The Last Passover

[0:00] The title of the message this morning is The Last Passover. And it was the Passover that Jesus, of course, shared with his disciples before his crucifixion.

[0:19] I would like you to please turn to the book of Luke. And this morning we'll be looking at Luke 22. And in Luke 22, we'll be looking at the first 13 verses.

[0:48] Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.

[1:07] And Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.

[1:18] And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money.

[1:33] So he consented and began seeking a good opportunity to betray him to them apart from the crowd.

[1:43] Then came the first day of unleavened bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. And Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, so that we may eat it.

[2:03] They said to him, This is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples.

[2:39] And he will show you a large, furnished upper room. Prepare it there. And they left and found everything, just as he had told them.

[2:53] And they prepared the Passover. This is surely one of the most important and the most significant feasts in all of Israel.

[3:09] The feasts that the Lord established. And of course, it harkens back to that particular night in the land of Egypt when they had been enslaved there.

[3:19] They and their ancestors for 400 years. And the time had come for them to leave. And God had visited Egypt with the ten plagues. And the last one was the most fatal.

[3:31] It was the death of the firstborn of all of the Egyptians. And the children of Israel were instructed that the death angel was going to visit the land of Egypt.

[3:42] And that all of the Israelites are to take the blood of a lamb that had been slain and prepared for a meal. Take the blood of that lamb.

[3:55] And apply it. Smear it. On the door posts. That is, the side vertical posts of each doorway. And on the lintel over the doorway.

[4:10] And when the death angel comes through the land of Egypt. If he sees the blood. He will pass over that particular house.

[4:22] Well, the Israelites were the only one who had that information and applied the blood. The Egyptians, of course, did not. And throughout the entire land, there was an enormous wailing.

[4:38] For the death angel visited the house of each of the Egyptians and took the firstborn. That was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

[4:49] It was because of that. Despite all of the other plagues that had preceded. It was that plague that finally broke the yoke of the Egyptians.

[5:01] And they not only were willing to let the children of Israel go. They demanded that they go. They would help them to go. And they laden them with all kinds of valuables that they would use throughout their journey.

[5:14] So, this time of Passover is perhaps about the most sacred in all of the Jewish calendar. And, when you transfer it to the Christian scene where it rightfully belongs, Jesus Christ is our Passover that was slain for us.

[5:30] And that innocent lamb that they were instructed to provide, that had to be a lamb without spot and without blemish, it was a male lamb. All of that, of course, prefigured the person of the Lord Jesus, who was described by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

[5:51] As far as we know, Jesus had enjoyed two previous Passovers with the apostles. And now this is to be his last.

[6:04] But, the apostles who are with him and are going to enjoy the Passover meal with him have no clue that this will be the last.

[6:17] So, as we turn to the passage, let us go back, if we may, to verse 14 of chapter 22. Just continue on from where Gary was reading.

[6:31] And Jesus said in verse 14, And when the hour had come, he reclined at table and the apostles with him.

[6:43] A little bit of a cultural thing here, because on the surface, we wonder, well, what is this all about? Well, they reclined at tables. They didn't sit at tables like we do.

[6:56] Frankly, I much prefer the way we do it. I suppose it's because I'm used to it that way. But you sit on a chair and you have the table in front of you and the food and everything there, and you can pass it.

[7:06] But you have to remember that they were here long before we were. And this is the way they did it. And it's still the way that it is done in many Mideastern communities, and particularly even in the Far East.

[7:19] In Japan, they are seated on the floor on cushions like with a very low table. But in this particular case, this was the norm for them. And the table was very low, probably no more than six or eight inches high off the ground.

[7:35] And it was laden with the dishes and the things that would accompany it. And usually right in the center of the table, depending on how many people were seated around the table, or not actually seated, but reclined.

[7:49] And by the way, when you reclined at table, it's very awkward for us to think in this term. But you actually stretched yourself out. And your head and elbows were at the table.

[8:05] And your head and elbows were at the table of everyone beside you. And this, by the way, is what will enable John, the beloved, to lean.

[8:17] I think the text says in John's Gospel, or that Peter, it wasn't John, it was Peter. Or was it John? It was one of those fellows. Anyway, whether it was Peter or John, it says that he leaned on Jesus' bosom.

