In Jerusalem every Palm Sunday, hundreds of pilgrims from around the world join the Palm Sunday Walk. It retraces Jesus’ steps, or rather the steps
of the donkey he rode, up and over the Mt. of Olives and down into the city of
Jerusalem.
The original “Palm Sunday Walk” started in the little
village of Bethany on the other side of the Mt. of Olives.* As John tells it: “Jesus,
therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was,
whom Jesus had raised from the dead…” (John 12:1). Why did Jesus arrive so early? It was the custom to come up to Jerusalem a
week early to purify yourself for the festival.
This custom is mentioned in John 11:55:
“But the Passover of the Jews was
near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the countryside before the Passover
to purify themselves.”
* Today Bethany is known as al-Aizariya in memory of
Lazarus. The ancient center of the
village is about two kilometers from the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Hebrew name of Bethany is Beth-oni, the house of the poor.
Oni (poor) could refer to
physical poverty. But it also had a
spiritual meaning: those who recognized
their spiritual poverty and need for God.
This is the same double meaning that Jesus intended when he taught,
“Blessed are the poor.”*
* As Luke puts it (Luke 6:20). Matthew translates it as “poor in spirit”
(Matt. 5:3).
The whole idea of poverty, both physical and spiritual, with
its opposition to wealth and power were a real issue among the Jewish people at
the time. They were an oppressed people,
ruled by the Romans, who drained off their wealth in heavy taxes, and by priests
who became wealthy by cooperating with the Romans. Intentional poverty was a way to protest
these worldly ways and seek after God.
Remember when Zaccheus the tax collector received
Jesus. What did he say? “Half
of my goods I give to the poor…” (Luke 19:8). Others, too, had given up much to follow
God. Jesus told his disciples, "So therefore, no one of you can be my
disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). Peter answered Jesus, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you…” (Matt. 19:27).
It wasn’t only Jesus’ believers that were struggling
with this issue. Many others had given up
everything to follow God. This includes
the Essenes of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.
They were one of several groups, and many individuals—altogether thousands
of people—living out in the desert seeking God.
Even later, in Christian times, thousands of Christian monks lived in the
deserts east of Jerusalem, seeking God by living very humble lives.
 |
| Bethany |
Bethany was right at the edge of this same desert. Its name may have come from people like this, like the Essenes, living there in intentional poverty. Jesus’ friends in Bethany may have been among them: Mary, Martha, Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead, and Simon the leper (Matt. 26:6). None are mentioned with a spouse; perhaps they were single just like many of the Essenes.
Six days before the Passover that year was a Friday, which
means that Jesus arrived just in time to spend a quiet Sabbath with his friends. Then the next morning, when the Sabbath was
over, he began to walk toward Jerusalem, up and over the Mt. of Olives.
Before very long, after only about 15 minutes of walking, he
came with his disciples to the tiny village of Bethphage. In Hebrew this is Bet-paghee, “the house of the unripe fig.” Here Jesus waited while two of the disciples
went into the village to get him a donkey (Matt. 21:2). Then from there, he rode up and over the Mt.
of Olives to Jerusalem, the same route the pilgrims will be taking in their
walk today.
Why did he ride a donkey?
This was the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice...O daughter of Zion!... Your
king is coming to you. He is righteous
and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey." Many assume the donkey was a symbol of
humility. And from a Roman point of
view, it certainly was. But to the Jews, it was a symbol of royalty. This was how King Solomon entered the city after
he was proclaimed king just a short distance away (1 Kings 1:38-40).
At the time of the major festivals, including Passover, so
many people came up to Jerusalem that there was no room for them all to stay in
the city. Hundreds of thousands came up
for the feasts, as many as four times the population of the city. The pilgrims coming from Galilee made their
campsite on the Mt. of Olives. These were
people who knew of Jesus: they had heard
him speak, had seen his miracles. They
were already excited about him. Some had
tried to crown him king once before in Galilee (John 6:15). Can you imagine how the news spread through
the camp that morning: "The Rabbi
from Galilee is getting on a donkey at Beth-pagee. Maybe he's finally going to proclaim himself
King Messiah!" These are the people
who met Jesus singing psalms and bringing palm branches when he rode through
their camp.
