard would that be? Is it unrealistic? Given three years of intimate fellowship with Messiah, how could Judas turn around and betray Him?

The lamb was ready. As it was taken tenderly from the oven, Jesus and the apostles lifted their voices in unison, veritably shouting: Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Servants walked in and out of the inverted U table, setting ritually clean dishes in place and standing metal cups before the places of the thirteen men. The chill of the early evening could be felt in the room and the servants set about lighting stoves. The whole lamb had been set, brown and sizzling, on snowy cloths on the low table. The spices and wild herbs and the fruits had been set along with the bowls.

After the washing of the hands, in this case the footwashing, came the eating of bitter herbs, dipped with the matzah into a bowl of soup. And while they were reclining at the table, chatting and eating, Jesus paused, greatly troubled in spirit. Yeshua had a secret, a terrible secret. In His hand He held the bitter herbs, a symbol of the bitter bondage in Egypt. He did not name anyone, but blurted out: I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray Me (Matthew 26:21; Mark 14:18a; John 13:21). Although this had been foreshadowed beforehand when Jesus said of Judas: One of you is the devil (Yochanan 6:70), it still must have been quite a shock. What? Did the Master actually mean to say that one of their own was going to hand Him over to the Great Sanhedrin? To the Romans? Yeshua had spoken of being delivered into the hands of men or betrayed by His adversaries in Matthew 17:22, 20:18-19 and 26:2, but had so far given no indication of who it would be, even though the reader knows.

As previously noted, Judas had already struck a deal with the Sadducees who wanted to see Jesus killed (to see link click Kc – Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus). But now Messiah brings up this imminent reality to the Twelve during the Seder. This was not merely to indicate the person who will betray Him, but the enormity of the offense. Although the Lord knew what the false apostle would do, Our Savior did not force him to do it. At every opportunity, Yeshua warned Judas and pleaded for him to repent and be saved, but at every point Judas refused. Everyone has the free will to accept or reject Jesus Christ. We can say “no” to God and make it stick, and Judas said “no” day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year. Incomprehensible.

Imagine the disbelief that went around the table – all except for Judas. The apostles stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them He meant. They were visibly upset and began to question among themselves which one of them it might be who would do this. It must have seemed nearly impossible that one of their own would turn against their Master. To betray a friend after eating a meal was, as still is, regarded as the worst kind of treachery in the Near East.¹³⁹⁰

Just a short time ago, after washing their feet, Jesus had said to them: He who shared My bread has turned against Me (John 13:18). This was a paraphrase of Psalm 41:9. Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. This referred to Ahithophel’s betrayal of King David by helping Absalom plot against his father (Second Samuel 16:15 to 17:3). Ahithophel, the ultimate betrayer in the TaNaKh, was parallel to Judas. But Christ soon realized that He was not understood. The talmidim said to Yeshua one after another, “Surely not I, Lord” (Matthew 26:22; Mark 14:19; Luke 22:23; John 13:22). The Greek construction expects a negative answer to the question. Who could possibly fall to such depths?

It is interesting that the apostles were puzzled. Apparently Christ had treated Judas the same exact way as the other talmidim. For three years the Lord had been gentle, loving, and kind to Judas just as He had been to the other eleven. Apparently any challenge from Jesus for Judas’ unbelief had been in private. All the other apostles would have known if Yeshua had treated Judas any differently. Had Judas in any way been thought of as the black sheep of the group someone would have surely have suggested that he was the traitor. But no one did. In fact, Judas was the treasurer of the group, the talmidim trusted him.¹³⁹¹

Without naming anyone Yeshua stated: The hand of him who is going to betray Me, literally who is in the process of betraying [a present participle] Me is with Mine on the table. The betrayal had already begun. Hinting, He said: It is one of the Twelve, Jesus continued, the one who dips his unleavened matzah into the bowl with Me will betray Me (Matthew 26:23; Mark 14:18b and 20; Luke 22:21). But because the apostles were in the habit of sharing meals together, where each dipped his matzah into a common bowl, it could have been any of them. The Lord did, however assure them that only one of them was guilty and the others genuinely belonged to Him (Yochanan 13:18).

The dipping aspect seems to be a clear reference to the part of the Seder in which a piece of unleavened matzah is dipped into the bitter herbs. The dish contained charoset and/or maror. Charoset is a sweet paste made of fruit, nuts, spices and wine. Its function in the Seder is to recall by its appearance the mortar that that Israelite slaves made in Egypt. Maror means bitter herbs, calling to mind the bitterness of Israelite slavery to Pharaoh; today horseradish root is used as maror. Rabbi Hillel, in the generation before Yeshua, inaugurated the custom of eating a “sandwich” consisting of a piece of Passover lamb, together with the matzah and bitter herbs, in a literal fulfillment of the command: That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and bitter herbs (Exodus 12:8).¹³⁹² This dipping was also a very symbolic act, reflecting the bitter action about to be undertaken by this disenchanted talmid.

Today in Judaism the Passover Seder is eaten in a festive atmosphere with the singing of songs and comes between the second and third cups of wine. Interwoven with the symbolic foods is a full meal that is nothing short of a feast. It begins with the dipping of a roasted egg in salt water. The roasted egg represents the Chagigah offering that was made on the bronze altar in the Temple on the first morning of the Passover. The egg is symbolic in several ways. First, the roundness of the egg symbolizes the cycle of life. Secondly, it is a symbol of mourning over the destruction of the Temple when the sacrifice of the Passover lamb ceased. The fact that there is an egg in place of the lamb makes it a sign of mourning. Thirdly, it is a symbol of resurrection in Judaism and perhaps that is the origin connecting Christ’s resurrection with the Easter egg. Fourthly, the egg is also a symbol of the Jewish people because the more the egg is cooked the harder it becomes. Likewise, the more the Jews are persecuted, the tougher the Jews become.¹³⁹³

In spite of the depressing news, Yeshua affirmed that it was all part of ADONAI’s great plan of redemption (see my commentary on Exodus Bz – Redemption). The Son of Man will die just as the TaNaKh says He will. God’s greatest blessings often come disguised as disasters. Anyone who doubts this only needs to ascend the hill of Calvary. Tziyon’s collective opinion that Friday was this: Yeshua was finished. What other conclusion made sense? The Sanhedrin had turned Him in. Rome had refused to bail Him out. His apostles had tucked their tails and scattered. He was nailed to a cross and left to die . . . which He did. They silenced His lips, sealed His tomb, and, any priest worth his phylactery would tell you, the Nazarene was history. Three years of power and promises were decomposing in a borrowed grave. Search the crucifixion sky for one ray of hope, and you won’t find it. This was the outlook of the talmidim, the opinion of His friends, and the outlook of His enemies. But ADONAI wasn’t surprised. His plan was right on schedule. Even in . . . especially in . . . death, Messiah is still the King, the Master over His own crucifixion.¹³⁹⁴

Yet, at the same time, Judas is held accountable for his personal choices, as Christ warned: But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born (Mattityahu 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22). Judas’ future in hell was so terrifying that he would have infinitely better off if he had not been born. He is the most graphic and tragic example of people about whom the writer to the Hebrews says that, because they go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of fire which will consume the adversaries . . . How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood covenant by which He was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-27 and 29 NASB).

After some soul-searching by each talmid, the conversation resumed at some point with each man wondering to the ones closest to him about the identity of the betrayer. Simon Peter was especially disturbed. Reclining at the very end of the table, he motioned to John and said: Ask Him which one He means. One of them, John, the apostle whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to Him. At the Passover meal, everyone reclines in a left-handed position with the head resting on the left palm. Leaning back against Jesus, Yochanan asked Him, “Lord, who is it” (John 13:23-25)?

The room was noisy as the men talked among themselves. Because Yochanan was reclined right next to Yeshua the other talmidim could not hear the Lord’s answer, saying: It is the one to whom I will give this piece of matzah when I have dipped it in the bowl (John 13:26a). Then Jesus took a small piece of unleavened matzah, and dipped into the bitter herbs. The one who dips is the one who officiates and he does this for everyone, including himself. In this case the Lord officiated. He was to dip a total of thirteen times: once for Himself and once for each of the Twelve. After that, each would dip for himself. This didn’t specifically reveal the betrayer but emphasized again that it was one who enjoyed the closest relationship with Yeshua – he even dipped his matzah into the same bowl.

The other apostles were deeply troubled and they babbled about convincing the Master to go back to Bethany or all the way to Ephraim where no plotter would dare arrest Him. These men did not want to believe that Jesus would die. But if that be the case, they expected at the very least that His death would be a glorious act, worthy of God. They wanted Him raise Himself up on a cloud of fire and go straight to heaven like Elijah (Second Kings 2). The thing they dreaded most was a death of shame, to be executed as a common criminal. And that they knew, was what He risked by being in the city of David tonight.¹³⁹⁵

By Oriental custom it was a special honor for the host to offer anyone the first matzah dip and indicate that he was considered a favored guest. Judas was reclining in the place of honor to Yeshua’s left. Then, dipping the piece of unleavened matzah, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon (Yochanan 13:26b). The little man was at the crossroads. Christ kept the door of salvation open for Judas right up to the very last. Still noisy, the others miss the final exchange between Jesus and Judas because the traitor was right next to Him. Then Judas, the one who would betray Him, feigned: Surely not I, Rabbi? Judas’ question was similar to the others except that in place of the normal apostle address of Lord, he used Rabbi, which was never used by the other talmidim, but only used by people outside the group. So the traitor’s own words exposed his true colors. His question merely echoed the other apostles so as not to appear conspicuous.

