Tag Archives: Feast of Unleavened Bread

LUKE’S GOSPEL…THE PLOT THICKENS – 55

Bible Study, ,

“Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 Judas loved money! Let’s follow the money!

Both Luke and John, in their records of the events leading up to Jesus’ arrest, commented on something chilling…

“Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.” Luke 22:3 NIV

“Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How did Judas reach this point when he lost control of his choices and actions?

Of the twelve men whom Jesus had chosen from all who had initially followed Him, Judas Iscariot revealed his doubled-mindedness in subtle ways, through comments he made…

“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 

…and the observations of his fellow disciples…

“He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He had followed Jesus, sat under Jesus’ teaching, received Jesus’ authority to do miracles and cast out demons, done everything the other disciples did…but he loved money…and Jesus had warned…. ”No one can serve two masters!”

So, slowly but surely, Judas began to reveal the identity of his real master…money. 

Why did Jesus entrust the group’s finances to Judas? He knew the man from the inside out. Was He giving Judas the opportunity to redeem himself or was He purposely exposing him to temptation to test his character?

However, there was a cancer in Judas that was fed by this golden opportunity to betray his Master for money. What was the tipping point? 

Picture the scene…a woman kneeling on the floor…pouring expensive and precious oil of spikenard from a broken alabaster jar all over Jesus’ feet, spilling it on the floor, careless of the waste. The disciples are incensed. 

…“Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”…

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ NIV‬‬

Judas’ voice was the loudest, protesting against the “waste” of the perfume. 

“But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”… 

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.””

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭4‬-‭5‬, ‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ public rebuke was, for Judas, the last straw. He snapped! This was the devil’s cue.    

“Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The lure of money, the glitter of gold, the devil’s bait to lure Judas to his doom. 

Now let’s examine Satan’s modus operandi. This ruse is so successful that he uses it repeatedly to snare unsuspecting victims into his trap.   

Step one…the flesh! This is the seat of evil human desires that lure us into danger and, if we follow it blindly, it will take us down. 

Step two…gratify the evil desires without thought of consequences. Satan helps by painting a rosy picture of pleasure, enjoyment, and gratification. He never reveals the ”small print”. He eggs the victim on by tugging hard at the heart, igniting the imagination, promising all good, no consequences. 

Step three…control! The devil gives the final push. The deed is done!

Step four…condemnation! The conscience on steroids kicks in. As hard as the devil eggs the unsuspecting sinner on, so hard he piles on the guilt when the deed is done. “Now look what you’ve done. You are wicked, good for nothing, condemned, doomed!”

Gone the empty promises, gone the fleeting pleasure, gone the glitter and satisfaction of “more”!Only guilt, misery, and gnawing regret! Now it’s impossible to turn the clock back. 

Judas didn’t even wait to see the consequences of his wicked deed. For him, there was no way back. 

“Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Had Judas only taken the time and used the opportunity to get to know the real Jesus, he might have followed the path that Peter took. He might have be forgiven, restored, and transformed by grace into a new creation. He might have taken his rightful place among the Twelve as anointed and appointed to take the Good News to the world. He might have heard the words of Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” at the end of his term of office…but he lost it all for money! 

What a poor choice, what a horrible exchange!

Take note, dear reader. What started with an innocent-enough desire, ended in doom because Judas failed to recognise the process or contemplate the outcome. Let us not be fooled by the same delusion. 

To be continued…

SEEING JESUS IN THE FEASTS OF ISRAEL – LESSON 3 Cont

Christian Life, ,
1.  THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD “On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the Lord by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.” Leviticus 23:6-8.  

“When the Israelites left Egypt, they left in haste. The bread they took with them was unleavened bread, baked in haste for a people who were on the move and preparing their victuals to travel. The Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the time when the Israelites left Egypt. Their next waypoint was the crossing at the Red Sea. The bread they took with them was not puffed up. It was baked without yeast. There simply was not time enough to allow the bread to rise.”

LEAVEN AS A SYMBOL OF WICKEDNESS
Leaven in the Scriptures is often, but not always, used as a symbol of sin. Before the Israelites celebrated the Passover, they were to remove all leaven from their homes, and they were to bake unleavened bread, i.e., bread baked without yeast, which was to be eaten for seven days during the festival, ending on the second Sabbath after Passover. Leaven was made by allowing grain soaked in water to ferment. It was then added to the dough to let it “rise” to make it more palatable. The process of fermentation was a process of decay symbolizing the decay that sin introduced to the human race. A small portion of the leavened dough was used to “set’ the next batch of dough, adding decay to the bread-baking process. Hence they were to remove all leaven from their homes and eat unleavened bread during the festival to symbolize the removal of sin from their lives by the sacrifice of God’s Lamb.

