Scripture:
Matthew 26:30-35 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
30 After singing psalms, [a] they went out to the Mount of Olives. (A)
Peter's Denial Predicted
31 Then Jesus said to them, "Tonight all of you will run away [b] because of Me, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. (B) (C)
32 But after I have been resurrected, I will go ahead of you to Galilee." (D)
33 Peter told Him, "Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!"
34 " I assure you," Jesus said to him, "tonight—before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!" (E)
35 "Even if I have to die with You," Peter told Him, "I will never deny You!" And all the disciples said the same thing.
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:30 Ps 113-118; were sung during and after the Passover meal.
Matthew 26:31 Or stumble
Cross references:
Matthew 26:30 : Mt 21:1; Lk 22:39; Jn 18:1;
Matthew 26:31 : Zch 13:7; Mt 11:6; Jn 16:32;
Matthew 26:31 : Zch 13:7;
Matthew 26:32 : Mt 28:7;, 10;, 16; Mk 16:7;
Matthew 26:34 : Mt 26:75; Lk 22:34; Jn 13:38;
Reflection:
Are you prepared for trial and testing? Jesus was put to the test at the beginning of his public ministry when Satan offered him power, position, and all the kingdoms under his dominion (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus had to wrestle with temptation and now he warns Peter that he, too, will have to struggle for his very life and soul. Peter was a courageous man. He gave up his business and everything he had to follow Jesus. Now he promises Jesus that he will go with him through any trouble, be it imprisonment or violent death. Satan knows both our weakness and our strength. And he often tests us in our strength to make us fall. Why is that the case? Where we are strongest we are often over-confident and unprepared with our guard down. Peter was passionately loyal to his Master, but he was unprepared for the test that was to come. Jesus not only warns Peter, but prays for him, and then calls him in turn to be a source of help and strength to his brothers when they face temptation. We often cannot help someone in their weakness and failure until we have suffered similar trial and shame. Because Jesus "himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).
Jesus did his best to prepare his disciples for what was to come -- his betrayal, rejection by his own people, and violent death on the cross. This was to fulfill what the scriptures and the prophets had foretold, that is was necessary for the Messiah to suffer before he entered into his glory. Jesus was tempted like us in everything but sin. Now he undergoes the worst temptation yet to face him, to accept or to reject the agony of death on a cross. Jesus had the power and the means to escape defeat and death at the hands of his enemies. But he choose the way of the cross for our sake and for our salvation. How do you face opposition, failure, trial, and rejection? Do you look to God for strength to overcome adversity with faith, trial with hope, and rejection with love? Jesus went to his favorite place of prayer, the Garden of Gethsemane, to face such trial and testing. In prayer to his Father in heaven he found the strength he needed, both to embrace the Father's will and to accept the suffering that must come his way in order to carry out that will. What is the cross that you and I must face each and every day? When my will "crosses" with God's will, then his will must be done. Are you ready to take up your cross to follow the Lord Jesus?
In the Lord's prayer Jesus instructs his disciples to pray that we might not be "led into temptation". Sin results from our consenting to temptation. God wants to set us free from evil. We are engaged in a batteld between "flesh and spirit", and so we must ask God for the Spirit of discernment and strength that might not take the way that leads to sin. The Holy Spirit helps us to discern between trials that are necessary and good for our spiritual growth (Romans 5:3-5, 2 Tim. 3:12), and temptation which leads to sin and spiritual death (James 1:14-15). Discernment unmaskes the lie of temptation which makes sin look good and desireable, when in reality its fruit is death. That is why Satan is called the "father of lies". We must resist his lies and cling to the truth so that we may choose what is good rather than evil. If we decide in our heart that we want to choose what is good and to obey God, then God will surely give us the strength and help we need to overcome sin. Paul the Apostle tells us: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13). We will only see victory in our struggle against temptation to sin if we take it to the Lord in prayer. It was by prayer that Jesus overcame his tempter in the struggle of his agony. We, too, must be vigilant in prayer and ask God for the strength and perseverance to be faithful to him to the end.
