Day 313 Matthew 26, Mark 14 - Year 4
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Today's reading is really similar to tomorrow's reading. So today we'll recap the first half, then tomorrow we'll tackle the last half. Today, Jesus drops a bombshell on his disciples. He says he's only got a few days to live. The authorities are already plotting it, in fact, and are just waiting for the right moment.

Judas knows they want to arrest Jesus, and he sees an opportunity to make some cash from it if he can be the one to turn Jesus in. The religious leaders arrange to pay Judas 30 pieces of silver for it. Depending who you ask, this is anywhere from $200 to $2,000. As soon as Judas gets the money, he starts finding an opportunity to make the betrayal happen. There are a few noteworthy things about this section. First, we see that God's will always comes to pass. Second,

We see that there are passive agents and active agents involved in bringing his will to pass.

The active agent here, Judas, has woe pronounced on him. And while verse 24 tells us it would have been better for him if he hadn't been born, his birth was necessary as a part of God's plan of redemption. Some of you have a really compassionate heart and you feel sorry for Judas, and I'm so grateful for your tender heart. It's important to remember, though, that Judas got exactly what he deserved, what we all deserve, in fact. But Jesus did not get what he deserved.

As they sit down to dinner that night, Jesus makes things awkward right off the bat by announcing that there's a betrayer at the table. They're all mortified, wondering if it could be them. They all know that they have the capacity to betray him. They ask, is it I, Lord?

But Judas doesn't ask that. He asks, is it I, rabbi? He calls Jesus teacher, not master, which is a bit of a giveaway on its own. Then Jesus affirms that, yes, he's the one. Judas isn't shocked by this. He's already got the silver in his pocket.

Then Jesus blesses the bread and gives thanks for it. This is a bit of a side note, but this is one of those places in scripture where it reveals that those are two separate things. He blesses the food and he thanks the Father. Then he makes reference to a speech he gave earlier. Remember in John 6 when he talked about eating his flesh and drinking his blood and it grossed everyone out?

Here he gives them an object lesson about it. He feeds them what we call the Lord's Supper, or communion, or the Eucharist, which means to give thanks. And in doing this, he gives them a physical action that connects them to a spiritual reality. Just like with baptism, there are a lot of different perspectives on how and when and why this should be practiced, but there's one thing we can agree on. The Lord's Supper may not taste like much, but it's truly the best feast we'll eat on this side of eternity. It's the most privileged meal in the universe.

It marks us as God's children and it helps our forgetful hearts remember. In fact, he commands us to remember, to regularly bring it to mind that his body was broken and his blood was poured out for many. We need that reminder or we'll become like the people we read about yesterday who didn't wait well. They were sidetracked and foolish and fearful. So we partake and we remember.

Jesus and his disciples eat the bread, drink the wine, sing a hymn, and in John's account of this story, Jesus tells Judas to do what he's going to do quickly. Jesus knows the timing of it all, and I think Jesus is also just ready to get it over with. He knows waiting is hard. After dinner, they head out to the Mount of Olives. The Passover dinner is a big deal, but there's no mention of them eating anything here besides bread. We never see them eat the Passover lamb, which is a command. Why isn't it mentioned?

I'm going to unpack a theory for you. It's layered, so bear with me. And if you have time, read Exodus 12, 1-28 because it really helps get an overall picture of what happens at Passover, also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Here are some important points. It's typically a week-long celebration. But some scholars say that in Jesus' day, it was actually an eight-day celebration, with the additional day being tacked on at the start of the week. Because during this seven-day event, the

At day zero was their chance to finish off all the existing leaven in their homes before the seven-day event actually started, which means that when Jesus and his disciples are having what we've typically thought of as the Passover feast, it may actually just be a Passover feast where they're kind of cleaning out the fridge. The original text reflects this too. In the Greek, there are two different words used for bread, one for unleavened and one for leavened. What we see in these passages is that Jesus and his disciples are eating artos, or leavened bread.

whereas unleavened bread is called azimuth. So if this isn't the Passover feast, that explains why they haven't eaten lamb yet. Put a pin in that, we'll come back to it.

