Reflective Bible Study

As we continue through Luke’s gospel, we come to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. However, before this happened, Jesus wanted to eat the Passover meal with His disciples. However, they don’t have a place prepared beforehand to eat this meal.

While this is a problem from our human perspective, God had a plan. Let’s read what happened, and how Jesus solves this challenge.

Our passage is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 22, and we will read it from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 7, Luke tells us that:

⁷ The Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover lambs had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us to eat.”

⁹ They asked, “Where do you want us to prepare it?” ¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “After you go into the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters, ¹¹ and tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says: “Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover meal with my followers?”’ ¹² Then he will show you a large, furnished room upstairs. Prepare the Passover meal there.”

¹³ So Peter and John left and found everything as Jesus had said. And they prepared the Passover meal.

Pausing reading briefly, I am amazed that when Peter and John have the dilemma of where to prepare this Passover meal, Jesus simply gives them a very random but specific set of instructions and they find everything exactly as Jesus had described.

This sort of detail tells me that Jesus clearly knew the events of that weekend better than any of the disciples did, and Jesus also knew Judas Iscariot’s betrayal even better than Judas did.

From this passage that draws our attention onto the preparation of Jesus’ last supper prior to His death, we can clearly learn the truth that Jesus knows the future. Jesus knows the future and He is not scared by it. Since Jesus knows the future and He is not scared by it, we can confidently move forward in our own lives with Jesus knowing that He has the solution to the problems we face.

Continuing reading in verse 14, Luke then tells us:

¹⁴ When the time came, Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table. ¹⁵ He said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and share it among yourselves. ¹⁸ I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom comes.”

¹⁹ Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body, which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁰ In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you.

²¹ “But one of you will turn against me, and his hand is with mine on the table. ²² What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen, but how terrible it will be for that one who turns against the Son of Man.”

²³ Then the apostles asked each other which one of them would do that.

In Luke’s passage describing this portion of Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples, two big things stand out to me. While it is tempting to focus on the bread Jesus breaks and on the grape juice that Jesus shares, let’s save looking at those details for another time.

Instead, two different phrases stood out to me. In these two phrases are a promise and a warning. However, even within the warning is a powerful promise that is worth remembering.

The first phrase is a clear promise. Verse 16 records Jesus telling the disciples “I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.” This is a promise that we can hold on to because this means that Jesus is waiting in heaven for our arrival before He eats another Passover meal.

Also, while many people believe that the Passover was fulfilled that weekend when Jesus gave up His life, Jesus describes the Passover meal as having future significance. Reading this with you now prompts me to wonder if the great meal we all will eat with God in His kingdom following Jesus’ return will be a meal celebrating the big theme of the Passover. The great theme of the Passover is that God’s people were trapped in slavery, and that an Innocent Being gives up His life to redeem His people.

With this huge theme, we see that the entire story of history is contained within the great Passover truth. When we as Christians celebrate the Lord’s Supper, it seems small when compared with this grand, eternal message. While celebrating the Lord’s Supper is in no way wrong, let’s remember the big picture and what this event points forward to in our own future even while it pointed forward to Jesus’ death.

Also in this passage is a warning. In verse 22, immediately after Jesus reveals that this group of twelve disciples has a betrayer present, Jesus says, “What God has planned for the Son of Man will happen”.

As I read and think about this phrase, perhaps a warning is not the best way to frame it. While it sounds like a warning on one level, we also see the clear picture that Jesus was following God’s plan for His life. Jesus followed God’s plan which lead to and through death, and while there was pain involved in God’s plan for Jesus’ life, we ultimately wouldn’t want it any other way.

When we follow God’s plan, don’t be surprised if our lives include some level of pain. However, know that just like Jesus, when we look back on our lives, on the pain and on the joy, we ultimately would not want our lives to have gone any other way. While our lives on this earth are tainted by pain, sin, and death, the ultimate plan God has for our lives is eternal life with Him in a sinless recreated new heaven and new earth.

Our brand new life with God can start today, and when Jesus returns to bring us home, we will all celebrate the ultimate Passover meal together with God and all of God’s people who He has redeemed!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, continue seeking God first in your life and choose to let God lead you on His plan. Place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for us on the cross and look forward to the day when we will enter God’s kingdom and eat the ultimate Passover meal with Him and all of God’s people together.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and personal study, discover a God who gives up everything to redeem His people out of sin and a God who loves us more than we can even imagine!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

In our last episode, we looked at the details of Judas Iscariot deciding and agreeing to betray Jesus. For this episode, we’ll jump forward to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. While Matthew includes the stage being set for Jesus’ betrayal and the night Jesus was betrayed next to each other, it is likely that these two events were somewhere around a week apart.