Why did they bring palm branches? The waving of palm branches was something they
usually did at the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall. Why would they do it now, at Passover
time? Because the Feast of Tabernacles
with its palm branches was a symbol of the Messianic Age, when they would have
their independence again! And many
believed Jesus to be that Messiah! They
were hoping he would set them free from the oppression of the Romans!
 |
| Date Palm Trees |
Jewish coins from the time of the Maccabees, before Christ,
often have palm trees or palm branches on them.
This was a time of Jewish independence, when there were no Roman
soldiers around telling the Jews what to do.
Also later, at the time of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, coins minted
by the zealots had palm branches on them. At the end of the revolt, after it was crushed
by the Romans, the Romans issued Judea Capta coins ("Judea is
subdued"), showing a Roman soldier, a drooping palm tree, and a weeping
woman. What did it mean? The end of Jewish nationalism. So the palm was a symbol of Jewish
nationalism, of the desire for independence from Rome. Everyone who brought a palm branch on Palm
Sunday was saying, "We're with you against Rome. Save us from this horrible
oppression." If they were doing it today,
they would bring signs that said, "Pontius Pilate, go home."
They also threw their cloaks at Jesus’ feet. What did this mean? These cloaks, with their tassels and fringes,
were symbols of their personal identity and authority. To throw them down before Jesus like this was
a sign of submission to his royal and Messianic authority. It meant they were willing to follow him in a
war against the Romans.
This means that Palm Sunday was actually a dangerous
day. It was not the gentle, peaceful
event Christians imagine it to be. It
was more like Palestinians waving their Palestinian flags in a demonstration in
front of Israeli troops. That
demonstration could have become a riot very quickly.
Pontius Pilate knew what those palm branches were
about. In fact, the miracle of the story
is that he didn't immediately send out troops to crush it. There were “Palm Sundays” after that that
were not so lucky. In the reign of
Governor Fadus (one of the successors to Pontius Pilate), a crowd followed a
certain Theudas over the Mt. of Olives to the Jordan river. He claimed he would miraculously part the
river to prove he was the Messiah. But he
never got a chance to do it: the Romans
sent out soldiers on their horses.
Theudas and many of his followers were killed. His head was brought back to Jerusalem
(Antiq. 20.5.1).
Acts 5:36 mentions another, earlier Theudas, who also failed
to start an uprising. He was killed with
400 of his followers ("Some time ago
Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody; and a group of about four hundred men
joined up with him. And he was slain;
and all who followed him were dispersed..."). The next verse mentions Judas of Galilee, the
zealot who died starting an uprising (Acts 5:37). The same happened to two of his sons forty years
later. Both of them were crucified (in AD
46-48; Antiq. 20.5.2).
A Jew called "the Egyptian" is mentioned both in
Josephus and the book of Acts (Acts 21:38:
"Then you are not the
Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of
the Dagger-Carriers out into the desert?"). The "Egyptian" gathered thousands
of disciples to the Mt. of Olives.
Picture them waving their palm branches.
He promised he would miraculously cause the city walls to fall down, and
then they would charge into the city. But
Felix, the governor you know from Acts 23 and 24, sent out troops that killed
many as they dispersed the crowds. The
"Egyptian" got away.
And there were others.
The Romans wanted to make one thing perfectly clear: Jewish Messiahs will be killed. Palm Sunday was a dangerous day.
On their way to Jerusalem for the festival, the Jewish people
sang the Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120-134).
But now they added sections from Psalm 118: "God,
please save us."* In Hebrew, this is hoshiah-na. What does that
sound like? It comes over into Greek as Hosanna. This was not talking about spiritual
salvation. It’s a psalm of deliverance
from foreign nations: "All nations surrounded me; in the name
of the LORD I will surely cut them off.
They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I
will surely cut them off" (Psalm 118:10,11). When they sang, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" what
they meant was: God, please use this rabbi
to set us free from the Romans!
* Psalm 118 is one of the psalms traditionally sung during
the Passover Meal (as part of the Hallel,
Psalms 113-118 and 136).
What did Jesus say when the Pharisees told him to silence
the crowds? "Teacher, rebuke your disciples" (Luke 19:39). He said, "If these become silent, the stones
will cry out!" (Luke
19:40). What was he talking about? It comes from Hab. 2:11, "Surely the stone will cry out from the wall..." Habakkuk's stone cried out because of the
oppression of the armies of Babylon that were coming to crush the nation of
Israel. Jesus said, if not these people,
the land itself will cry out to God for a deliverer. Jesus knew why the people were there and what
was in their hearts. He had grown up
with them. He knew the tremendous
oppression they were under.
