May 31 / Matt. 26:30-35, Mark 14:26-31, Luke 22:31-38

Matthew 26:30-35, Mark 14:26-31, and Luke 22:31-38

With today’s readings about Jesus foretelling Peter’s denial, the Synoptic writers end the Last Supper. The next readings in these three Gospels have Jesus and the disciples at Gethsemane. John also covers Peter’s denial at the end of his chapter 13. I commented on that yesterday. Although the Synoptic Gospels have the Last Supper ended, we still have four chapters in John before we leave that Upper Room.

At this Last Supper we have Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial, together with the other ten also chiming in as to their willingness to suffer with Jesus. And these are people who have spent three years with Jesus (according to the best chronologies that scholars have determined) and will still fall away when the going gets tough. I just finished reading The Night of the Barbarians, a book written by a Slovak Cardinal who was imprisoned for his faith (1960-1968) during the Communist repression of Central and Eastern Europe (1948/50 – 1989). He spoke of hundreds, possibly even thousands of other bishops, priests, and nuns who were likewise arrested and questioned (including torture for some), deprived of their clerical offices, and sent away to labor camps and prisons. But he also spoke derisively of other priests and bishops who compromised their vows by going along with the Communist authorities and were eventually excommunicated by the Vatican. Are we any different? I suspect that very few of us have been tested so dramatically for our faith. We can be thankful for that, but even with that we need to remember to pray regularly for the persecuted church.

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May 30 / John 13:18-38

John 13:18-38

In verse 33b Jesus says, “Where I am going you cannot come.” Then He says those two verses on “a new commandment” and “love one another”. But in verse 36 Peter comes right back to “Lord, where are you going?” One wonders if Peter even heard Jesus speaking of “a new commandment” and “love one another”! But if Peter missed it, that is so like me. I get so quickly distracted when reading Scripture or listening to a sermon that a number of verses or a number of sentences will pass me right by. It takes effort and discipline to really listen to what I’m reading or to what I’m hearing!

John has details on the betrayal that the Synoptic writers do not include. Not surprising in that there is much agreement that John was that disciple …whom Jesus loved who asked Jesus to identify the betrayer. (vv. 23b, 25) So if you buy the notion that John was “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and that John wrote this Gospel, then clearly John had more information on the betrayal than the Synoptic writers. [For more on “the disciple whom Jesus loved, see also John 20:2 and John 21:20, followed by John 21:24.]

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May 29 / John 13:1-17

John 13:1-17

Archbishop Beach today (slightly edited): …self-help, self-image, self-actualization … self-denial! Abp. Beach’s words ring true with today’s reading. Jesus doesn’t talk about self-denial in washing His disciples’ feet, but He clearly demonstrates it! If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. (v. 14) So many times I have told the kids at Avanza – know Him, love Him, serve Him! Jesus wants a life of service from us. Service within our family, service within our church, service within our neighborhood. Verse 17: If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

See also: October 25 (2019) / John 13:1-17

May 28 / Luke 22:1-30

Luke 22:1-30

I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you… (v. 15) Yes, there is an ending to this verse that I left off: …before I suffer. But I did that intentionally; it struck me personally that Jesus also desires to eat this Passover meal with US, with each of us, at the coming of His Kingdom. But I suspect that it’s also true that He desires to share the remembrance of this Passover meal each Sunday with each of us when we partake of the Eucharistic celebration that He instituted. If we think of the Eucharist in that sense, our Eucharistic celebration becomes even more sacred. Our Men’s Group had a wonderful discussion a month ago when we began our current series, reviewing the Three Streams (Sacrament, Scripture, and Holy Spirit) of our Christian heritage that Michael Matlock had put together for Wednesday evening Lenten services. Mark Royster spoke to us on the Sacramental stream and offered a powerful reflection on our Eucharistic celebration. I daresay that each of us at that Men’s Group discussion will look on the Eucharist whenever we partake differently than had been our prior perceptions.

I would encourage you to watch Mark’s presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T51XNmSz43U. (There are preliminary remarks prior to his presentation. His talk actually begins 10-11 minutes into this video, then there is a Q&A time after his prepared remarks.) It’s really worth 30 minutes of your time!

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May 27 / Mark 14:1-25

Matthew 14:1-25

And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me, one who is eating with Me.” They began to be sorrowful and to say to Him one after another, “Is it I?” (vv. 18-19) I find it strange, but (surprisingly) altogether human that the disciples would be asking, “Is it I?” That is, I think my natural inclination would be denial – “Surely not I, Lord!” But these disciples must have known their inherent weaknesses, especially when they were at table with One so powerful. Later Peter reverses course and declares his commitment – even unto death (later, v. 29). And we know how that worked out…!!

Then Judas Iscariot … went to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. (v. 10) Then…! Judas was clearly troubled with this anointing and the “wastefulness” of this costly perfume (see John 12:4-6). So it’s “then” that Judas goes to the chief priests. Why “then”? Was this some “final straw” for Judas? Did he finally come to his own realization that Jesus was not the Messiah? Or was Judas never a true believer as were (supposedly) the other eleven? Or was he just some greedy sort and saw an opportunity to come into some additional cash? (He was already taking from the money box that he kept for Jesus’ and the disciples’ use.) Or maybe he didn’t realize the depth of the chief priests’ plot, that their goal was Jesus’ death. After all, Judas was clearly troubled in the end… (See Matthew 27:3-5.) But still Judas had his opportunity to “repent”. Even after going to the chief priests he was at the Last Supper with Jesus when Jesus said, “…woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” (v. 21b). One of the saddest incidents in all of Scripture!

