Sunday
Morning Bible Study
March
19, 2017
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a travelling
companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was
in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus,
Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel of Mark, as well as
extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way,
and the people have been amazed not just at the things He’s been teaching, but
the things He’s been doing.
We are now on the homestretch of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, on His way to be crucified.
Luke has reminded us of what Jesus’ main purpose was in life:
(Luke 19:10 NKJV) for the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
We saw Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on a Sunday, to the shouts of an adoring
crowd, crying “Hosanna”.
The next morning, on Monday, Jesus came into the Temple and cleared out
those who were ripping the people off.
He then began to teach in the Temple, as He would every day until He would
be arrested.
21:37-38 Daily Teaching
:37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went
out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.
stayed – aulizomai
– to lodge in the court-yard, esp. at night; to pass the night in the open
air; to pass the night, lodge
Olivet – elaia
– an olive tree; an olive, the fruit of an olive tree
:37 the mountain called Olivet
Or, the Mount of Olives.
Video: Map – Jerusalem and Mount of
Olives.
Jesus’ daily commute was a short walk east of the city of Jerusalem, east
of the Temple Mount.
The Garden of Gethsemane (“olive press”) is at the bottom of the Mount of
Olives.
Here’s a view of the Temple Mount from the Garden of Gethsemane.
:38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to
hear Him.
:38 early in the morning …to hear Him
early in the morning – orthrizo
– to rise early in the morning
from orthros – daybreak, dawn
Lesson
Mornings with Jesus
In the Old Testament, you see this idea of early mornings popping up
several times:
(Jeremiah 25:3–4
NKJV) —3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah,
even to this day, this is the twenty-third year in which the word of the
Lord has come to me; and I have
spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 And the Lord has sent to you all His servants
the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened
nor inclined your ear to hear.
Suppose you were living back in these days, and you were in the city of
Jerusalem when you hear that Jesus was showing up early every morning to teach
in the Temple.
Would you come to hear Him teach?
The Bible says that as a believer,
your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
Do you think it’s possible that
Jesus still shows up every morning to teach in the Temple?
I think we ought to be giving Him time every morning to teach us.
I do believe a great way for that to happen is by reading His Word. Without distractions.
22:1-6 Judas Betrays
:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
Feast – heorte
– a feast day, festival
Unleavened Bread – azumos
– unfermented, free from leaven or yeast
Passover – pascha
– the paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the
people’s deliverance of old from Egypt); the paschal lamb; the paschal supper;
the paschal feast, the feast of the Passover, extending from the 14th to the
20th day of the month Nisan
:1 Unleavened Bread … Passover
The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover were a package deal.
The Passover was the first day of the feast, the 14th of
Nisan. The feast of Unleavened Bread was
the following seven days after it. They
are celebrated as one and the same.
Jews would gather from all over the
world in Jerusalem to celebrate these feasts every year.
It is thought that at the time of
Jesus, Jerusalem would swell to over a million Jews gathered to celebrate.
Thirty years after Jesus, Nero doubted
the influence that religion had over the Jews. So at one of the Passover feasts
a census was taken of the number of lambs that were slain and it was 256,500. A
minimum of 10 people were to partake of each lamb, thus it was estimated that
the number of people observing Passover in Jerusalem that year was 2,700,000.
The purpose of the celebrating Passover was for the nation of Israel to
remember how God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
On the night of the first Passover, each family took a lamb, killed it, and
spread its blood over their home’s doorposts.
The Angel of Death would “Passover” their home if it was covered in the
blood of a lamb.
The first Passover was just a taste of what God had in mind when He would
send His only Son to become the “Lamb of God” and in dying would pay for the
sins of the world.
When the Lamb’s blood is covering the door of your heart, God will “pass
over” your sins.
:2 And the chief priests and the
scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
sought – zeteo
– to seek in order to find
kill – anaireo
– to take up, to lift up (from the ground); to take away, abolish; to put
out of the way, kill slay a man
Jesus used a different word, but one
that overlaps in meaning when He said,
(John 12:32 NKJV) And I, if
I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
lifted up – hupsoo
– to lift up on high, to exalt
:2 for they feared the people
feared – phobeo
– to put to flight by terrifying (to scare away); to fear, be afraid; be
afraid of one
people – laos
– a people, people group, tribe, nation, all those who are of the same
stock and language
Earlier in the week, when Jesus told a parable about tenant farmers rising
up to kill their landlord’s son…
(Luke 20:19 NKJV) And the
chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but
they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
Now we see these leaders actively seeking to find a way to have Jesus put
to death because of their fear.
