Here we are already in the middle of Holy Week. Jesus’s entered Jerusalem on a borrowed colt on Palm Sunday, amid people spreading their cloaks and waving palm branches. Today is Maunday Thursday, the time of the Last Supper when Jesus gives his last instructions to the apostles and demonstrates service to others as He washes their feet. Of course, the disciples don’t really understand it yet and it will be some time before they get the message right.
It is also the night that Jesus announces that one of the disciples is a traitor and the assembled followers of Jesus openly ask if they are guilty of being the betrayer… Of course, Jesus eventually names Judas as the one who betrays Him and most Christians know Judas is the one responsible for “selling” Jesus for silver. We are told that after this event, Judas ends up dead – undoubtedly a result of this betrayal.
The study of the Last Supper is filled with questions. Why did Jesus wait until now to wash the feet of His disciples? And why did the disciples all ask if they were the one that Jesus was referring to? Perhaps it is a question that we should each be asking ourselves. I am absolutely positive that there are times in each of our lives when we wonder whether or not we have fallen short of the behavior that God would expect of us. In fact, I was reading a devotional on this very topic yesterday. It was written by the one of pastors of the church we attend and Dr. Johnson usually focuses on things that many of us overlook in our daily reading of our Scripture.
So even with the ministry of Jesus and having followed Him for about three years, the apostles, including Judas, were dining together and it would seem that each of them, in one way or another, had questions about whether they had fallen short.
Not only did Judas betray Jesus by selling His location to the enemies of Jesus, but Peter also denied Jesus three times before Jesus was crucified. Clearly, Peter also realized that he had fallen short of the expectation Jesus had. Don’t each of us, at one time or another, experience a similar sense that we could have done better? Maybe we are embarrassed or even angry that we have not lived up to our divine calling. But, in the next breath, we must accept that we are human and that Jesus knows we are destined to fall short of a perfect life.
Every believer goes through a process of sanctification. When we first come to a belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior we begin the process of being able to be sanctified. It’s called “positional sanctification” – the journey begins. Then, as we mature in our faith and become more like Jesus throughout our lives, we get closer to leading a Christ centered life and this period is called “progressive sanctification.” Finally, when we enter heaven in the presence of Jesus, we complete our journey and arrive at what is called, “perfect sanctification.”
Clearly, this week, it seems to me that we should examine ourselves and see how our journey of becoming more like Jesus is progressing. After all, as we approach Good Friday and the crucifixion, when Jesus took on the sins of the world as a sacrifice for everyone, we would do well to assess what we can do next to continue our journey of sanctification. It is important to remember that Jesus didn’t just die for living believers at the time, He died for future believers – those who had not yet even been born, and that includes every one of us. Jesus paid the price so that each of us has the opportunity to stand in front of Him perfectly sanctified when our turn to enter heaven arrives.
So, the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem on the colt, the Last Supper, the crucifixion and the resurrection on Sunday are all unique and important parts of God’s divine plan to draw us to Himself. Our verse for tonight is about the sharing of communion, or the Eucharist, during the Last Supper. Luke tells us the words of Jesus in his Gospel, in Luke 22:19-23, “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to examine ourselves, remembering Him, as he mentioned in tonight’s Scripture. My prayer is that we will honor His request, tonight and throughout each day of the year! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…