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May 26 / Matt. 26:1-29

Matthew 26:1-29

In the second link below I wrote two years ago that we had almost two months to go through Jesus’ last day, from Thursday evening to Friday late afternoon. This year we are reading twice as much per day, but it will still be almost a full month from today until His resurrection. A lot of contemplation time…!

The Last Supper – the breaking of the bread, the blessing of the wine, and our Eucharistic celebration every Sunday… From my childhood I can recall the solemnity of that moment when the priest would elevate the host and the cup and draw us back to the Last Supper. I’ve experienced that moment in a number of different languages and a number of different settings, from Latin to English and from Asia to Europe, but no matter the language, no matter the location, the solemnity of the moment was always present. And still is, today.

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May 25 / John 12:20-50

John 12:20-50

Yesterday’s three readings from the Synoptic Gospels and today’s reading from John all end at the end of a chapter. The next chapter in each of the four Gospels is Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper – with a couple of other incidents reported in Matthew and Mark before the actual Passover meal. So we will spend a full month on Jesus’ last two days – Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – prior to His resurrection appearances as reported in one chapter each by the Synoptic writers and two chapters in John. Today we have Jesus’ final comments in what my Study Bible calls His “public ministry”. John will spend the next five chapters (13-17) with Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper.

John quotes Isaiah 53:1 in the following verse: Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (v. 38b) That entire chapter in Isaiah along with Psalm 22 are the most striking Old Testament prophetic accounts of Jesus’ death. So when John quotes 53:1 He is likely referring to the entire passage from Isaiah.

Two items struck me today as they had two years ago when we first read through the Gospels as an RTB group. The first is verse 36b, When Jesus had said these things, He departed and hid Himself from them. This verse is of no particular consequence, except that we wonder why He hid Himself. I commented on that in the third link below, but this time I was wondering if He was hiding Himself from the Pharisees, knowing that He still needed some time alone with His disciples and did not want to be apprehended just yet.

The second item has to do with some of the Jewish leaders believing in Him: Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. (v. 42) I want to believe that these leaders came around to professed belief later, but we do not have that reported. Still I can imagine the torment within their hearts – wanting to follow Him and to say something, but afraid to go public. But even Jesus’ closest friends were afraid to go public – recall Peter’s denial during Jesus’ trial and the disciples hiding in the Upper Room after His crucifixion. We don’t face those kinds of societal pressures as we live our beliefs, but my heart goes out to those would-be believers in Islamic countries who are also afraid of rejection (and even for their very lives) if they were to go public. Let’s remember to pray for the persecuted church.

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May 24 / Matt. 25:31-46, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 21:34-38

Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 13:32-37, and Luke 21:34-38

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. … Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mt. 25:34b, 41b) What a dramatic contrast in destinations Jesus has for those on His right compared to those on His left. For those on His right He has a kingdom that was part of the creation of the world back in Genesis 1. That’s a kingdom we can all look forward to! For those on His left, eternal fire – also prepared long ago, but prepared specifically for Satan and the angels who rebelled against God even before the creation of the world. Two destinations, two outcomes. Fear alone should prompt us to follow Jesus. Fortunately for us His love is stronger than any fear we might have of the possibility of that horrible second outcome. That is, I feel that we do not serve Him so as to escape Hell; rather, I feel that we serve Him out of the love that He has shown to us. If our service is based on fear, we are in serious need of a personal Pentecost!!

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May 23 / Matt. 25:1-30

Matthew 25:1-30

Matthew’s parable of servants receiving 5, 2, and 1 talent in today’s reading can be compared to Luke’s parable of ten servants receiving ten minas each (Luke 19:12-26). In Matthew the three servants are given talents of various levels; in Luke all ten are given the same level. In Matthew the 5-talent servant returned 5 talents more, the 2-talent servant returned 2 talents more, and the 1-talent servant had no increase over his original allotment. Thus the more-gifted servant was expected to return his investment at a higher level than the less-gifted servants, but each was expected to show a return based on their original allotment. In Luke’s parable all ten servants received the same original allotment and showed different returns, but the 5-return servant was rewarded (comparably) just as highly as the 10-return servant.

What I see in contrasting these two parables is that God is the giver of all good things and that He gives to each of us as He chooses, and He puts each of us in our own circumstances and will reward each of us as He chooses. So 10s returning 10 and 5 – both are good. Each of us has to ask ourselves about the talents that God has given to us and to ask ourselves what we have done with His original gift. But that reflection is only contemplation, not evaluation. God alone is the One to whom we must answer – and He alone will reward us as He chooses.

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May 22 / Matt. 24:36-51

Matthew 24:36-51

The rapture: Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. (vv. 40-41) So here’s another argument for evangelism. If all your friends and all the people you hang out with are Christians, what happens when Jesus returns? …one will be taken and one left. So which one of you will go and which one will stay? So make sure you spend some time with non-Christians! (Just kidding…!!)

But as to this rapture… What of it? End-times Bible scholars have different theories of when this rapture will occur – or even if it will occur (as in, maybe we misunderstood Jesus?). But if you believe that there will be a rapture, will this rapture occur before, during, or after the Tribulation? Will it be universal and instantaneous? And does this rapture occur alongside the raising of the dead? The apostle Paul has written, Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (I Corinthians 15:51-52) It’s intriguing to wonder about these things, but I will let the Bible scholars do their research. God has a plan and He will carry it out. Until He tells me otherwise, my only charge is to obey Him in all that He has spoken to me. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. (v. 46)

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