AM April 6th Luke 22

April 6^th Luke 22

Jesus servants won't lack

35: And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. 36: Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. 37: For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. 38: And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.

Prayer in the Garden

39: And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40: And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. 41: And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42: Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43: And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44: And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45: And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46: And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.

Betrayal

47: And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 48: But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? 49: When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? 50: And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 51: And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him. 52: Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? 53: When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.

Peter denies the Lord

54: Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed afar off. 55: And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56: But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57: And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58: And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59: And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 60: And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61: And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62: And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

Mocking and beating of Jesus

63: And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. 64: And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? 65: And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

Jesus before the Council

66: And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, saying, 67: Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe: 68: And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. 69: Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. 70: Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am. 71: And they said, What need we any further witness? for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.

There are those who say that today evangelists should go without money. However, while it is true that evangelists can trust in Gods provision, we must remember that the apostolic mission during the ministry of Christ was quite unique. The Apostles were sent out relying of the hospitality of Israel. Now that their mission is at an end Christ instructs the Apostles to resume normal financial arrangements. He says, ‘When you went out without money, did you have any lack? They answered, ‘Nothing’. So then, he says, ‘take your purse, script and if you have no sword sell you coat and buy one’. (This is exactly what Peter did, which is why he had a sword when Christ was betrayed) They answered Lord here are two swords. The Disciples thought that Christ was advocating armed resistance. However Christ ended this conversation by saying, ‘This is enough’. They went to the Mount of Olives, a place often frequented by Christ as a place of prayer. Here Christ came face to face with his destiny and he shrank back from it. It was not his will but he was prepared to do the Fathers will. Angels strengthened unto him in his hour of need. The agony of the garden was the struggle of his will and the fearful prospect of the cross. Eventually Judas arrived with a crowd and soldiers. Peter stepped forward to defend Christ and he swung at Malcus who ducked his head but loosing his ear. Christ stopped this action and headed the man. Then Christ questioned Judas’s betrayal with the sign of affection. Then Christ said why have you come against me with swords and staves like a thief l was daily teaching in the temple? Christ is asking to make then think about their actions. Then he said, this is your hour and the power of darkness. This was the time when Israel would make a decision that would affect all their subsequent history. And this was the hour in which the prince of this world would do his worst. Christ was taken to the High Priests house but Peter followed a far off. While Peter warmed himself outside by the fire a young maid said to those around, this man was also with him. But Peter denied it. A while later, another man pinpointed Peter, but he denied knowing Christ again. An hour passed another pointed out Peter as a Galilean but Peter denied again and right then the cock crew. At that moment the Lord turned and looked right into the heart of Peter. Peter remembered what Christ had said and he went out a wept bitterly. He had denied his Lord but his faith had remained. The men that held Christ made fun of him and beat him up. Then they gave him a blindfold beating. A very fearful thing. And they mocked his prophetic gift. They did many blasphemous things to the King of Kings.

When dawn broke, they called the Sanhedrin together. At this hearing they asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah?’ But he replied, ‘If l told you would not believe me and if l ask questions of you, you will not release me’. But he said this, ‘After this time you will see the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God’. This was not only a prophetic statement it was a declaration of that one day Christ himself will he exalted to the place of highest honour and authority. So they replied, ‘Are you the Son of God’? And he said, ‘Yes’. At this they said, ‘We do not need any witnesses because we have heard him blaspheme ourselves’ of course this was blaspheme if he were not the Son of man. but the truth was this that he was the Son of man. And one day they will bow the knee to him. And so this was the reason for the crucifixion of Christ from a Jewish perspective. He claimed to be their Messiah and they rejected him. For any Jew to be saved they must change their mind concerning who Christ is and publically confess him as Lord.¹

• Why did Christ send his apostles out without money?
• Why did Judas betray Christ?
• What prophesy did Christ give to the religious leaders?

1 Rom 10v9