But Jesus strongly confirmed that Judas was the betrayer when He murmured: the words are yours (Matthew 26:25 CJB), which was an Aramean colloquialism meaning yes. The stage is set, but nothing is out of the control of the sovereign God. Yeshua will soon be betrayed, but He clearly understands that no one will take His life. He will give it voluntarily to fulfill the great purpose for which He had come down from heaven to fulfill.¹³⁹⁶ The Son of God had already declared: The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father (Yochanan 10:17-18).

As soon as Judas took the matzah, Satan entered into Him a second time (the first was when he made an agreement with Caiaphas to betray the Lord in Luke 22:3) to actually perform the act of betrayal. An eternity appears in this verse. Judas had been enticed by the tempter, flirting with evil while pretending to follow Christ. Now the evil one entered his heart and took full control. In that awful moment, the evil will of Judas resisted the final offer of Christ’s love. The day of salvation had expired for him. Damned to hell for all eternity by his own choice, his doom was sealed. Jesus stared at Judas steadily, no rancor in His eyes, and He said plainly: What you are about to do, do quickly (John 13:27).¹³⁹⁷

The Adversary took the phony talmid over gradually. I don’t think that the devil ever takes a person suddenly. There are many little falls that permit the ancient Serpent to move in gradually. Then finally he takes over. The Lord gave Judas an opportunity to accept Him over a three-year period, but the false apostle continually turned his back on Him. Then the Destroyer of souls moved in and took him over completely.

No one at the meal heard Messiah say: The words are yours, but clearly Judas understood. He pushed himself back from the low-lying table and stood up. For a moment he looked down on the reclining figures of his friends and then, without saying goodbye, he walked around the table, the leather purse swinging from his hand, and left. It was an unusual time to leave the Passover table. However, some of the talmidim thought Yeshua was telling him to buy something for the poor because he had charge of the money (Yochanan 13:28-29). To this day it is still a Jewish tradition to give alms to the poor, and that’s what the rest of the talmidim thought Jesus had told him.¹³⁹⁸

As soon as Judas had taken the matzah, he went out. And it was night (John 13:30). It was dark, but not as dark as the night within the heart of Judas. And it was also a dark night for Christ and His apostles as we will soon see. Both Judas and Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen next. Clutching his moneybag, the traitor walked through the streets to the house of the high priest a mere few blocks away to give Caiaphas the good news. It was time to act.¹³⁹⁹

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
John 13: 2-20
About 7:00 pm on Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

Jesus washes His disciples feet DIG: What do you suppose the atmosphere was like at this meal? What range of feelings did Christ have for His talmidim? How did Jesus show His love for His friends? What was Simon Peter’s immediate reaction to being served by Yeshua? Why was it difficult for Kefa to accept Messiah’s service? What long-term impact do you think Jesus’actions had on the apostles? Was Judas saved? How do we know? In what ways did the false apostle change over the course of Christ’s ministry?

REFLECT: When has the humble service of a fellow believer inspired you? What are some of the rewards of serving others? Why is it important for believers to have fellowship with each other? How does it affect you to see people serving God with humility? When have you found it difficult to accept help from a fellow believer? Why? What practical things can you do to serve others?

On the night Yeshua was betrayed, the Lord said and did many things. But He stayed on message and on task. He was about to show His apostles how much He loved them by dying for them. But, before that, He would illustrate how much He loved them in a simple, practical, and profound way.

After the first cup of wine, the hands were normally washed. Usually a mother, daughter or a servant would walk around the perimeter of the table with a large basin and jug of water. This is the Jewish practice of the natilat yadaim, or the washing of hands. Each guest, according to the ritual, was to hold their hands over the basin and the mother, daughter or servant would pour water over them. The hands would be wiped dry and parsley dipped in vinegar would be passed around. After that, if the ritual was to be followed, Christ would break the first piece of unleavened bread on a plate before Him.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already entered and prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. He knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God (Yochanan 13:2-3).

But after watching the self-serving display of His apostles after drinking the first cup of sanctification, Jesus changes the script and taught them a lesson without saying a word. Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.” So here, Yeshua does something different and takes the role of a servant. Not only a servant that would wash the hands, but a servant who would go the extra mile and wash the feet of His talmidin; thus, providing a living model of the importance of serving in Messiah’s Kingdom. The servant of all (Mark 9:35) sat up, and instead of holding His hands over the basin, He stood and took the basin, the water and the towel from the startled servant.

The Twelve were so shocked they said nothing. Accordingly, Christ, glancing around the room at the surprised faces, got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin, knelt before one of the apostles, unlaced and removed his sandals, then gently lifted his foot, placing it in the basin and began to wash his feet in warm water.

Then, in silence, He removed the towel wrapped around His waist, drying the feet of His amazed talmid, and moved on to the next and the next (John 13:4-5). One by one, one grimy foot after another, the King of the universe worked His way around the table. Hands that shaped the stars now washed away filth. Fingers that formed the mountains now messaged toes. And the One before whom all nations will one day kneel, knelt before His talmidim. He washed and dried the feet of all twelve apostles, including Judas. But Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself becoming obedient to death – even death on the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). Hours before His own death, His concern is singular. The Lord wanted His apostles to know how much He loved them. More than removing dirt, He removed doubt.¹³⁸²

By this time, the men had found their voices and, as they previously argued for the closest seat to the Son of righteousness, now they argued just as passionately that it was unbecoming of their Lord and Master to kneel before them and wash their feet.

In today’s Seder, following the washing of the hands or feet everyone takes a piece of green vegetable. In most cases it is parsley. It is dipped into saltwater, then eaten. The saltwater represents the tears of the Jewish people in Egypt. That is why the second cup of wine is called the Cup of Plagues and is not mentioned in the Bible. Ten drops are spilled for ten plagues. The drinking of wine is supposed to be a symbol of joy, and there is a Jewish law forbid the rejoicing over the misfortunes of others, even their worst enemies. Therefore, these ten drops of wine are a sign of mourning. The purpose of the particular ceremony is to serve as a reminder. Green is the symbol of spring and spring is a symbol of youth. This is to remind the Jews of when they were a young nation, in the springtime of their nation. Psalms 113-114 were chanted after the second cup of wine. The remainder of the Hallel, Psalms 115-118, was chanted after the fourth cup.¹³⁸³ The Hallel was a collection of songs sung at the great feasts of Isra’el – Passover, Weeks, and Booths – as well as on other holy days.

Then at last, He came to Simon Peter, who protested vigorously: Lord, are you going to wash my feet (Yochanan 13:6)?” Literally: Is such a One as You, going to wash the feet of such a one as I? Jesus reassured His pupil that the significance of the washing – and of the whole evening for that matter – would become clear in time: You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. But Kefa protested again saying: No, You shall never wash my feet. At first glance, Peter appears humble, as if to say, “O Lord, I should be washing Your feet instead!” But this was not his meaning. This was nothing short of self-pride that refuses to accept grace from another, the kind of pride that will not be vulnerable in front of others. If Kefa had dirty feet, he would take care of washing them himself! “No charity needed here, thank you very much!”¹³⁸⁴

But Jesus answered: Unless I wash you, you have no part with me. “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied boldly, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well” (John 13:7-9)! Peter changed his mind. It’s as if he said, “Well, if that’s the case, go ahead and give me a bath!” Under normal circumstances this would have brought a smile to Yeshua’s face, but time was running out and the Master had much to teach that night. This was no time for smiling. Jesus answered: Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean (Yochanan 13:10a). They all nodded in approval.

The division of Levites on the night watches in the Temple had to be ready at any time to greet the captain of the Temple guard. Not only did they have to be awake, but they had to have previously taken a bath and be ready to go the Hall of Polished Stones where the Sanhedrin met to draw lots for that day’s service (to see link click Ak – The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold). The principle was that none might go into the Court of the Priests to serve (although they were clean), unless they had taken a bath. A subterranean passage, lit on both sides by oil lamps led to the well-appointed rooms where the priests immersed themselves in water. After that, they didn’t need to wash again that day, except for their hands and feet, which they had to do each time they came to serve at the Temple. It was to this, no doubt, why Yeshua answered as He did.¹³⁸⁵

By comparison, the washing of the whole body takes place at salvation. Because we still have our old sin nature, we still sin, so using the washing analogy, our feet get dirty. Therefore, we must continue to wash our feet by confessing our sins. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9).

And you are clean, though not every one of you. Now they were confused again. Clearly His words meant that some of them, or at least one of them, was not clean. In the washing analogy, to be unclean meant to be apart from Christ. For He knew Judas was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not every one was clean (Yochanan 13:10b-11). Jesus said Judas was not clean; for that reason, Judas was not saved.

Judas is a prime example of a professing believer who fell into absolute apostasy. For three years he followed the Lord with the other apostles. He appeared to be one of them. Presumably he thought of himself as a believer, at least at the beginning. It’s doubtful that he joined the other apostles with the intention of turning against Christ. But, somewhere along the way, he became greedy for fame, if not for money. Apparently Judas initially shared the hope of the messianic Kingdom and likely believed that Yeshua was the Meshiach. After all, he had left everything to follow the Lord. He seemed to be saved.

Day after day, week after week, month after month, Judas was Christ’s constant companion. He saw the Anointed One’s miracles, heard His words, and even participated in His ministry. In all that time, no one ever questioned his faith. He had the same status as the other apostles. But except for the Savior Himself, who knew the thoughts of the traitor’s black heart, no one ever suspected that he would betray the Master.

