In this Bible Story, we learn about the plot to kill Jesus being set into motion by Judas. Jesus, during the Last Supper, identifies his betrayer as Judas. He washes His disciples’ feet, telling them to serve one another as he has served them. And gives them a new command to remember Him when they eat together and take communion until He returns. This story is inspired by Matthew 26:1-2, 21-30; Luke 22:1-13 & John 13:3-17, 26-30. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is Matthew 26:26 from the King James Version.
Episode 208: The influence Jesus now held over the people was too much for the religious leaders to bear. They were starting to lose their grip of power. So, they began to think about how they could arrest Jesus away from the crowds. Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, came to them and offered to help them for a small fee. They agreed. As Jesus’ disciples got ready to eat the Passover meal, He took off his outer robe and began to wash His disciple's feet. In doing so, Jesus taught both them and us what it means to serve. During the dinner, Jesus confessed that one of them would betray Him. Shortly after saying this, Judas left the room to enact his plan.
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Let us pray. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples and said, take eat, this is my body, Matthew twenty six, twenty six. Because you value service to others above all, I thank you, Jesus that even at the Last Supper, you chose to wash the feet of your disciples. In the midst of your most trying time, you did not focus on yourself, but place the focus on serving others. As this truth is illuminated before me, I will make sure that this same character trait will remain in me even in the midst of my own trials. I will not take my eyes off of your commission to love and to serve one another. When others around me seek to betray me for simple pleasures, I thank you that their betrayal is the prerequisite to my promotion. Whether it's the Last Supper or the last dance, I will cherish each moment I get to break bread and fellowship with my loved ones as you did, Jesus, I will remember that loving and leading others is what legacy is all about. Your passover will not pass over my heart, but will be planted deep so that you will be able to grow and flourish beautifully in my life in Jesus name. Amen, Thanks for making prayer a priority in your life. To hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the Bible in a Year brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com The Passover.
In our last story, Jesus was making his way to Jerusalem, the place where he would make his final sacrifice. There he told several parables. He made a fig tree with it, flipped over the tables of corrupt money changers in the temple, and told a parable about a landowner whose son was killed. In this story, we will learn how Jesus is preparing the disciples for his death through a passover meal, and how Jesus identifies the one who will betray him as inspired by the Gospels.
Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a Year podcast. We're so grateful for the millions of people who have downloaded this app and are taking this journey through the Bible with us. In our last episode, we heard a teaching from Jesus about the importance of bearing fruit, and we saw how the Lord was zealous to protect his house and get rid of those who were hindering worship. Today, will join Jesus and his disciples for an important and memorable meal as they celebrate the final Passover feast, just hours before Jesus is handed over to be crucified. In his final moments with these men, Jesus will give them one more demonstration of his services heart and call them to follow his example. So let's listen prayerfully and carefully to God's word.