But he also knew the other side of the story: that there was a reason they were under
oppression, there was a reason the city would soon be destroyed. As Jesus rounded the top of the Mt. of Olives,
with a beautiful view of the city of Jerusalem beneath him, he wept and
said: "If you had known in this day, even you, the things that make for
peace! But now they have been hidden
from your eyes. For the days will come
upon you when your enemies will throw up a siege bank around you, and surround
you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your
children within you, and will not leave in you one stone upon another, because
you did not recognize the time of your visitation" (Luke
19:41-44).
This has got to be one of the most incredibly tragic moments
of history. The Jewish people are
welcoming Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah with shouts and songs of
celebration. Yet he himself is weeping,
over them and over Jerusalem. The people
were singing his praises, yet they did not understand his message! Instead of the way of peace that Jesus came
to bring them, they wanted war. And
Jesus knew they would soon get it.
Unfortunately, the result would be very different than the singing
multitude around him would like it to be.
Forty years later, the city was completely destroyed in exact
fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus.
It was not just the crowds that misunderstood him. Even his own disciples were caught up in the
crowd's expectations. Luke tells us, "They supposed that the kingdom of God
was going to appear immediately" (Luke 19:11).
As you can imagine, they were very excited. Jesus had finally allowed people to sing
verses about the Messiah to him. He was
riding on a donkey to Jerusalem. They
thought they would soon see the Romans fleeing for their lives!
The disciples still didn't understand that Jesus was going
to die. Up until the very end, they thought
Jesus was going to lead them in an attack on the Romans. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "That which is written must be
fulfilled in me"—speaking of his crucifixion (Luke 22:37). But what did the disciples reply? "Lord,
look, here are two swords!" (Luke 22:38). Even after the resurrection, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time restoring
the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts
1:6). Even after the resurrection, their
main concern was getting rid of the Romans.
Remember their arguments about who is the greatest? They were not just thinking about getting
good seats next to Jesus at a meal. They
were thinking about good jobs in the kingdom of the Messiah: who will control the military, who will
control the treasury. Jesus was taking a
low road of suffering and submission and they were all thinking of honor and
glory. They had their eyes on fame,
fortune, and power.
The procession continued down the Mt. of Olives to the
bridge across the Kidron Valley, then across on the other side to the Golden
Gate. This led into the eastern portico
of the Temple (the Portico of Solomon). Once
inside, they saw Roman soldiers standing beside every column in the Temple
courts. Why were the soldiers
there? To make sure a rebellion didn’t
start during the festival.
 |
| The Inner Courts of the Temple in Jerusalem |
If you’re still not with me and you’re not so sure that this was a dangerous a day—you still have your flowers and palm branches gently flowing in the wind—consider this: Matthew's gospel says, "The children...were crying out in the Temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David'" (Matt. 21:15). Why only the children? In the West Bank, when there is a lot of hatred for the Israelis, let's say something has happened politically, the parents will tell their kids to go out and throw stones at the Israeli soldiers. Why the kids? Because the kids won't be arrested. As that Palm Sunday crowd entered the Temple, with Roman soldiers standing beside every column, the parents stopped singing and the children started singing. That is a dangerous day.
But then Jesus began to throw "out all those who were buying and selling in the Temple, and
overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling
the doves" (Matt. 21:12). Why
were there merchants and moneychangers in the Temple? They were permitted to be there by the High
Priests and the Temple officials. For
this favor they had to give a percentage of their profits—probably more than
20%—to the Temple officials. This was corruption in the Temple. As Jesus
said, it was a den of robbers (Matt. 21:3).
Those shops shouldn’t have been there.
The people agreed. Otherwise,
it would have been impossible for Jesus to drive out the moneychangers and merchants
with no opposition. But now Jesus, by
his actions, had publicly rebuked Annas the high priest and cut into his
profit margin.* And as with any very
powerful and very corrupt man, “If you toucha the money, you die.” From that point on, Jesus’ death was certain. The Romans were upset because it looked like
he was stirring up a rebellion. The
priests were upset because Jesus was defying their authority. But it brought a breath of hope to the people.
* Annas was the head of a family of high priests, whose son-in-law
Caiaphas was the current high priest that year (Luke 3:2, John 18:13, Acts 4:6). Yet Annas and other former high priests still
carried the honorary title of high priest after they were no longer in
office.