Early on in the night Jesus was betrayed, Jesus shares the Passover meal with His disciples, and part way through this meal, Jesus identifies Judas Iscariot as the betrayer in front of everyone, and tells Judas that it is time for him to set out to do what he had been plotting. While the evening progresses from that point, Judas Iscariot is out collecting a mob of people loyal to the priests and religious leaders who will ultimately come to arrest Jesus.

The passage we will be focusing on in this episode is when Judas Iscariot arrives with the mob to arrest Jesus. Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 26, and we will read from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 47, Matthew tells us:

⁴⁷ And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” ⁴⁹ So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.

⁵⁰ Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.”

Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. ⁵¹ But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear.

⁵² “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. ⁵³ Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? ⁵⁴ But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”

⁵⁵ Then Jesus said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me? Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. ⁵⁶ But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.

In this passage, we discover some amazing details that people who don’t understand what happened that night either ignore or simply don’t believe. While some people think that Jesus was surprised by this event, the only people who were surprised were the disciples who didn’t pay attention to Jesus’ words. If Jesus did not want to be arrested, He could have avoided this event in any number of ways.

Jesus didn’t have to go to a place where Judas would have easily known where to find Him. Jesus was perfectly aware of Judas being the betrayer, and the easiest way to avoid arrest would be to simply go somewhere where Judas would not have known where to find Him. But Jesus chose intentionally to go to a place where He could be found.

Also, when being confronted by the mob, one of the disciples, who other gospels identify as Peter, grabs a sword to defend their group. Jesus, steps in and stops the violence, saying that if He wanted to avoid or stop this arrest, He could simply ask and have thousands of angels immediately appear to defend them. It’s worth contrasting the detail that one angel appearing at the tomb to roll the stone away when Jesus is resurrected makes the hardened Roman soldiers tremble in fear and act like dead men. All Jesus would have needed to avoid being arrested is ask God for one angel to appear to defend them, and the mob would have fled in fear.

When reading the details of Jesus’ crucifixion, everything in each part of the event points us to the truth that Jesus chose the cross. The cross was not something that God the Father forced onto Jesus. The cross was not something Judas surprised Jesus with. Jesus knew the date and location of His death before Judas even knew He would be the betrayer.

Jesus chose the cross because that is what He had inspired the Old Testament writers to predict. Jesus chose the cross to show us God’s love for each of us as members of humanity. Jesus chose the cross to pay the debt we owed God for our sins when there was no way for us to pay this debt and stay alive.

There are those who don’t believe in God, in sin, or in their need for a Savior. Some of these people openly mock those who do believe this. However, one person’s belief or lack of belief doesn’t change reality. For those who believe in God, we see amazing evidence for His existence and we thank Him for what He has done for us. Those who reject a belief in God are left trying to connect the dots of how we are here with only human logic and human ideas. Without God, life has no ultimate purpose, no hope, and a doomed future.

I see more evidence in the world today supporting the existence of God. While evil seems to be growing in the world, and while people are becoming more polarized and hostile towards one another, God is not responsible for this.

Instead, God is giving His people a picture of what life without Him and His protection is like. If sin isn’t given the opportunity to show how truly evil it is, then there will be the chance it could return in God’s perfect new heaven and new earth. God loves us too much to give us eternity only to let it be tainted by sin, and He loves us too much to force us to obey Him.

God’s character is on trial in the world today. From our perspective, it might look to some as though God has abandoned us. However, God is willing to walk with us through the sin, through the challenges, and through all the evil in this world so we can be together with Him for eternity.

God’s character is on trial. God must punish sin in order to remain just. However, instead of punishing those who are guilty, Jesus volunteered to take our place and to take the punishment we deserved onto Himself. While there are plenty of details in this gift that we don’t understand at this point in earth’s history, the big thing to know and remember is that through Jesus, we are offered a free gift, and this gift is Jesus’ perfect life in exchange for our own.

Jesus chose the cross for you and me, and He willingly faced death knowing that through His death, the way would be opened for us to live with God for eternity.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and decide to accept Jesus’ gift of His life in exchange for yours. Choose to live a life that is allied to God as a way of saying thank You to Jesus for a gift we could never repay. Thank Jesus for choosing the cross when there were countless ways He could have chosen to avoid it.

