[The following is a manuscript of the meditation delivered Maundy Thursday evening, the 18th of April, 2019 at Pilgrim Reformed Church. Tonight also included the observance of our Lord's Supper with Holy Communion. Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
The time is shortly before Jesus is betrayed and handed over first to the Jewish religious leadership and then to the Romans. I’m going back slightly before the last meal our Lord enjoyed with His followers, perhaps just earlier that afternoon, to what some might think of as the beginning of the end. I want to look at an act of love, and an act of betrayal.
Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 26, verses 1 through 16, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
Listen and follow along as I read from the Gospel account of the Apostle Matthew, chapter 26, verses 1 through 16, from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, 2 “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
3 Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by deception and kill Him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”
6 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 7 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. 8 But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.”
10 But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. 11 For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. 12 For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. 13 Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 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. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
--Matthew 26:1-16 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, tonight we step back in time to a night so long ago that may have lost some of its meaning for many. Speak to us, Father, speak into our hearts, that we might relive that night and understand its impact. Speak to us that we might know the truth of our ways. Convict us of our sin and forgive us for our continuing disobedience. This we pray in the name of Your Son Jesus. Amen
Tonight is Maundy Thursday. The word, “Maundy”, comes from the Latin word meaning command or commandment. On the night of His last supper with His disciples, Jesus gave us a commandment to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.
In just a few minutes we will share the elements of His body and blood. We will renew the covenant God made with us, sealed by the precious blood of Jesus. But as I mentioned, I want to go back just a step before that supper, to look at one beautiful moment absolutely spoiled by one dark blemish.
The Jewish religious leadership wanted Jesus and His New Way stopped, no matter the cost. They plotted against Him, but couldn’t figure out how to be rid of what they saw as a threat without alienating the people and risking an uprising. They would soon get their answer, in the person of a traitor. But first, a moment of compassion, an overt showing of love.
When Jesus stayed overnight in the Bethany home of Simon the leper, a woman came in carrying a fancy jar of expensive, fragrant oil. Other Gospel scripture leads us to believe this was likely Mary Magdalene, but Matthew does not name her. She took this very expensive, sweet-smelling oil and poured it on Jesus’ head, anointing Him.
The disciples who witnessed this act of love were angered by it. Matthew tells us they were mad because they felt such an extravagance to be a waste of money, money that could have been given to the poor. I wonder if maybe they weren’t a little jealous that they didn’t think of it themselves.
At any rate, they voiced their disdain of the act in Jesus’ hearing, as if questioning why He would allow such a waste. Our Lord’s reply was gracious, yet sufficient to put His followers in their place. “She did Me a great kindness”, He told them. “You will have plenty of opportunity to help the poor, because there will always be poor folk needing help. But I won’t be among you much longer.”
Judas was what we would consider the “treasurer” of the followers of Jesus, and other scripture notes that he often embezzled from the group purse. Maybe he felt like he missed an opportunity to pocket a little extra cash, and that this was the last time that would happen. I can only guess at his motive, but he went running off to the chief priests and offered up his services, for a price. He struck a deal to deliver Jesus to them in a remote place, out of sight of the people, for the grand sum of thirty pieces of silver.
One estimation I found is that thirty pieces of silver would be equivalent to about $600 today. $600 to betray the Lord. Would it be worth the price to any of us? How much would it take for us to turn Jesus in? How much would we be willing to accept knowing that He would end up nailed to a cross? What treasure would be necessary for us to betray our Lord?
How many of us right now are thinking in our heads, “I would never betray Jesus, no matter how much is offered!”? I wonder, though, if we understand how little it takes for us to do just that. First we have to understand what it means to betray Jesus. He no longer walks among us so we can’t have Him arrested again, or beaten, or physically nailed to a cross. But what did He tell us to do before He went home to God in heaven? I can think of four very important tasks He left us, but there are others.
We are to worship God and only God, giving of ourselves, our time, our resources into His service. When we allow something, some event or pastime or person, to keep us from worship, we are betraying Jesus.
We are to repent of our sins, turn completely from them and sin no more, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. When we refuse to give up that one sin that gives us so much pleasure but that we know is unrighteous in God’s eyes, that we know is an act of disobedience to Him, then we are betraying Jesus.
Jesus told us to tend His sheep, to feed His lambs, to love one another as we love ourselves. When we ignore the plight of others, turning our backs on them, we are betraying Jesus.
Jesus commanded us to go into the world, spreading the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, making disciples, and teaching them all about Jesus. When we are too timid to speak up, when we worry about what others will think of us, when we are afraid to show our faith, we are betraying Jesus.
