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by Sandy Shaw
We are reading and studying in Luke 22 and we come to verse 24. What is the setting? Jesus and His disciples are in the process of observing The Passover Meal, and Jesus has taken the bread, and one of the Passover Cups which would have been on the table, and, Jesus gives them this new meaning and significance, for the Church, for believers, for His disciples.
The Passover is celebrated to remember that night in Egypt when the doors of the Hebrew slaves were marked with the blood of the lamb and they were inside the houses eating the lamb. They were in the lamb and the lamb was in them. What a significant picture!
One other lesson is this. There are people who question the reality of the Passover and what happened that night as recounted in Exodus Chapter 12. If that record of what took place were untrue, then why would Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be marking it on this His last night on earth?
Surely in this setting all would be peace and tranquillity and calm, but NO.
Judas Iscariot is there, waiting his moment to betray Jesus, and then an argument breaks out among some of the others. A row erupts, "as to which of them was to be considered the greatest". Well, the Bible certainly does not disguise the sinfulness of human nature. The darkness deepens.
They had shared in this significant fellowship meal, with Jesus. They had had their feet washed, by Jesus, and that was the job of the lowliest servant. They had been listening to the teaching of Jesus all week. They had been with Jesus for three years. They knew something was going on in Jerusalem. They were aware that things were working up to some kind of climax. There was a tension in Jerusalem, physically and spiritually. They knew there was a battle going on, even from Jesus Words in verses 21 to 23.
There had been such opposition to Jesus, with people trying to trap Him. This desire to get rid of Him was strong. This man who was so popular with the people, and so despised by the religious leaders, was at the heart and centre of all that was going on.
And here they are - a group of proud men who are arguing and squabbling among themselves as to which of them was to be considered the greatest. They are jockeying for position.
They are after what might be considered the best jobs in The Kingdom, which they believed Jesus was about to usher in, and some wanted a higher place and position and rank in the Kingdom of God than some of the other brothers. And, the Bible doesn't hide this.
We find that as we study The Word of God, as we have it in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, that it never shies away from revealing the sinfulness of the heart of man. Learn the lesson as we read of such a poignant moment in the life of Jesus Christ as He is about to face the cross within a few hours.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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