OUR FATHER WHO KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING

Matthew chaa

pter 27 verses 3 - 10 breaks away from the main narrative to record the actions of Judas after he had betrayed Jesus and had seen what was happening as a result.

Judas had interacted with the religious leaders beforehand and they had offered him thirty pieces of silver ( about $500 USD ) if he helped them track down Jesus in a secluded area so that they could discreetly arrest him.

He, maybe naively, thought that the religious leaders wanted to question Him or expel Him from the city but at the trial the next morning, Jesus was condemed to death for blasphemy and was taken to the Roman governor in order to get the sentence of death sanctioned.

Not having understood the intentions of the religious leaders, Judas was horrified that the sentence of death was being sought and in remorse, he went back to the chief priests and elders of Israel to repent for accepting their offer. When they rebuffed his attempt to rescind his transaction, he threw the silver back at them and went and hanged himself seeing that there was no pathway out of the mess of transacting in the blood of an innocent man that he was now permanently linked to.

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”

5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

The religious leaders, seeing that the silver as back in their possesion, had to decide what to do with it because it could no longer go back into general funds because of the purpose for which it had been withdrawn.

One of the pressing issues at the time was that when people died while in Jerusalem and remained unclaimed, there was nowhere allocated to bury them and so the religious leaders decided to use the silver to buy an available plot of land that was owned by a potter. If the potter used it to get clay for making pots,  it was probably not good for other uses like agriculture so it was on the market for a low price and the thirty pieces of silver was enough to purchase it.

Matthew, in verses 9 - 10, referenced the foretelling of this unusually specific occurance by the prophet Jeremiah by name and the prophet Zechariah by text.

Jeremiah chapter 19 verses 1 - 4;

1 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 

4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent

Zechariah chapter 11 verse 12 - 13;

12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

Have mercy on us O God.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS ONLY SON TO SAVE US

As the working day started that morning, the Lord Jesus was still in the custody of the chief priests of Israel 

A meeting was held by the religious leaders to discuss what steps to take now that they had Jesus in their hands.  They wanted to put Him to death but under Roman law, they could not do so unless a Roman court condemned Jesus.

They strategized how they would manipulate the system to make sure that they could have Jesus killed as soon as possible.

Having settled on a plan of action, they retrieved Jesus from their holds, tied Him up hand and foot and took Him to Pontious Pilate who was the Roman governor in authority over Judea at the time.

The Messiah sent by God to the people of Israel was rejected by His own people and was presented to a gentile ruler for judgement.

Matthew chapter 7 verses 1 - 2 records the begining of the manipulation of the system starting with binding Jesus with fetters so that He looked like a dangerous criminal when He appeared before Pilate.

1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.

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OUR FATHER WHO TRANSFORMS HIS PEOPLE BY HIS SPIRIT

As the Lord Jesus was being questioned, harangued and abused in Ciaphasˋ palace, the disciple Peter was waiting in the courtyard to see what was going to happen to Jesus when in quick succession, three different people confronted him with the fact that he seemed to be one of the accomplices of Jesus. 

Peter, having pledged to the Lord Jesus that he would never deny Him even to the point of death, suddenly found himself under pressure and fear overwhelmed him and he instinctively distanced himself from Jesus using curses and swearing to provide camouflage for himself by seeming to be from a crass underword culture rather than an associate of a righteous prophet.

Matthew chapter 26 verses 69 - 75 captures these interactions thusly.

69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”

70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”

71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”

73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”

74 Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 

75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

When Peter had devolved to instinctual behaviour three times, a rooster crowed as morning was breaking and Peter realized that in the face of personal danger, he had denied Jesus in public three times even though a few hours before, he had been boldly proclaiming that he would steadfastly stand alongside Jesus.

This brought Peter to a crisis where he had a sudden loss of confidence in himself and he wept bitterly at the realization that he had been weak and like a reed, was easily blown around by the wind.

Later on, after Jesus had risen from the dead, the same Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, was a new man. He was now very courageous and when he himself was arrested and brought before the religious and civic authorities for propagating  a new message of the risen Jesus and healing people, he declared to their faces that they had rejected the Son of God who was the Messiah whom they purported to be waiting for and as such, were now obsolete vestiges of a by-gone era. This example of Peter's transformation is found in the book of Acts chapter 4 verses 10 - 13;

10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,

   which has become the cornerstone.’

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

The transforming power of Jesus dramatically changed Simon to Peter, a reed to a rock.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS SON TO SAVE US

Matthew chapter 26 verses 57 - 68 records the events that followed the Lord Jesusˋ arrest where they took him to Caiaphasˋ house who was the high priest that year.

(The book of John chapter 18 records that they first stopped that the house of Annas who was the high priestˋs father-in-law who then sent Jesusˋ onto to Caiaphasˋhouse.)

Peter (and another disciple per John 18) followed behind the arresting detachment to see what was going to happen to Jesus.

57 And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. 58 But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.

59 Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, 60 but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward 61 and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’ ”

62 And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!”

64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! 66 What do you think?”

They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”

67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”

During the questioning of Jesus, false witnesses appeared to testify against Jesus but there were no credible testmonies until two witnesses presented the fact that they heard Jesus say that He was able to destroy the temple and rebuild it three days.