They might have been afraid that if they did something publicly to Jesus,
the people might have risen up and rioted.
They might be afraid of losing their place of authority over the people,
since Jesus has become quite popular with the common folk.
What do they do with this fear? They
try to kill Jesus.
Pilate saw this when these Jewish
leaders had Jesus arrested and brought to him:
(Matthew 27:18 NKJV) For he
knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.
Lesson
The Danger of Fear
Fear is a motivator.
Fear of the right things can keep you out of trouble.
If you’re afraid of getting burned, you won’t put your hand on a hot stove.
If you have a healthy fear of God, you will make wiser choices.
(Proverbs
9:10a NKJV) “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom
Fear of the wrong things can cause you trouble.
It can make an addict crawl right back into self-medicating.
Fear can keep you from resolving problems with another person.
I would rather run from a problem than face a person who
causes me pain.
Fear can keep you from stepping out and doing the kinds of things that God
may want you to do.
For years I resisted anything to do with missions. I was basically afraid. In 2003 I made the big mistake of letting
George Bryson talk me into taking a group to Russia.
The first few days I was terrified. The long plane trip. A long train ride. Meeting people who didn’t speak your
language. Constantly afraid of the invisible
“secret police”.
That first trip to Russia made me face my fears. I’m no
longer afraid of Russia. On last year’s trip, I didn’t even bring an
interpreter.
At the time of our passage, there were Jewish leaders who actually
“believed” in Jesus, but they kept quiet during this time because…
(John
12:43 NKJV) for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
They were “afraid” of what people would think.
A good definition of courage is not the absence of fear, but learning to
act despite your fears.
The movie “Hacksaw Ridge” is a true story about a World War II hero named
Desmond Doss. Desmond was a Seventh Day
Adventist who didn’t feel he could carry a rifle to kill someone, but he still
wanted to serve his country. He wanted
to be a medic and save lives.
The Battle of Okinawa was a bloody mess.
Doss was right in the middle of the battle, without a weapon, saving
lives.
Video: Hacksaw Ridge – Rescue
When the rest of his company abandoned the hilltop to
retreat, Doss stayed behind during the night to rescue the wounded who had been
abandoned.
Video: Hacksaw Ridge – Help Me Get
One More
Over a period of three weeks, it is thought he saved somewhere around 75
men.
He was the first conscientious objector to ever be awarded
the Medal of Honor.
I’ve been reading lately about the
first two hundred years of the church, when there were many seasons of
persecution. Some have estimated that up
to two million Christians lost their lives because they chose to renounce the
pagan gods and follow Jesus.
But not all Christians did this.
Some were afraid of torture and
they renounced Jesus.
I’ve wondered to
myself, what would I have done?
When the emperor
who issued the anti-Christian decree was replaced by someone a little more
lenient, some of these “deniers” came back to the church.
The church was
faced with a decision of whether or not to allow those who “lapsed” back into
the church.
Be careful about making big decisions when you’re cowering in fear.
(Psalm 56:3 NKJV) Whenever I
am afraid, I will trust
in You.
The answer to fear is to turn to God and trust.
(Proverbs 3:5–6
NKJV) —5 Trust in the Lord
with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your
ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Trusting God rather than being afraid is the way to allow
God to direct your paths.
:3 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed
Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
:3 Satan entered Judas
entered – eiserchomai
– to go out or come in: to enter; of Satan taking possession of the body of
a person
Aorist active indicative
Satan would enter Judas a second time on the night of the Last Supper,
after Judas had already made arrangements with the chief priests.
Jesus had told His disciples that one of them would betray Him. It was John who asked specifically…
(John 13:25–30
NKJV) —25 Then, leaning back on Jesus’ breast, he said to Him, “Lord, who is
it?” 26 Jesus
answered, “It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it.”
And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son
of Simon. 27 Now after
the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus said to him, “What you do, do
quickly.” 28 But no one
at the table knew for what reason He said this to him. 29 For some
thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, “Buy those
things we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the
poor. 30 Having
received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And it was night.
The piece of bread Jesus gave Judas wasn’t the bread of communion – that
will come later after Judas leaves.
Offering someone your piece of bread was a sign of friendship, like giving
someone your Coke.
Yet instead of returning the favor like Mean Joe Green did tossing the kid
his jersey, Judas rejected Jesus’ offer of friendship and opened himself up to
Satan once again.
Judas would leave and gather the soldiers to have Jesus arrested in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
:3 Judas, surnamed Iscariot
The name Judas is the Greek form of
the name “Judah”, the same as the tribe of Judah, one of the sons of Jacob.
surnamed – kaleo
– to call; to call i.e. to name, by name; to give a name to
Judas was probably called “Iscariot”
to distinguish him from other guys named Judas or “Judah”.
