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Messiah’s
Last Meal - A Passover Seder; Who Is The Greatest?
Overcoming Failure; A Warning To Be Prepared For
His Arrest, Suffering, Trials And Death
This was
the Son of God’s last week on Earth before His
arrest, sufferings, trials, death, burial and
resurrection, and Yeshua, who was a prophet, knew
it. He knew that He would die, overcome death,
leave the planet, ascend to Heaven, which is a
very real place, and then return to Earth to establish
the Kingdom of God for 1,000 years here on Earth.
Rabbi
Yeshua is the Most Important Person who ever lived.
This is Messiah’s last week, and arguably the
most important week of human history. We are in
the most important week, and getting to the most
important events connected to the most important
day in the life of the Most Important Man who
ever lived! Without these most important events,
we would never be able to be reconciled to the
God from whom the whole world is estranged. We
would never be able to enter the Kingdom of God.
We could never have eternal life. The life of
every human being who ever lived would be a complete
disaster and end in total failure and absolute
catastrophe!
These
important events are connected to a very special
season - Spring, and to a very special holiday
in the Spring - Passover, the time of Israel being
set free from harsh slavery in Egypt, and nature
being set free from the death-like state of winter.
Spring and Passover are times of new beginnings
and new life. Passover is an annual celebration
of the supernatural rescuing of God’s people from
slavery to the powerful and evil nation of Egypt.
That first Passover forms a prophetic background
to this greater Passover and greater Lamb who
provides a greater deliverance, a greater rescue
and salvation from darker and more powerful forces
than those of Egypt!
Yeshua
had just told His closest disciples that one of
them would betray Him. On their own, the 11 disciples
weren’t able to figure out who the betrayer was.
Messiah knew who the betrayer was, and could have
exposed him, but chose not too. Judas’ freewill
would be respected. The plans of the adversaries
of Messiah would be allowed to play themselves
out and Messiah would die, so that the ultimate
plan of God for our salvation could succeed. Fascinating!
Deep. Wise!
At the
Lord’s final meal, the disciples couldn’t figure
out who would betray their Messiah and King; but
they could figure out which one of them was the
most important! And there arose also a dispute
among them as to which one of them was regarded
to be greatest. And He said to them, "The
kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those
who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors'.
But it is not this way with you, but the one who
is the greatest among you must become like the
youngest, and the leader like the servant. For
who is greater, the one who reclines at the table
or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines
at the table? But I am among you as the one who
serves.
The disciples
wanted to know who among them was the greatest.
There is a way to tell who is the most important.
But for the faithful remnant of Israel, the standard
of greatness is not measured the same way the
Gentiles measure greatness - greatness being determined
by those who wield the most authority or have
the most wealth. No, the Renewed Israel who have
entered into the New Covenant are to determine
greatness by having the standard of humility.
It is the person who humbles himself the most,
and serves the most, who is the most important.
Humbling
ourselves and being willing to be a servant to
others does not come to us naturally. It comes
to us supernaturally. It takes faith to humble
ourselves the way God wants us to. It takes faith
to be that kind of servant-leader. It is the man
who is strong - strong enough to be humble and
use his strength to serve those who are weaker
than he is, who is really great. It is the man
who has faith, and uses his faith to humble himself
and serve, who should be considered great among
us.
Who is
the greatest? That’s easy! Yeshua was that kind
of humble, Servant-Leader. It is the Son of God
and the Son of Man, the King of Israel, and also
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord, and yet
came to serve His ruined creatures - you and me.
How fantastic is that?
All of
us have been ruined by sinned. All of us have
let God down in various ways. Like Judas, all
of us have betrayed the Lord in various ways.
All of us have earned the condemnation of the
Creator. Messiah is the One who is worthy - not
us! He made the supreme contribution to make atonement
possible. He alone paid the pride for our redemption
from the satanic slave market of sin and death.
He alone offers us salvation. On the other hand,
even when we come to know the Lord, all of us
continue to fall short. All of us fall short of
being who we should be, and doing what we should
do. All of us, even the best of us, are unworthy
servants. Therefore Messiah alone is worthy to
be the focus of our considerations of who is the
greatest. He Himself is truly great. Because of
who He is, and His love for us, He made our salvation
possible. He created us. He redeemed us. He sends
His Spirit into us to live in us and transform
us. He sustains us. He continues to intercede
for us. Compared to Him, the greatest of us is
very insignificant. In our consideration of who
is great, we don’t look to ourselves. We focus
on Messiah, and His greatness, and point people
to Messiah - not ourselves and our puny accomplishments.
We humble ourselves and serve and point men and
women to the Son of God. If we do, we will be
amply honored and rewarded - but in God’s time.
We really
can’t determine who is the greatest among us.
Someone who is very gifted and yet doesn’t live
up to his gifting may not be as great as someone
who has less gifts, but is faithful to use them
fully. Only the Lord knows who is truly great
and who isn’t, and only He is capable of honoring
them in the right way.
As it
turns out, there are those who are greater and
who are lesser, and those who will be given greater
and lesser recognition and rewards by Messiah
Yeshua Himself in the world to come. In spite
of their failures, the Messiah’s twelve special
representatives, who suffered much, and who remained
faithful to their Rabbi, and who so well served
the rest of us, are some of the very greatest
human beings and will be uniquely honored and
rewarded. Messiah made this wonderful and encouraging
promise to them: You are those who have stood
by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has
granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may
eat and drink at My table in My kingdom (eating
and drinking at Messiah’s table, closest to Him
of all the millions of redeemed human beings,
is a very special honor), and you will sit
on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel
(and that kind of authority over the future
Renewed Israel is a very great reward indeed!).