[8:32] Well, how would he do that? Well, very easily, if he's situated like I have described, where they are stretched out, and their bodies are out behind. And by the way, this is what made Jesus' feet so available to the woman who came and washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

[8:51] His feet were exposed and out behind him like that. So here they are, seated around this table with a common dish in the middle. And the dish usually consisted of pieces of meat and vegetables and gravy, kind of like a stew, kind of like a thick stew.

[9:13] And not having any utensils like we have, knives, forks, and spoons. They did not use those. They probably used a ladle for the main dish. But they would take the bread that was very much, I guess we would call it almost like a taco.

[9:32] And it was about the size of a small pancake. And it was rather thin. And they would simply fold it in half and use that as a scoop. And they would reach over and dip down into the stew.

[9:48] And in their scoop, they would come up with gravy, vegetables, chunks of meat, just like you would expect. And then, of course, you put it in your mouth. So this was common fare for them.

[9:58] We would look at that today and say, that doesn't really appeal to me. I like the way we do it. Well, we like what we're used to, you know. You get accustomed to it. But this is a cultural thing. And this is the way they did it.

[10:09] And if you look at the table, look at the expression that is used there, that they were reclining at table, you wonder, what's that about? So I trust we've sufficiently explained that. And Jesus said in verse 15, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

[10:32] And I can imagine that these apostles looked at each other when Jesus said that and said, suffer?

[10:45] Did you hear what he said? Suffer? What's this suffering all about? It is going to become very, very clear they do not have an inkling as to what is going to transpire.

[10:58] They have no idea that this is the last Passover meal that they are going to have with their Lord. I've made the point in times past that we make a faulty assumption by thinking that those who lived and walked along with Jesus understood far more about what was going on than what we do.

[11:22] Because after all, they were there. They were with him. They lived this on a daily basis. They ate with him. And they slept with him. They conversed with him. And by the way, so they knew all about everything that was going on.

[11:35] And the truth of the matter is, they didn't. We now know a whole lot more than what they knew. Now, as time goes on, particularly after the resurrection, they're going to come into an appreciation of a whole lot that they didn't have at the time the Last Supper took place.

[11:51] That is true. But what gives us the upper advantage today that many people simply do not realize is because we have a full revelation of scripture that they did not have.

[12:05] All they had available to them when they were here with our Lord was the Old Testament. The content that we have in the new had never been penned yet.

[12:15] So we have the advantage of having the fullness of the record together. And we can compare in ways that they could not, that they could not even imagine. And it's available to us today.

[12:27] So, Jesus said then in verse 16, I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

[12:42] When is that going to be? Well, it's still future. It has never happened. This kingdom of God has never yet transpired. And there are some things that we need to put together, some dots that we need to connect right here in Luke's Gospel.

[12:56] So I want you to go back for the first one to Luke chapter 18. We'll see if we can put all of this together because it's a setting that is just absolutely stunning.

[13:06] And we'll just try to absorb it as we go along. This comes right on the heels of the rich young ruler and the discourse that Jesus had with him.

[13:22] And I want to begin with verse 31. Luke chapter 18 and verse 31. And he took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.

[13:44] Now, I want you to listen carefully to what Jesus is saying and ask yourself, Is there something mysterious about this that they're not getting? Verse 32 says, For he, and here he is speaking in the third person, you must understand that Jesus often referred to himself in the third person singular.

[14:06] When he referred to himself sometimes as the Son of Man, it was tantamount to saying, I, or me. But he uses the term the Son of Man, the Son of Man, almost as if that's someone else.

[14:18] But if you understand the scripture in the text, you understand he's speaking in the third person. And when he says he, he really means me, himself. For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon.

[14:37] Now, is that too hard to understand? It's pretty plain, isn't it? And after they have scourged him, that is, me, they will kill him, me, and the third day he, I, will rise again.

[14:57] And they understood none of these things. Why not? How could he have spoken any more plainly than this? Well, the answer is, this saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.

[15:20] The only explanation that I can offer is that there was a supernatural veil that was intentionally placed by the Lord over their eyes so that they would not comprehend the truth of what was being said.

[15:35] But, when the time came, they would have full recollection, you know, that's exactly what he said.

[15:48] We didn't pick up on that at the time. I remember he said that, and you could look at the others, and they're nodding their heads. Yeah, he did say that. But it didn't register at the time.

