HOLY WEEK THURSDAY: Humility, Communion, Garden Prayer & Arrest

Read Luke 22:1-65 On Thursday of Holy Week, we see a sobering turn in the life of Jesus. From Bethany Jesus sent Peter and John ahead to the find a guy carrying a jar who would show them an upper room in Jerusalem where they could make the preparations for the Passover feast (celebrating the Jews being freed from slavery in Egypt – Exodus 12) – pretty cool. That evening after sunset, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as they prepared to share in the Passover. What a humbling act of service by our Lord! Jesus demonstrated, by example, how we are to love one another (Many churches today will have “Maundy Thursday” services where they do foot washings as well as a Passover meal & communion). After this foot washing, Jesus shared the feast of Passover with his disciples, something he was extremely passionate about doing one final time. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was about to fulfill the meaning of the Passover by giving his body to be broken and his blood to be shed in sacrifice, freeing you and me from sin and death! During this “Last Supper”, Jesus established what we call today the Lord's Supper or Communion. The reason we take communion today is because Jesus told us to regularly remember Him and what He did: And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Later, Jesus and the disciples left this upper room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane (located at the bottom of the Mount of Olives). Jesus prayed like never before to His Daddy in Heaven, wanting to do His Daddy’s will and at the same time agonizing with what He was about to face. The Bible then tells us that later that evening in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the home of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the whole council had gathered to begin making their case against Jesus. It was while these illegal trials began in the middle of the night, that Peter would deny knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed on Friday morning. SO WHAT?!~ - Humility is one of Jesus’ characteristics and is meant to be the character of all believers. How is your humility? Is there anyone with whom you need to seek forgiveness with or humble yourself before? Do it today. - In the Exodus Passover, the Lord would “pass over” all the homes that had blood on their doorframes and not bring judgment and death. Today, in the same way, when we trust in the blood of Jesus alone to forgive our sins, God does not punish us for our sins and instead gives us eternal life – WHOOHOOO!~ Have you put your trust & faith in what Jesus did for you? If not, why not do that right now and receive eternal life?!~ It doesn’t get any better than this! - Who are your “Garden Friends?” Peter, James & John may have gotten a bad rap for falling asleep in the garden instead of being in prayer with our Lord – but at least they were THERE! Who are those 2-3 friends who are “there” for you? Why not thank the Lord for them today?! And then maybe ask yourself as well - who am I a “garden friend” to? - Finally, ever be treated unfairly? If so, be assured that Jesus knows how you feel. Sometimes it’s better to be mistreated, rather than prove you are right. Let’s watch how Jesus responds tomorrow…