Yet, while the others were growing into apostles, Judas quietly became a wicked, calculating tool of the Adversary. Whatever his character seemed to be at the beginning, his faith was not real. And his heart gradually hardened so the he became a false apostle who sold the Son of God for a fistful of coins. In the end, he was so prepared to do the tempter’s bidding that the devil himself possessed him (John 13:27).¹³⁸⁶

Not every one was clean? What did that mean? The apostles waited for a further explanation of Jesus’ words. When Messiah had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes, returned to His place and reclined. They had all bathed just that morning in Bethany and Yeshua knew this. Now He had washed their feet yet, at the same time, He was insisting that not all of them were clean. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them (Yochanan 13:12). They all looked at each other hoping that one would answer, but they all shook their heads no. Consequently, the Good Shepherd decided that, to make the lesson clear, He had to begin by comparing His position to theirs.

You call me “Rabbi” and “Lord,” and rightly so, for that is what I AM. The lesson they were to learn from this is that they were to recognize Him as both Master and Lord. Now that I, your Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. If He was willing to do this, so should they (and so should we). This seemed reasonable – a little foreign, perhaps, but reasonable – they nodded gravely. They understood, they agreed. For I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If Jesus was willing to take on the role of a servant, how much more should they (and we) be able to take on the role of a servant? And as servants of the Lord, they could not be greater than He, who was not above washing feet. They hurriedly agreed with Yeshua. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them (John 13:13-17). Now they ate happily and without restraint, picking pieces of flesh from the bone and wiping their fingers and dipping into the bitter herbs. To understand one’s smallness was in itself, insufficient. One had to practice humility, preferably publicly, as He had done.

The sky was slivered like a concave mirror and the feast of the Pesach was being eaten in every part of the city of David. Yerushalayim was quiet under the stars. Small squads of Roman soldiers ranged the city streets, but their conversation was muffled and there was nothing sufficiently important to alert them. In another part of the City from where Jesus reclined, Caiaphas, the high priest, reclined with his father-in-law, the powerful Annas and with his family. Northeast of them in the Upper City, Herod Antipas, the king, lounged in the beautiful palace of the Hasmoneans, ignoring the Jewish practices that he pretended to cherish. To the west of Antipas on edge of the City, Pontius Pilate sat with his wife in the praetorium, for he was one of few procurators permitted to bring his spouse to the provinces. All of them would meet the King of kings in a few hours. At the moment, however, none but Caiaphas gave any thought to the meeting or what it would mean.

Jesus plainly stated that He was not referring to everyone there, but He knew it was Judas all the time. He said: I AM not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture – and now His voice rose a little as Yeshua quoted from Psalm 41:9: He who shared My bread has turned against Me (John 13:18). All the eating stopped at once. Did they really understand correctly? Each apostle had been steeped in the TaNaKh, and to each the old words were as familiar as the lines on his mother’s face. The words meant that a friend had betrayed the Savior of sinners. In the past year, the Meshiach had used the TaNaKh several times to prove that the events of His life had been foretold a long time ago. Now He was telling them that one of their own was would betray Jesus. They had, from time to time, been asked to believe things that were not easy to believe, but, because their Lord had asked them to believe, they had learned to accept His words and to lock them in their hearts as truth.

But who? The apostles felt embarrassed to be caught glancing at one another. Who indeed? They looked at one another and looked away. He could not mean the plot of the high priest against His life. They had been aware of that for a while and were terrified at the thought of being in Jerusalem near the home of Caiaphas. But Caiahpas was not the one who shared bread with Yeshua.¹³⁸⁷

Jesus was dipping His thumb and index finger into the bitter herbs. He saw that the talmidim were demoralized, and His eyes became heavy. So He said: I AM telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I AM who I AM. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts Me; and whoever accepts Me accepts the one who sent Me (Yochanan 13:19-20).

What if we serve and no one notices? What if we help and no one cares? What if we offer to serve and are rejected? Welcome to a servant’s world. Messiah never predicted how the ones served would respond; He simply placed His actions before us as an example. We pray for alertness and opportunities and the wisdom to respond as Jesus would. Meanwhile, we learn to express gratitude to Yeshua for His immeasurable act of service in going to the cross for us.

1. Humility is unannounced. Christ didn’t rise from the table and boldly announce, “I am now going to demonstrate humility.” He simply began washing feet. Once someone calls attention to his or her deed of service, it has become contaminated with pride (see Jd – Seven Woes on the Torah-teachers and the Pharisees).

2. Humility doesn’t discriminate. Jesus didn’t ask His students to wash His feet in return, but to wash the feet of one another. Let’s face it; most of us would stand in line to wash the Savior’s feet because He’s worthy! But how ready are we to wash the feet of another person in the messianic synagogue or church that we don’t like very much? This lesson would hit the apostles hard later on when they recalled the Yeshua bowed down before Judas to wash his feet, right along with the others.

3. Humility is counter-intuitive. Earlier in His ministry, Christ flatly stated: Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all (Mark 9:35). Jesus, as the King of the new Kingdom, reduced Himself to become the least of humanity, taking on Himself the sin of the world . . . becoming sin, as it were (Second Corinthians 5:21) . . . and then suffering the most humiliating death ever devised by mankind. While no one can match His humanity, we are summoned to imitate our Master.

4. Humility is being willing to receive service without embarrassment. One usually feels embarrassed by deeds of service because he or she perceives the normal “rules” of status or rank have been breached. In Peter’s mind, only the lesser should serve the greater. Christ inverted this worldly norm. The “greatest” in the kingdom of God serves and receives such service with no thought of status, worth, or rank.

5. Humility is not a sign of weakness. Yeshua did not serve His talmidim because He was weak, needed their goodwill, desired their approval, or wanted their loyalty. Messiah, none other than God Himself, bowed low to serve the people He loved. He washed those twenty-four feet because they were dirty and needed washing.

6. Humility includes serving one another, not just the Lord. Serving the Lord is the greatest delight in the world; serving one another is not always as rewarding. Messiah is worthy of our service and easy to love; our fellow soiled and sometimes painfully brothers and sisters, however, are not always lovely and frequently fail to express gratitude. Nevertheless, genuine humility doesn’t seek reward other than the joy of service itself.

7. The joy of humility can only be experienced through humility in action. Humility comes through doing, not merely talking about it, hearing others talk about it, or seeing others behaving humbly. Christ demonstrated humility and then urged His apostles to follow His example.¹³⁸⁸

Father, in Jesus we see the perfect model of humble service. Help us to be like Him. Open our eyes to the needs of others. Help us to follow Your Word. Help us to follow in Christ’s footsteps.¹³⁸⁹

The First Cup of Sanctification
Luke 22: 17-18
Friday evening the fifteenth of Nisan

The first cup of sanctification DIG: What does sanctification mean? How did it apply to Yeshua here? What is the Kiddush? What kind of wine was used? What does the phrase the fruit of the vine refer to? What is special about it? How many cups of wine does the Seder require? Where did we get that specific number? When Jesus said: I will not drink the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes, what did He mean?

REFLECT: In your walk with ADONAI, how are you being set apart for His purposes? Think about how you’ve grown in your faith since first accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior. What are some examples of you being set apart for His purposes?

Jesus was being sanctified, or set apart, for the purposes of God the Father with His upcoming crucifixion. Today, believers are also sanctified for the purposes of ADONAI. This does not mean that we are sinless or perfect by any means. But it does mean that we are a work in progress. Our holiness is being worked out and is a process that takes a lifetime. The result of our being set apart is peace with God, fruit of the Spirit and honor to YHVH.

When the Passover began, the head of the household, or leader of the company, took the first cup of wine in his hand and gave thanks. This is the Kiddush, which means sanctification. The famous messianic believer Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) gives us an example of the spirit and direction of the prayer rather than the exact words when he wrote: Blessed are You, LORD our God, who has created the fruit of the vine! Blessed are You ADONAI our God, King of the Universe, who has chosen us from among all the nations, and exalted us from all languages, and blessed us with Your commandments! And You have given us, O Sovereign LORD, in love, the solemn days for joy, and the feasts and appointed seasons for gladness; and this the day of the feast of unleavened bread, the season of our freedom, a holy observance, the memorial of our departure from Egypt. For You have chosen us; and Your holy feasts with joy and gladness You have caused us to inherit. Blessed are You, ADONAI, who set Isra’el apart and the appointed seasons! Blessed are You, LORD, King of the Universe, who has preserved us and sustained us and brought us to this season!¹³⁸¹

The drinking of the first cup of wine followed the blessing of sanctification. This was alcoholic wine, not grape juice. Diluted by today’s standards, but wine nonetheless. The phrase: the fruit of the vine refers to Passover wine. It had to be prepared in a special way, with natural fermentation, not with leaven. Kosher Passover wine has no sugar added to speed up the process.

The Seder requires four cups of wine. They would drink the first and second cups before the main meal and the third and fourth cups afterwards. The gospels discuss the first and third cups, not the second and fourth cups. Each cup is identified with one of God’s promises in Exodus 6:6-7:

Therefore say to the children of Isra’el: I am ADONAI, and (1) I will bring you out of Egypt; (2) I will deliver you from Egyptian slavery; (3) I will redeem you with My power; and (4) I will take you as My people and I will be to you a God.

When ADONAI said that He would bring the Israelites out of Egypt, He separated them for His purposes and therefore sanctified them. Thus, the cup of sanctification.