[16:00] And I suspect one of the reasons it didn't register is because it seems so totally foreign to what he was all about, or what he was supposed to be all about.

[16:11] What was he supposed to be about? What were they here for? Why are they going to Jerusalem anyway? There he's going to present himself as the king of Israel. He's going to fulfill the prophecy that Zechariah gave over 500 years earlier.

[16:28] Behold, your Messiah comes to you, lowly, riding upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Jeremiah uttered those words, and every Jew was familiar with it.

[16:41] And that's exactly what Jesus is going to be doing in fulfillment of that prophecy. But it simply did not register. When he said, in crystal clear terms, exactly what was going to transpire, it just went right over their heads.

[17:02] They were supernaturally also prevented from understanding it. Now, if you will please, let's look at chapter 19. And verse 11 and 12.

[17:16] While they were listening to these things, and this is in connection with Zacchaeus and the incident that happened about Zacchaeus, the wee little man who was up the tree and he went to his house for dinner that day.

[17:28] In verse 11, while they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they supposed, that is the twelve who were with him, they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

[17:46] What does that mean? It means just what it says. God's kingdom is going to come from heaven to earth and Jesus is going to be the one who will bring it.

[17:57] After all, he is the king of Israel and the king is the one who establishes the kingdom. And this was all they were thinking about. In fact, at this point in time, it was all they were supposed to be thinking about because Jesus made it very clear that he came as the second Adam to undo the deeds of the first Adam.

[18:19] He came to provide redemption for the world in a way that they did not begin to understand because they thought that the kingdom could be established just by the king riding into Jerusalem and saying, here I am and everybody is going to bow down and worship him as a king and the Romans who will not take flight will be driven out and that the kingdom of heaven is going to be established.

[18:43] Did not have a clue. Not a clue. That that which would be required to enable Jesus to rightfully establish the kingdom is that first of all he had to pay for it.

[19:03] And that's where his death and crucifixion come into play. In the death of Christ as in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

[19:18] The extent of Christ's death applied to a lost world the scope was as broad and as deep as was the scope that Adam imposed upon the world in a negative way when he sinned.

[19:35] This was absolutely essential. There was no way that Christ could without balancing the moral scales of the universe. There's no way that he could go in and just establish the kingdom and here it is everything is going to be hunky-dory from here on out because now no no no no sin had to be dealt with and there was no one who was eligible or available to do that apart from the son of God because he alone was without spot and blemish.

[20:08] He alone was assigned to take away the sin of the world and no one else could do that. That's what the incarnation is all about. That's why it ever came to pass.

[20:19] They were supposing the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. Yes, sure, just as soon as Jesus gets into Jerusalem. And to enlighten them he said therefore a certain nobleman went into a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then return and he called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas and said to them do business with this and what's this all about anyway?

[20:48] It is his way of telling them it isn't going to happen like you think. We're not going to just walk into Jerusalem and establish this kingdom. There are numerous things that have to be cared for before that can ever come about.

[21:02] And do you know actually what Jesus is saying here what is portended what is in what is going to happen is when I get into Jerusalem I'm going to be I'm going to be arrested eventually brought before two mock trials and then taken to Caesar's puppet who is none other than Pontius Pilate I'm going to stand trial before him I'm going to be unmercifully beaten and scourged by the Roman soldiers have a crown of thorns placed on my head nailed to a cross and there I'm going to die.

[21:43] Got that? That's exactly what's going to happen. And they don't have a clue. Read on.

[21:53] All this parable is about is the interim the absence and there will be an accounting when the king returns but in the meanwhile there's going to be a long period of time where this kingdom that you are anticipating and longing for and have been praying for that you thought I was going to bring and establish right on earth it's going to be off in the future and in the meanwhile there will be something called the times of the Gentiles and the body of Christ is going to be established where Jew and Gentile will be together and but none of this is so all of none of this ever entered their wildest imaginations this is all stuff coming down the road they are completely oblivious to any of these things and we can look back on it and we can see the order in which they're happening of course we understand Jew and Gentile one body all no no they're completely in the dark about this whole thing when you come over to the chapter that follows chapter 20 we have the parable of the vine growers in verse 9 he began to tell the people this parable a man planted a vineyard rented it out to his vine growers went on a journey for a long time what's this about it's the same thing that the other was about the other had to do with money this has to do with responsibilities and crops and all he's saying is in the interim

