Gtcotr/ss040614
Luke 22 NKJV
1 ¶ Now the Feast of
Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
2 And the chief priests and
the scribes sought how they might kill Jesus, for they feared the people.
3 Then Satan entered Judas,
surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
4 So he went his way and
conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
5 And they were glad, and
agreed to give him money.
6 So he promised and sought
opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
7 ¶ Then came the Day of
Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
What
followed that day and into the next morning is both the most tragic and yet the
most wonderful events history ever recorded. There was a dinner connected to
the Feast of Passover which I understand would have been eaten on a Thursday
evening that year just after sundown. We remember this as the Last Supper eaten
in a borrowed Upper Room.
All
12 Disciples were present and watched as Jesus took the bread, blessed the
bread, broke the bread and gave it to each one and said, “Take and eat, this is
My Body which is broken for you.” And after the same manner He took the cup and
instructed them to drink as He declared, “This cup contains the New Testament
in My Blood which is shed for you.”
After
supper Judas Iscariot left the Upper Room. It was thought by the other
disciples that Judas was sent on a mission of mercy to give to the poor … in
some ways that was true. You see Judas was the one who kept the money bag for
the ministry. It must have seemed to many to be a very important position to
have held within the group. However the most valuable treasure among the
followers of Jesus was not the money but the ministry. Judas had agreed to take
money from the High Council to help them stop the ministry of Jesus.
Later
that evening Jesus was betrayed by Judas with a kiss. The soldiers immediately took
Jesus to Pilate where He was accused and questioned. Then Jesus was taken
across the city to King Herod where He was mocked and ridiculed. Herod draped a
purple robe on Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate. In all of this the remaining
disciples of Jesus and those women who followed Him kept their distance for
fear of also being accused.
Although
Pilate could find nothing worthy of such punishment and would have set Jesus
free, His accusers incited the crowd and pressured Pilate to crucify Him.
Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged by the Roman Soldiers. They cruelly beat
Jesus laying 39 stripes on His back. As was prophesied by Isaiah and confirmed
by Peter, those very stripes paid for our healing. Then, Pilate condemned Jesus
to death on the cross.
That
Friday morning Jesus was led to the Roman execution site called Golgotha,
meaning the place of the skull, also called Mount Calvary. He was nailed to a
wooden cross at about 9am and raised high for everyone to see. The cross was a
cruel and torturous punishment which ultimately suffocated its victims while
onlookers and passersby spat on and mocked the dying. It was not unusual for
death to take its time, even days for some, before strength was depleted and death
claimed its victory.
Around
noon that day, a very special high holy day, the day upon which the feast was
set to begin at sundown, the sky grew dark and the sun refused to shine. It
remained dark across the face of the earth for the space of 3 hours until
finally our Lord spoke the words, “It is finished!”, and He died. With this the
debt of sin was fully, finally and eternally paid, and the way was made for man
to approach God for forgiveness and reconciliation. This was confirmed by the
veil of the Temple being torn from the top to the bottom exposing the Holy of
Holies to whosoever will.
Earlier
I said this was the most tragic and yet the most wonderful event history ever
recorded. How could it be both? Tell me: Who wanted Jesus, the loving and
caring Son of God, the Promised Messiah of the Jews and eternal Savior of the whole
World to die? Who wanted Jesus dead?
·
The
religious Jewish leaders of that day wanted Jesus to die …
·
The
devil wanted Jesus to die …
·
Even
God and the angels in heaven wanted Jesus to die …
·
And,
so did I!
I
wanted Jesus to die. I didn’t know it for years but that’s what I wanted and
that’s what I needed … I wanted Jesus to be wounded for my transgressions,
bruised for my iniquity, chastised for my peace and scourged with those stripes
for my healing … I wanted Jesus to die … it was the only way that I and my
family and my friends and even my enemies would ever have the chance to know
Him, to be forgiven and be born again. Without His death, we could not live.
Sad
to say but with so many wanting Him crucified, Jesus hung on the cross
abandoned and alone. He even cried out to His Father from the cross:
Matthew 27:46 And about
the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?"
It
is not enough that we know about Jesus … we must know Him. However, second to
knowing Jesus is to know more about Him …
Do
you know Him?
Allow
me to help you know Him better …
Hebrews 5
7 (Jesus), Who, in the days
of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement
cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard
because of His fear,
8 though He was a Son, yet
He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
9 And having been perfected,
He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
He
authored our salvation because we needed a Savior … we all need Jesus. How can
we neglect so great a salvation and so great a sacrifice? He died so that we
could live.
We
know He died for us and that without His sacrifice we could not live – but …
why did He do it? Why did He willingly offer Himself to pay for something He
did not do? He did not have to die for Him to become the Son of God, He was
already the Son of God … He only had to die for me to become a son of God. In
the Garden of Gethsemane He pleaded with His Father to find another way if
possible.
Why
did He do it? Because He saw you and He loved you that much. That’s right, He
saw you and He saw me when He was on the cross. We were in His heart while He
hung there. That’s what the Apostle Paul realized and by the Holy Spirit wrote:
Galatians 2
20 I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave himself for me.
The
reason Jesus willingly went to the cross was because of love … You see, The Love of Christ
1.
Gives first …
2.
Gives most …
3.
Gives always …
You
will know this love when you know Him … do you know Him today?
