New Exodus (Luke 22:1-38)/Sermon at Way City Church (Speedway)

 

Luke 22:1-38

22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4 he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray him to them. 5 They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present.

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” 9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” 10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” 13 So they went and found everything as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 But he said to them, “The kings of the gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 But not so with you; rather, the greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 “You are those who have stood by me in my trials, 29 and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

31 “Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail, and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” 34 Jesus[f] said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know me.”

35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without a purse, bag, or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “No, not a thing.” 36 He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless,’ and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.” 38 They said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” He replied, “It is enough.”

 

[Title Slide] A New Exodus (Luke 22:1-38)

Happy Epiphany! January 6^th is the beginning of a new season in the Church calendar. We are now in the season after Epiphany. It is a season for growth, perfect for all those New Year’s resolutions. We just finished celebrating the twelve-day feast of Christmas. In today’s reading, Jesus comes to Jerusalem during Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

Jesus upset the religious leadership in Jerusalem upon arrival. The chief priests are looking for a way to kill Jesus, but they are afraid of the large crowds of people that welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem, hailing Him as the Messiah. Every day during the festival, Jesus taught in the temple, but the priests found no opportunity to arrest Jesus. They tried discrediting Jesus in front of the crowds at the temple. They publicly posed a series of challenges to Jesus, but Jesus proved to be very wise and insightful. He did not fall into their trap. Instead, his challengers ended up looking foolish. They wanted him dead.

[Slide] What is Passover?

Jesus and his closest disciples were soon to celebrate the Passover meal together. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a religious festival of remembrance for Israel from the time of the exodus. The festival celebrates the deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery. Passover observance was established in Exodus 12.

[Slide] Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go, select lambs for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin. None of you shall go outside the door of your house until morning. [Slide] For the Lord will pass through to strike down the Egyptians; when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down. You shall observe this as a perpetual ordinance for you and your children. When you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this observance. [Slide] And when your children ask you, ‘What does this observance mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he struck down the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” (Exodus 12:21-27)

[Slide] What is the Festival of Unleavened Bread?

During the Festival of Unleavened Bread, it is tradition to remove all leavening from the house and eat bread without leaven, because when the time for God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery finally arrived, it happened very quickly. They left Egypt in such haste they had no time to knead their dough. That is why unleavened bread is known as “the bread of haste.” An excerpt from a Wikipedia article gives insight to how Jewish people today think about the meaning of unleavened bread.

“Following the Exodus, the Hebrews ate unleavened bread for thirty days in the wilderness, which was then substituted by manna from heaven, which The Lord Himself provided for them. Unleavened bread symbolized that they were not taking with them any of the contaminating influence of Egypt, which represented the culture of the world. Unleavened bread has come to represent the scriptures, the pure, unadulterated Word of God. Eating bread which was not leavened reminds the Israelites to feed on scripture and leave behind the perverse philosophies of this world. All false doctrines and wrong mind-sets have their origin in the philosophies of this world, which is governed by the ruler of this world. Satan, that ancient serpent, first began to corrupt human thinking in the garden of Eden. Leaven therefore represents sin, and all worldly opposition to the truth of God revealed in the scriptures.”

 

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us that God delivers from bondage through the blood of the lamb. Death passes over those who trust in the blood of the lamb. Having been set free we journey toward the Promised Land (Our home with God). On this journey, we choose to live on heavenly bread, feeding our souls with the pure Word of God and turning away from the leavening of worldly attitudes and selfish sin.

[Slide] Satan and Judas

Luke informs us that Judas Iscariot is plotting with the chief priests to betray His master. For a price, Judas is willing to lead the priests to Jesus when the crowds aren’t around. Why Judas did this is not clear. Some have suggested it’s simply that he was a greedy man and saw an opportunity to profit from Jesus’ arrest. The gospel of John reveals that Judas stole money from the treasury that supported Jesus’ ministry. But Luke suggests the reason Judas betrayed Jesus was that Satan had entered Judas. [Slide] “The devil made me do it!”

We all know the devil has a personal name, Satan. Other traditions, outside the Bible, refer to the chief adversary of God and humanity as Lucifer. Did you know the name Satan is derived from the Hebrew word, satan, which simply means adversary or one who opposes an enemy? Job introduces the adversary by the name, Satan, but tradition understands the serpent in the garden of Eden, who tempted Eve and Adam, to be none other than the devil himself.  Pagan ideas about an evil anti-god, living in the bowels of the earth, provide much to shape the way we tend to think about Satan these days.

Hollywood continues with bad theology to fuel the fire (pun intended). [Slide] Recently, I watched the movie, Prey for the Devil, which was loosely based on the experiences of the first ever female exorcist in the Roman Catholic Church. Instead of informing us about an actual historical person, the film was nothing more than the usual demonic possession thriller we’ve been fed since the Exorcist in 1973, with deformed faces and husky voices, and throwing priests around like rag dolls. There’s nothing about Judas having a deformed face, frothing at the mouth, or particularly troubled in any way by demonic possession. Instead, it would seem a simple case of temptation. The adversary planted the idea in Judas’ mind to profit from Jesus’ arrest.  The text doesn’t exactly say that money is the motive. He may have had some other goal in mind. Some have suggested that Judas was hoping to force Jesus’ hand to incite revolution against Rome. Whatever was in Judas’ heart, Luke seems to think the idea came from Satan.

Let’s remember that the early church thought of the world as the battlefield. Humanity lives amid a cosmic war between forces of light and darkness, good and evil.