After taking the first cup, He gave thanks and softly said: Take this and share it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes (Luke 22:17-18 CJB). By this He meant the wedding feast of the Lamb that will take place on earth after the Second Coming. Therefore, the wedding feast will start the messianic Kingdom (Matthew 22:1-14, 25:1-13). Then all four stages the Jewish marriage system will be complete (see my commentary on Revelation, to see link click Fg – Blessed Are Those Invited to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb).

Barukh attah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam,
borei peri hagafen.
Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe,
Creator of the fruit of the vine.

They drank and, as the cup was passed, glances of envy were passed among the talmidim because each one felt that he should be close to the Master. The glances were followed by whispered words and then the words became louder. Some boasted, as men under tension will do at times, of their individual service and piety, and a few began to count their great accomplishments and moments each had lived with Yeshua. The suffering Servant observed closely. At first He said nothing. But then He did something highly unusual.

I Desire to Eat the Passover With You Before I Suffer
Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17; Luke 22:14-16
After sundown on Friday the fifteenth of Nisan

Estimated Times for Friday the fifteenth of Nisan: In the era before the modern clock, a specific hour of the night could not be precisely known, whereas an hour of the day was easily determined by sighting the location of the sun. Thus, the day had to begin by precise, simple and universally recognized standards. This meant that the day had to be reckoned either from the beginning of night or the beginning of day. Taking the pattern from Genesis, where Moshe wrote: And there was evening, and there was morning – the next day, the Jews reckoned the day beginning in the evening at sundown. Beginning the day with the night is, in a sense, a metaphor of life itself. Life begins in the darkness of the womb, then bursts into the brightness of the light and eventually settles into the darkness of the grave, which, in turn, is followed by a new dawn in the world-to-come.

When evening came. The Jews waited until after Tzeith Ha’Kochavim (the stars come out), which is seen as definitely after nightfall, to start the Seder. The reason is to make sure that the Mitzvoth (unleavened bread) of the Seder, and indeed even Kiddush meal, are definitely done at night (see Mishnah Berurah 472:1:1 for example). Just like the Oral Law (to see link click Ei – The Oral Law), it was a precaution against violating the Torah, waiting until the stars come out is a precaution against starting the Seder to soon. Yeshua arrived and was reclining at the table with the Twelve (Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17). For many centuries, the Jews had taken their meals as the pleased, but the Greeks had pointed out that only free men are permitted to recline while eating, slaves must stand, and so the Jews had adopted the custom after they learned it from their conquerors, the Romans.

The table from which Jesus and the Twelve ate was called triclinia (singular) or triclinium (plural). They came indifferent sizes, from about seven to twelve feet. Only about eighteen inches tall, they were long rectangular U-shaped tables. Guests would stretch out on the floor with their heads facing a low table. Propping up with loose cushions to best suit their comfort, they leaned on their left elbows, keeping the right hand free to eat.

Among the Jews, the curved part of the U was considered a place of special favor, and three places were set there. As host, Yeshua would sit in the middle. The place of honor was to His left where Judas reclined on that particular night. In the formality of Jewish dining, it was considered to be a higher privilege to be at the left hand of the host – behind Him as they reclined – than to be before him on the right. Christ made sure that Judas was the honored guest on His left that particularly important night. The second place of honor was to the right of the Master where young John, the talmid whom Jesus loved, reclined.

The talmidim had eaten with Messiah in the homes of the rich and they had eaten with Him sitting on hillsides. Some of them were jealous of their assigned places in relation to the Master, so that after Jesus, Peter and John were seated, the remaining ten would often jostle for position. They didn’t want to be too obvious – foolishly thinking that Yeshua wouldn’t notice – but the apostles would whisper and shove and try to recline at the table as close to the Good Shepherd as possible.¹³⁷⁹

When the hour came, Jesus confirmed His Torah observance when He said to them: I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover [Seder] with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God (Lk 22:14-16). They looked at each other, as they often did, for a greater understanding of His words. They were confused. Perhaps the Master meant that He loved them and desperately wanted to eat this important feast with them, and that He would not eat it again until Judea, which had rejected Him, had recognized as the Messiah.

Since the days of Moshe, it has been a requirement to not only have a Passover dinner but to retell the story of Jewish redemption (see my commentary on Exodus Bz –Redemption). Down through the centuries, the written story called the haggadah meaning the telling was compiled and has been read every year to fulfill the commandment to tell your son about the events of that great day (Exodus 13:8). It is in the haggadah that Jews are told specifically to recline at the table, as this was also a sign of their newfound freedom. In the ancient world, only the free people had time to relax in such a way. What a beautiful picture this is, as the Messiah is relaxing before His ultimate act of redemption!¹³⁸⁰

Go and Make Preparations for the Passover
Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13; John 13:1
Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan, and Friday the Fifteenth of Nisan

Go and make preparations for the Passover DIG:What do you know about the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:1-30)? Why do you think Jesus was so secretive about the His arrangements for the Passover Seder? What risk was involved (Luke 19:45-48)? How does John 13:1 reconcile with the rest of the Synoptics? What information did Judas need to obtain? For whom? Why were the men divided into three groups? Where did each group assemble? What duties did the Levites perform? Why was there an underlying tension in the upper room?

REFLECT: How does the scene of the slaughtering of the lambs make you feel? Why was it necessary? What would have happened if they had not been sacrificed? How do you feel when preparing to celebrate your Seder? How would your feelings differ from those of the apostles? From Yeshua? From Judas?

Singing at the Temple: Fifteen semicircular steps led from the Court of the Women, through the Nicanor Gate and into the Court of the Priests.  At the great feasts these magnificent steps served as a podium for the choir and the orchestra. From the Talmund Tractate thamid we know exactly which Psalm would have been sung on which day of the week in connection with the daily burnt offering in the Temple. It is marvelous how closely each of the Psalms coincides with the singing of these daily readings. On this Thursday, Psalm 81 rang out over the Temple plaza. It was no coincidence that this psalm matched exactly with the events here on this fifth day of Holy Week. Psalm 81 refers to the exodus from Egypt and was warning, denouncing, and in the final analysis condemning contemporary Isra’el who was about to slaughter the Lamb of God.¹³⁶⁶ The Levitical choir accompanied by the musicians sang:

Sing for joy to God our strength! Shout to the God of Jacob! Start the music! Beat the drum! Play the sweet lyre and the lute! Sound the shofar at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival, because this is a decree for Isra’el, a ruling of the God of Jacob. He placed it as a testimony in Joseph when He went out against Egypt. I heard an unfamiliar voice say, “I lifted the load from their shoulders, their hands were set free from the [laborer’s] basket. You called out when you were in trouble, and I rescued you; I answered you from the thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah [by saying], “Hear, My people, while I give you warning! Isra’el, if you would only listen to Me! There is not to be with you any foreign god. I AM ADONAI your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth, and I will fill it. But My people did not listen to My voice; Isra’el would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to live by their own plans. How I wish My people would listen to Me, that Isra’el would live by My ways! I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes. Those who hate ADONAI would cringe before Him, while [Israel’s] time would last forever. They would be fed with the finest wheat, and I would satisfy you with honey from the rocks” (Psalm 81:1-16 CJB).

Preparation for the Passover had begun long beforehand. The previous month (on the fifteenth of Adar), bridges and roads had been repaired for the use of the pilgrims. That was also the time for administering the testing to women suspected of adultery, for burning the red heifer, and for boring the ears of those who wished to become a bond slave – in short, for making all the preliminary arrangements before the festive season began. In general, cemeteries were outside the cities, but any dead body found in the field was, according to tradition traced back to the time of Joshua, to be buried on the spot where it had been discovered. Then, as the festive pilgrims might have contracted some “uncleanness” by unknowingly touching such gravesites, it was ordered that all tombs be whitewashed a month before the Passover.¹³⁶⁷

It was the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Mattityahu 26:17a, Mark 14:12a, Luke 22:7a). The exact date when the Feast of Unleavened Bread started was one of those major debating point between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Did the Feast of Unleavened Bread begin on the fourteenth of Nisan and go to the twenty-first day of Nisan like the Pharisees believed, or did it begin on the sixteenth of Nisan and go to the twenty-second day of Nisan like the Sadducees believed?¹³⁶⁸ Today these two feasts are so connected that Passover and Unleavened Bread are considered as one seven-day festival.

Whenever the word leaven is used symbolically in Scripture, it is always a symbol of sin. That is why God would not even allow this symbol of sin to be eaten by the Jewish people during this period or to have it in their homes or to have it anywhere in the land of Isra’el. While the Passover itself was fulfilled by the death of the Meshiach, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is fulfilled by the sinlessness of His blood-offering. In the Hebrews 9:11 to 10:18 His offering of sinless blood was for three things: first, for the cleansing of the heavenly Tabernacle; secondly, for the removal of the sins of the righteous (see my commentary of Revelation, to see link click Fd – The Resurrection of the Righteous of the TaNaKh); and, thirdly, for the application of the blood to believers in the New Covenant.¹³⁶⁹

It was just before the Passover Festival (John 13:1a). This is the third of three Passovers mentioned in the ministry of Christ. The first is mentioned in John 2:13a. The second is in John 6:4, while the third is referred to in John 11:55, 12:1, here, 18:28 and 39, and 19:14. By dating these, we are able to conclude that His public ministry lasted three-and-a-half years. The Gospel tradition suggests that Jesus’ ministry began shortly after the John the Baptist’s. Luke says that Messiah was about thirty years of age when His ministry began (Luke 3:23). Consequently, if our Savior were born in the winter of 6 or 7 BC, He would have been 33 or 34 in 33 AD (see Aq – The Birth of Jesus).