Through the questioning, Jesus was silent but when the high priest, putting Jesus under oath, asked Jesus directly if He was the Christ, the Son of God.

To this Jesus answered that He was indeed who Caiaphas was asking if He was hand further to that, He would been see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

This astounding statement by Jesus where He described His future position on the throne of God and His ultimate return to earth in glory scandalized the participants in the trial and they settled that Jesus was guilty of blasphemy and worthy of death.

Once they had determined among themselves that Jesus was guilty, they felt free to degrade Him and they began spitting on His face and striking Him and mocking His claim to be the Christ.

Because Israel was under the control of the Roman Empire at that time, the leaders of Israel had no power to impose capital punishment on anyone and so in order to have Jesus killed, they would have to take Jesus to the Roman authorities to have Him tried in Roman courts so that they could legally have Him put to death and thus the narataive will take us to the palace of the Roman governor of Judea named Pontius Pilate.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS ONLY SON

Judas Iscariot, knowing that Jesus and the disciples would be on the mount of Olives in the garden called Gethsemane, led the enforcers from the chief priests and the elders up to where Jesus was, and indicated who their quarry was by using the prearranged signal of a kiss.

When the enforcers arrested Jesus, Peter the disciple, in a frantic response, grabbed a sword and cut off the ear of the high priestˋs servant. 

Jesus, now under arrest, spoke to His followers not to resist with their weapons because a kingdom sustained by weapons would ultimately die by weapons.

He attempted to assure the disciples that even at that time, he could have asked the Father to make twelve legions of angels available to defend them from the authorities but what was happening was the fulfillment of scripture.

He asked the arresting officers why they had come to take Him in the night when He was with them all day long in the temple. He answered His own question by stating that the fulfillment of prophecy was shaping the sequence of events and the long prophecied 

The disciples who had been with Him, suddenly lost heart and abandoned Jesus in the hands of His captors fulfilling the prophecy of Zecharia chapter 13 verse 7 which said;

ˋStrike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scatteredˋ

Matthew chapter 26 verses 47 - 56 captures when the Lord Jesus was given into the hands of sinners and reads this way;

47 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.

48 Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.” 49 Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.

50 But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. 51 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

52 But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54 How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”

55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.”

Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

And thus Jesusˋ ordeal began with Him alone and engulfed in the ranks of His enemies.

 Psalm 17 verses 8 - 12 foretold the moment of arrest from Jesusˋ point of view as He prayed to His Father to keep Him in the apple of His eye.

                    Keep me as the apple of your eye;

    hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,

    from my mortal enemies who surround me.

10 They close up their callous hearts,

    and their mouths speak with arrogance.

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,

    with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,

    like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

What a great price our Lord paid for us.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS ONLY SON TO SAVE THE WORLD

 Matthew chapter 26 verses 36 - 46 says this;

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

The Lord Jesus, knowing the difficulty of what was to come, was in distress and He asked His three close disciples to be with Him while He prayed.

He fell on His face before the Father and asked Him, if it were possible, to let the cup of intense suffering to pass from Him but He said to the Father that He would submit to the Fatherˋs will.

Jesus travailed for an hour and when He checked His three disciples, they were asleep. He advised them to pray so that they could avoid entering temptation for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

The Lord prayed in sorrow for three hours but at each hour, He returned to find His disciples sleeping. 

On the third hour, Jesus returned and announced to them that the time had come for Him to be betrayed into the hands of sinners and they should get going for the betrayer was getting close.

The Lord Jesus, set His face to flint and with resolve, went to surrender Himself into the hands of the authorities who were seeking to kill Him.

And so the passion of the Christ began.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE HIS ONLY SON

After their last supper,  The Lord Jesus, in Matthew chapter 26 verses 31 - 35, prophesied to His disciples that it was not only Judas who would stumble that evening but rather all of them. 

31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

‘I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are [g]made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”

34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”

35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And so said all the disciples.

In this passage, the Lord Jesus referenced Zechariah chapter 13 verse 7 which reads this way;

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Locked into the scriptures written centuries before, was the behaviour of the disciples when their leader was arrested and taken for trial.

The Lord of Hosts, calling the weapon of the state against His Shepherd, a man whom He named His companion (a glimpse into the nature of Jesus being One who was alongside God the Father ), foretells that the sheep would scatter.

When Jesus said this to His disciples, the apostle Peter declared that he would never deny Jesus but Jesus, to make a point that the scriptures cannot be broken, described the specific circumstances (a cock crowing three times) that would surround Peterˋs denial to which Peter replied that he would not deny Jesus even to the point of death.

The other disciples also made the same profession but the scriptures were indeed unbreakable and within a few hours, the disciples were scattered when Jesus was apprehended by the authorities in the garden of Gethsemene.

If a non-metaphoric shepard were to be struck, real sheep would scatter and so it was not against nature that the disciples were prophecied to scatter in the face of an attack on their master. 

When Jesus ressurected and the disciples were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they no longer had the nature of sheep but rather the nature of their master and they boldly testified about Jesus in the face of the ones who had plotted His death.

Amen.

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