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn what God wants to teach you personally through His Word. While a pastor or podcaster can share ideas with you, only through praying, reading, and studying the Bible personally will you be able to discover God’s truth for yourself. Always choose God’s truth over man-made traditions.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Picking up right where we left off in our last episode, this episode’s passage continues with Jesus sharing with the disciples about what will happen at the end times. To give a brief recap and to set the stage, the disciples come to Jesus asking Him what sign they should look for to signal His soon return, and Jesus begins sharing a lengthy reply with them about what to watch for.

Setting the stage in our last episode’s passage, Jesus has warned against people coming claiming to be Him, He has warned about wars and rumors of wars being signs leading up to the end, and He has challenged His followers with the truth that they will be pulled in front of leaders to answer for their beliefs and convictions.

Jesus has also warned the disciples to flee to the mountains when they see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. This leads into our passage for this episode, which is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 21. For our episode together, we will read from the New International Version. Picking back up where Jesus left off in our last episode, we continue reading starting in verse 25 with Jesus telling His followers:

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Let’s pause briefly here because I want to draw our attention onto what Jesus has just finished saying.

At the point when Jesus returns, the sun, moon, and stars will be giving signs, and the ocean will be raging and crashing more than what might be considered normal even during a storm. So many things will be happening that verse 26 tells us “People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world”. It is at this point that Jesus will return and when this happens, Jesus tells His followers to “stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near”.

This is an amazing promise, because tucked within the message Jesus shares is the powerful promise that Jesus does not leave His people abandoned on the earth. Even if it appears as though God is silent and things in this world are getting bad, before all hope is lost, Jesus will return. Remember from our last episode the challenge to endure to the end.

When we see the entire heavens and earth shaken, we can know that Jesus’ return is just around the corner.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing in verse 29, Luke tells us that:

²⁹ He [referring to Jesus] told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

³² “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

While it might be tempting to focus on the immediate nature of Jesus’ promise about this generation not passing away in light of so much time having passed since the time He spoke these words and now, I see the message that comes right after that one being even more important.

When challenging the disciples to pay attention to the signs, Jesus gives them this additional challenge and warning in verses 34 and 35: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.”

In Jesus’ big message to His disciples, He warns against carousing, which is another way of saying drinking alcohol, partying, and getting drunk, and Jesus warns against being drunk and also about worrying about the anxieties of life. While drinking alcohol is in itself not a sin, nowhere in the entire Bible do I see it being presented as something that is a wise thing to do. More often than not, drinking is seen as a step leading into a variety of sins, or as a trap people fall into while trying to escape the stress of this life.

Drinking as framed in this passage leads towards not paying attention to the world around us or the signs God sends into the world reminding us that His return is drawing near. Drinking numbs our senses and our judgment and numb senses and numb judgment allow for the last day to catch people off guard.

It’s worth noting that those who focused on partying, drinking, and worrying about life won’t be ignorant to Jesus’ return. Instead, they will be ignorant of the signs prompting them to return to God before it is too late. Jesus’ return will be so earth-shattering that everyone on the face of the earth will clearly be alert to what is happening – even if they don’t know exactly what is happening. When these final signs come, it will likely be too late to return to God. While I don’t know this for certain, it is a strong suspicion.

While we might not know when it is too late to come to God, I suspect that if you are listening, reading, or paying attention to this message I am sharing, it is not yet too late. Because of this I challenge you to return to God or to renew your commitment to serving God. Choose to pay attention to what is happening in the world around us, but also push past interpreting what is happening through only human eyes.

When looking at what is happening in the world, choose to see the chaos leading towards Jesus’ great return when the world will come to an end. Jesus’ return marks the end of this age and the beginning of the age to come, and as we looked at a few episode’s ago, the age to come is marked by the resurrection and the absence of marriage.

Jesus’ return is something I hope to be alive for. However, regardless of whether I am alive when He returns or whether I am resurrected when He arrives, I have my hope placed firmly on Jesus and His sacrifice. I also hope and pray that you are redeemed along with me when Jesus returns to take us home!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always begin by challenging you to do, continue to seek God first in your life. Choose to place your faith, hope, trust, and belief in Jesus and what He accomplished for each of us through His sacrifice on the cross. Through what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can know and trust that He has a future in mind for us when He returns. Jesus would not have died if God’s people weren’t worth saving.