For the next couple of days, Jesus continued teaching the
crowds in the Temple. During this time, he
rebuked not only the Temple leaders, warning that God would take their
leadership away from them, but also the Pharisees and the Sadducees, both of
whom had not only religious but also political power.
Before long, the time came for the Passover festival to
begin, on Thursday. The traditional
location of Jesus’ last Passover was in a section of the Upper City known as the
Essene Quarter. This has been identified
by the discovery of the Essene Gate, along with ritual baths and latrines just
outside the city wall. Peter and John
found the place by meeting a man carrying a water pot (Luke 22:10). This was unusual at the time. Drawing water was considered women’s work, unless
the man was unmarried—like some of the Essenes.
Could the man with the water pot have been an Essene? He led them to the Essene Quarter of the
city. Could Jesus have arranged to eat
his last Passover in an Essene house? We
don't know for sure.
But we can be sure of this:
Jesus wanted privacy that night.
The last thing he wanted to hear was a thump, thump on the door, with a
soldier saying, "You're under arrest." He had a very special message he wanted to
share with his disciples that night: "How I've longed to eat this Passover
with you" (Luke 22:15). And
this was his last chance to share it with them.
The next morning, he was on the cross.
The setting of the Last Supper is described in Luke 22:11-12
as a large, upstairs, furnished, guest room.
Upstairs is where people’s living
quarters were located and guests were received.
Downstairs is where animals were kept in the winter, or where the workshop
or business of the family was located.
The word “furnished”
should more accurately be translated “spread,” as with couches or cushions for
reclining. Why did they recline for the
meal? Originally the Passover was eaten
in great haste (Exo. 12:11). But in
Jesus' day, the rabbis ruled that all should eat reclining as a symbol of
freedom.
This explains why John was reclining at Jesus' chest (John 13:23). They were not snuggling, as some have misunderstood this verse. The position for eating was reclining on the left side and eating with the right hand. So to describe your neighbors at the meal, you couldn’t refer to the one at your left or at your right. Instead, they described the person reclining in front of them as being “at my chest,” just as you were “at the chest” of the person behind you.
Many different tables have been found from the time of
Jesus. But the large ones (mega in
Greek) are usually a П shaped table
known as a triclinium . The tri
indicates the three sides on which people were reclining (clinium; see the picture below).
The rabbis ruled that if you lived within fifteen miles of
Jerusalem, you must eat the Passover in the city. Many others came as well, some from distant
countries. But not everyone had family in
the city, so it was the custom for Jerusalemites to let strangers use their guest room. It was considered inappropriate to rent the
room for money, so guests would show their appreciation by leaving a new set of
dishes they used for the meal and the lamb skin from their Passover sacrifice.
What is the evidence that Jesus used a guest room? The gospels make no mention of a host. Only Jesus and the twelve were present at the
meal.
The Passover Meal is a special meal, different than ordinary
meals. Everything is done in a certain
order, which gives the meal its name: Seder (“order”). Food is only eaten at certain times in the
meal.
When the disciples sat down at the last Passover with Jesus,
it wasn't a new experience. They had
eaten Passover with him at least three times before. But this time he started with a strange statement: "I
have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say
to you that I will certainly not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the
kingdom of God" (Luke 22:15-16).
The disciples were expecting the kingdom of God at any minute. So why was Jesus talking about suffering? Was he going to be injured in a war against
the Romans?
The meal started with a blessing over the wine, just as at the beginning of any formal meal. This was not a blessing of the food itself as
we often think of it, but a blessing of God for the food. In fact, we know the exact words that were
used in this blessing. They’re still
used today: Baruch attah Adonai
Eloheinu, Melech ha'olam, borei p'rie ha-gafen (Blessed are you, Lord our God,
King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine).
Four cups of wine were drunk during the meal, which divided the
meal into sections. The first cup was
the Cup of Holiness, which provides the theme of the first section of the
meal. This included another blessing, to
set aside the day as holy to the Lord (the Kiddush).
The first thing to be eaten after the initial blessings were
bitter herbs dipped in salty water. Why did
they start the meal this way? The bitter
herbs were a symbol of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The salty water represented the tears of the
Israelites in their slavery. As with everything
at the meal, these were intended to make you think of the original Exodus, to
help you experience it as if you were there.
The idea was that after celebrating the meal, you would no longer say, ‘the
Lord delivered our fathers from Egypt,’ but rather that ‘the Lord delivered us
from Egypt.’*
* This is also the intention of the Lord’s Supper, to
experience the meal again with Jesus present by his Spirit.