Jesus, as he had several times before, began to prepare his disciples for what was going to happen to him. The Passover was two days away, a celebration and ceremony of God's provision and protection. God would continue to provide and protect, only this time he would do so through Jesus. Jesus's popularity grew and his influence with the people became great than the influence of the high priest and the religious lawmakers. His teachings of love, self sacrifice, and personal devotion undermined their message of dogma, obedience and legalism. Their jealousy and anger ran deep, and their pursuit of power was threatened by Jesus. So in the dark corners of Jerusalem, they began a plot to destroy him. Little did they know they were but players in a cosmic rescue mission to redeem all mankind. Satan was also plotting and had already won over the heart of one of Jesus's disciples, Judas is Scariot. Unbeknownst to Judas, his selfishness and greed was being used as a tool in the hands of the enemy. Judas sought out the religious leaders and partnered in their schemes to kill Jesus. Judas gave them information on where to find them and offered aid when the time was right. In return, Judah it has received thirty pieces of silver, a wicked transaction that would eventually be too much for Judas's heart to bear. The day of Passover had come, and Jesus sent Peter and John to get things ready for a Passover feast. When they inquired about where they would hold the meal, Jesus answered and said, go into the city to a certain man and say to him. The teacher says, my time has come. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples. And so they did, and the man opened up his home as Jesus said there was an upper room for Jesus and his disciples to celebrate passover. Jesus entered with his disciples, contemplating what God was about to do to him and through him. His disciples began making themselves comfortable, ready to unstrap their sandals and clean up before the feast. Jesus, as gentile slaves would do in that time, removed his robe and wrapped a towel around his waist, then bent over to wash his disciples feet. Leaning over the puddles of dirt and grime, getting wet with the filthy water, the son of God washed his follower's feet. Peter, astonished by what was happening, shouted, Lord, why would you wash our feet? Jesus, knowing Peter's confusion, said what I am doing you do not quite understand, but trust me in time you will. Peter, still confused and flustered that his teacher and master would be washing grimy feet, said you shall never wash my feet. It is below you. Jesus, now sternly looking into Peter's eyes, said if you do not let me wash you, you will have no part in me. Peter, after hearing this, insisted that Jesus then wash his whole body. Jesus spoke literally for a moment, saying, you are already clean. He said, I just need to clean your feet because you have been walking all day. Yet there was a greater metaphor. He then communicated, But not all of you are clean. He said this, he said concerning Judas. Jesus had already known what Judas was planning on doing, yet he cleaned his feet. Anyways, After Jesus had finished cleaning his disciples feet, he cleaned himself and walked back to the table. Do you understand what I have done to you? He asked. I am your teacher, and I humbled myself to wash your feet, a job only slaves do. If I am willing to do this for you, surely you can do this.
For one another.
A servant is not greater than his master. Yet I did this for you. Blessed are you if you do these things for others. The dinner continued and the disciples were celebrating among one another. Yet something was weighing heavy on jesus heart. Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, he said abruptly. This surprised and troubled the disciples. John leaned against Jesus and asked who it was. Then all of the disciples began questioning whether it was them or not who would betray him. Jesus explained that the person who will betray him will be the one to dip his hands in the bowl. It was a cryptic and confusing qualifier. Therefore the disciples were still confused. He then said, it is written that I will have to go, but the person who turns their back on me should be cautious. They will have wished that they were not even born. Judas, at the other side of the table, with deceit in this voice, asked, is it me? Lord? The Lord, gazing into the eyes of his betrayer, simply answered, you have said it. Then he gave a piece of dipped bread to Judas and said to him, do whatever you are going going.
To do fast.
Judas took the bread from Jesus and left. Yet the disciples were still not sure about what Jesus was saying. They thought that since Judas was in charge of the money, he was asked to go get everything needed for the feast and give some money to the poor. Later in the night, Jesus took a loaf of bread in his hand, gave thanks to God, and then broke it into many pieces and passed it out to the disciples. He said, this is my body broken for you. He then took a cup of wine, gave thanks for it, and passed it to his disciples to drink. He said, drink this wine, for this is my blood shed for you and the remission of your sins. The disciples partook in what Jesus had offered, Still they could not fathom the depths of what Jesus was saying. Shortly after this, Jesus would bring eternal meaning to what had taken place. Jesus led them in a song of worship and then went to amount of olives to pray. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, Judas gathered over a hundred armed men to be ready. A clashing of good and evil would soon commence, and the promises of God to redeem the entire world from darkness was one step closer to being fulfilled.
