Saturday, March 9, 2013

Jesus Prophesies His Suffering, Death & Resurrection


in progress..THIS STUDY HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH AND SHORTENED.  Please be patient and I will repost next week..elizabeth k best

In the last short study we looked at the wondrous event of the King of Israel, crossing the Kidron, or Cedron into the Garden in a victory march:    by putting under foot the idolatry of Israel,  crushed into dust, and for centuries thrown in the 'brook in the way'(Kidron),  Jesus fulfills the first messianic promise given as Adam and Eve leave the Garden of Eden:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen 3:15

Jesus crushes under foot the sins of Israel as he crosses the Kidron, or 'Cedron' into the Garden.  The battle for souls though is not complete: an agonizing night lies ahead as the Messiah of Israel counts the cost of going to the cross, and willing 'thinking it not robbery' to to abase himself even further than he has in surrendering to God's will, death on the Cross at pagan hands, for the salvation of mankind, and the great work of the plan of God in redemption.

One would think that the next thing to consider in the 'Passover Blogs' would be the agonizing surrender in Gethsemane as his Jewish disciples loose the battle to stay awake and at his side, while a process they cannot comprehend takes place.   However, this consideration is somewhat parenthetical,  for we must consider first what has just occurred,  the 'Last Supper'  and the betrayal  of the Messiah, fulfiling the Promise of Messiah, and the dedication of the Lamb of Israel  and the selling of the 'rebel slave', unrecognized by so many at the time.

The 'Last' Supper or Passover Dinner of the Lamb

In High Churches in the United States and Europe, part of the observation of the Easter season is the "Last Supper",  and many churches claim that the practice of communion, particularly those who celebrate 'transubstantiation'  or who believe that a communion wafer 'becomes' the body and blood of the Lord and Savior, clergy and theologians refer to the pattern for church 'communion' as deriving from the Last supper of Jesus with his disciples,  in which they are commanded in the offering of the bread and wine, to 'do this in remembrance of me'.   Many Christians, sometimes even in Messianic circles go for years not really understanding the interchange and teaching of the Last Passover supper,  as Yshua, seeing his imminent death to come,brings back into focus the priesthood of Israel.  'A nation of Priests' they are called 


Exodus 19:6 KJV

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.


The closest of the disciples, the apostles, the twelve foundations of the city foursquare, have met with Jesus, as per his commands, for the passover in obedience to the Torah, the command of God.  Jesus was not introducing a new religion to replace Judaism:  Jesus did not require nor teach the breaking of the Law or the doing away of the Law,  but adhered to every command.in the Penteteuch.

Before the Dinner:  Jesus Prophesies His Betrayal and Death

Before the agony in the Garden, before the betrayal,  two noteworthy events occur:  

     1. The prophecy of Jesus regarding his death and betrayal, and
     2. His anointing for burial at the house of Simon the Leper

Due to the nature of today's church with our emphasis on liturgies, calendars etc, even fundamental Baptist churches focus with regard to the Gospel on the things which most people focus upon,  unfortunately no longer taking time to study and meditate on the Word.  For this reason,  and because man denominational doctrinal positions ignore it or exclude it,  it is not surprising to find that many do not attend to the office of Prophet which Jesus held:  yet throughout all four Gospels, we find him teaching his disciples, and foretelling them of his suffering, death and resurrection.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 26:2 Jesus prophesies:

     2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified .

This is not the only passage, though, as there are numerous prophetic statements to his disciples throughout his ministry, though they are seldom heard or attended to:


Matthew 20:19 KJV- And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock , and to scourge , and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again 


Mark 8:31 KJV



And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejectedof the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed , and after three days rise again 

Mark 10:34 KJV

And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again

John 12:23 KJV

And Jesus answered them, saying , The hour is come , that the Son of man should be glorified 

While these are not the only passages in which Jesus prophesies his suffering, betrayal and death, it is interesting to note that while none of those who heard seemed to pay much heed to it, it was nonetheless clearly heard and even deeply troubling as his enemies lay the words against him in making their charges:

Matthew 27:63 KJV

Saying , Sir, we remember that that deceiver said , while he was yet alive , After three days I willrise again .

Even in the moments before the Last Passover supper, Jesus is trying to reach his disciples regarding what is about to occur.   Their deafness to his words are not new, though for in one of the most famous passages in the Gospel, where Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah of Israel,  they are still "Pre-Pentecost" and they hear and see part of the truth,  but still think with carnal minds:

13 When Jesus came into thecoasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying , Whom do men say that I the Son ofman am ? 14 And they said , Some say that thou art John the Baptist some, Elias; and others,Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am ? 16 AndSimon Peter answered and said , Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesusanswered and said unto him, Blessed art thou , Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath notrevealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou artPeter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind onearth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed inheaven. 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus theChrist. 21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go untoJerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed , andbe raised again the third day.

Note that Peter exhibits such faith in his Messiah, that Jesus declares that the keys fo the Kingdom will be his, and yet immediately after Jesus' prophecy,  Peter in a misguided kindness fails to receive the prophetic untterance, and is literally called 'Satan' by Jesus, or at least the spirit behind his denial:

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying , Be it farfrom thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 
23 But he turned , and said unto Peter, Get theebehind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God,but those that be of men.  
 Still, by the time that Jesus commands his disciples to prepare for the Passover,  the prophecy of his betrayal and death has been heard several times,  but as on the mount of Transfiguration, the disciples in their fledgling faith, comprehend and believe on some things, but others are too far above their understanding, including the idea that the long awaited Messiah would be betrayed, suffer, and die a death on the Cross.   The prophecy though is about to come true, and the Supper about to be set.

We will continue tomorrow with studies on the anointing for burial, and the meeting in the upper room for the most critical passover supper in history.

elizabethkbest


No comments:

Post a Comment