Each of us, in some way, shape, form, or fashion, has betrayed Jesus at one time or another. Each of us has driven a nail into His beautiful hands, the hands that healed the multitudes, the hands that reached out to save us. Sadly, many of us still do. We still drive nails in His hands. We still betray Him, and often the price of our betrayal is so very small.
And Jesus suffers. Jesus suffered on the cross as a sacrifice to God to take away our sin and guilt, not so we could continue sinning! He suffered betray and denial from Judas and Peter, and from us, too.
But there is coming a day when we will stand before Jesus and He will show us our thirty pieces of silver. Our Lord will let us know whether we gave Him food when He was hungry, or drink when He was thirsty. He will pronounce whether or not we took Him in when He was a stranger to us, clothed Him when He was naked, visited Him when He was sick, came to Him when He was in prison. For He will look at what we do, or don’t do, to any of our brothers and sisters upon this earth, as if we had done, or not done, to Him.
Let’s stop betraying Jesus, denying Him by our actions or inaction. Let’s quit driving nails in His hands and start doing what He tells us to do. Worship God, be obedient, love others and see to their needs, share the Gospel without fear. Most of all, truly accept Jesus as Lord and Master, as if He holds your very life in His hands. Because Jesus does indeed hold our eternal life in those beautiful, nail-scarred hands.
The Apostle Paul tells us we must be right with God before coming to our Lord’s table, otherwise we share the guilt of His execution, of His death. Now is the time to do so. If you are feeling the guilt of denial or betrayal, if you are weighed down by the knowledge of your disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness. If you’d like to come down to the foot of Jesus’ cross to pray, here at His table, then please do so.
Get right with God. Stay true to Jesus. The real price of betrayal is far too high.
In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, on this night we reflect back on a time when mankind saddened You yet again. For on that night long ago we betrayed Your Son, Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation. Instead of receiving Him, we rejected Him. Forgive us, Father, for we did not know what we were doing.
But now, Father, we do know. Thank You for preserving Your word for us in our Holy Bible so that we might know the error of our ways and not have to pay the ultimate price of our eternal lives. Help us understand the message of the wicked vinedressers so that we do not continue to reject and betray Your Son.
Lord Jesus, You gave so much of Yourself on our behalf. You took our punishment, You bore our stripes, You died so we could avoid the final and permanent death just by believing in You and accepting You as Lord. But even greater suffering You bear comes from our betrayal, our denial, our rejection of You, then so long ago, and yet still today.
Forgive us, Lord, our times of doubt and confusion. Forgive us when we refuse to believe, when we reject Your authority. Forgive us when we could stand up for You against the doubters and disbelievers, but we are just too timid, too afraid, to do so. Help us, please Jesus, to not be so concerned with what others may think about us. Give us the strength of our convictions, the fullness of our faith, so that we will no longer deny or betray You.
This we pray in Your sweet name, Lord Jesus, the one true Son of God. Amen.
Tonight is Maundy Thursday. The word, “Maundy”, comes from the Latin word meaning command or commandment. On the night of His last supper with His disciples, Jesus gave us a commandment to “Do this in remembrance of Me”.
In just a few minutes we will share the elements of His body and blood. We will renew the covenant God made with us, sealed by the precious blood of Jesus. But as I mentioned, I want to go back just a step before that supper, to look at one beautiful moment absolutely spoiled by one dark blemish.
The Jewish religious leadership wanted Jesus and His New Way stopped, no matter the cost. They plotted against Him, but couldn’t figure out how to be rid of what they saw as a threat without alienating the people and risking an uprising. They would soon get their answer, in the person of a traitor. But first, a moment of compassion, an overt showing of love.
When Jesus stayed overnight in the Bethany home of Simon the leper, a woman came in carrying a fancy jar of expensive, fragrant oil. Other Gospel scripture leads us to believe this was likely Mary Magdalene, but Matthew does not name her. She took this very expensive, sweet-smelling oil and poured it on Jesus’ head, anointing Him.
The disciples who witnessed this act of love were angered by it. Matthew tells us they were mad because they felt such an extravagance to be a waste of money, money that could have been given to the poor. I wonder if maybe they weren’t a little jealous that they didn’t think of it themselves.
At any rate, they voiced their disdain of the act in Jesus’ hearing, as if questioning why He would allow such a waste. Our Lord’s reply was gracious, yet sufficient to put His followers in their place. “She did Me a great kindness”, He told them. “You will have plenty of opportunity to help the poor, because there will always be poor folk needing help. But I won’t be among you much longer.”