As we've listened to God's word, there is treachery in the air. The religious leaders had had enough of Jesus. His popularity and influence were a threat to their power and they were very afraid of him. To make matters worse, none of their attempts to discredit him or trip him up had worked. They would have to resort to other tactics, and they found among Jesus's twelve disciples and ally Judas a scariot, the betrayer, who went to the leaders and agreed to give Jesus up for thirty pieces of silver. It was Passover time, and the Lord sent Peter to prepare for the customary Passover feast. Only this meal would be one that the disciples and history would never forget. You may know it as the Last Supper. As they gathered in the upper room of a home for the meal, Jesus removed his outer cloak, his garments, and wrapped a towel around his waist. He then poured water into a bowl. He is now serving his disciples like a slave. I can't imagine the perplexed looks on the disciples faces as it dawned on them what he was about to do. Here was Jesus, Rabbi, teacher, the powerful Lord, taking the position of a hired servant, a slave. He was about to wash the feet of his followers one by one. The Lord washed their feet, then wiped them dry with a towel. It was undignified for a man of his position to do such a thing, at least by the standards of the world. But Jesus was teaching them another standard, a greater standard, God's word, God's will. He was demonstrating that he meant what he said when he said, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. When he came to Peter, Peter protested, I can't let you do this, Jesus. Jesus reassured him, saying that though he didn't yet understand what Jesus was doing, he would come to understand it later. But Jesus insisted, I can't let you wash my feet, and Jesus replied that unless he let him wash his feet, Peter could have no share in him. So he replied that Jesus should wash not just his feet, but his hands and his head as well. Peter is trying to dictate his own terms rather than surrendering to the Lord's will. Jesus meets us where we are, but we must come to Christ on his terms and not our own. Unless Peter submitted to the will of Christ, he would not experience the renewal and the refreshing cleansing that Jesus had to offer. Jesus then explained to his disciples what he had done. He was modeling servant leadership and humility throughout his ministry and both word. Indeed, Jesus made it clear that God honored humility and service, putting others above yourself. And now, as the time for Jesus to leave drew near, he wanted to drive home this point. In John thirteen, verse fifteen, we read these words from the Lord, for I have given you an example that you should also do, just as I have done to you. Jesus took time in his final moments with his disciples to teach them to be servants of all the things that he could share with them. This was his focus. This, of course, is a lesson for all of us. We serve the Lord by serving others. As the meal began, Jesus was troubled and spoke to the men, saying that one of them would betray him. Of course, both Jesus and Judas knew who this was, but the others were puzzled and wonder who this could be. Jesus broke a piece of bread and said that the one to whom he handed it would be the betrayer. And when he handed the bread to Judas, the devil entered into this man, because now he had made a choice to betray the Lord, and the devil was about to use him for this terrible deed. After Judas left, Jesus turned to those remaining. It was time for the Passover feast. This was a traditional meal, with each element holding great significance. It takes us back to when God delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt. And that night Jesus took the meal, breaking bread, pouring the fruit of the vine, and gave it new meaning. And this transfers now to the Lord's supper. The breaking of the bread would forever be a reminder of his broken body that he gave his life for us, and the cup would be remembered as the blood of Jesus poured out in full fath for us. All this Passover meal would remind them. And now the Lord's Supper reminds us of what Christ has done for us in setting us free from sin. And this is all because of the Cross and what Christ would do when he took our sins upon himself at the cross. As the disciples took this sacred meal, they still did not understand what was about to happen. Soon enough, their whole world would be turned upside down. Darkness would fall, and Jesus, their master, would be gone. But God would ultimately win the greatest victory of all, and these men would lead a movement that would change the world. Dear God, we thank you for your word. We thank you how it points us to Jesus and your great love for us. We pray, o God, that we would always remember this, that we would never forget your sacrifice. And we pray this in Jesus's name. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a year. I'm pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. You can download the Prey dot com app and make Bible study in prayer the priority of your life. And if you appreciate this podcast, please share it with someone else. I also want to encourage you to go to Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org for we have resources that are free and available for you so that you may know Christ and grow in him. Let me also invite you to something very special with myself and my wife deb as we are planning two trips in twenty twenty four. One is to Israel, departing April first, to go to the land of the Bible and to walk where Jesus walked is a trip of a lifetime, and then an Alaskan cruise adventure in the summer of twenty twenty four in which we will have wonderful times of friendship and fellowship, will have worship services and experiences around God's word and seeing the wonders of God's crewer So two opportunities in twenty twenty four to travel with us to Israel or to Alaska or both. You can go to preslawood dot org for information. God Bless you. This episode is sponsored by Metashare, an innovative healthcare solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.
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