Jesus Himself had a half brother
named Judas (Mark 6:3).
Iscariot – Iskariotes
–
There are various theories as to
what this name is about, but it’s probably best to take it from the Hebrew (Ish-Kerioth) meaning “man of Kerioth”, or, “man of the city”
Judas was the treasurer of the band of disciples.
He was the one who took care of all the financial transactions of Jesus’
little group.
About a week prior to our current time, Mary the sister of Lazarus anointed
Jesus with costly perfume after raising her brother from the dead.
Judas objected.
(John 12:4–6 NKJV)
—4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who
would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and
given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a
thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
We’ve talked lately about how dangerous it is to allow the
“love of money” to rule your life. Judas
is living proof.
:4 So he went his way and conferred
with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
went his way – aperchomai
– to go away, depart
conferred – sullaleo
– to talk with
captains – strategos
– the commander of an army; captain of the temple, i.e. the commander of
the Levites who kept guard in and around the temple
he might betray – paradidomi
– to give into the hands (of another)
This is the main Greek word used
over and over again of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.
:4 how he might betray Him to them
Judas’ actions were actually predicted in the Old Testament.
At the last supper, Jesus talked
about His betrayer,
(John 13:18b NKJV) …but that
the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up
his heel against Me.’
Jesus was quoting
from Psalm 41:9 where David is speaking about his own betrayer, a close friend named
Ahithophel.
David wrote prophetically,
(Psalm 55:12–14
NKJV) —12 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 from him.
13 But it was you, a man my equal, My companion
and my acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together, And walked to
the house of God in the throng.
This was not only
speaking of Ahithophel, but of Judas as well.
Don’t think that Judas was some fellow that Jesus always
hated. He had been a close friend.
We believe that at the last supper, Judas was seated next to Jesus, in the
place reserved for the guest of honor.
While John the apostle characterizes himself as the one who leaned on
Jesus’ breast during the supper, Jesus would have been leaning on Judas’ breast
during the supper.
That’s how Jesus was able to share a piece of bread (John 13:26) with
Judas.
Some of you know what it’s like to be betrayed by someone close to you. Jesus understands what you’re going through.
:5 And they were glad, and agreed to
give him money.
they were glad – chairo
– to rejoice, be glad; to rejoice exceedingly
agreed – suntithemai
– to put together with, to place together, to join together; to make an
arrangement, to engage; to assent to, to agree to
money – argurion
– silver; money
:6 So he promised and sought
opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
:5 agreed to give him money
Judas the “money guy” betrayed Jesus for money.
Matthew tells us the religious leaders agreed to give Judas 30 pieces of
silver (Mat. 26:15)
(Matthew 26:15 NKJV) and said,
“What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out
to him thirty pieces of silver.
This too had been prophesied 500 years earlier by the prophet Zechariah:
(Zechariah 11:12b
NKJV) …So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
he promised – exomologeo
– to confess; to profess; acknowledge openly and joyfully; to profess that
one will do something, to promise, agree, engage
sought – zeteo
– to seek in order to find
opportunity – eukairia
(“good” + “time”) – seasonable time, opportunity
to betray – paradidomi
– to give into the hands (of another)
in the absence – ater
– without, apart from
the multitude – ochlos
– a crowd; a multitude
In a sense it was necessary for
Jesus to be delivered to the chief priests to fulfill the prophetic pictures of
the Passover Lamb. The Lamb is put to
death by the priests.
22:7-13 Upper Room Prepared
:7 Then came the Day of Unleavened
Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
must – dei –
it is necessary, there is need of, it behooves, is right and proper
killed – thuo
– to sacrifice, immolate; to slay, kill
:7 when the Passover must be
killed
The Lamb MUST be killed. There apparently is a lot of discussion as to
exactly which day things happened on, but here’s the best that I’ve come up
with.
For the Jews, the day begins at
6:00 in the evening. In the preparation
of the Passover, the Lamb was killed and cooked before sundown of the 14th
of Nisan. The dinner would be eaten on
that evening, which would be the 15th of Nisan. The Passover day would last until 6:00 the
following day. By that time, Jesus would
have been crucified.
The Lamb must be killed.
He died on the Passover.
:8 And He sent Peter and John,
saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.”
prepare – hetoimazo
– to make ready, prepare; to make the necessary preparations, get
everything ready
:9 So they said to Him, “Where do You
want us to prepare?”