The second cup was the Cup of Instruction. This is when the youngest one at the meal
would ask the famous four questions: (1)
“Why is this night different from every other night?” (2) “On other nights, we eat leavened or
unleavened bread. Why tonight only
unleavened?” (3) “On other nights we eat
bitter or regular herbs. Why tonight
only bitter herbs?” And as they say it
today: (4) “Why on this night did our
ancestors recline?”
This is the cue for the father with his family or the rabbi
with his disciples to tell the story of the miraculous escape of the children
of Israel from slavery in Egypt: from
the plagues, to the parting of the Red Sea, to the escape through the desert,
to the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. For
the children, this was a very exciting story, especially in the days before
television.
Another tradition was to explain the meaning of the food items
on the table. We’ll mention four that we
know were on the table in Jesus' day: First
was the unleavened bread. This was lifted to God with a blessing, then
torn and eaten. Why unleavened bread? In the original Exodus, they had to leave Egypt
in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise (Exo. 12:34,39). This was also celebrated in the week after
Passover as the Feast of Unleavened Bread (1 Cor. 5:7).
Bitter herbs had already
been eaten once before, but this time they were dipped in haroseth: a tasty apple
paste that looks like mud. Why would
they eat something that looks like mud? What
does this have to do with the Passover story?
The Israelites in their slavery had to make mudbricks for Pharaoh in
Egypt (Exo. 1:14, 5:8).
The watery wine drunk at the meal was a symbol of
joy.* This was a feast of freedom, of deliverance.
* This was a weak wine, with only about half the alcoholic
content of modern wines. They served it mixed
with water, as some Eastern churches do for communion until this day.
The main course was a lamb
stew. Why were they eating lamb at
Passover? At the original Passover in
Egypt, they marked their lintels and doorposts with the blood of the lamb, in
what Christians have traditionally seen as the sign of the cross. Why?
So the angel of death would pass over.
Otherwise the first born would die.
In the time of Jesus, there were so many pilgrims in
Jerusalem, there was not enough lamb to go around. As many as 256,500 were sacrificed, but there
were as many as 3,000,000 visitors to feed.
This works out to about 10-20 people per one-year-old lamb. One year old lambs are not very big. So they made it into a stew. To give you an idea how "extended"
the lamb was, the rabbis ruled you must have at least as much lamb as the size
of an olive for it to be a valid Passover.
The stew was eaten with bread.
This explains the dipping of the bread in John (the “sop” in the KJV;
John 13:26,27,30). After this, they ate
freely of the food at the table.
After everyone was finished, the last thing eaten was a
piece of bread, known as the aphikomen. This was probably the bread which Jesus took,
blessed, and broke saying, "Take,
eat; this is my body" (Matt.
26:26). Next followed the third cup, the Cup of
Redemption. This is the cup that Jesus
took up saying, "This is my blood of
the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins" (Matt.
26:28). How do we know this was the
cup? This is the cup after the meal, and
the Bible says that Jesus took “the cup
after diner, saying...” (Luke 22:20).
After some more songs and prayers followed the fourth cup,
the Cup of Hope: specifically Messianic
Hope, hope in the coming of the Messiah.
Today, when the fourth cup is poured, they also fill a special fancy
cup, the cup of Elijah. This is just in
case Elijah comes first that night, announcing the coming of the Messiah, as
Malachi says he will one day do (Mal. 4:5).
In some homes, the father will say to his children, "Go outside and
see if you can see Elijah." So the
children go scampering to the door and look around in the night sky. When they don't see anything, they come back
disappointed. So Papa says: "Well, maybe next year." We don't know if the practice of Elijah's cup
had started already in Jesus' day, but we do know that the gates of the Temple
were opened just after midnight on Passover Eve, just in case the Messiah came
that night.
But I can tell you that Jesus did not drink from the fourth
cup that night. How do I know that? Because after the third cup he said, "I will not drink of this fruit of the
vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's
kingdom" (Matt. 26:29). If
immediately after saying this, he drank another cup of wine, it wouldn't have
made any sense. You can imagine what a
surprise this was to the disciples. They
believed Jesus was the Messiah. They
were hoping he would announce himself during this Passover week. And this would have been the perfect time to
do it: the Cup of Messianic Hope. But Jesus did not even drink it! Jesus was an excellent teacher: what was the meaning of this omission? Do you remember what he said, just before
they came up to Jerusalem, when the mother of James and John tried to reserve
seats for them at the Messianic banquet?