Yochanan opened this section of the narrative with a summary statement of Yeshua’s ministry among His talmidim. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end (Jn 13:1b). As the evening passed, Jesus spoke of life and ministry on earth without His physical presence. The apostles quickly began to understand the gravity of His words. Their troubled hearts were soon gripped by the same forsaken dread that orphans feel once they realize they are alone in the world. They couldn’t imagine life without Him.¹³⁷⁰

That morning the talmidim came to Jesus and asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and make preparations for You to eat the Passover” (Mt 26:17b; Mk 14:12b; Lk 22:7b-9)? Pesach is the busiest holiday in the Jewish community, and the apostles had their work cut out for them. The room and food would have to be kosher. All leaven would be removed and all utensils either boiled in water or replaced with some that were kosher. A ritualistically pure lamb would need to be purchased from the kosher markets in Jerusalem or the Temple. The final preparations were critical for this most important feast. Three elements were required for the first century Pesach Seder: a lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. These three continue to be central elements of the modern seder meal, along with many rabbinic traditions over the centuries.¹³⁷¹

Judas Iscariot watched Yeshua with a quiet intensity, waiting for Him to reveal His plans for Pesach so he could sneak out and tip off the high priest. It would be easy enough to have the Temple guards merely arrest Jesus at Lazarus’ house in Bethany. Arresting the Nazarene to far from Jerusalem, however, would end up being nothing but a debacle. The sight of Messiah marching back to the City in chains would cause a riot, and that was the last thing the Sanhedrin needed at the Passover. Sooner or later, the Master would surely go back to Yerushalayim. So the traitor just waited until Yeshua would tell the Twelve when it was time to depart. It seemed inconceivable to Judas that He would not return to the Holy City at least one more time. Maybe Christ was waiting until the Passover to announce that He is the Meshiach. But, whenever and wherever it was, Judas would be ready. He was sure that none of the other talmidim knew of his plan.¹³⁷²

So Jesus told Peter and John to go into Jerusalem to prepare for the Feast. He told them to walk into the City by the way of the Fountain Gate (near the pool of Siloam and Hezekiah’s tunnel where water was brought into the Old City), and where Jesus had earlier opened the eyes of the blind man (see Gt – Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind), and once inside, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. This was a sign because it was unusual for a man to be carrying a jar of water and not a woman. Water was an important element in every Seder because there were two different hand washings. And in the first century it would have included the mandatory foot washing to welcome the guests (John 13:1-17).

Another believer had kindly provided a room for Jesus in the Lower City. They were to follow him to the house that he enters. Say to the owner of the house, “The Rabbi says: My appointed time is near. Where is the guest room, where He may eat the Passover with My apostles?” He will show you a large room upstairs (Matthew 26:18; Mark 14:13-14; Luke 22:10-11). This was usually the best room in the house. It was on the second level and had an outdoor stairwell. Messiah had not mentioned the name of the man, but both apostles recognized him at once as the wealthy father of Mark.

Jesus told Peter and John to make preparations there (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12). During the Second Temple Period the procedure for killing the lamb was different than today. A lamb was selected after five days of examination. It was then brought into the Temple compound and slaughtered. While individuals brought other sacrifices, a household always has a Passover lamb. If one household was too small other groups participated, so that the same lamb might suffice for several different family groups. Therefore, Peter and John would have gone to the Temple to purchase a lamb and have it slaughtered.

The Torah required that the sacrificial lambs for the Passover be selected on Sunday, the tenth of Nisan and that the lamb be kept in the household until it was slaughtered at twilight on the fourteenth of Nisan. Although the incident is not mentioned in the gospels, the talmidim would have selected a lamb on the day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (see It – The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as the Messiah), perhaps keeping it at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany where they were staying.

At midday on the fourteenth of Nisan, the men who brought their lambs to the Temple would have been divided into three large groups. The evening sacrifice had already been offered. Ordinarily the single lamb for the evening sacrifice was slain at 2:30 pm and offered about 3:30 pm. But on the eve of the Passover, it was killed two hours earlier because they had two hundred and seventy-five-thousand Passover lambs to sacrifice.¹³⁷³

The slaughter of the lambs began at noon on the fourteenth of Nisan (Exodus 12:6). Three Levites, standing over three lambs, lifted the jaws of the little animals and, with a single stroke, drew sharp knives across the three throats. By ritual, the killing had to be done in one stroke and the victim must not utter a sound. This would point to the Lamb of God who would be slaughtered that very next day and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth (Isaiah 53:7).

Inside the Nicanor Gate in the Court of the Women, the priests were lined up all the way up to the bronze altar. They stood in two rows, one row holding golden bowls and the other row the silver bowls. In these the blood of the Passover lambs, which each Israelite slew for himself (as representative of his family), was caught by one of the priests.  The bowls were then passed from priest to priest until they reached the priest who was nearest to the bronze altar.¹³⁷⁴ That priest took the bowl and sprinkled the blood in one motion at the base of the bronze altar. He then received another full bowl of blood and returned the empty one back to be filled again. During this entire ceremony the Levites would keep chanting the Hallel, which is Psalms 113-118. They chanted until all the sacrifices for the first group were completed, and then went on to the second group, then on to the third until they all had their lambs sacrificed and the blood spilled at the base of the altar. It is estimated that up to 275,000 lambs were sacrificed in Jerusalem at the Passover during the time of Christ. We can only imagine the stench, the blood and the flies.

Finally, warm water was poured over the sacrifices as they hung from racks and flayed. The wool was sheared carefully from the lambs. When this was done, the carcasses were examined by other priests for imperfections. If any were found to have moles, cysts, or discolorations of any kind on the skin they were rejected. Three priests signaled that the sacrifices were acceptable and, in an instant, the slaughtering Levites cut the bellies of the hanging lambs with a single downward stroke. They removed all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver and both kidneys with the fat on them (Ex 29:13; Lev 3:4 and 9:10).

These internal organs were placed upon the bronze altar. Originally, the bronze altar in the Tabernacle was 7 feet 6 inches square and 4 feet 6 inches high; but when Solomon built the Temple, his bronze altar was 30 feet square and 15 feet high; finally, the bronze altar in Herod’s Temple was 48 feet square and 15 feet high. It is interesting that the size of the Millennial altar will be 21 feet square and 17 feet 6 inches high (Ezeki’el 43:10-27). The sacrifices during the Messianic Kingdom will not be for atonement for sin, but like communion, they will be done in remembrance of our Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf (Luke 22:19). The internal organs remained steaming and burning on the embers until it was consumed. Caiaphas, as befitting the presiding officer of the Sanhedrin, stood composed in his priestly robes loaned to him from the Roman governor. He saw the priests rub salt into the flesh of the lambs, and, in silence he saw them remove the shoulder, and the meat from the head of each animal as an offering to the priests of the Temple – for ADONAI said that is their inheritance among their fellow Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:3).¹³⁷⁵

Therefore, Peter and John would have gone to the Temple to purchase a lamb and have it killed just as Jesus had directed them to do. When the two men again reached the upper room, it was twilight, the fourteenth of Nisan, and they hurried to build the fire and roast the lamb. It was forbidden to break any bone in the animal because to them it symbolized Isra’el, whole and undivided. Little did they know that it actually pointed to the Messiah. Later, John would write: These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones will be broken” (John 19:36; Psalm 34:20). Therefore, when the sun went down on the fourteenth of Nisan, a new day began on the fifteenth.

Peter and John divided the tasks and, while Kefa, because he had more experience, split the lamb down the middle and set it in the brick and tile oven so that no part of its skin would touch the sides, while John made the round, thin unleavened bread into little cakes. This was the matzah, the so-called bread of affliction because the Israelites had left Egypt in such haste that their women had no time to mix leaven in the bread.

The two men filled a bowl with vinegar, in which the bitter herbs would later be dipped. The wine was already made – the poor were able to buy it at the Temple at cost – and this would later be mixed by the host in the measure of one part of water to four parts of wine. Finally Peter and John made the charoset, which is a dark chunky paste made of apples, nuts, honey cinnamon, lemon juice and wine. The lamb was eaten with both unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Everything that was not eaten was burned the next day.¹³⁷⁶

Jesus and the other apostles then left from Bethany where they were staying, and went into the lower City and found things just as He had instructed them (Matthew 26:19; Mark 14:16; Luke 22:13). When the Master walked in the room, the greetings were subdued. The Meshiach studied the upper room carefully. This was an important room and an important night to Him. He didn’t discuss His feelings; but to the talmidim He seemed abnormally introspective. They looked for signs of despair, or even of elation – a sign of sorts would have guided their feelings; much as when lightening flashes and thunder rolls the sheep don’t look to the sky but at the shepherd.

There was an underlying tension in the room. Their greetings were whispered; a group of bearded men, averaging about thirty years of age, men of assorted sizes and coloring, simple men who were certain, now and then, that they were in the presence of the Son of God, although at other moments they became frightened and their belief wavered. Their faith in Yeshua was strong as long as it was not tested too strenuously. Though they had, of course, withstood trials in the past, this was a moment of great strain. They had heard the Lord discuss His impending death before with obvious sadness. And each feared to ask the question they all wanted to ask, “Can You not call upon Your Father’s angels and destroy your enemies and then let us sit with You today and judge the souls of men?” No one asked it.

Jesus had a truly compassionate heart and loved all mankind, and as He waited for the lamb to be made ready, He must have given some thought about Judas (see Cy – These are the Names of the Twelve Apostles). Before the Seder was over, Jesus would accuse one of His talmidim of betraying Him and He already knew who it was. And He also knew why.

