Today’s message at Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, KY was about The Last Supper. The Last Supper, also called Lord's Supper, in the New Testament, was the final meal shared by Jesus and his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem.
The time is the Passover, the major Jewish spring festival which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Jesus knows he’s about to be crucified. He’s the sacrificial lamb. When Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go, one of the curses was the death of the first born. In order to be ‘passed over’ by the angel of death, believers were to take the blood of a lamb and smear it over the doorway to the house, and once you walked under the blood, the angel of death would ‘pass over.’ During the Festival of Unleavened Bread, Jesus came to Jerusalem. At this time, 1,000’s came to the city to celebrate. Jesus asked the disciples to find a man in the city to prepare his home for Jesus and the disciples to eat the Passover meal. While the disciples and Jesus were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples were shocked. They were in celebration mode at this time, and they wondered why Jesus was saying this. They start to ponder, is it Peter? He’s betrayed Jesus before. Maybe it’s Philip? He brought the Greeks to Jesus. Or, could it be James and John? They gave up the most. They gave up their business. Matthew? He was a tax collector and worked for the Romans. Or maybe Simon the Zealot? He could be dangerous, even violent. The Apostles asked, “Surely, not I, Is it me? Why would they think it’s them? Somehow, over the last three years, they all thought about it. If an accusation is made, and you thought about it. There’s a reaction. If you didn’t think about it, there’s no reaction. Jesus' teachings are hard. Turn the other cheek. Go on a dangerous journey, yet with no weapons or money. Love your enemy. Be the last, not the first. What about you? Have you ever thought about Not following Jesus? We betray Jesus by doing one of the following:
Ask yourself? Have I betrayed Jesus? The Lord’s Supper is our rooster that crows in our lives. The Great News is we can be forgiven. How are we forgiven?
The Last Supper Matthew 26: 17 - 30 17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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