Satan will try his best to induce us to choose our will over God's will. If he cannot induce us to apostasize or to sin mortally, he will then try to get us to make choices that will lead us away from what God wants for us. Jesus was tempted like us and he overcame not by his own human strength but by the grace and strength which his Father gave to him. He had to renounce his will for the will of his Father. He succeeded because he wanted to please his Father and he trusted that his Father would give him the strength to overcome the obstacles that stood in the way. The Lord gives us his Holy Spirit to be our strength and guide and our consoler in temptation and testing. God the Father is ready to give us all that we need to live in his way of love and righteousness. Do you rely on the Lord for your strength and help?
Prayer For The Day:
Lord, your word is life and joy for me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may have the strength and courage to embrace your will in all things and to renounce whatever is contrary to it.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Daily Word - This Is My Body - Matthew 26:26-29
Scipture:
Matthew 26:26-29 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The First Lord's Supper
26 As they were eating, (A) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, (B) and said, "Take and eat it; this is My body." (C) 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood [that establishes] the covenant; [a] it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (D) 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way [b] in My Father's kingdom (E) with you."
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:28 Other mss read new covenant
Matthew 26:29 Or drink new wine; lit drink it new
Cross references:
Matthew 26:26 : Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; 1Co 11:23-25;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 14:19; 1Co 10:16;
Matthew 26:28 : Ex 24:8; Mt 20:28; Mk 1:4; Heb 9:20;
Matthew 26:29 : Mt 4:23; Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25;
Reflection:
Matthew ties the last supper meal with Jesus' death and the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus transforms the passover of the old covenant into the meal of the "new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to their Creator. Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine, who was both priest and king (Genesis 14:18), prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king. The unleavened bread at Passover and the miraculous manna in the desert are the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing" at the end of the Jewish passover meal points to the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jesus gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup when he instituted the "Lord's Supper" or "Eucharist". He speaks of the presence of his body and blood in this new meal. When at the Last Supper Jesus described his blood “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28), he was explaining his coming crucifixion as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. That is why John the Baptist called him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He “offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). This meal was a memorial of his death and resurrection.
Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum– giving his disciples his body and his blood (John 6:51-58). Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom. This is the most significant meal of Jesus and the most important occasion of his breaking of bread. In this meal Jesus identifies the bread as his body and the cup as his blood. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being (John 6:53). That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Jesus' death on the cross, his gift of his body and blood in the Supper, and his promise to dine again with his disciples when the kingdom of God comes in all its fulness are inseparably linked. Jesus instructed his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me". These words establish every Lord's Supper or Eucharist as a "remembrance" of Jesus' atoning death, his resurrection, and his promise to return again. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). Our celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipates the final day when the Lord Jesus will feast anew with his disciples in the heavenly marriage feast of the Lamb and his Bride. Do you know the joy of the drinking Christ's cup and tasting the bread of his Table in sincerity?
Prayer For The Day:
"Lord Jesus, you are the "Bread of Life" and the "Cup of Salvation". May I always follow in the narrow way of the cross toward the heavenly banquet where you will seat all the elect at the table of your kingdom."
Matthew 26:26-29 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
The First Lord's Supper
26 As they were eating, (A) Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, (B) and said, "Take and eat it; this is My body." (C) 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, "Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood [that establishes] the covenant; [a] it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (D) 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way [b] in My Father's kingdom (E) with you."
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:28 Other mss read new covenant
Matthew 26:29 Or drink new wine; lit drink it new
Cross references:
Matthew 26:26 : Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:17-20; 1Co 11:23-25;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 10:1; 26:56; Mk 3:7; 16:20; Lk 6:13; Jn 12:16;
Matthew 26:26 : Mt 14:19; 1Co 10:16;
Matthew 26:28 : Ex 24:8; Mt 20:28; Mk 1:4; Heb 9:20;
Matthew 26:29 : Mt 4:23; Mk 1:15; Ac 20:25;
Reflection:
Matthew ties the last supper meal with Jesus' death and the coming of God's kingdom. Jesus transforms the passover of the old covenant into the meal of the "new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to their Creator. Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine, who was both priest and king (Genesis 14:18), prefigured the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king. The unleavened bread at Passover and the miraculous manna in the desert are the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing" at the end of the Jewish passover meal points to the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Jesus gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup when he instituted the "Lord's Supper" or "Eucharist". He speaks of the presence of his body and blood in this new meal. When at the Last Supper Jesus described his blood “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28), he was explaining his coming crucifixion as a sacrifice for sins. His death on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. That is why John the Baptist called him the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jesus made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing to the Father. He “offered himself without blemish to God” (Hebrews 9:14) and “gave himself as a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). This meal was a memorial of his death and resurrection.
Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum– giving his disciples his body and his blood (John 6:51-58). Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Last Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of God’s kingdom. This is the most significant meal of Jesus and the most important occasion of his breaking of bread. In this meal Jesus identifies the bread as his body and the cup as his blood. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being (John 6:53). That life which he offers is the very life of God himself. Jesus' death on the cross, his gift of his body and blood in the Supper, and his promise to dine again with his disciples when the kingdom of God comes in all its fulness are inseparably linked. Jesus instructed his disciples to "do this in remembrance of me". These words establish every Lord's Supper or Eucharist as a "remembrance" of Jesus' atoning death, his resurrection, and his promise to return again. "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Cor. 11:26). Our celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipates the final day when the Lord Jesus will feast anew with his disciples in the heavenly marriage feast of the Lamb and his Bride. Do you know the joy of the drinking Christ's cup and tasting the bread of his Table in sincerity?
Prayer For The Day:
"Lord Jesus, you are the "Bread of Life" and the "Cup of Salvation". May I always follow in the narrow way of the cross toward the heavenly banquet where you will seat all the elect at the table of your kingdom."
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Daily Word - Betrayal - Matthew 26:14-25
Scripture:
Matthew 26:14-25 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14 Then (A) one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests (B) 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. (C) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread (D) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?"
18 "Go into the city to a certain man," He said, "and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place [a] with My disciples. (E) ' " 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, He said, " I assure you: One of you will betray Me." (F)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 He replied, "The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl—he will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, (G) 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."
25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" (H)
"You have said it," He told him.
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:18 Lit Passover with you
Cross references:
Matthew 26:14 : Mk 14:10-11; Lk 22:3-6;
Matthew 26:14 : Mt 10:4; Jn 6:71; 12:4; 13:30; Ac 1:16;
Matthew 26:15 : Ex 21:32; Zch 11:12-13; Mt 27:3;
Matthew 26:17 : Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13;
Matthew 26:18 : Jn 7:6;, 8; 8:20; 13:1; 17:1;
Matthew 26:21 : Mk 14:17-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21-26;
Matthew 26:24 : Dn 9:26; Mk 9:12; Lk 24:25-27; Ac 17:2-3; 26:22-23; 1Co 15:3; 1Pt 1:10;
Matthew 26:25 : Lk 22:70; Jn 1:38;
Reflection:
Why did Judas betray his Master? Was his treachery motivated by greed, bitter disappointment with Jesus or hatred because of disillusionment? It may be that Judas never intended for his Master to die. Maybe he thought Jesus was proceeding too slowly and not acting aggressively enough in setting up his messianic kingdom. Perhaps Judas wanted to force Jesus' hand by compelling him to act. Nonetheless, his tragedy was his refusal to accept Jesus as he was. Aren't we tempted to use God for our own purposes? It is not God who must change, but we must be changed by him. Jesus knew beforehand what would befall him.
As Jesus ate the passover meal with his twelve apostles he put them under trial and suspicion (one of you will betray me) to teach them to examine themselves rightly, lest they be highminded and think themselves more strong than they were. We, also must examine ourselves in the light of God's truth and grace and ask him to strengthen us in faith, hope, and love that we may not fail him or forsake him when we are tempted. Do you pray with confidence in the words Jesus gave us to pray: Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil?
Every male Jew, who was of age and lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem, was bound to celebrate Passover every year in Jerusalem. This annual feast commemorated the deliverance of the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt (see Exodus 12). On that night the angel of death slew the first-born of the Egyptians; but he "passed over" the homes of the Israelites, because the lintel of their doors was smeared with the blood of an unblemished lamb sacrificed for the occasion. It was at Passover time that Jesus came to Jerusalem knowing he would be betrayed and put to death as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus fulfilled the Passover. His death and resurrection, which occured at Passover time, redeems us from enslavement to sin, death, Satan, and the world. His blood, like the blood of the first Passover lamb, protects God's people from the angel of death and breaks the oppressive rule of Satan. Easter is the Christian Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Do you celebrate the Passover with sincerity and truth (see 1 Cor. 5:7-8)?