Judas had always been an outsider. All the others were Galileans, while he wasn’t. He had a working knowledge of economics, and sometimes became so immersed in the business of finding money for Jesus and giving alms that he had little time for the eternal lessons being taught to the other apostles. The money-keeper was condescending to the others because his wealth of experience was greater than theirs; sometimes he appealed directly to Messiah to stop the other eleven from doing things that he regarded as unwise.

He continued to collect the money’s, as Jesus wished, and he continued to pay the bills, dispense all alms and keep the purse just as though he was not a thief (John 12:6). Judas was never out of favor with his Master and had he believed that Yeshua was God, he would have known that Jesus could read his heart. In that case, the dark little man with the superior attitude would have been compelled to explain his act and beg for forgiveness.

There is no record that Judas ever approached the Savior of sinners with a personal problem. Forgiveness awaited him because Jesus had stressed forgiveness again and again. Once, when Peter has asked in a discussion between the Twelve if it were enough to forgive a brother seven times, Messiah had smiled a little and said seventy times seven, and then forgive him again. Therefore, Yeshua believed that the sinning brother should continue to be forgiven. It follows then, that phony talmid did not believe that Jesus was God.

Judas, wily and self-seeking, did not ask for forgiveness because he believed that Jesus was a victim of self-delusion. And finding that his theft was not punished in any way, betrayer was encouraged to sell his Master to the high priest for thirty pieces of silver.¹³⁷⁷ Nevertheless, this was probably a very tense time for the betrayer. He knew where Yeshua was located. The question now was how could he find a way to slip out and alert Caiaphas?

That same evening twelve Roman soldiers hunched over their meals. They were hardened men. No matter how many people were tortured before their eyes, it had become routine. A job. Done without emotion or feeling. There were always four soldiers assigned to a crucifixion. A fifth man, a centurion, would oversee the slaughter. Three teams of killers would be needed the next day because three men were condemned to die. One of the men was a zealot named Barabbas. The other two were suspected of being his accomplices. In the morning they would begin the ritual crucifixion process. It would be intensely physical work, and by the end of the day they would be drenched in blood.¹³⁷⁸

The Last Passover in the Upper Room

As the sun went down on Thursday, the fourteenth of Nissan, the nation of Isra’el welcomed a new day. It was Friday the fifteenth of Nisan, a day that would forever change the world. Gentiles consider the Passover to have taken place on Thursday night because in their way of reckoning time. But for the children of Isra’el, the Passover took place on Friday, the fifteenth of Nisan because for Jews, the night precedes the day: And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day (Genesis 1:5b). Consequently, in the Jewish mind, the Passover Seder, the agony of Gethsemane, the religious trial, the civil trial, Messiah’s crucifixion, death and burial all took place before sundown on the same day (to see link click Ix – The Examination of the Lamb).

There are several names for the Passover. The first name is Hag Ha-Pesach which means the Feast of the Passover found in Exodus 34:25.

The second name is Pesach. That is the Hebrew word for Passover. The emphasis is on the Angel of Death motif; upon the fact that during the tenth plague the Angel of Death passed over the Jewish homes but he did not pass over the Egyptian homes. This second name is used in four different ways. First, it is applied to the feast of Passover alone. Secondly, the term Passover is sometimes used to include both the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread because the day after the Passover began the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Thirdly, it is applied to the sacrificial lamb in reference to the lamb that was sacrificed on the first day of Passover in the Temple compound. Fourthly, it is applied to the Passover meal itself. That which is known among the Jewish people as the Seder, the meal eaten on the first night of Passover, is sometimes called the Passover.

The third name is Hag Heaviv, which means the Feast of Spring because it is the first feast of the Spring cycle. There are seven festivals of Israel as portrayed by Leviticus 23 and these seven festivals are grouped in two cycles. First there is a group of four that come very close together and all take place in the spring. Then there is a long break followed by a group of three that also come very close together in the fall. The Passover is the first of the first cycle of feasts that occur in the spring and so it is sometimes referred to as the Feast of the Spring.

The fourth name is Zman Cheruteinu, which means the Season of Our Emancipation, or the Time of Our Freedom. This name emphasizes the results of the Passover: freedom from slavery.

The original biblical practice involved two major elements: the killing of the lamb (Exodus 12:6), and the Passover meal itself (Exodus 12:8). During the many years of Jewish history, however, the rabbis added many other practices to it, as you shall see in the Passover that took place in the Upper Room with Christ and His talmidim.¹³⁶⁵

The rabbis teach that on the evening of the Passover, heralds were sent out by the Great Sanhedrin crying out, “Jesus goes out to be executed because He practiced sorcery because He was possessed by Beelzebub (Mark 3:22), and seduced Isra’el, and alienated her from her God.” And non-messianic Jews believe that to this day. “Let anyone who can bring forward a justifying plea for Him come forward and give information concerning Him.” But the rabbis teach that no justifying plea was found, and so they crucified Jesus on the eve of the Sabbath at the Passover.

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6
Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan after sundown

Judas agrees to betray Jesus DIG: Was Judas simply an overzealous Jew, like the others, hoping for freedom from Rome, or much more? At what point do you think he decided to give Jesus a little “help?” Did Judas have a choice? Could Judas have resisted the Enemy of souls, or was he “born to betray?”

REFLECT: Have you ever plotted against someone else? Did you ever admit your scheme? What is your relationship like with that person now? Have you ever had someone plot against you in some way? Once you found out, how did you feel towards your betrayer(s)? Was there reconciliation? How hard is it to forgive in that situation? What did you learn? How can you help others that experience betrayal?

Three important events took place late Wednesday afternoon the thirteenth of Nisan before sundown and on Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan after sundown.

First, late Wednesday afternoon before sundown the most important members of the Great Sanhedrin met at the palace of the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas, to plot against the life of Christ (to see link click Ka – The Plot Against Jesus).

Secondly, on Thursday evening after sundown Jesus was invited to the home of Simon, formally a leper, for dinner. There, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed Him with expensive perfume for burial. It was then that Yeshua rebuked Judas for wanting to sell the expensive perfume made of pure nard so the money given to the poor (see Kb – Jesus Anointed at Bethany).

And thirdly, on Thursday evening after sundown, after being rebuked by Jesus, Judas then left Bethany, walked to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest in Jerusalem and agreed to betray the Meshiach.

The key members of the Great Sanhedrin had met earlier Wednesday before sundown looking for a way to kill Jesus. On Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan, Judas Iscariot unexpectedly went to the Sadducees to betray Jesus (Mark 14:10). When Caiahpas was told that one of the Twelve, was at his door and wanted to speak to him, he was confused. I am sure that at first he wondered, “What is he doing here? I wonder what he wants?” But then after thinking a little more about it, he must have said to himself, “Let him in. What harm can it cause? Let’s hear what he has to say.”

Judas, the practical betrayer, was about to meet Caiaphas, the practical religious leader, in one of the most somber moments in history. Had either been a man of good will, had either been honest, the story would have been different. Judas was tired of waiting for his money and notoriety after spending several years trudging all over Isra’el, and was determined to force Jesus’ hand. Either the Nazarene would declare Himself to be the Messiah and elevate Judas to his proper place in the new government, or He would die. But Caiahpas had no such illusions. He just wanted the troublemaking rabbi dead.

And Judas went to the Sadducees and the officers of the Temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus (Luke 22:4). Under normal circumstances Judas would have meant little to them. The only reason Caiaphas met with him now was the possibility that this mean little Judean mercenary might be ready to deliver up the Nazarene. They were all shocked when Judas asked: What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him over to you (Matthew 26:14-15a)? Setting their normal arrogance aside, they didn’t gloat in front of him. There would be time for that later. Their immediate goal was to manipulate Judas into doing whatever it took to arrange Jesus’ arrest and execution.

The heart of the godly delights in righteousness, but the heart of the godless delights in evil. Then Judas had made Caiaphas a deal he couldn’t refuse and the high priest was pleased. It would have been difficult to hide it. The renegade rabbi had hurt him in many ways, and the ways were increasingly grievous. The Nazarene had come from nowhere proclaiming himself to be a prophet, or acting like a prophet, and the multitudes had flocked to his words as though they believed it. The high priest had had much experience with others who claimed that they were sent from God; as a matter of fact, the City of David seemed to attract all the crazies.¹³⁶⁰ And this Galilean was obviously one of them. But now they had him. Checkmate.

Caiaphas asked Judas where the criminal was, and the betrayer told the high priest the exact house. Caiaphas nodded with some surprise because he knew the father of Mark as a rich and substantial citizen of Jerusalem with considerable influence in the Temple. One never knew where to look for the talmidim of this maverick rabbi.

The acting high priest told Judas to wait in the courtyard and, in a moment, the money-keeper was alone. Caiaphas lifted the hem of his costly robe and hurried across the courtyard of their conjoined estates to tell his father-in-law Annas the good news. If Judas noted the happiness on the face of the high priest, he must have thought at once the he had sold Jesus too cheaply. Had he only realized how important the Lord was to the socially elite sect of the Sadducees, he might have asked for much more.¹³⁶¹

And they were delighted because they had found their dupe, and agreed to give him money (Luke 22:5). This broke the elders’ own laws regulating trials. When Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy, there were twenty-one rules of the Sanhedrin regarding trials (see Lh – The Laws of the Great Sanhedrin Regarding Trials) and in their zeal to kill Him they broke every one of them. Rule number 1 said that there was to be no arrest by religious authorities that was affected by a bribe.