[23:19] I'm going to be absent for a long time and you are going to continue on here generation after generation after generation until this time that the kingdom actually will be established and at the end of that you are going to have to give an account and in the first instance with that parable it had to do with money in this it has to do with the vineyard all of this is coming to play now in chapter 22 if you come over a couple of pages just back to where we were chapter 22 and verse 14 let's prepare to that once again the hour had come he reclined a table and the apostles with him and he said to them I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God and what he means is which is actually a long ways off from now that is the time he said it and having taken a cup when he had given thanks he said take this and share it among yourselves for I say to you

[24:33] I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes having taken some bread when he had given thanks he broke it gave it to them saying this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of me and I'm sure these apostles are nodding their heads to each other and saying yes we understand that this bread is his body which is given for us we fully understand they didn't understand anything they are completely perplexed they are stunned by what he's saying and yet nobody's going to ask him what what what do you mean this is your body which is given for what are you talking about no I can just see this quizzical frown on their faces as they pass this bread and he said this bread is his body what what does this mean shrug their shoulders and take off a piece of the bread and pass the loaf to the next one and each one takes a bite and they don't have a clue as to what he actually means the same way he took the cup after they had eaten saying this cup poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood no they didn't understand that either they are just dumb founded and by the way you need to keep in mind the fact that they probably already have a very long day behind them people back then usually arose about daylight whatever that might have been up all day long several hours now they're into the evening this could be as late as 7 8 9 o'clock in the evening and they're going to spend the night there with this

[26:34] Passover meal and the institution of the Lord's Supper and he'll be conversing with them and as you turn to John's Gospel and we won't do it right now but as you turn to John's Gospel there is enormous content there and it begins with chapter 13 and do you realize that unlike the synoptics Matthew Mark and Luke John's Gospel is really different it emphasizes certain things that the others just Passover and as you read John's Gospel chapters 13 14 15 16 17 and part of 18 all of those chapters and those of you with your red letter Bibles look at the red letters there and you will see that Jesus is speaking in all of those chapters and here John is devoting about five or six chapters to what transpired in about six or eight hours

[27:38] Matthew Mark Luke they don't give it that kind of detail as John does so we have many more details that are referred to in John's Gospel that are not here in Matthew Mark or Luke and then Jesus said in verse 21 behold the hand of the one betraying me is with me on the table now we know what that betrayal was all about we've got 20-20 hindsight we know that Judas was going to go and strike a deal with the chief priests and the Pharisees and he was going to tell them where they would be able to take Jesus without any fear of a riot or any problem with the people raising up to oppose them because it would be in the middle of the night and the city will be asleep and Jesus and his disciples

[28:39] Judas says I know exactly where they'll be and I can take you there what's it worth to you and they settle on the infamous 30 pieces of silver and when Jesus says the hand of the one betraying with me is with me on the table that must have been a pretty sobering thing to say and when Jesus talked about betraying you may be sure the apostles didn't have any idea that this betrayal was going to extend to someone of their own group actually handing Jesus over to the Jewish authorities for trial no way what must they have thought try this best you can to put yourself back in their position with a statement like that

[29:42] Jesus is saying one of you is going to betray me well now these are the twelve that have been with him for over three years these people really knew each other well after all they left their businesses they left their families they were really tight they were really close they knew each other like the palm of your hand and to say that one of you twelve is going to betray me my guess is and this is just a wise man guess okay and it maybe not worth taking to the bank but I'm thinking that they were thinking well what he means is that somebody is going to say something really stupid that makes him look bad and they'll be speaking out of ignorance or just without thinking something through and they're just going to blurt out something and it's going to put Jesus in a bad light but betrayed to the extent of being handed over to the authorities for eventual execution no way at all let me ask you this do you think that those eleven would ever have for a moment allowed

[30:49] Judas to leave that room if they had known what he was going to do of course not they were completely in the dark about this so let's read on for indeed the son of man is going as it has been determined but woe to that man of course he's referring to Judas through whom he is betrayed and they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing now the next phrase just kind of bowls me over look at it and there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest well where in the world did that come from how did that get onto the agenda now here's what's taking place they're talking about establishing the kingdom right when the kingdom is established

