The Last Passover
Matthew 26:17-29
February 10, 2013
Well this morning we are continuing in Matthew’s gospel and even more specifically, we are studying Matthew’s account of the death of Jesus.
There is no doubt that this was the focal point of what Matthew wrote.
Yes Matthew wanted you to know that Jesus was in fact the Messiah,
But just as important was that you know what the Messiah did.
The work of Jesus stands or falls based solely upon the crucifixion.
In fact, everything else is insignificant if not for the cross.
We love the incarnation
We rejoice at the resurrection
We anticipate the glorious return
But all of those are meaningless if the crucifixion doesn’t occur.
The incarnation without the crucifixion is just a band-aid.
The resurrection without the crucifixion is a hoax.
The glorious return without the crucifixion is certain judgment.
And we have embarked upon a study of this glorious event.
Last week we saw “THE PLOT”
We basically were allowed to see how this event started rolling.
• We saw how God initiated the cross.
• God initiated the timing.
• And we saw the event that motivated Judas
With the plot behind us,
It is now time to examine THE PURPOSE of His death.
It is now Thursday.
And Matthew moves on in his truth about the cross.
Now we begin to see WHY Christ died.
And no event reveals this more
Than the event that occurred in the upper room.
For it is here that Jesus takes the Passover.
And it is here that Jesus retires that ordinance forever.
This may not have been the last Passover that has ever been conducted,
But it was certainly the last Passover that God ever required.
For on this night, the shadow is about to become substance.
Jesus is about to dismiss the old ritual and introduce a new reality.
Now there are three things in our text that I want you to see.
And they all relate to the specifics about His death.
#1 WHEN: THE PASSOVER
Matthew 26:17-19
As I told you, it is now Thursday; the day before the crucifixion.
Before the sun will rise again:
• Judas will have betrayed Jesus
• Peter will have already denied Jesus three times.
• And Jesus Himself will be in the custody of Roman guards.
And it all begins at the perfect time.
(17) “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
We see here that it was “the first day of Unleavened Bread”
There are many feasts and festivals in the Jewish calendar,
But none was as big as the Passover.
(Not even the Day of Atonement which was the high day)
The Passover actually occurred on the 14th of the month,
And the feast of unleavened bread continued for the rest of the week.
This commemorated Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt.
• The final plague equals death of first born.
• Death angel will kill all who do not have blood on door post.
• Blood caused death angel to “Pass-Over” that house.
Israel then was to celebrate this feast annually
As a remembrance of that deliverance.
So it is time for the Passover and the disciples ask Jesus, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
• The Lamb would have been selected on 10th day (triumphal entry)
• Lamb must be taken to temple and killed at twilight
• Bitter herbs prepared, and their sauce
• Unleavened bread baked
• A place to eat it
Well that is what the disciples are ready to do.
(18-19) “And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”‘” The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.”
Through this we learn a very important fact.
Jesus orchestrated His death to occur during the Passover.
And of course we know why.
John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
He is the Lamb of God.
What you may not realize is that
This was much more than coincidental timing.
In fact, some see a contradiction here.
Clearly Jesus is celebrating the Passover on this night; Thursday night,
And certainly Jesus wouldn’t do it wrong.
However, John’s gospel says the Passover is tomorrow.
John 19:31 “Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
So John’s gospel refers to Friday as the day of preparation, and certainly those legalistic Pharisees wouldn’t have done it on the wrong day.
WHAT GIVES?
• Passover Lamb killed at twilight on the 14th day.
• Northern Jews (Jesus) a day was sunup to sunup
• Southern Jews (Jerusalem) a day was sundown to sundown
• (think like a time zone – north ahead of south)
• To north – twilight of 14th day was Thursday
• To south – twilight of 14th day was Friday
Jesus took the Passover and died during Passover
Josephus, the Jewish historian relates that the killing of Passover Lambs
Was done between 3pm and 5pm.
Matthew 27:46-50 “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?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.”