Nevertheless, they counted out for Judas thirty pieces of silver right before his eyes (Matthew 26:15b). They told Judas to cup both hands while they counted the silver. The small coins clinked, one on top of the other into his sweaty palms. His head nodded with the count of the priest until the number reached thirty. Then, with deep thanks and proper bows of respect, the betrayer thrust the money into a bag and put it inside his outer cloak.The traitor is paid off in advance. Thirty pieces of silver was not an accidental price. It was a price of contempt. It said you were worth no more than a dead slave (Exodus 21:32). However Zechariah 11:11-12 says that one day God Himself would be sold for the price of a dead slave. In a calculated, deliberate manner, He had sold the Master who promised him everlasting life.

Judas had lost the opportunity to obtain money through the sale of the pure nard that Mary used to prepare Jesus for burial. Now he gladly accepted payment from the Sanhedrin for participating in their plot to kill Jesus. Judas had lived a meager existence as a talmid for several years, rarely having more than a few extra coins in his purse, and very little in the way of luxury. But thirty pieces of silver was the equivalent of four month’s wages. Along with his desire to be famous when the messianic Kingdom was ushered in once Christ overthrew the Romans, he could not resist the money. After all, getting paid to force Jesus’ hand couldn’t be a bad deal for him – could it?

The money-keeper was convinced that one of two things would happen: Jesus would be arrested and then declare Himself to the Messiah. If the Master was truly the Anointed One, then He would have not problem saving Himself from Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.

However, if Yeshua was not the Messiah, He would die.

Either way, Judas’ life would be spared. He couldn’t lose . . . could he?

The pieces of silver came from the Temple treasury, which was for the purpose of purchasing sacrifices for sin. Little did they realize that is exactly what they did. They purchased the death of Yeshua ha-Meshiach, the ultimate sin offering.

They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money (Mark 14:11a). The word delighted is chairo, and more expressive of an inward feeling of joy or delight. In other words, they were more delighted than they cared to show. So Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over (Mark 14:11b). Judas needed to do three things. First, he needed to show where the Lord could be arrested away from the masses of people. Secondly, under Roman law a cohort could not be released to make an arrest unless someone first appeared before the procurator accusing Jesus of a crime punishable under Roman law. Thirdly, at the Roman trial he would be needed to serve as the prosecuting witness. Judas would not be needed for the Jewish trial, but he would be desperately needed for the Roman trial because the Romans had taken away the Jewish right to impose the death penalty by stoning.

Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot (or the man from the town of K’riot), one of the Twelve (Luke 22:3). This was his choice because his betrayal would have been impossible if he had not willingly submitted himself to the devil. James tells us: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7). However, Judas did not resist.

So Judas consented, and from then on the traitorous talmid watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present (Matthew 26:16; Mark 14:11b; Luke 22:6). Judas was a zealous Jew, like the others, hoping that the Messianic Kingdom would be established during their lifetime. But when it became clear that it would not happen that way, he gave up and was self-deceived (with the Adversary’s assistance) to the point of betraying his former Rabbi.¹³⁶²

Jesus controlled His own destiny. The Sanhedrin’s plan was to wait until the Passover was over and all the pilgrims had gone home to make their move. But when Yeshua identified Judas as the betrayer, He forced their hand. They had to act on the very night that they didn’t want to act. The trial was confused and disorganized because they never intended to bring Him to trial on the Passover. The end of a traitor is like the end of a star – the result is always seen long after the event has taken place.¹³⁶³ And so it was with Judas.

The missing apostle walked the two miles back to Bethany in the moonlight. Robbers might be lurking on the roads. He wondered how he would hide such a large and noisy reward. “But it will all work out,” he thought to himself. For Judas truly believed that he was smarter than his companions and deserved a reward. After all, he had sacrificed so much. If Jesus really was God that would soon be made known.¹³⁶⁴

Jesus Anointed at Bethany
Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:2-8
Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan after sundown

Jesus anointed at Bethany DIG: Who was Simon? Why would he want to host a dinner to honor Jesus? Why did Mary anoint Messiah? What did she use? What was so unique about it? Why did the talmidim become indignant? Why would Judas especially object? What motivated him? What did Judas think was going to happen? Why was it so difficult for the others to see the value in what Mary did for Yeshua?

REFLECT: Based on this passage, how should you respond to those who criticize your love of God? What are you willing to sacrifice to worship ADONAI? What beautiful thing could you do this week for Jesus? What could you do for one of the least of these? Mary worshiped the Deliverer by pouring a very expensive jar perfume made of pure nard on His head. In what practical ways have you worshiped the Lord this week?

Three important events took place late Wednesday afternoon the thirteenth of Nisan before sundown, and on Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan after sundown.

First, late Wednesday afternoon before sundown, the most important members of the Great Sanhedrin met at the palace of the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas, to plot against the life of Christ (to see link click Ka – The Plot Against Jesus).

Secondly, on Thursday evening after sundown Jesus was invited to the home of Simon, the leper, for dinner. There, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed Him with expensive perfume for burial. It was then that Christ rebuked Judas for wanting to sell the expensive perfume made of pure nard so the money given to the poor. The Lord spent the night at Bethany at the home of Mary and Martha.

And thirdly, on Thursday evening after being rebuked by Jesus at the home of Simon the leper during dinner Judas then left Bethany, walked to the palace of the Caiaphas high priest in Jerusalem and agreed to betray the Meshiach.

In stark contrast to the hateful rejection of the religious leaders of Isra’el, here we see Mary’s loving worship.

On Thursday, the fourteenth of Nisan while Jesus was in Bethany a dinner was given in His honor in the home of Simon, the former leper (Matthew 26:6; Mark 14:3a; John 12:2a). Jesus had healed him, which, once again, pointed to the fact that He was indeed the Messiah. The healing of a Jewish leper was one of the three messianic miracles (see my commentary on Isaiah Gl – The Three Messianic Miracles). So, being grateful, it seems that he welcomed Yeshua to stay at his home in the day before Passover.

Simon must have been a well-to-do man. With all the talmidim present, this was a sizeable dinner party. He may also have been an unmarried man, because Martha seems to have been acting as the hostess at this gathering. She was probably a close friend of the family and volunteered to serve. Mary’s sister Martha served, while her brother Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with Him (John 12:2b).

Then Miryam came to the Lord with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume made of pure nard (Mark 14:3a; John 12:3a). In the ancient Middle East, it was considered a natural part of hospitality to welcome guests by offering them anointing oil or perfume. They didn’t take bath’s that often and traveled on many hot, dusty roads. So, in and of itself, would not have been out of the ordinary. She broke the neck of the jar and slowly poured about a pint of the perfume on His head as He was reclining at the table (Matthew 26:7; Mark 14:3b). But her actions went well beyond the accepted custom because pure nard was the most expensive perfume one could buy.

She also poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume (John 12:3b). Mary understood what Judas, and even the other apostles, did not. Because the stone would be placed before Messiah’s tomb with a Roman guard in front of it, the normal placing of myrrh and aloes in the folds of the grave clothes would never take place. The only anointing Yeshua would receive in preparation for His burial was this anticipatory one by Mary.

Pure nard was used for two purposes. First, it was used for kings. But secondly, it was used for women on their wedding night. For the average woman, she had one chance in her entire lifetime to use it. Here, instead of using it for herself, Miryam did it to prepare Jesus for His burial. She must have strongly suspected that her brother’s resurrection would drive Messiah’s enemies into a rage, and they would be determined to put Him to death (see Ib – The Plot to Kill Jesus).

Jesus Himself had gone to the relative safety of Ephraim right after the raising of Lazarus, but Pesach brought Him back to the Holy City. Mary (and probably Martha as well) seemed to grasp more clearly that anyone how imminent the threat to Christ was. That surely intensified their sense of debt and gratitude toward Him, as reflected in Mary’s act of worship. She wasn’t anointing Him for ministry, she was anointing Him for burial.

But more than that, she understands what the apostles did not. The Truth would be raised from the dead. Her gesture of anointing Yeshua in preparation for His burial the following day showed a remarkably mature understanding. This was the very thing that put Miryam in sharp contrast with Martha, who tended to act first and think later. It is interesting that Mary did not go to the tomb on Sunday morning like the other women. They were not expecting His resurrection, but she was. Miryam was paying attention as she sat at the feet of Jesus while He taught.

But one of His talmidim, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him with a kiss on the Mount of Olives, was indignant. He said: Why the waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor (Mattityahu 26:8-9; Mark 14:4-5a; John 12:4-5). Miryam’s generous expression of gratitude to her Savior had finally pushed the false apostle over the edge.

With Judas leading the discontent, the other apostles also rebuked her harshly (Mark 14:5b). The treasurer did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what was put into it (John 12:6). The verb is in the imperfect tense, meaning that they continued to rebuke her. But Jesus did not. Even though Yeshua had taught many times on the need to help the poor, He did not stop her or say anything negative toward her.

Aware of this, Jesus said to them: Why are you bothering this woman? Leave her alone. She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have Me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this Gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her (Matthew 26:10-13; Mark 14:6-9; John 12:7-8). Fragrant spices were used for anointing a dead body after it had been washed. This process was to be distinguished from the process of embalming, which consisted of laying myrrh and aloes in the folds of the grave clothes. Mark relates that the women came to anoint the body of Jesus on Sunday morning after Shabbat, but the resurrection made their efforts moot. Again, the only anointing that our Lord received was at the hands of Mary.¹³⁵⁸

After dinner, when all the apostles went their separate ways, Judas left boldly for the place in Jerusalem where the most influential members of the Sanhedrin were meeting at the home of the high priest Joseph Caiaphas. The betrayer had had enough. It had been five days since Jesus rode into Yerushalayim on a colt. But He had yet to announce publicly that He was the long awaited Messiah; nor had He done anything to lead an uprising against Rome. But Yeshua had enraged the members of the Sanhedrin, which put Judas in danger.

