Day 5: Thursday

 

The Night Before the Arrest

            On Thursday during the last week of Jesus’ earthly life, much of the day was focused on preparation for the Passover Meal that He would celebrate with His disciples that evening.  While that last meal is very important to our faith as Jesus instituted the bread and the cup that would be a constant reminder to us of His sacrifice, I want to focus on two other events of that day that I believe were also important.

            First, the example that Christ set as the Disciples entered the Upper Room that evening should resonate with every one of us.  In that culture, it was inhospitable, if not dishonorable, to fail to wash the guests’ feet when they entered the house.  That duty was generally left to the servants.  However, on that night, it was Jesus who poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet.  He was their leader and Rabbi, yet He humbled Himself to wash their dirty, filthy feet.  Following that visual illustration, He acknowledged His position as “Lord and Teacher” and then encouraged them to do likewise.  His was an example of both servanthood and humility, a lesson that many of us still need to learn today.

            Next, we see the failures of two of the men who had lived and worked with Him for three years.  They had followed Him across the country, watching Him do miracle after miracle.  Peter was the vocal, spontaneous one, always ready to defend his Rabbi.  Judas had been given the responsibility of acting as Treasurer for the group.  Each of them had a special position among Jesus’ followers.  Even so, when the going got tough, they both betrayed Him.

Peter was determined that Jesus’ prophecy about him would not come true, but like so many of us, his human weaknesses overcame his desire to stand firm.  He crumbled under the fear of arrest and possibly death.  I’m sure that he would probably agree with Paul’s statement in Romans 7: 18b, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out (NIV84).  As soon as the rooster crowed that night, Peter knew what he had done and he “broke down and wept (Mark 14: 72c NIV84).  He was overcome with remorse and grief.  As a result, Jesus later forgave him, and he became one of the greatest spokesmen for the Gospel message.

In contrast, there is no indication that Judas ever denied his intent to betray Christ.  He initiated contact with the Religious Leaders, sought payment for his actions, and carried it through.  Jesus made it clear at that last meal that He knew what Judas was going to do but that didn’t change Judas’ mind.  However, when he came to realize that Jesus would be killed, he did express remorse that he had orchestrated the death of an innocent man.  Unlike Peter, he never sought forgiveness.  Perhaps he thought that his sin was so great there was no way that God would forgive him, and as a result, he took his own life. 

We’ve all had those moments when we have betrayed Christ.  We may not have denied him as Peter did or “sold Him out” as Judas did, but there are times when our sinful nature overcomes our desire to do what is right.  There are also times when we seek our own desires, forgetting what God desires.  The good news is that when we repent and express remorse as Peter did, we will also be forgiven.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there in our broken world who think like Judas.  They look at their past and see sins that they think God could never forgive, so they continue to wander in darkness.  Our job is to show them that God’s grace is sufficient for all.  It can cover a multitude of sins when the sinner is truly repentant.

Jesus had a lot to teach us during that last night before His arrest.  Most important of all is His lesson that the sacrifice that He was about to make was for our benefit.  He also taught us how to be servant leaders and when we stumble, which is inevitable, He will forgive.  May we each exhibit the humility of Jesus and the sincere remorse of Peter.  The good news is that Jesus will forgive us just as He did Peter.

Matthew 26: 17 – 27: 5

Mark 14: 12 – 72

Luke 22: 7 – 62

John 13: 1 – 18: 27


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