The 9th hour was 3pm.
Jesus was dying at the same time as the first Passover Lamb.
This was far from coincidental.
He was the deliverer, He was the Passover Lamb.
He died precisely when God ordained it.
That is when. The Passover
#2 HOW: BETRAYAL
Matthew 26:20-25
So the Passover meal has been prepared
And Jesus is reclining with the disciples.
We don’t have time to go over the whole ceremony
Of when and what things occurred at a Passover meal,
But the important thing to Matthew is the announcement that Jesus made.
(21) “As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.”
Now that is not the kind of cheerful news that everyone wanted to hear.
He had been talking about being delivered to death,
But certainly it never crossed their minds that one of their own would do it.
(22) “Being deeply grieved, they each began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
I mean this was preposterous!
As they all began to take inventory of their own hearts,
None of them thought they had it in them to turn Jesus over to death.
But Jesus confirms their fears.
(23) “And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me.”
This wasn’t an indicator of Judas, it was merely a point to say, “My dear friend who eats at My table, and sticks his hand in My bowl will also betray Me.”
Psalms 41:9 “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me.”
It is a shocking revelation to the disciples.
And I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about this much,
But I had to spend some time here this week.
WHY BETRAYAL?
• Why did Jesus have to be betrayed?
• Why not just arrested?
• Why not just tried and condemned?
Why did He have to be betrayed?
Well the obvious answer here is because that is what prophecy indicated.
(24a) “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him;”
And I don’t mind telling you that there are several prophecies about Judas in the Psalms. I just read one in Psalms 41:9
You could also read.
Psalms 55:12-15 “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; We who had sweet fellowship together Walked in the house of God in the throng. Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.”
Psalms 109:6-13 “Appoint a wicked man over him, And let an accuser stand at his right hand. When he is judged, let him come forth guilty, And let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few; Let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless And his wife a widow. Let his children wander about and beg; And let them seek sustenance far from their ruined homes. Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder the product of his labor. Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off; In a following generation let their name be blotted out.”
“let another take his office” was the portion of that passage
That Peter quoted in Acts 1 to indicate the need to replace Judas.
In that same Acts 1 passage Peter also quoted from Psalms 69.
Psalms 69:25-26 “May their camp be desolate; May none dwell in their tents. For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten, And they tell of the pain of those whom You have wounded.”
All of these passages looked forward to the betrayal of Judas.
In some regard the betrayal was no different than
The necessary piercing of His hands and feet,
Or the giving of gall to drink, or the birth in Bethlehem.
Prophecy said it would happen that way.
So it had to be a betrayal.
But there is still more question than that.
So God ordained a betrayal in prophecy that had to be followed.
WHY?
Because betrayal is the only way
A righteous man can be condemned.
A guilty man is condemned by facts.
An innocent man is only condemned if someone betrays him.
A betrayal was further evidence of Christ’s righteousness.
They had no grounds on which to condemn Him, He had to be betrayed.
God would bring about the crucifixion of Christ
Through a shocking betrayal.
One of His own would actually hand Him over.
And it is not in his best interest to do so.
(24-25) “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”
Jesus said, it would have been better if that man had never existed
Than to face the fate that is headed for him.
And then Judas confirms his guilt. (Jesus knew what he was up to)
• But notice all the other disciples said, “Surely not I, Lord?”
• Judas said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
And Jesus confirmed him.
Judas would be the one to betray Jesus.
Now that opens up another problem for us.
I call it “THE JUDAS PROBLEM”
(There are actually 2)
WAS JUDAS LOCKED INTO HIS ROLE?
• You know was he created just to be a destroyed betrayer of Jesus?
• Was he born with no hope of salvation?
And the answer is “NO”
Judas was not CREATED as the betrayer,
But he was SELECTED as the betrayer.
Judas was no different than any of the other
Lost people who rejected Jesus.
The only difference in Judas was that
Jesus selected him to be a part of the twelve.