The false apostle didn’t sign on to be hated or executed. If Jesus would only proclaim that He was the Anointed One, then He would triumph over the Romans. Surely the religious authorities would then be eager to follow Him. This cat-and-mouse game had to end.

He was going to force Yeshua’s hand.

The night air smelled of wood smoke from the many campfires. Pesach would start on the night of the first full moon after the spring equinox, which will be Friday evening.

Judas picked his way carefully down the uneven dirt road. He knows this could backfire. He was a known apostle and that fact alone could very well lead to his arrest. After all, he was going to the palace of the most powerful man in the Jewish world. He didn’t even know if Caiaphas would meet with him. But, if the traitor could get in to see him, he would make the high priest an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Making his way from the Kidron Valley and through Yerushalayim’s gates, Judas navigated south through the still crowed streets of the Lower City to expensive neighborhoods of Essene Quarter. He found the home of Caiaphas, told the guard his business and waited.¹³⁵⁹

The Plot Against Jesus
Matthew 26:1-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2; John 13:1
Late Wednesday afternoon
on the thirteenth of Nisan

The plot against Jesus DIG: How can we conclude how long Jesus’ ministry lasted in His First Coming? What was ironic about Caiaphas’ statement about it being better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish? What was ironic when they said: If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation? How is the division among Jews in Christ’s day seen in in Judaism today? When did the Sanhedrin want to have Him executed?

REFLECT: Have you ever resisted the sovereign will of God in your life? Maybe you didn’t realize it at first, but when you became convinced of His sovereign will why did you resist? How long did you resist? What were the consequences of your resistance? What did you learn? How hard is it for you to turn over certain parts of your life to the Lord? Are you clinging to anything He wants you to give up right now?

Three important events took place late Wednesday afternoon the thirteenth of Nisan before sundown, and on Thursday the fourteenth of Nisan after sundown.

First, late Wednesday afternoon before sundown the most important members of the Sanhedrin met at the palace of the high priest to plot against the life of Christ.

Secondly, on Thursday evening after sundown Jesus was invited to the home of Simon, a former a leper, for dinner. There, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anointed Yeshua with expensive perfume for burial. It was then that the Lord rebuked Judas for wanting to sell the expensive perfume made of pure nard so the money given to the poor (to see link click Kb – Jesus Anointed at Bethany).

And thirdly, after being rebuked by Jesus at the home of Simon the leper during dinner Judas left Bethany, and walked to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest in Jerusalem and agreed to betray the Meshiach (see Kc – Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus).

It was late in the afternoon on Wednesday, the thirteenth of Nisan, just before the Passover festival. This is the fourth of four Passovers mentioned in the ministry of Christ. The first is mentioned in John 2:13. The second mentioned in John 5:1, the third is referred to in John 6:4, and the fourth in John 11:55, 12:1, here in 13:1, 18:28 and 39, and 19:14. By dating these, we are able to conclude that His public ministry lasted three-and-a-half years.¹³⁵⁵ The suffering Servant knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Messiah’s death and resurrection were now imminent. He had come to die in obedience to the Father’s will. His coming was also an act of love for all mankind (John 3:16). But He had a special love for His sheep: His own. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to completion, all the way to the end (John 13:1).

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He said to His talmidim: As you know, the Passover is two days away – and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified (Matthew 26:1-2; Luke 22:1). Now the Feast of Passover/Unleavened Bread was only two days away (Wednesday and Thursday because the Passover started Friday after sundown). In subsequent times, these two feasts were considered so connected that to this day they are usually referred to as one feast, the seven-day Passover holiday.

Then Caiaphas, the Torah-teachers, and the elders of the people (see Lg – The Great Sanhedrin), assembled in the palace of the high priest (Matthew 26:3; Mark 14:1b). For some time he had been advocating a policy of sacrificing Jesus to supposedly save the whole nation from the Romans: You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish (John 11:50). There was no division of opinion among those gathered. The entire Sanhedrin was not in attendance, but these where the fanatical majority. The fact that they assembled in the place of the high priest speaks volumes about the depth of the opposition to Yeshua.

Earlier they had said: If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation (John 11:48). Those religious leaders had enjoyed a privileged status for almost six centuries. They feared that if a riot broke out in Jerusalem, the Romans would crack down even harder on the Jews living there. The Romans would jump into the fray soon enough, but at this point all the Gospel writers focus on the Jewish side of things. Everyone there agreed and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill Him (Matthew 26:4; Mark 14:1c; Luke 22:2a). Consequently, those self-proclaimed men of God had devised a specific plan for handling the Nazarene: a quiet arrest and trial, followed by a hasty execution.

Far too often, emphasis is put on the “Jewish” rejection of Yeshua while forgetting the fact that it was an area of disagreement within the larger Jewish community. Earlier, Christ had Himself said: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter against her daughter-in-law. People’s enemies will be the members of their own household (Matthew 10:34-36). The same could be said today as many orthodox, reformed, conservative and Hassidic Jews and Christians seem to forget that there are millions and millions of messianic Jews.

Caiaphas and the member of the Great Sanhedrin were concerned about the imminent Pesach festival and the Jewish community’s tenuous relationship with their Roman occupiers. It is important to point out that this was a relatively small group of Jewish leaders. While it is well known that much of Jewish Supreme Court opposed Jesus and His messianic claims, many thousands of His fellow Jews followed Him as the Meshiach.

The conspirators needed to find a way to arrest Jesus away from the masses, and Judas would make them an offer they couldn’t refuse. They needed to wait until after the festival when the pilgrims had left Jerusalem and gone home. “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people” (Mt 26:5; Mk 14:2; Lk 22:2b). If the arrest could be avoided until after Pesach, then many of Jesus’ Galilean supporters would be out of town and traveling back to their homes. With this in mind, they put thoughts into action.¹³⁵⁶

But ADONAI was in full control of when Jesus would die, not the Jewish religious leaders. Satan wanted the Lord dead before He went to the cross so there would be no atonement for sin. Christ’s death was not only necessary at the proper time – on the Passover, but also in the proper place – on the cross.

The plotters had their timetable, but God had His, set before the foundations of the world. As a result, Messiah’s death would happen exactly when the schemers didn’t want it to happen. But with the help of Judas, they would succeed in finding a secluded place to arrest Him away from the masses in the garden of Gethsemane.

In 1915 Pastor William Barton started to publish a series articles. Using the archaic language of an ancient storyteller, he wrote his parables under the pen name of Safed the Sage. And for the next fifteen years he shared the wisdom of Safed and his enduring spouse Keturah. It was a genre he enjoyed. By the early 1920s, Safed was said to have a following of at least three million. Turning an ordinary event into an illustration of a spiritual truth was always a keynote of Barton’s ministry.

It has been the custom in our home that the children should put on their Nighties and kneel down at the knees of Keturah and say their Prayers before they went to bed. And this I did also at my mother’s knees, and likewise did Keturah at the knees of her mother.

And our children said each of them, Now I Lay Me, which is a Poem that some silly folk think is unsuited for Modern Children. But if they will bring up any better Children on their milk-and-water stuff than were brought up on Now I Lay Me, I shall be glad. But after they had said Now I Lay Me, each one of our five children would say a Prayer of their Own. And they prayed each one after his or her own heart. And there are few finer memories to Keturah and myself than our Five Children in their Nighties all offering up their Evening Prayers.

And how much their prayers were unlike those of Grown Folk, Keturah did not disapprove. For those folk are wrong who would say to children, Unless you become Stupid and Commonplace as Grown Folk you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; for the dear Lord Jesus said it just the other way around.

Now there was one of our sons who was always finding Lame Dogs and bringing them home, and he prayed ever for the Birdies that get Hurted, and for the Dogs that go lame and none to help them, and for all men and women and children who suffer.

But now and then as he prayed, he remembered that many of the folk who suffer bring their suffering upon themselves by their own folly and sin. And with them in mind, he would end his prayer, saying, And I can’t help the Burglars, and Amen.

The years have come and gone, and I have looked out over the world, and have often found relief in the same Disclaimer of Responsibility. And I say, O Lord, your judgments are true and righteous altogether, but there is much in this world that is Mighty Perplexing. Sin and Folly account for most of the pain in this world, but not all of it; and if You, Lord, should eliminate all of that sin, who should stand in Your sight? I have been Praying and Boosting and Uplifting and Reforming for a Good Long Time, and the job seems as big as ever. Lord, there comes a point where I am not able to Assume Responsibility for all the happens in the Mixed-Up World. Still, I do pray for the needy and the sorrowful and the sinful. Still, I do count a part of my own interest in this life all that has human interest. But, Lord, this Proposition is a Little Too Big for me, and now and then I feel as Doctor Martin Luther felt when he spoke to Philip Melanchthon, saying, Philip, for this day we will leave the Governance of the Universe with God, and you and I will go fishing. And I think of the sins and sorrows of human life, and say, Lord, I will bear on my sympathies all that one Human Heart can stand up under, and continue the March Around Jericho, but I can’t help the Burglars. Amen.¹³⁵⁷