:10 And He said to them, “Behold,
when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of
water; follow him into the house which he enters.
will meet – sunantao
– to meet with; of events: to happen or befall
pitcher – keramion
– an earthen vessel, a pot, jar
carrying – bastazo
– to take up with the hands; to take up in order to carry or bear, to put
upon one’s self (something) to be carried
follow – akoloutheo
– to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him
enters – eisporeuomai
– to go into, enter
:11 Then you shall say to the master
of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may
eat the Passover with My disciples?” ’
master – oikodespotes
(“house” + “master”) – master of the house, householder
house – oikia
– a house
:11 Where is the guest room
guest room – kataluma
– an inn, lodging place; an eating room, dining room
from – kataluo
– to dissolve, disunite; of travelers, to halt on a journey, to put up,
lodge (the figurative expression originating in the circumstance that, to put
up for the night, the straps and packs of the beasts of burden are unbound and
taken off; or, more correctly from the fact that the traveler’s garments, tied
up when he is on the journey, are unloosed at it end)
The word is only found 3 times in
the New Testament. Here, in the parallel
passage in Mark 14:14), and in…
(Luke 2:7 NKJV) And she brought forth
her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
:12 Then he will show you a large,
furnished upper room; there make ready.”
he will show – deiknuo
– to show, expose to the eyes
upper room – anogeon
– anything above the ground; a room in the upper part of a house
make ready – hetoimazo
– to make ready, prepare; to make the necessary preparations, get
everything ready
:12 a large, furnished upper room
There is a tradition that this might also be the same place where the
disciples gathered on the day of Pentecost, waiting for the coming of the Holy
Spirit.
There is a place in the Mount Zion portion of Jerusalem referred to as the
“Upper Room” or “Cenacle”.
It’s located right around the
corner from what is considered “David’s Tomb”.
Some suggest that this might at least be the area of Jerusalem where Jesus’
Passover meal took place, it’s not the actual room.
This place dates back to the time of the Crusaders, not Jesus’ day.
For a long time it was also a
Muslim mosque.
:13 So they went and found it just as
He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.
they went – aperchomai
– to go away, depart
found – heurisko
– to come upon, hit upon, to meet with; after searching, to find a thing
sought
they prepared – hetoimazo
– to make ready, prepare; to make the necessary preparations, get
everything ready
:13 found it just as He had said
Jesus gave Peter and John specific things to look for, like finding the man
carrying the water pot.
It could be that Jesus has already prearranged this with this fellow.
I think it’s more likely that Jesus was setting up something supernatural
here.
If the disciples looked for a man with a water pot and follow him, then
they would end up at the place Jesus wanted them to go to.
Something like this happened to Saul before he was made king over Israel.
He had been out looking for his father’s missing donkeys when he ended up
running into the prophet Samuel.
He had started on an errand for his dad, and ended up being chosen and
anointed as King over Israel.
Then Samuel gave Saul a clue as to what would happen next.
(1 Samuel 10:2–7
NKJV) —2 When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by
Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you,
‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father
has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What
shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth
tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one
carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another
carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread,
which you shall receive from their hands. 5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine
garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city,
that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a
stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they
will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord
will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another
man. 7 And let it
be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands;
for God is with you.
These series of events were intended to impress upon Saul
that God was involved in this whole thing, that God had indeed made him king.
Lesson
No Accidents
I believe Jesus is setting up His disciples for a similar lesson.
The evening ahead of them will be like no other.
They will spend a marvelous time with Jesus in the Upper Room enjoying the
bread and wine. They will listen to
Jesus teach amazing things.
Later that evening they will go to the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus will
be arrested.
He will be taken from them, tried, condemned, beaten, and crucified.
It’s important for the disciples to know that none of this was by accident.
Jesus was destined to die.
He was to be the ultimate Passover Lamb, dying for the
sins of the world.
Jesus told the disciples to “prepare” a room, but they would find that
Jesus had “prepared” the events of the entire week from before the foundations
of the world.
Esther found herself at the center of one of the most dangerous times in
the history of the nation of Israel.
A man named Haman was plotting to have the entire race of Jews wiped out.
But Esther, a Jew, wasn’t sure if she should risk doing anything about
it. Her cousin Mordecai told her,
(Esther
4:14 NKJV) For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and
deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your
father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom
for such a time as this?”
Esther’s whole life had been preparing her for that
moment.
I think we need to be careful about how we look on the “tragedies” in our
lives.
You may not know at the moment why you are going through what you’re going
through, but there are no “accidents” with God.
I wonder if you realize that God has “prepared” you for such a time as
this.
God can work a greater purpose in our life, even through tragedy.
(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know
that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose.
God knows what He’s doing. You can
trust Him in the difficult times.