Jesus knew Judas was a snake when He selected him.
John 6:70-71 “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.”
Judas was a man who rejected Christ long ago,
But was merely PRESERVED in denial to fulfill this necessary role.
He was like Pharaoh.
Romans 9:17 “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.”
Pharaoh was a wicked man and that is why God brought him to power.
Pharaoh should have been destroyed by God years earlier,
God merely prolonged his destruction to use him in the story of the Exodus.
Romans 9:22-24 “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”
And that is just like Judas.
Judas was a hater of Christ from long ago, he was merely preserved from early destruction as one who would fulfill this necessary role.
And Judas seized this opportunity to express his hatred of Christ.
And so Judas didn’t get an unfair shake.
His judgment was postponed
And while it was postponed he got the opportunity to walk with Jesus.
No one can say he didn’t get a fair chance.
But that isn’t the difficult Judas problem.
The difficult Judas problem is this:
THERE HAD TO BE A JUDAS
Maybe not this Judas, but someone had to do it.
SOMDID GOD CREATE ONE PERSON SPECIFICALLY TO BETRAY JESUS AND THUS SUFFER IN HELL FOR IT?
Maybe not Judas, but God had to create someone for this didn’t He?
(I mean we saw it was prophesied)
And by acknowledging that some think it makes God look like a monster.
But if this makes God look like a monster,
You are looking at it wrong.
When God created this world (including humanity) what did He call it? GOOD
What wrecked this earth? SIN (not God)
I’m not sure why so many condemn God and acquit sin.
Ever since the fall of man, Judases are a dime a dozen.
If you see God as cruel you are looking wrong.
You really need to see God as merciful.
Every one of us has the destiny of Judas wrapped in our carnal heart,
And if not for the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit,
None of us would remain loyal.
And so after the fall of man, the shock is not that one man would betray Jesus, the shock is that 11 wouldn’t.
And the only reason they wouldn’t is because Jesus saved them from it.
The betrayal of Judas is not an indicator of God’s unfairness.
The betrayal of Judas is a reminder of the wickedness of man.
Holy God would come and die at the hand of wicked sinners.
And He, because He was innocent, would have to be betrayed.
WHEN? At the Passover
HOW? By betrayal
#3 WHY: FORGIVENESS
Matthew 26:26-29
Verse 26 says, “While they were eating…”
And it is during that meal
That Jesus changes the picture of Judaism forever.
No longer would the focus be the bitter herbs of bondage,
Or the roasted lamb of the Passover.
From now on the focus would be the bread and the wine.
And with the new focus came a new reality.
(26) “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Jesus took the bread, and began to pass it out to the disciples.
This bread would take on new meaning from this night forward.
The simple command of Jesus was, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
WHY?
• The eating of the sacrifice showed ownership of it.
• The eating of the sacrifice showed participation in it.
John 6:52-58 “Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
When Jesus asked them to eat His flesh,
He was revealing the necessity of identifying with His sacrifice.
Even in the Passover, you ate the lamb as a way of identifying with the sacrifice.
And so it is now with the bread.
And it is no different than the cup.
(27-28) “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
There again, the command is to “Drink from it, all of you;”
It is an ownership issue, it is a participation issue.
And this isn’t just Jewish, this is really common.
1 Corinthians 10:14-22 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?”
That is why we eat the bread and drink the cup.
And we recognize the reality of this ordinance.
• In regard to the bread Jesus said, “this is My BODY.”
• In regard to the cup He said, “this is My BLOOD of the covenant”
So we have here the body and the blood.
WHY?
Because it is not just the shedding of blood,
Nor is it just the pain of the body.
THE REQUIREMENT IS DEATH
In any sacrifice the body was killed and the blood was offered,
Because the life of the animal was in the blood.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”
This is why Jesus offered both, they signified His necessary death.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 9:15-26
Here the writer of Hebrews is speaking of the new covenant.