Also, continue to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God. Discover what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and how to best live your life with God from this point forward. Through prayer and study, fall in love with a God who loves you more than you could even imagine!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Leading up to the night Jesus was betrayed and arrested, Matthew includes an event that every other gospel writer also includes, but with the exception of Mark, each gospel writer includes this event in a unique place. Matthew and Mark’s gospel place this event right before the night Jesus is arrested while Luke places a similar event much earlier in Jesus’ ministry, and John includes this event happening shortly before Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. When looking at the chronology of what happened, I lean towards John’s gospel’s timing, which places this a day or two before Jesus enters Jerusalem on the donkey.

However, since Matthew places it here in his gospel, we have included it here. This event was a special meal that Jesus was invited to attend, and what happened at this meal is extravagant and it leads directly into Jesus’ betrayal.

Our passage and event is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 26, and we will read from the New International Version. Starting in verse 6, Matthew tells us that:

⁶ While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

⁸ When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. ⁹ “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

¹⁰ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹ The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. ¹² When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. ¹³ Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁴ Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

This event is the last event leading up to the night Jesus was betrayed in Matthew’s gospel. While Matthew tells us the disciples were indignant, or annoyed and angry, about the woman’s gift, John’s gospel frames this reaction specifically towards Judas Iscariot. With the timing of this event being several days before the festival, this would give Judas Iscariot enough time to plot revenge on Jesus for honoring a sinful woman ahead of him, especially with a gift that should have simply been sold and donated to them in his mind.

This leads us to one key idea that is becoming less common in culture today. This idea says that gifts that are given instead of money (or gift cards), always show more thought involved than gifts that are simply money donated. While our culture often times prefers money or gift cards so we can “get exactly what we want”, gifts of most anything else display a greater level of caring and connection between the gift giver and the gift receiver.

Gifts like the one this woman gave Jesus are even more special because if I understand the details and traditional thought of this event correctly, this was a very expensive, one-time gift. What this woman gave Jesus was not something that could then be sold or re-gifted later – especially with the way this gift was given to Jesus.

Giving Jesus the perfume by pouring it on Him was likely what angered Judas Iscariot the most, because it gave it to Jesus in a way that could not be converted back into money. This was such an extravagant gift that it was hard for Judas Iscariot not to see the potential dollars that could have been given to him as the keeper of the disciples’ money. Because of this event, and Jesus’ response, Judas emotionally agrees to sell Jesus to the religious leaders for significantly less.

However, in Jesus’ response, we see another amazing prediction. While the woman likely believed her gift to be anointing Jesus leading up to Him stepping into the role of Messiah and King, specifically the messiah that would overthrow the Romans and give the Jews back their homeland, Jesus shifts the meaning of this gift to be foreshadowing His burial.

Being anointed was something that was done for both people stepping into greater roles in society and for people who had just died. Those stepping into more significant roles were anointed for spiritual significance, while those who were anointed for burial were anointed to keep their bodies from stinking too badly while decomposing.

All four gospels include an event where a woman anoints Jesus on the head with perfume. Jesus’ prediction that this woman’s gift would be remembered and shared alongside His death has been fulfilled.

Within this gift and event is another subtle foreshadowing, and this idea is one that the disciples might not have wanted to understand or admit. This foreshadowing was Jesus telling them that they will always have the poor among them, but they would not always have Him. While Jesus was crucified, buried, and then resurrected, He knew that not long afterwards, He would return to heaven, leaving the disciples to carry on what He had started.

Jesus accepted the gifts that people wanted to give Him knowing that they would not be able to give them to Him later. Jesus places spiritual significance on the gifts we give to Him as well. While Judas Iscariot, and perhaps another one or two of the disciples, believed this gift to be a waste of money or resources, Jesus amplified this gift, giving it amazing spiritual significance, and He tells us that this woman’s gift will be remembered forever.

When we give gifts to Jesus, I believe He is just as willing to take our gifts and use them for His glory, and I believe that while Jesus can use gifts of money to help where money is needed, Jesus really values the gifts that are more specific than money. The gifts we give Jesus that are non-monetary are ones where He can use and multiply what we gave Him for His glory. Also, giving God non-monetary gifts helps us grow and stay connected to Him in our lives.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to give Him gifts that cannot easily be repaid with money. Gifts such as time, talents, or specific items that are needed are much more valuable in God’s eyes than government issued rectangle pieces of special paper or a string of numbers on a computer somewhere. While God can use any gift we give Him, what God really wants with our gifts is our heart. Our heart is the most valuable gift we can give God in His eyes.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, be sure to pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Through prayer and Bible study, discover what God wants for us and what He wants from us. Don’t assume the Bible teaches anything. Instead, open the pages of this collection of books and discover what it teaches for yourself!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!