[31:59] Israel will be the head not the tail Jesus the son of David will sit on the throne executing righteousness and judgment throughout the whole land of Israel throughout the whole world in fact that's what's coming and what they are doing is vying for positions of responsibility they're looking to the future and they're saying a new administration is about to come into power and I'm putting in my dibs for the choice position this is the same thing as James and John when their mother came to Jesus and said would you grant that when you come into your kingdom my one son can sit on your left hand and the other sit on the right hand and Jesus rebuked them and said that is not for you to give but that's what they were thinking about they politicians trying to get their dibs in for the choice spots that would have the biggest office and the best perks and everything that went with it all of that the fact that that kind of a conversation could come up at this time does that not also lend lend certainty to the idea that they really don't understand at all what's happening or what's going to transpire and then he went on to say fellas you're you're you're arguing and bickering over who's going to be prime minister and who's going to be secretary of this and who's going to be secretary of that in the cabinet the kings of the gentiles lorded over them and those who have authority over them are called benefactors but not so with you but let him who was the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as the servant and he's telling them that they are looking at it entirely wrong then

[34:10] Peter in verse 31 Jesus says Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat toy with you but I've prayed for you that your faith may not fail and you when once you have turned again strengthen your brothers and Peter said to him Lord with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death whatever and Jesus said I tell you Peter the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me that's just hours away just hours away from Peter making this bold brash statement as he looks over the twelve and says I can't promise you anything about these other guys but I can promise you something about myself even if everyone forsakes you you can count on me and Jesus corrected

[35:16] Peter in saying you just don't know what you're talking about before the cock crows you're going to deny me three times and when does that cock crow daylight isn't it daylight will be coming in just a few hours because when Jesus is there in the garden with his apostles and he is praying and sweating as it were great drops of blood and praying and saying father if it be possible let this cup pass from me you can look off in the distance down the hill and through all of the foliage and the trees and the olive groves you can see the flickering lights of the temple police coming up the path and Judas is leading them and they are armed swords staves knives flickering torches and the end is very near in chapter 13 of

[36:31] John's gospel let's go there please chapter 13 of John's gospel before the feast of the Passover Jesus knowing that his hour had come that he should depart out of this world to the father having loved his own who were in the world he loved them to the end and during supper the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon to betray him Jesus knowing that the father had given all things into his hands and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God rose from supper laid aside his garments taking a towel he girded himself about this is taking the servant's attitude that he had already expressed to his disciples that he is to be he who would be chiefest among you let him be servant of all and here

[37:33] Jesus is acting in the capacity of the host of this last supper he it is who has made arrangements for this particular place to be provided and the food and all of the items to go with it and he is serving them as the host and they are the guests in this culture the host would be a person usually of some means and it would not be unusual for them to have servants and they would have the servant assigned to wash the feet of the guests and the reason that was done of course was because everyone wore sandals and they were open and they didn't walk on cement sidewalks or asphalt like we do they walked on the earth and to take the sandals off John the Baptist talked about Jesus saying I'm not worthy to unloose his sandals this is exactly what he's talking about and

[38:35] Jesus girded himself with a towel and he began to wash the disciples feet and all he was trying to demonstrate to them was that you have to have a servant's heart if you want to serve God and he was actually portraying in of the one who most of all deserved to be served but he was serving them and as the text says the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many and here he washes their feet and in as the evening progressed on they were trying to determine who or how anyone was going to betray him and Jesus made the statement he it is to whom

[39:38] I shall give the sop when I have dipped it and the sop was that morsel of food you dip your almost like a taco you dip it in to the gravy and the meat dish and the vegetable dish and you come up with the food substance and the guest who is chosen as like a person of honor is given the sop Jesus as the host dips the sop and he puts it to the mouth of Judas actually you would think he would be the last one to get it and when Jesus said he it is to whom I shall give the sop when I have dipped it what do you think they were thinking they still didn't get it and the proof of that is