"Are you able to drink the
cup that I am about to drink?" (Matt. 20:22). First he had another cup to drink: the cup of suffering.
We have enough information about the events that night to
reconstruct where some of the participants were reclining. The seating was not random, but in a particular
order: To the left were the seats of
greatest honor. In the center were the
seats of middle honor. To the right were
the seats of lesser honor. Jesus
mentioned this in one of his parables (Luke 14:7-11). He said, when you go to a wedding feast,
don't recline in the place of honor:
perhaps the host has someone important he wants to recline in that
place, and will ask you to leave, which will be very embarrassing. It’s better to recline in the lowest
place: perhaps when the host comes, he
will move you to a higher place, which will be a great honor for you. This is still good advice today.
The host reclined in the #2 position, counting from the
left. This would have been Jesus: he made the arrangements for the meal, he led
the meal, so he was clearly acting as the host.
If so, you immediately know where one of the disciples was reclining: John.
He would have been in position #1.
This first position was a seat of great honor. Why would John be in this seat? What was special about John? Well, maybe because he is called the beloved
disciple. He was also the youngest. He was also in the inner circle of
disciples: Peter, James, and John did
things with Jesus that the others didn’t do.
Or maybe it was because he helped with the preparations that night. We don't know for sure, but for any or all of
these reasons, John was in position #1.
Who then was on the other side of Jesus in position #3, also
a position of great honor—in fact, the seat of the guest of honor? Peter?
Good guess. Peter was also in the
inner circle, he also helped with the preparations: but Peter was not in that position that
night. How do I know? Do you remember, when Peter had to get John's
attention to ask Jesus something (John 13:23-24)? If he was sitting next to him, he could have
just asked Jesus directly. So if John was
reclining in position #1, where must Peter have been located?
Way over on the other side, in the seats of lesser
honor. Why there? Perhaps Peter had expected to be in the
highest position, but just like in the parable of Jesus, he had to come all the
way around to the bottom, since the other seats were taken. I know it's not evidence, but it certainly sounds
like something that would happen to Peter.
But there is one more piece of evidence:
Do you remember when Jesus washed the disciples' feet it says, "And so he came to...Peter"
(John 13:6). It sounds like Peter was at
the end of the line. And do you remember
Peter's reaction? “You will never wash my feet!” (John 13:8). Why did he say this? Was he embarrassed because the one in the
last position was supposed to wash the feet?
We don't know for sure. But it seems
clear that Peter was in one of the lowest positions.
So who was in the seat of honor on the other side of Jesus,
in position #3? Judas. Why Judas?
He was the one who dipped bread in the stew with Jesus (Matt. 26:23). As you can see, this was only possible for
those on either side of Jesus. Also, do
you remember, Jesus told Judas to go do something, and the others weren't sure
what was happening (John 13:27-30). This
gives the impression that Judas was near Jesus.
But why would Jesus put Judas in this seat of honor? Didn’t Jesus know in advance who would betray
him? Yes, he did. So why would he put Judas there? Could it be that he was showing us what’s
very easy to say but hard to do: love
your enemies? Or was Jesus giving him
one last chance to repent?
Meals in the
ancient Middle East, and even in some places today, are not just
"ordinary" as they are to us.
We might go to lunch with a group of people, and maybe we know all of
them, maybe we don’t. It’s no big deal. But it’s not that way in the traditional
Middle East. When they eat a meal
together, they establish a special relationship that I’d like to call a meal
covenant.
When we were working in Israel, we’d encourage new staff members to accept if they received an invitation to a meal with an Arab family. Why? Because they won’t invite you unless they have a very high opinion of you—it’s really an honor.
When we were working in Israel, we’d encourage new staff members to accept if they received an invitation to a meal with an Arab family. Why? Because they won’t invite you unless they have a very high opinion of you—it’s really an honor.
One of my professors used to stay up watching late night Arab
television to improve his Arabic. He
told us that Arab films are often about tension within the family. In the last scene, the two estranged family
members will often stand together uncomfortably in the room, but as they start
talking, they begin to relax and move closer to each other. In the end, in what we would call the "happily
ever after" scene, they drink a cup of coffee together or eat a meal
together. What does it mean? That
everything's okay now between them. It’s
a meal of reconciliation.
