Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

THE PASSOVER WEEK
Jesus spoke to the disciples two days prior to the Passover about His upcoming betrayal and crucifixion. There was no response by the disciples. Matthew 26:1-2

MURDER PLOT
A meeting was called in the palace of the high priest Caiphas after the God-man cleansed the temple ground and His fierce condemnation of the Jewish leadership. They decided to murder Jesus and discussed how to do it with such sophistication that the common people were ignorant of what was taking place. They realized the common people would revolt if they did it on a feast day. verses 3-5

ALABASTER BOX
Jesus left Jerusalem on Monday night of the Passover week and slept at the house of Simon the leper whom He had previously healed. verse 6

During the evening meal, a woman came in with an alabaster box and poured an expensive liquid on the head of Jesus.¹ verse 7

The apostles had failed to grasp that Jesus would be dead in less than two days and they thought such an extravagant gesture was wasteful and became angry with the woman. verses 8-9

Jesus knew the timeline and was moved by the love of this unknown woman. He rebuked the apostles and stated the poor would always be present, but it was not so with the God-man. verses 10-12

This unnamed woman would go down in history for her selfless act of love, and wherever the Gospel was preached, this story would be recounted. verse 13

BETRAYAL OF JESUS
Prior to the evening meal at the house of Simon the leper, Judas secretly met with the chief priests and bargained with them to betray Jesus. They agreed to pay him thirty silver coins ($265), and from that day forward, Judas sought an opportunity to betray the God-man. verses 14-16

Thirty shekels of silver was the value of a man’s life in the Old Testament. Exodus 21:32

This was also the amount contemptuously paid to Zechariah for his work as a prophet of the Lord. Zechariah 11:12-13

Luke recorded that Satan entered into Judas and used his body to betray the Son of God. Judas was supposed to alert the Jewish authorities when Jesus was away from the crowds so they could arrest Him in secret. Luke 22:3-6

The blood money was eventually used to buy a field of no great value. Matthew 27:5-8

The name “Judas” and “thirty pieces of silver” would become synonymous with betrayal.

PASSOVER MEAL
Tuesday morning, the first day of the feast, the apostles asked Jesus where He wanted them to prepare for the Passover meal. Matthew 26:17

Matthew gives a brief description of the God-man’s instructions. verses 18-19

Mark provides more details about the preparation. Upon reaching Jerusalem, they would see a man carrying a pitcher of water and follow him to a house. Keep in mind that women were tasked with drawing water and Jesus wanted the person they were to follow to stand out from the crowd. They were to ask for the owner and announce that Jesus had sent them. This man would at once direct them to a large upper room where the Passover meal would be held. Mark 14:12-16

Jesus left Bethany in the afternoon and arrived to Jerusalem with the apostles and entered the room that had been prepared for the Passover. Matthew 26:20

The meal consisted of lamb roasted over fire, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. There were four cups of wine, vegetables dipped in saltwater, and a paste of nuts, apples, pears and wine spread on lettuce.

A Jewish home at this time did not feature chairs; instead, there was a low table and people lay on their sides on mats next to the table. John stated he was the one leaning on the breast of Jesus. That was not possible if they sat on chairs. John 13:23-25

THE TRAITOR
Matthew records that Jesus stated that one of them eating from the table would betray Him. Matthew 26:21-24

Mark testifies that the apostles each began to individually question the God-man if they were the guilty party. Mark 14:18-20

Luke affirms that not only did the apostles ask about the traitor, but they also quarreled amongst themselves who would be the greatest of all. Luke 22:21-24

Judas asked the God-man point-blank if he was the traitor and Jesus responded affirmatively. Matthew 26:25-26

John omitted the Passover meal in his account, choosing to focus instead on additional matters excluded by the other apostles. John 14:1-31; 15:1-27; 16:1-33; 17:1-26

He noted there were many other things done by Jesus, and if they were all written down for posterity, the world could not contain the sheer number of books that would come into existence. John 21:24-25

COMMUNION
Jesus instituted the Passover meal with Moses prior to the exodus from Egypt. Exodus 12:1-8, 14

This final Passover in Jerusalem with the God-man effectively ended a ritual begun two millennia earlier. The Son of God incarnated in human form expressed His yearning to take part in the final ritual, hence His words, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you.” Luke 22:15

The Passover would be replaced with a ritual that came to be known as “The Lord’s Supper” or “Communion.”

Jesus kept the unleavened bread and the last of the four cups. The bread symbolized His body and the cup of wine symbolized the blood He would shed the next day.  Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20

The apostle Paul summarized the teaching of Jesus and set forth how Communion should be conducted. 1 Corinthians 11:23-33

1. Alabaster was a hard stone from Alabastron in Egypt that was crafted into a box, jar, or flask and filled with expensive, fragrant ointment or oil. A filled alabaster jar would be worth thousands of dollars today.