But, not
just the greatest will in due time be amply rewarded.
All of us, even the least important person in
the Kingdom of God, will be incredibly blessed
and happy! Yes, Messiah is going to reward us
- in spite of our failures. Even the greatest
among us can fail spectacularly - like Peter was
about to. But, because of God’s love and grace
and mercy, and ability to save and redeem, and
Messiah’s ongoing prayers and intercession for
us, our failures don’t have to be the end of our
story, or the thing we get fixated on. With God
and Messiah, we can move beyond failure. Simon,
one of the very greatest human beings, is an example
of very serious failure, but also of overcoming
failure - and Yeshua knew it. And, this is what
He predicted would happen to one of His closest
disciples.
Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to
sift you like wheat (and it seems like God
gave the Adversary that permission he demanded
to seriously shake up Simon’s life. But, Simon’s
very serious failure would not be the end of Simon.
His life would not end in failure, but in victory
and a very great reward. Why? Because greater
than the demands of the Adversary for our harm,
are the prayers and intercessions of the mighty
Son of God for our victory!); but I have prayed
for you, that your faith may not fail; and you,
when once you have turned again, strengthen your
brothers”.
And that
same Messiah is your High Priest, who is seated
at the right hand of God the Father, and He is
praying for you - that in spite of the mighty
power of the Adversary and his allies, and in
spite of your many weaknesses, that your faith
will not fail, and that you will be faithful to
the end. How great is that?
But Simon
Peter didn’t like what his Rabbi had predicted
was about to happen. Peter was one of the inner
circle of Yeshua’s disciples, and one of the leaders
of this very special group. Peter’s loyalty to
His King would be shaken, and he would fail, and
then be restored? No way! He was strong. He was
loyal. But he said to Him, "Lord, with
You I am ready to go both to prison and to death”!
But, Simon was not as strong as he thought.
He was capable of spectacular failure. And
He said, "I say to you, Peter, the rooster
will not crow today until you have denied three
times that you know Me”. Before this first
day of Passover was over, within 24 hours, bold
Peter would deny his Lord not once - which might
be a simple mistake, not twice, but three times!
But again, that failure would not be the end of
Simon Peter’s story. He would turn back to Yeshua
with greater faith and faithfulness than ever
before, and he would use his faith and strength
to build up and strengthen the faith of the rest
of us - which he did.
Maybe
you consider your life a failure. You have failed
yourself, failed others, failed God more times
than you like thinking about. Your life does not
have to end in failure! Like Peter who failed
spectacularly, turn back to God! Turn back to
Messiah! He is praying for you. Return to faithfulness!
Make the necessary changes. Practice your spiritual
disciplines. Be a disciple. Pray. Read the Bible.
Witness what you know of the truth to those on
the outside, and build up and strengthen those
on the inside. Tell others what you know about
Messiah the Savior! Get fully involved in our
community. Help out. Serve. Do something.
This was
a very special day, and coming up was a very special
time, and the disciples needed to be prepared
for it. The beginning of the righteous Messiah’s
redemptive and atoning and yet still terrible
trials and sufferings were about to begin. The
King of Israel was about to be arrested - and
He knew it. And, He wanted to prepare His disciples
for His arrest. The eleven needed some new instructions.
And He said to them, "When I sent you
out without money belt and bag and sandals, you
did not lack anything, did you”? They said, "No,
nothing”. That prior period was a time of
relative peace. As they were going and declaring
the Good News, they had the time to wait on God
to supply their daily needs. But things were about
to change. They were about to enter a period of
great tumult, and they needed to be prepared.
And He said to them, "But now, whoever
has a money belt is to take it along, likewise
also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell
his coat and buy one. An intense and dangerous
time was approaching, and a little money and maybe
even a sword would be in order.
Why? What
was the reason for the change that was coming?
Messiah, the greatest of the prophets, knew the
reason. For I tell you that this which is written
must be fulfilled in Me, 'And He was numbered
with transgressors'; for that which refers to
Me has its fulfillment”. I love this! Rabbi
Yeshua, quoting Isaiah 53, one of my very favorite
parts of the Word of God, describing the coming
and the rejection and the suffering and judgment
and the death of the Messiah, and also His resurrection
from the dead, and applying the words of Isaiah
to Himself! Specifically, the majority of Israel
would be so far from God that they would not recognize
the Messiah, but would actually consider God’s
Greatest Servant to be a great sinner, and treat
Him as an evildoer, and put Him to death! That
was what was about to happen. The disciples should
expect it, and be prepared.
I don’t
know if the disciples had much money with them
- Judas was the treasurer, and he was gone. But
they did have a couple of swords. They said,
"Lord, look, here are two swords”. What
could two swords do against the combined power
of Jerusalem and Rome that had determined to eliminate
Yeshua? Not much, and Yeshua didn’t intend that
His disciples actually use their two swords to
defend Him. His words to sell their clothes and
buy weapons was not meant to be taken literally.
Their real defense was the plan and providence
and grace of God, and the prayers of the Son of
God. And He said to them, "It is enough”.
And, I am confident that the plan and providence
and grace of God, and the prayers of the Son of
God will prove to be enough for us too!
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