Another example is when two Arab families are having
troubles with each other, maybe there’s been a feud going on for generations, and
they want to resolve the problem.
They’ll eat a meal together known as a sulkah meal. It’s a meal of
reconciliation. After that meal, there’s
no more fighting, no more trouble between them.
There are many meals like this in the Bible. Abraham ate a special meal with Melchizedek (Gen.
14:17,18), Jacob with Laban (Gen. 31:54).
What did the father do when the prodigal son came home? He killed the fattened calf to make a feast
(Luke 15:23). Why? To show the boy and to show the community
that he was accepted back into the family as if he’d never left. It was a meal of reconciliation.
This was not just done in the relationship of one person to
another. It was also done in the
relationship between man and God. In the
Jewish Temple, not all the sacrifices went up in smoke (the whole burnt
offering). In some of them a portion was
eaten by those bringing the sacrifice (Lev. 7:15-17). What was the meaning of this meal eaten in
the presence of God? That now
everything's all right again between us and God. It was a meal of reconciliation with God (the
peace offering).
Did you ever notice that after the resurrection, Jesus was
eating meals with everyone: on the road
to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-31), in the Upper Room (Luke 24:41-42), at the Sea of
Galilee (John 21:12). Why so many
meals? Does resurrection make you
hungry? There were lots of broken
relationships to mend. Peter had denied
Jesus. The others had run away. They were probably feeling pretty unworthy to
have any kind of relationship with Jesus.
But there he was, holding out his hands to them, saying, “Come and eat” (John 21:12).
Do you remember what it says in Rev. 3:20? "Behold,
I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I
will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me." What, he wants to go to McDonald’s? No, he’s talking about a meal of
reconciliation. This was Jesus' message
that night of Passover, which he so earnestly desired to share with his
disciples: that through his broken body
and blood, peace—reconciliation—is available between us and God. This is the true meaning of the Passover that
Jesus shared with his disciples. This is
the meaning of the Christian Lord’s Supper (or Communion Service). And this is the meaning of Jesus’ death on
the cross. Peace is available with God
through Jesus.
Whatever it is that you’ve done in your life, Jesus’ blood
was shed that you might be forgiven.
Whatever it is that was done to you, Jesus’ blood was shed that you
might be restored. God is reaching out
to us through Jesus. And all we have to
do is come to the meal. He’s calling out
to us, “Come and eat.”
What is it that you need from God today? How has your relationship with God been
broken? Sometimes we get so discouraged
with ourselves. But God hasn’t given up
on us. He believes in us more than we do
in ourselves. And he has a plan and a
purpose for our lives beyond anything we know about right now. All we have to do is say yes to God.
Today, I want you to see God’s arms reaching out to you in
Jesus, inviting you, calling to you to himself, especially in those areas where
there’s been a struggle in your life.
Maybe it’s a long term problem you’ve had with God. Maybe it’s a problem with laying something
down in your life to God. But today I
don’t want you to focus on the problem. I
want you to focus on the answer. I want
you to focus on Jesus.
Let’s pray together: Lord, we’ve been looking at you in history. But now we come to you in the present day. Many generations have passed since you walked the streets of Jerusalem, but you’re still the same person today that you were back then. And you’re still knocking at the door of our hearts. You’re still inviting us to come to you, to dine with you, in spite of the things we’ve done in the past. Because you come with healing in your hands. Touch us Lord we pray, heal us, restore us, forgive us. Go ahead now and speak in your heart to the Lord about whatever he’s put in your heart today, about whatever you need to get right with him today. But don’t focus on the problem. Focus on Jesus. He’s here to help you. Thank you Lord. Our eyes are on you, Lord. Have your way in our lives, Lord. Thank you Lord…. In Jesus’ name.
Let’s pray together: Lord, we’ve been looking at you in history. But now we come to you in the present day. Many generations have passed since you walked the streets of Jerusalem, but you’re still the same person today that you were back then. And you’re still knocking at the door of our hearts. You’re still inviting us to come to you, to dine with you, in spite of the things we’ve done in the past. Because you come with healing in your hands. Touch us Lord we pray, heal us, restore us, forgive us. Go ahead now and speak in your heart to the Lord about whatever he’s put in your heart today, about whatever you need to get right with him today. But don’t focus on the problem. Focus on Jesus. He’s here to help you. Thank you Lord. Our eyes are on you, Lord. Have your way in our lives, Lord. Thank you Lord…. In Jesus’ name.