[40:45] Jesus then turned to Judas and said what you do do quickly go ahead Judas get it over with Judas got up and left the room and the other apostles saw him leaving the room and do you know what they thought they didn't think in the wildest imagination that he was going to the authorities and set the whole thing up they thought Judas he's the treasurer Judas is the one who carries the money he's the banker for the whole twelve and he's gone out to get something additional for the feast because apparently we're going to run out of something wine or whatever it is and Judas has the money he's going down to the convenience store on the corner and get what we need and didn't think for a moment that that was going to be the betrayal

[41:54] Judas went out and made a beeline for the house of Caiaphas who was the chief priest and they had this thing all hatched up the cabal was already there there were a number of priests in session they were sitting there discussing what was taking place the next thing you know Judas knocks on the door and they let Judas in and he says I know where they're going and I'll take you there and as soon as they left the upper the the upper room the text tells us that they go out of the upper room and down a steep precipice down into the valley actually it's the valley of Jehoshaphat it's also called the Kidron Valley and there is a stream that runs through there that's the brook Kidron they're going to go down and cross over the brook Kidron and then up the other side and this is a long way down and across the brook and then a long way up the other side and when you get up to the other side you have arrived at the

[43:03] Mount of Olives and that's where Jesus was going to be in prayer with his apostles he had been there before they had been there before they were familiar with the place and Judas says I know where he'll be and I know when he'll be there and you can take him then and as they arrive on the scene most amazing thing happens they make their way up there Jesus confronts them and says whom seek ye and they said Jesus of Nazareth Judas had told them they are asking him they said how will we know which one is Jesus because after all he's going to be there with eleven others and they're all dressed alike and they look pretty much alike and it's going to be dark how will we know which one and Jesus and Judas says just watch me I'll go over and the one

[44:05] I kiss that's him then you take him so they made their way up and Jesus went up Judas is there and he walks up and he gives the traditional kiss just like they do in the Mideast today you've seen them when they come off the plane and the dignitaries meet in the Mideast and they kiss on this side and they kiss on this side and back this is the holy kiss that the Bible speaks of and that's exactly what Judas did to Jesus Jesus looked at him the one to whom he had also given the sop and he said betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss how about that a kiss was the greatest act of affection and respect and honor and everything else and he was wasting it with the motive he had in his heart giving that kiss to

[45:08] Jesus and on that similar occasion very close to that he said whom seek ye and they said Jesus of Nazareth and our Lord responded by saying I am and only John tells us this the synoptics do not but when he said that these people all fell down backwards over themselves stumbling and stuttering and knocking each other over like a bunch of bowling pins what's that all about and as you look at the text there in John's gospel it's translated whom seek ye and they said Jesus of Nazareth and your English text says I am he but if you look very carefully you'll see that the word he is in italics it's not there at all Jesus didn't say I am he he said

[46:08] I am and then they all fell over one another backwards what was that all about it was nothing more than Jesus claiming to be the I am of Exodus 3 14 when Moses said what is your name who shall I say sent me Jesus said you tell them the I am has sent you that doesn't say anything to us but it said volumes to them it meant the I am the one who exists because I am I am the self existent one everybody here exists because somebody else existed there's no exceptions but this one exists because he exists he is the I am he is not the I was and he is not the

[47:09] I will be he is the eternal I am they could not stand up in the face of that pronouncement and they all fell down backwards then he allowed them to take him and off they went first to the house of Caiaphas there will be a kangaroo court that will examine him there and then he will go off to Pontius Pilate or to Herod and Herod won't know what to do with him and he sends him back and Pilate sends him back and Pilate is nothing more than a political pawn in the hands of these chief priests and Pharisees and they con him into crucifying our Lord and this is what we will take up next time we are together I don't know how aware of it you are but there are 14 and we will count them 14 different events that transpire in connection with those hours that our

[48:17] Lord is on the cross and when you put them all together it makes a very formidable array of events and we will examine that when we meet again the next time would you pray with me please father we recognize that there is much about this text and about the multiple texts that still escape us even though we have the benefit and advantage that the early apostles didn't have and we can compare notes in ways that they couldn't we are grateful for the revelation that you've been pleased to give us we recognize that unto whom much is given of him shall much be required and we have simply seen a very important aspect of our Lord's life lived out before us we can only think of the impact that this was going to make in that culture and in that world when not only his crucifixion but his resurrection from the dead is announced we look forward to that with great anticipation and great joy we thank you so much for the reality and the truth of it in

[49:23] Christ's name Amen