[Slide] I got to make a Star Wars reference! “You don’t know the power of the dark side” Darth Vader once said. [Slide] Master Yoda warned, “If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will.”  [Slide] Whether for freedom from Rome or for money, Judas gave himself over to the dark side. He plotted with the temple police and chief priests to arrest Jesus.

[Slide] How might we avoid going down a dark path? First, we need to be feeding on the Word of God, to counter the worldly messages that we’re exposed to in television, movies, music, computer games, and news media. Read your Bible. Love it, Learn it, Live it. The Apostle Paul wrote,

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2) Renew your mind by daily reading the Bible.

 

Second, being aware of God’s word, we must ask ourselves, “How is what I’m thinking about harmful to myself or others?” “In what ways does what I want to do please God and honor the name of Jesus?” “Is this more about what I want, rather than what Jesus wants for my life?” These kind of questions help us filter out selfish ambitions and empty diversions that don’t help us move toward our destiny to become like Jesus. One thing is sure, we can’t rely on the excuse, “The devil made me do it.”

Passover Meal Prep

[Slide] As Passover approached Jesus gave instructions to prepare the meal. He exhibits a foreknowledge of the place and persons who would provide the upper room where they were to meet. I tend to interpret this as another example of Jesus’ divine insight. Jesus had the mind and heart of God. He knew when and where they would find a willing host for the Passover, just as he knew that Judas was going to betray him. Just as he knew and forewarned that he would be crucified and rise from the grave after three days.

Jesus and his disciples met to celebrate the Passover with a prepared lamb, with wine representing the blood of the sacrifice, and with bitter herbs representing their suffering. Even in the midst of suffering, they acknowledged their hope in God’s ability to set them free from all oppression. Jesus took the cup of wine and told his disciples that the cup from which they drink is the blood of the new covenant. And the unleavened bread was blessed, broken and distributed among his disciples, a symbol of Jesus’ body soon to be sacrificed upon the cross.

Celebrating a New Exodus Amid Slavery

The amazing thing about that Last Supper is that it was celebrated with one who would betray Jesus, Judas, and one who, in fear for his life, would deny he even knew Jesus, Peter. All the rest would abandon Jesus after his arrest and go into hiding. This reveals His love for us, selfish and fearful as we can be.

At the table the disciples bickered over who would be regarded as the greatest disciple. Jesus used that sad moment to teach them that greatness is measured in humble service. The one who puts themselves in last place will be first in heaven. “I am among you as one who serves.” He reminds them that they will lead the church of Jesus, therefore they should not quarrel, but rather humbly serve. Peter was called upon to lead the Church after Jesus’ death. Satan sifted Peter in the courtyard of Caiaphas, a trial that revealed his fear. He denied he ever knew Jesus to save his own skin.

[Slide] Before they left the Upper Room for the Mount of Olives Jesus does something only Luke has recorded. Jesus told his disciples to bring swords with them. Some use this verse to speak of the church militant. Until the return of Jesus, the church on earth is engaged in battle against the forces of evil and darkness. We face our own shortcomings, fears, and weaknesses. We endure the violence, wickedness, and disease of this broken world, and sometimes we fall victim to it. But we remember that our God is a deliverer. Christ has promised to bring this world, with all of its bitter suffering, to an end. While the Church Militant may continue to battle, the Church Triumphant will enjoy a new heaven and earth where there will be no more pain, crying, sin or death. There will be no more distance from God. God will no longer seem to be silent or hidden, but ever-present with those who love Him. We long for that day, but until then we continue to face the conflict.

[Slide] “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

While it may be true that we must do battle with evil, that is not the reason Jesus told the disciples to carry swords. It was to fulfill prophecy.

 

[Slide] The prophet Isaiah wrote of the Suffering Servant of God, who later became strongly identified with the Messiah in Jewish thought.

…he poured out himself to death

    and was numbered with the transgressors,

yet he bore the sin of many

    and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12)

 

They provided two swords and Jesus said, “It is enough.”  He would later utter very similar words from the cross, “It is finished.”  Jesus considered the two swords sufficient to fulfill the scripture. For on the cross he poured out himself to death, hung between two thieves. Like a sacrificial lamb at Passover, Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross to atone for humanity’s sin once and for all.

 

[Slide] That night in the Upper Room during the Last Supper, Jesus announced a new exodus, a new deliverance. It was not deliverance from Roman oppression. The world continues with oppressive governments and unjust systems that marginalize and leave us wanting. Rather, Christ delivered us from sin and death. We now enjoy a freedom of the heart, the soul, and the mind. And when you are free in here, you are free no matter what is happening in your world. Paul and Silas sang with joy in the depths of an Ephesian prison because of this good news in Jesus Christ. And their chains fell off!

[Slide] In the previous chapter in Luke’s gospel, Jesus warned his disciples,

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with overindulgence and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.” (Luke 21:34-35a)

What is holding your heart and mind in bondage? What worldly ideas have you turning away from God? In what way do you need the Lord’s deliverance?

[Slide] Come to the table knowing that Satan has not power over you. Christ has set you free from the devil’s lies and worldly attitudes that can lead us astray. Come to the table knowing that while the war between darkness and light continues, in you the victory has already been won by our Savior Jesus Christ. Come to the table knowing victory! You are empowered by God’s love, the power that conquers every opponent, the power that is saving the world. Love is making all things new! Come to the table knowing that Christ will come again in glory. He’s coming for you. The church awaits Him like a husband awaits his bride on their wedding day.

Come to the table prepared for you by the Lamb of God. Feed on true food, the body of Christ given for you. Drink in true drink, the blood of Christ shed for you. And celebrate your deliverance from sin and death. And be made new, choosing to walk in Christ’s way of love.