Jesus said, “this is My blood of the covenant”
The writer of Hebrews is referencing that here.
(VERSE 15)
We see that Jesus is the mediator because a death has taken place.
(This allowed the promise to be received even though the first covenant was broken)
(VERSE 16-17) We see that death is necessary
(Think of it as “will” you can’t claim it will the giver is alive)
And you will see that this is true of all covenants, even the first one. (VERSES 18-22) (Moses should have died, but the goat took his place)
That is why Christ had to die.
That is why His blood had to be offered.
(VERSES 23-26)
(26b) “but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
He was replacing the old covenant which had failed with a new one.
And a new covenant requires a new sacrifice.
It required death, and He paid it.
But there is more that we must grasp here.
Jesus did not say “this bread represents My body”
Jesus did not say “this wine represents My blood”
He said it “IS My body”, it “IS My blood”
No, this is not teaching transubstantiation,
Where the cracker actually becomes His body, and the juice actually becomes His blood. (Clearly that didn’t happen even in the upper room)
But, don’t reduce this ordinance to merely a symbol.
We do more at the table of the Lord than just “REMEMBER” Him.
We “COMMUNE” with Him here.
We could remember without the bread, or the wine.
We eat the bread and drink the wine
Because it is a physical act in which we commune with Him.
When we partake, not only do we remember, we participate.
This is done as an act of faith.
• Faith in the actual atonement of Christ.
• Faith in the substitution on my part.
For us, this is more than a cracker, it is more than juice.
It is a means by which we acknowledge the death of our Savior.
Are you saved if you eat it? No, unless you come in faith.
Justification is not imparted by eating, but by hearing with faith.
However, to eat it without faith is sin.
That is why Paul told the Corinthians that some of them were dying and others were getting sick, because they were partaking in the wrong way.
1 Corinthians 11:27-29 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.”
We come to this time in faith.
Believing that the death He died was for me,
And the blood He shed was for my atonement.
And during this time we eat, we participate,
And we take ownership of the sacrifice of Christ,
And we commune with Him here.
AND WE MUST UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE:
“which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
This sacrifice and our participation in it.
BRINGS FORGIVENESS BEFORE HOLY GOD.
And friends I really wish we had more time,
But the greatest need of humanity is that they be forgiven.
God’s wrath is on sin. We need forgiveness.
Jesus is offering it through identification in His death.
FRIEND YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN
That is what Jesus was teaching to His disciples.
Quit looking back to the Exodus and start looking to the cross.
(29) “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
The Passover is finished.
Now, because of the cross, look forward to the day
When we rejoice together in “My Father’s kingdom.”
In this night, as Jesus sat around this table,
We are learning the purpose of His death.
It is to bring forgiveness of sins.
That never occurred under the Old Covenant.
All they ever achieved was to God temporarily pass over their sins.
Hebrews 10:11-14 “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
What Christ was about to do would not appease God for a year,
It would satisfy Him forever.
Now there is forgiveness.
Hebrews 10:18-25 “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
• Christ died during Passover because He was the Passover Lamb.
• Christ died by betrayal because He was righteous.
• Christ died for the forgiveness of sinners.
And that is what we celebrate here this morning.
We are about to pray and then approach the table of the Lord.
And what we do here we do by faith in Jesus Christ.
Before we do, we will have a time of preparation.
• Today, if you have never yielded your life to Jesus Christ…
• Today, if you have never placed your faith in His atoning death…
Then during this time, it is time for you to trust in Him.
It is time for you to come to this table, not as a ceremony, but in faith.
For those of you who have trusted Christ,
May your communion with Him this morning be sweet,
And may your worship be sincere
As you continue to trust in His work on your behalf.
Pray
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Deacons come forward
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
Give bread to deacons
Prayer
Deacons pass out bread
Matthew 26:26 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Take bread
Isaiah 53:10-12 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
Give juice to deacons
Prayer
Deacons pass out juice
Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
Pray
Parting Chorus