There's some debate over which day of the week this all happened on. We know Jesus rose on a Sunday, and most people are familiar with the idea that Jesus died on Friday, so I don't need to present that theory to you. But here's a possible problem with that theory. Remember when Jesus told the Pharisees that they wouldn't be getting any signs from him except what he called the sign of Jonah? It's in Matthew 12, 40.

He says, "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." From this perspective, the problem with the Friday death is that we can't really get three days and three nights. So how does this work? One theory I find interesting is the idea that Jesus died on a Thursday. I'm going to give you a bunch of info that may be confusing if you're new to this, but hang in there. It'll make sense. It's not only important, but it's beautiful.

In Jewish culture, the day starts at sundown, not midnight or whenever you wake. So the Sabbath, or Saturday, actually starts at sundown on what we call Friday. In order to prepare themselves to be free from work or travel on Sabbath, they have a 24-hour period every week called the Day of Preparation. In short, this is Friday, except it starts at sundown on Thursday, of course. The opening day of Passover is also treated like a Sabbath. And it has its own Day of Preparation as well.

In the year Jesus is believed to have died, the opening day of Passover was a Friday. So, uh-oh, they can't use that as their day of preparation like usual. That means they have to back it up a whole extra day, making the day of preparation Thursday, which for them starts on Wednesday at sundown. If I've already lost you, check out the image we've linked in the show notes. It'll really help.

Tara Lee, you said this was beautiful and so far it's boring. Okay, let me zoom out on Passover practices for a second. In the four days prior to Passover, each family would select their own lamb to sacrifice. They'd bring it into their home, live with it, feed it, inspect it to see if it has any flaws, because it has to be perfect. Then on the fourth day, the day of preparation, they'd sacrifice it and eat it after sundown. They'd

They'd paint its blood on the doorways of their homes, on the top, left, and right sides of the door, to commemorate what their ancestors did in Egypt when God passed over their homes and saved their lives. That's where this holiday originated. These door markings would actually form the four corners of a cross. The left and the right, and the blood at the top that would drip down to the ground. If you want to see a visual aid for this, check out the image we've linked in the show notes.

So if Jesus was crucified on a Thursday, and we back up four days prior to Thursday, that's Palm Sunday, the only day Jesus let people publicly and affirm of him as Messiah King. Then there are four days of Jesus living among the people of Jerusalem, being interrogated and inspected, put through trials and questioning, and he's still found to be without blemish, the perfect, spotless, sacrificial lamb of our Passover. And on the day of preparation, he's sacrificed.

He is the Passover lamb. If all this days of the week talk is confusing or if you're interested in reading it more on this and other theories, including the possibility of a Wednesday crucifixion, check out the four articles we've linked in the show notes. But again, I want to point out these are just theories and what matters most is not which day he died, but that he rose from the dead.

My God shot today was in the Lord's Supper. Two things stood out to me. First, I've always been confused by the fact that Jesus fed Judas communion. Since it's something that's reserved only for true followers of Christ, why would he feed it to the man he just identified as his betrayer? A man the rest of scripture marks out as not being adopted into God's family.

I don't know what motive Jesus had in doing this, but there's one thing it reveals to us. The act of taking the Lord's Supper isn't magical. It doesn't hold any power to save us. Otherwise, it would have been sufficient for Judas. And just like when the gospel falls on deaf ears, Jesus fed communion to a hard heart, and I imagine it broke his.

The second thing that stands out to me here is the way this is a foretaste. As he tells them to eat his flesh and drink his blood and the elements, they are, in a way, eating the sacrificial lamb. And by his blood, our sins are covered. And by his death, our lives are spared. And by his provision, I know one thing for sure and forever.

He's where the joy is. Tomorrow, we'll be starting the second half of the book of John. So we're linking to a short video overview in the show notes. The video is eight minutes long. So check it out if you have some time to spare.

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