BREAD FROM HEAVEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Bread from Heaven was seen in the earlier history of Israel. 
The God of Israel provided manna in the wilderness for forty years. 
And the heavenly food of provision was spoken of by the prophets. 
The Bread of Heaven is seen repeatedly in the poetry of the Old Covenant. “In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven…” Nehemiah 9:15. “… He rained down manna for the people to eat, He gave them of the grain of heaven.” Psalm 78:24.  “…He satisfied them with the bread of heaven.” Psalm 105:40. 

JESUS THE FULFILMENT OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
“The typology of Christ as the Bread of Heaven is in the Holy Scriptures. It is taught in the New Testament and in the very words of Jesus Himself. Jesus Himself said that He was the “Bread sent from Heaven”.    “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:33. “Here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he will live forever. This bread I my flesh which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:50, 51.  The Pharisees, the religious establishment of the time, knew very well what Jesus was talking about. They were well versed in the typology of the Messiah as the Bread of Heaven. They knew when He referred to Himself as the Bread of Heaven that He was claiming to be the promised Messiah, the Holy One of Israel. That is why they took up stones to stone Him. Jesus was the final and perfect sacrifice for sin. 
He was the Suffering Servant spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. 
(See Isaiah 53). His body, broken and humbled on the cross, was offered for our redemption. 
He was buried just as the eve of the Feast of Unleavened Bread approached. 
He was in the grave for the 15th of Nisan, according to the scriptures. 
And thus Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Here are the words of the Apostle Paul on the matter. 

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, 
that you may be a new lump, 
since you truly are unleavened. 
For indeed Christ, our Passover, 
was sacrificed for us.
8. Therefore let us keep the feast, 
not with old leaven, 
nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, 
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7


T

CONSPIRACY!

Christian Life, ,

CONSPIRACY!

“He spent His days in the Temple teaching but His nights out on the mountain called Olives. All the people were up at the crack of dawn to come to the Temple and listen to Him.

“The Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover, drew near. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way to do away with Jesus but, fearful of the people, they were also looking for a way of covering their tracks.

“That’s when Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot. He was one of the Twelve. Leaving the others, he conferred with the high priests and temple guards about how he might betray Jesus to them. They couldn’t believe their good luck and agreed to pay him well. He gave them his word and started looking for a way to betray Jesus, but out of sight of the crowd.” Luke 21:37-38; 22:1-6 (The Message).

The plot thickens, as they say!

How amazing that, in all of history, never had God and the devil worked so closely together to accomplish so daring a plan! Two opposing agendas meet and synchronise in the greatest drama the world has ever witnessed. God turns Satan’s hand to be His unwitting accomplice in signing his own doom.

None of this would make sense had it not been for Isaiah’s prophetic insight in predicting this event hundreds of years before it happened. “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.” Isaiah 53:10 (NIV).

Peter, on the day of Pentecost, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, masterfully brings these agendas together and lays the responsibility for Jesus’ death on the shoulders of the Jews, but under the direction of God Himself. No novelist could have imagined a plot like that for a good story! It had to be God.

“‘This man was handed over by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him…Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:23-24; 36 (NIV).

Judas, one of Jesus’ closest associates, conspired with His enemies to sell Him out. Why? We will never really know. His greed for money was in the plot, but there had to be something more sinister than that. Was Judas disillusioned with Jesus because He had not met his expectations?

In this mix of ordinary men, there were different ambitions and aspirations. They had agreed that Jesus was the Messiah but what did that mean to them? Their many squabbles over their pecking order suggests that their concept of Messiah was political. They were hoping for the overthrow of Roman occupation and the re-establishment of David’s glorious reign in a land that was their own and free. They were looking to Jesus to do something miraculous. Hadn’t He proved His power over nature, demons, sickness and even the people who were trying to destroy Him? Surely Rome would be a pushover for someone as powerful as He had proved to be!

But, to Judas’ frustration, Jesus gave no sign of making a move. He would have to orchestrate a showdown with Rome, and Passover was the most opportune time to do it because Jerusalem would be full of Jews from all over Israel, enough people to join  Jesus in a successful uprising. If Jesus was cornered, would He strike out against His captors?

For the Jewish leaders, it was the perfect opportunity to get rid of Him. For God it was the perfect opportunity to set Jesus up as the sacrificial Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. For Satan it was the perfect opportunity to bring his arch enemy down and hold him in his power forever through death.