Prayer For The Day:
"God our Father, we are exceedingly frail and indisposed to every virtuous and gallant undertaking. Strengthen our weakness, we beseech you, that we may do valiantly in this spiritual war; help us against our own negligence and cowardice, and defend us from the treachery of our unfaithful hearts; for Jesus Christ's sake." (Prayer of Thomas a Kempis)
Matthew 26:14-25 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
14 Then (A) one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests (B) 15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him. (C) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread (D) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?"
18 "Go into the city to a certain man," He said, "and tell him, 'The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place [a] with My disciples. (E) ' " 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, He said, " I assure you: One of you will betray Me." (F)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, "Surely not I, Lord?"
23 He replied, "The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl—he will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him, (G) 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."
25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" (H)
"You have said it," He told him.
Footnotes:
Matthew 26:18 Lit Passover with you
Cross references:
Matthew 26:14 : Mk 14:10-11; Lk 22:3-6;
Matthew 26:14 : Mt 10:4; Jn 6:71; 12:4; 13:30; Ac 1:16;
Matthew 26:15 : Ex 21:32; Zch 11:12-13; Mt 27:3;
Matthew 26:17 : Mk 14:12-16; Lk 22:7-13;
Matthew 26:18 : Jn 7:6;, 8; 8:20; 13:1; 17:1;
Matthew 26:21 : Mk 14:17-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:21-26;
Matthew 26:24 : Dn 9:26; Mk 9:12; Lk 24:25-27; Ac 17:2-3; 26:22-23; 1Co 15:3; 1Pt 1:10;
Matthew 26:25 : Lk 22:70; Jn 1:38;
Reflection:
Why did Judas betray his Master? Was his treachery motivated by greed, bitter disappointment with Jesus or hatred because of disillusionment? It may be that Judas never intended for his Master to die. Maybe he thought Jesus was proceeding too slowly and not acting aggressively enough in setting up his messianic kingdom. Perhaps Judas wanted to force Jesus' hand by compelling him to act. Nonetheless, his tragedy was his refusal to accept Jesus as he was. Aren't we tempted to use God for our own purposes? It is not God who must change, but we must be changed by him. Jesus knew beforehand what would befall him.
As Jesus ate the passover meal with his twelve apostles he put them under trial and suspicion (one of you will betray me) to teach them to examine themselves rightly, lest they be highminded and think themselves more strong than they were. We, also must examine ourselves in the light of God's truth and grace and ask him to strengthen us in faith, hope, and love that we may not fail him or forsake him when we are tempted. Do you pray with confidence in the words Jesus gave us to pray: Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil?
Every male Jew, who was of age and lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem, was bound to celebrate Passover every year in Jerusalem. This annual feast commemorated the deliverance of the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt (see Exodus 12). On that night the angel of death slew the first-born of the Egyptians; but he "passed over" the homes of the Israelites, because the lintel of their doors was smeared with the blood of an unblemished lamb sacrificed for the occasion. It was at Passover time that Jesus came to Jerusalem knowing he would be betrayed and put to death as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus fulfilled the Passover. His death and resurrection, which occured at Passover time, redeems us from enslavement to sin, death, Satan, and the world. His blood, like the blood of the first Passover lamb, protects God's people from the angel of death and breaks the oppressive rule of Satan. Easter is the Christian Passover (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Do you celebrate the Passover with sincerity and truth (see 1 Cor. 5:7-8)?
Prayer For The Day:
"God our Father, we are exceedingly frail and indisposed to every virtuous and gallant undertaking. Strengthen our weakness, we beseech you, that we may do valiantly in this spiritual war; help us against our own negligence and cowardice, and defend us from the treachery of our unfaithful hearts; for Jesus Christ's sake." (Prayer of Thomas a Kempis)
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