“The Meaning of Jesus’ Mission”
July 28, 2013 | by David Ferguson | Matthew 26:17-25
17Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying,
“Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 18He said, “Go into
the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I
will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19And the disciples did
as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. 20When it was
evening, he reclined at table with the twelve. 21And as they were eating, he said,
“Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22And they were very sorrowful
and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” 23He answered, “He
who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 24The Son of Man
goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
25Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, Rabbi?” He said to him, “You
have said so.”
Introduction
Imagine that it’s 1446BC and you are a member of a nomadic tribe moving through the
land between modern day Egypt and Israel. Imagine that you meet the Hebrews, God’s people
on their way to Canaan. If you asked, “Who are you?”, think of what an Israelite would say on
the way to Canaan having been rescued by God from Egypt and from 400 years of slavery. It
might sound something like this: “We were in a foreign land under the sentence of death and in
bondage. But each of us took shelter under the blood of the lamb. And our mediator let us out
and we crossed over. And now were on our way to the promised land but we’re not there yet.
But he’s given us his Law to make us a community and he’s given us the Tabernacle because
you have to live by grace and forgiveness. And his presence is in our midst and he’s going to
stay with us to lead us until we get home.
That’s exactly what a Christian says.
In Matthew 2:15, Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 which says, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
and he applies it to Jesus. But we know that God led his people Israel out of Egypt. Matthew says
that the Exodus event pointed to Jesus. In Luke 9:31 when Jesus was transfigured before Peter,
James, and John, Jesus is speaking to Moses and Elijah. The text says they were speaking about
Jesus’ “departure” but the word in Greek means “Exodus”. So, Jesus understood that his death
would save many the way many were saved when God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. We
all know that God chose Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. But in Hebrews the author says
repeatedly that Jesus is the greater Moses. In Hebrews 11:29 we read, “By faith the people
crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same,
were drowned.” The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 is devoted to examples of Christian faith.
Therefore, the faith that Israel placed in God through the Exodus was an example of Christian
faith. The Red Sea crossing is a paradigm for Christian faith. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:6 that
the entire Exodus event “took place as an example for us”. So even as God was leading his
people out of physical slavery he was showing us his plan to lead his future people out of spiritual
slavery.
Salvation is about getting out. Specifically, it’s about getting out of bondage to sin by
crossing over by grace through the mediator, Jesus Christ. The upper room meal that Jesus
shares with his disciples is all about getting sinners out of bondage by faith in his death and
resurrection.
The Purpose of and Preparation for Passover [26:1]
In Matthew 26:17, Jesus and his disciples are preparing to celebrate the Passover like all
the other Jewish families in Jerusalem. The Passover is to a Jew is what Easter is to us … a couple
differences. Instead of hearing a sermon, the Jews ate one. Instead of families commemorating
the day with matching plaid pants and Easter baskets, each Jewish family celebrated by
slaughtering a lamb. Instead of spending a morning remembering the cross of Christ, the Jews
spent a week remembering their deliverance from bondage.
So, it was kind of like Easter … but not really.
The Feast of Unleavened bread or Passover week on Thursday in late March to early
April. Each family (roughly 10-12 members) brought a lamb to the temple to be sacrificed. At
sunset the family gathered together to eat the Passover lamb. By now it had been roasted with
bitter herbs. The head of the family gave thanks for the feast which included four shared cups of
wine. The meal began with greens and bitter herbs followed by the wine and the lamb. A boy
was chosen to ask what everything meant, and the head of the family would explain how the
meal celebrated God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
Thus, when the disciples ask Jesus, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the
Passover?” you can imagine it took the better part of the afternoon to do so.
“My Time is At Hand” [26:18-19]
In verses 18-19 Jesus tells his disciples who to look for when they enter Jerusalem. He says,
“Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand. I will
keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” Mark adds that this man will be carrying a
jar of water. It wasn’t customary for men to carry jars of water. Men carried skins of water while
women carried jars. It’s like Jesus was saying, “Go into the city and look for the guy carrying a
purse. That’s your guy.”
It was clearly very important to Jesus that he and his disciples have a private place to
celebrate together. Jesus intended to show his disciples before anyone else that a new Passover
was about to happen.
The other thing that’s clear from verses 18-19 is that, at every turn in Passion Week, Jesus is
in complete control. In truth, from the time Jesus came to earth up until this point, there was
never a moment when Jesus wasn’t in complete control of the timing of his death for us. God
protected Jesus as a baby from the schemes of Herod by sending Joseph and Mary to Egypt.
When Jesus begins his ministry in John 2:4, he told his mom Mary that his time had not yet come.
In John 7:6, When his brothers wanted Jesus to out himself to the Jewish people by going up to
Jerusalem and telling them he was Messiah Jesus said it wasn’t time yet. In John 12:23, as the
days of Passion Week begin, Jesus says, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”
And in the best statement in the Bible on the subject, Jesus tells his disciples, “18No one takes it
from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority
to take it up again.” Jesus dies when he wants to. He suffers at a time that he chooses. He’s in
complete control.
Jesus, Job, and Us
In light of the fact that Jesus is in complete control of events we should pause to consider
what this means for us. If Jesus is in ultimate control of all things and you belong to him, what
does that tell you about your circumstances. It tells you that your life is in his hands. Just like Job,
Jesus has the right to do as he pleases in your life and mine. God has exalted him and given him
that authority over all things. That’s only bad new for those who don’t know his character. For us
who know that Jesus loves his children; works for their good; fights for them; and has a great plan
to glorify himself and bring us everlasting joy, the suffering he designs for us have a great and
wonderful purpose.
Judas Revealed [26:20-25]
Looking back now to the text and verses 20-25 we can imagine that as evening came
Jesus took the role as head of the family. He’s still to this day, head of the family. This was meant
to be a time of celebration; a time to remember with joy all God had done for his people. But
Jesus ends the merriment with the words of verse 21: “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray
me.”
In verse 23 Jesus adds, “He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.”
We will miss the meaning of this moment if we fail to see the intimacy implied in that statement.
Meals are some of the most intimate moments we share with people. Jesus is in effect saying,
“No one in this room belongs without an invitation. You’re here because you’ve walked with me
for 3 years. You’ve become like family.” It’s not surprising then that the disciples were horrified by
Jesus accusation. So horrified in fact that they began to wonder what they were capable of.
Each asked Jesus, “Is it I, Lord” probably scared to death that he might say yes. Only one asked
for a different reason. Judas asked Jesus “Is it I, Lord” because to not ask would have been
pretty incriminating. Jesus’ reply to Judas is “You said it!” It’s the response we give in
confrontation.
Conclusion: Cosmic Confrontations
Jesus’ encounter with Judas should remind us of two things: (1) Sin begins with you.
People don’t cause you to sin. They’re attitude and actions may tempt you to sin but sin is a
choice and it’s yours. You can give in or you can look to God for grace to stand. (2) People are
not the ultimate enemy. When we face opposition and temptation from people, the scriptures
teach that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). The promise God makes to us when temptation
comes is, “God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability” (1 Corinthians
10:13). Learn from Judas and look to Jesus.