Judas was what we would consider the “treasurer” of the followers of Jesus, and other scripture notes that he often embezzled from the group purse. Maybe he felt like he missed an opportunity to pocket a little extra cash, and that this was the last time that would happen. I can only guess at his motive, but he went running off to the chief priests and offered up his services, for a price. He struck a deal to deliver Jesus to them in a remote place, out of sight of the people, for the grand sum of thirty pieces of silver.
One estimation I found is that thirty pieces of silver would be equivalent to about $600 today. $600 to betray the Lord. Would it be worth the price to any of us? How much would it take for us to turn Jesus in? How much would we be willing to accept knowing that He would end up nailed to a cross? What treasure would be necessary for us to betray our Lord?
How many of us right now are thinking in our heads, “I would never betray Jesus, no matter how much is offered!”? I wonder, though, if we understand how little it takes for us to do just that. First we have to understand what it means to betray Jesus. He no longer walks among us so we can’t have Him arrested again, or beaten, or physically nailed to a cross. But what did He tell us to do before He went home to God in heaven? I can think of four very important tasks He left us, but there are others.
We are to worship God and only God, giving of ourselves, our time, our resources into His service. When we allow something, some event or pastime or person, to keep us from worship, we are betraying Jesus.
We are to repent of our sins, turn completely from them and sin no more, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. When we refuse to give up that one sin that gives us so much pleasure but that we know is unrighteous in God’s eyes, that we know is an act of disobedience to Him, then we are betraying Jesus.
Jesus told us to tend His sheep, to feed His lambs, to love one another as we love ourselves. When we ignore the plight of others, turning our backs on them, we are betraying Jesus.
Jesus commanded us to go into the world, spreading the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, making disciples, and teaching them all about Jesus. When we are too timid to speak up, when we worry about what others will think of us, when we are afraid to show our faith, we are betraying Jesus.
Each of us, in some way, shape, form, or fashion, has betrayed Jesus at one time or another. Each of us has driven a nail into His beautiful hands, the hands that healed the multitudes, the hands that reached out to save us. Sadly, many of us still do. We still drive nails in His hands. We still betray Him, and often the price of our betrayal is so very small.
And Jesus suffers. Jesus suffered on the cross as a sacrifice to God to take away our sin and guilt, not so we could continue sinning! He suffered betray and denial from Judas and Peter, and from us, too.
But there is coming a day when we will stand before Jesus and He will show us our thirty pieces of silver. Our Lord will let us know whether we gave Him food when He was hungry, or drink when He was thirsty. He will pronounce whether or not we took Him in when He was a stranger to us, clothed Him when He was naked, visited Him when He was sick, came to Him when He was in prison. For He will look at what we do, or don’t do, to any of our brothers and sisters upon this earth, as if we had done, or not done, to Him.
Let’s stop betraying Jesus, denying Him by our actions or inaction. Let’s quit driving nails in His hands and start doing what He tells us to do. Worship God, be obedient, love others and see to their needs, share the Gospel without fear. Most of all, truly accept Jesus as Lord and Master, as if He holds your very life in His hands. Because Jesus does indeed hold our eternal life in those beautiful, nail-scarred hands.
The Apostle Paul tells us we must be right with God before coming to our Lord’s table, otherwise we share the guilt of His execution, of His death. Now is the time to do so. If you are feeling the guilt of denial or betrayal, if you are weighed down by the knowledge of your disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness. If you’d like to come down to the foot of Jesus’ cross to pray, here at His table, then please do so.
Get right with God. Stay true to Jesus. The real price of betrayal is far too high.
In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, on this night we reflect back on a time when mankind saddened You yet again. For on that night long ago we betrayed Your Son, Your only Son, whom You sent to offer us salvation. Instead of receiving Him, we rejected Him. Forgive us, Father, for we did not know what we were doing.
But now, Father, we do know. Thank You for preserving Your word for us in our Holy Bible so that we might know the error of our ways and not have to pay the ultimate price of our eternal lives. Help us understand the message of the wicked vinedressers so that we do not continue to reject and betray Your Son.
Lord Jesus, You gave so much of Yourself on our behalf. You took our punishment, You bore our stripes, You died so we could avoid the final and permanent death just by believing in You and accepting You as Lord. But even greater suffering You bear comes from our betrayal, our denial, our rejection of You, then so long ago, and yet still today.
Forgive us, Lord, our times of doubt and confusion. Forgive us when we refuse to believe, when we reject Your authority. Forgive us when we could stand up for You against the doubters and disbelievers, but we are just too timid, too afraid, to do so. Help us, please Jesus, to not be so concerned with what others may think about us. Give us the strength of our convictions, the fullness of our faith, so that we will no longer deny or betray You.
This we pray in Your sweet name, Lord Jesus, the one true Son of God. Amen.
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